https:/.../HSS-2019-Q2-E13.mp4

♪ theme music ♪

(Derek) Welcome to Hope Sabbath School,

an in-depth, interactive study

of the Word of God.

We've come to the final study

in our series on Family Seasons,

Turning Hearts in the End Time.

It's based on a prophecy

of the prophet Malachi,

and we're just glad that we can study

this thrilling passage together

and apply it both from Elijah the Prophet

all the way to the end time.

But before we get into our study,

I have got a special guest

to introduce to you,

one of our youngest Hope Sabbath School
participants,

and her name is Bianca.

Bianca, we're glad you came

to Hope Sabbath School today.

Would you like to wave

at everybody around the world?

Thank you so much, Bianca;

thank you for bringing

your mommy, Patricia, with you, too.

You know, families are
what the Word of God is about,

bringing families together,

saved in His eternal Kingdom.

So, Bianca, thanks for being with us,

and thanks to each one of you

for writing to us and sharing with us

how Hope Sabbath School

is blessing your family.

George writes from Tanzania

and says, "Thanks for reading

our lovely greetings before the study."

Well, George, we got to read yours.

"We feel so happy to hear

from every corner of the world."

That's true, isn't it?

"Receive greetings from Bukoba,
Tanzania. George.

Well, George, we're glad you're part

of our Hope Sabbath School family.

Thanks for writing to us.

Here's powerful testimony

from Philip in Michigan

in the United States of America.

It's a little longer,

but I was just so impressed,

I want to share it with you

and also with our Hope Sabbath School
members around the world.

"I was watching Hope Sabbath School,

and I received a blessing from God
through your study.

I'm impressed to share

my testimony with you

about what happened to me

when I was in the army.

I'd been drifting away from the Lord
in this environment,

and I found out, upon returning home,

that my mother had been praying

for my safety every day - praise God!

I worked at an office.

I typed up the morning report,

picked up the same report from the company

on the first floor of the barracks,

then I would stop at the mess hall,

then at the laundry,

then the administration building,"

I hope you're writing all of these down,

"and take the reports to personnel.

One morning, and only one morning
I ever did this,

I started at the administration building,

and then the laundry,

and then the mess hall."

Just in case you didn't know,

that's a different order.

"When I got to the mess hall,

the military police were everywhere,

and they wouldn't let me in.

One of the cooks thought his coworker

was having an affair with his wife,

came in, and killed everyone
in the mess hall.

If I had gone my usual order,

I would have been there

and would have been killed as well.

I believe my mother's prayers
for my safety

were heard by God."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) "I thank God for a mother

who prayed for me."

Now, if that was the end of the story
from Philip in Michigan,

you'd say, "Well, that's awesome.

How's he living now?"
Well, I'm not done.

"For years I wondered

why I had done this,"

changed the order, "that one time,

but since returning to God,
I now see why."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) "I teach a Sabbath School class

in my church every other week,

lend a hand in prayer meeting when needed,

and recently I've started
giving Bible studies.

This, after wandering, for 35 years,
away from God.

God has a work for all of us.

We need to be attuned to His voice

and His calling in our lives." Amen?

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Well, I don't know, Philip,

if your mother is still living.

If she is, I hope you're watching
today, Mother,

and praise God for praying parents. Amen?

We studied about that in this series.

Our mission field starts right at home.

Julien writes from Haiti and says,

"It's always good to watch

my brothers and sisters in Jesus studying

the in-depth study of the Word of God.

When I look at you, I get a little idea

of what paradise will be like.

You know why?

All nations in the same place,

praising the King of Kings.

It will be wonderful.

Let's look forward to it

because the goal is in front of us.

Jesus is coming back soon."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) You know, I really do appreciate

about Hope Sabbath School

that we do look like the world,

every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.

Thanks so much, Julien,

for writing to us from Haiti.

Here's a short note from a donor
in Pennsylvania.

"Thank you so much for Hope
Sabbath School.

I was glued to the last program.

I watched many times over.

You make the teachings of the Bible

so much more interesting

and easy to understand.

Keep up the good work

of spreading the Lord's truth,"

and a gift of 30 dollars!

You say, "That's like a little gift,"

but that's an investment in eternity.

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) We just want to thank you

for your support, each one of you.

We're working together in His mission.

One last note from Tennessee.

Anybody from Tennessee

in the United States?

Kyle, you can wave to Brian,
from Tennessee.

He's got a testimony for you.

He said, "I'd like to say how much

Hope Sabbath School has changed my life.

Although I was raised in church,

I drifted away from my faith
for many years.

I was certain that I was one of the people

who was created to be lost."

Have you ever met anyone like that?

"I can't find the words

to fully explain that,

but you have taught me" -

and the "you" is not one of us

but all of us together, praise God -

"you have taught me through the Bible

that I can place the burden on Christ,

and He will cleanse me of all my sins."

(Team) Amen!

(Derek) I just want to jump

and say, "Praise God!"

"Thank you again for Hope Sabbath School.

I know God is reaching

so many more with this ministry."

Brian, thanks for writing to us

on Hope Sabbath School,

and it really is amazing

what God's doing, isn't it?

We want to give Him all the glory.

In fact, we want to sing

a 3,000-year-old Scripture song,

"Praise Him in the Heights."

Let's sing it together.

♪ music ♪

(Derek) I like that song, don't you?

That's just a cheerful song.

It's hard to frown when you're
singing that one.

By the way, if you've never downloaded

the free download from our website,

hopetv.org/hopess, you can download

the MP3 file and the sheet music.

You can send us a recording
of you singing it,

and we'd enjoy that.

Sometimes they'll sing it

in different languages, you know?

And it's just beautiful to hear

people praising God together.

We're glad you're part

of our Hope Sabbath School family,

and we want to pray now.

This is an important topic,

Turning Hearts, not just towards God,

as important as that is,

but towards each other in the family.

That's God's desire in these End Times.

Let's pray as we study.

Father in Heaven, I thank You

for Your Word, which is so practical.

It not only shows us the way of Salvation

through faith in Jesus,

but it shows us how to live today.

And I pray in the name of Jesus

that You would bless

each Hope Sabbath School member
around the world

as we study together.

May a refreshing blessing

come from Your throne, Lord,

not to be kept to ourselves,

but to share it with others, too.

We pray it in the name of Jesus. Amen.

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) The title, Turning Hearts,

comes from a prophecy

by the prophet Malachi,

and I'd like to actually start

our study with that prophecy.

Gary, it's the last book

of the Old Testament, Malachi,

not a book that people read frequently,

but in Malachi, chapter 4,

verses 5 and 6, is a prophecy,

and it talks about an ancient prophet,

and it talks about turning hearts
in the end time.

Let's see what the Bible tells us.

(Gary) All right, I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,

Malachi 4, verses 5 and 6:

(Derek) Now, "I will send you
Elijah the prophet."

Now, there's one very interesting thing,

if you read the Old Testament
about Elijah.

I mean, he was a great prophet,

but one thing rather unique about him

was what? Does anybody know?

(Team) He never died.

(Derek) He didn't die, that's right.

He was translated in a chariot of fire.

There are only a few people
like that, right?

You've got Enoch, right?

So, is he going to come back

in a chariot of fire again?

Is that what it means?

"I'm going to send you Elijah,"

or is it someone with the same message

that was given to Elijah,

and it's going to turn people's hearts?

And it's urgent because it's
before the judgment

that this message must come.

Well, in order to understand

what Malachi's talking about,

we need to go back

to the original prophet Elijah in 1 Kings.

His story is recorded in 1 Kings
16, 17, 18,

first mentioned in 16, 17 and 18.

If you could summarize

who this prophet was,

what would you tell me

about Elijah the Prophet, anybody?

Sean, what do you know about him?

(Sean) First of all, he showed up
out of nowhere.

(Derek) Okay, that's the first thing.

That's not insignificant.

This is not like some famous prophet

who's been writing books

of the Bible, right,

coming from Jerusalem.

He comes out of nowhere,

and, yup, anything else

that you'd like to share

besides him coming out of nowhere,

which is significant?

(Sean) Besides coming out of nowhere,

he also had a message for the king.

(Derek) So he goes straight

to the seat of power, doesn't he?

And what's his prophecy, Stephanie?

Could you look in 1 Kings 17 and verse 1?

(Stephanie) I'll be reading

from the King James Version:

(Derek) What in the world is he saying?

He's pronouncing a drought

until he says otherwise.

What motivated him to come out of nowhere

and go straight to the king and say,

"There is going to be a drought

until I say otherwise"?

Certainly, you're saying, guided

by the Holy Spirit of God.

Go back a few verses.

You know, we didn't have chapters

in the original text, right?

Kyle, could you read chapter 16,
verses 30 to 33.

Let's see what was going on

in Israel at the time

when Elijah shows up at the king's palace.

(Kyle) Okay, 1 Kings 16:30-33,

and this is the New King James Version:

(Derek) So, what's going on in Israel?

(Team) Idolatry.

(Derek) Idolatry, apostasy, and I wonder

if Elijah is thinking, "Well, God said

He would bless His people

if they followed Him,

but He also said that there would be

negative consequences if they didn't."

Now, Nicole says that the specific
declaration,

"It's not going to rain until I say so,"

must have been given to him

as a message by God, right?

I mean, it wasn't just like
a random thing.

How does the king, how does
his wife Jezebel...

and, by the way, have you noticed

that not many people

name their daughters Jezebel?

She's like the epitome of wickedness,

just like her husband Ahab.

How do they respond to this confrontation,
Travis?

(Travis) They want to kill Elijah.

(Derek) They want to kill him.

(Travis) They want to kill him,

and they go searching for him,

and then Elijah shows up
to Obadiah one day

and says, "Hey, I want you

to go tell Ahab I'd like to meet him."

(Derek) So they want

to silence the messenger.

God protects him by taking him
to a brook.

You remember that story, right?

And how does he survive there
at the brook?

It's a time of famine

because there's no rain.

Some birds come and bring him food.

Now, I'm not sure that would be

my first choice, right?

Birds come, and they bring him food.

And then the brook dries up.

And so, let's pick up the story,

because it's very clear,

even though, as Sean said,

we've never heard of this man Elijah,

that God is with him.

Ranela, if you could pick up the story

when he now goes to a widow in Zarephath,

1 Kings 17, and read for us, if you would,

verses 8 through 16.

(Ranela) I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,
1 Kings 17:8-16:

(Derek) Did any of you remember that story

when you were little?

If you grew up in a Christian family,

you heard about that story with the oil

and the little bin of flour, right?

And it just kind of...didn't overflow,

but it didn't run out.

Doesn't it seem a little selfish

that Elijah would say,

"Don't feed yourself and your son first;

feed me first"? Ranela?

(Ranela) I think Elijah knew

that when God tests our faith,

there's a blessing that we receive

when we follow and when we trust Him.

It strengthens our own faith.

(Derek) Okay, by the way, did he

have any tangible evidence

that God was going to do this?

(Kyle) God had provided
for him at the brook.

(Derek) Okay, so he had

seen miracles in his past.

Isn't there something about remembering

how God has led us in our past?

It's like, "God, you have

provided for me there;

you could provide for her here," right?

(Stephanie) And in verse 9 it says,

when the word of the Lord came to him,

He specifically said, "I have

commanded a widow woman there

to sustain thee," it was a promise.

(Derek) He had a prophecy from the Lord
Himself, right?

(Stephanie) Already a promise.

(Derek) And we're talking

about the blessing, Ranela,

of stepping out in faith.

The widow actually does

what he asks her to do, right?

Two comments, Thomas and then Chelsy.

(Thomas) If God says, "She will provide,"

and then she says, "I don't know how

that's going to happen,"

essentially he's saying,

"Well, God told me that you will,

so it's going to happen, whether you
believe, it..."

(Derek) It almost reminds me of Mary

who says, "I've no idea,"

(the mother of Jesus),

"how this is going to happen,

and I'm going to conceive,

but let it be according to your word,"
right? Chelsy?

(Chelsy) And perhaps it's also

a test of faith for Elijah himself.

Granted, these birds provided
for him before,

but he's going to this city in Sidon,

and Jezebel was a princess from Sidon,

so the cause of their woes

and idolatry was Sidon.

And so perhaps Elijah was thinking,

"Why should I go to Sidon,

who is the cause of all

of our idolatry and iniquity?"

And perhaps it was also

just a test of faith

that God can provide for him,

even in "enemy" territory.

(Derek) Yeah, in the most
difficult situation.

And Elijah demonstrates that,

not only in this miracle,

but reading on, Nicole,

if you'd read for us verses 17

through 24 of 1 Kings 17,

someone may be hearing this story

for the first time and go,

"That's amazing," you know,

that that provision occurred

until the end of the drought, right?

But let's see what else happens.

(Nicole) So 1 Kings 17, verses 17 to 24,

in the New International Version says:

(Derek) How would you describe

the reaction of the mother
when her son dies?

Grief? Okay, so you would excuse

her kind of angry words and blaming

because she's just in devastating grief?

(Nicole) She's in grief,

and she's like, "Why?! Why,

after what I've done, why would
this now happen?"

(Derek) Do you find any encouragement

in the way that the prophet of God
responds to her?

I think she's a bit harsh, actually,

but, you know what?

God does not reject her

in her overwhelming grief, right? Kyle?

(Kyle) She's a widow, so she's clearly

had pain in her life.

And we all make mistakes.

She said, "It brings

my sin to remembrance,"

but God is so gracious, you know?

In spite of, sometimes,
our bitter response,

He comes and then He

just blesses us beyond that.

And I love this story.

(Derek) What most people know

about Elijah, of course,

is the "showdown" on...?

(Derek, Team) Mount Carmel.

(Derek) Or "Car-MEL," and on this mountain

Elijah is outnumbered how many to one?

Four hundred and fifty to one

with the prophets of Baal.

And, by the way, they all have weapons,
and he doesn't,

so he's in a very dangerous situation,
would you agree?

Why would he subject himself -

I mean, I would rather be out

by the brook with the birds -

why would he subject himself

to such a dangerous setting? Chelsy?

(Chelsy) I think he has

this strong confidence in God.

He has multiple instances

where he can remember

where God provided,

getting fed by ravens,

getting fed by a widow

who had almost nothing,

resurrecting someone from the dead.

I mean, at this point, he probably has

some pretty strong confidence in his God.

I would, I hope I would.

(Derek) By the way, he's still human

because remember later,

if you read the rest of the story,
he actually goes

into kind of a depressed state,

and he says, "Just let me die."

So he's still human, but he's

certainly seeing a lot of evidence

of how awesome God is.

So summarize the story for me.

Stephanie, do you know the story?

We're not going to read it all,

but he goes up on Mount Carmel.

There are 450 [prophets]

of Baal, right, and him.

He's saying, "I follow

the Lord God," right, Yahweh.

(Stephanie) So it's interesting

that he suggests that they
make a sacrifice.

And it's at that evening sacrifice,

after all day they'd been

calling on their gods,

and there has been no fire from heaven,

which was the test,

that now he puts the water

all over the sacrifice, more than once,

and the fire comes down

and it consumes everything.

(Derek) What's this story all about?

I mean, certainly you would say,

obviously the Lord God -

the Lord there in capital L-O-R-D

in my Bible, which is,

in the Hebrew, "Yahweh,"

the holy name of God, the I AM, right,

so this is the name of God -

He's obviously more powerful.

Do you think that the [prophets]

of Baal were trying to...

what's the right word?...

kind of in an illegal way

get that fire started?

Or do you think they were,

"It's okay if we lose."

What do you think, Patricia?

(Patricia) I read a commentary once,

talking about how the book of Revelation

mentions signs and wonders,

and Satan would be able

to get fire to come down from heaven.

So the person who wrote the commentary

believed that back in that time,
that those people

would offer sacrifices to idols,

and Satan actually was able

to get fire to come down from heaven.

So they thought it was

actually going to happen

because it had happened before...

(Derek) And Satan would be happy

to say, "I'm Baal," or, "I'm Marduk."

So, what does that tell you

about this showdown on Mount Carmel?

Thank you for that interesting insight,

because it does talk

about these false prophets

doing signs and wonders. Travis?

(Travis) I think there is clear evidence

by that showdown that God

is the Creator God.

So even if Satan has that power,

He can certainly limit Satan

so he can't do that.

(Derek) He's in charge...

(Travis) And it's interesting...

(Derek) It's a simple way
of describing it.

(Travis) For like six or seven hours
450 guys are jumping around

cutting themselves, doing
all kinds of things

to appease their god,

and Elijah just offers a simple prayer.

And, for me, out of this story

I get, like, I don't have to do

a bunch of things to appease a god.

I can offer a simple prayer,

and my prayers are answered.

(Derek) I want to take us to one verse.

Thomas, if you could look
at this one verse

in 1 Kings 18 and verse 21.

Really, it's the appeal,

but I want you to remember it

because I think, 1 Kings 18:21,

I think it takes us

through even to the End-Time message.

(Thomas) This is from
the New King James Version:

(Derek) What's the appeal?

(Team) To choose...to follow God.

(Derek) Now he's obviously wanting them

to choose the Lord God, right,

because, if you remember the story,

and this is sad, but what happens

to all of those false prophets?

Let's look at the text

in 1 Kings 18 and verse 40.

Patricia, could you read that,

verse 40 of 1 Kings 18?

(Patricia) I'll be reading

from the New King James Version:

(Derek) That seems very...It's certainly

a terminal situation for them, right?

That seems very harsh, doesn't it?

That all of these false prophets
are just executed?

But ultimately, back to Thomas,
your comment,

choosing which side we're on,

we either choose the God of Heaven

who gives us life,

or we separate ourselves from Him,

which results in what?

(Team) Death.

(Derek) It results in death.

The wages of sin is death.

It was a startling, troubling reminder

that if we separate ourselves

from the Lord of life,

the end will be complete destruction,
right? Yes, Travis.

(Travis) I'm just thinking

this whole thing has been
on family seasons,

and I see Elijah there, inviting...

It wasn't even...

The call was an invitation

to accept the Lord God,

an invitation into the Kingdom of grace,

the family of grace.

That's what I see there.

It wasn't like, "You better do this,"

or, "You better do that."

It was like an invitation.

(Derek) Right, and by his witness;

we talked about this in the series, too.

He's so confident in the God of Heaven

that he's willing to put his own life

on the line, right, and say,

"I believe," "I believe." Sean?

(Sean) And in verse 21 in chapter 18

it says that he said this

to all the people.

He didn't just speak to Israel.

So it wasn't that Elisha was trying

to leave anybody out - Elijah, sorry -

it was that the call was for everyone,

and this included the prophets,

because, if, for some reason

they decided to say, "You know what,

this makes no sense; we'll follow God,"

the call is there, too.

(Derek) What do you think?

That sounds like grace.

So you're saying that he's
saying to everyone,

"Choose where you'll stand."

You know, we hear of stories today

of people who were ordered

to execute Christians -

you've heard some of these stories, right?

Where some of those people

lay down their guns and go

and stand with the Christians, right?

So thank you for pointing that out, Sean.

They had an opportunity

to say, "Baal is not a god at all.

The Lord, He is God,

and I'm going to go and stand

with the people of God." Kyle?

(Kyle) I know we're not going

to tell the rest of the story,

but I love how, after this experience,

Elijah tells Ahab that rain

is going to come, in faith, you know,

not having seen any clouds,

And then he prays,

and then the rain comes.

(Derek) By the way, he has to pray
seven times,

so it's not always that easy.

We need to...doesn't the Bible

talk about persevering in prayer?

That's not to change God's heart;

it's just that sometimes

we're a little impatient. Yes, Stephanie.

(Stephanie) And to keep us
dependent on God.

(Derek) And keep us dependent,

and, of course, if you read
the rest of the story,

he's very human, and he gets
a little over-exhausted,

and when Jezebel says,

"I'm going to kill you,"

he panics, instead of going,

"No, the Lord is my defender;

you cannot harm me."

So he's human, but what a powerful appeal.

This is Elijah the prophet.

Hyperspace forward to Malachi.

Let's go back to Malachi, chapter 4,

and Malachi prophesies;

we're going to read the text again.

And, Heide, if you can find it;

it's right before the book of Matthew,

is the book of Malachi,

chapter 4, verses 5 and 6.

This the end of the minor prophets,

before that time we call

the intertestamental period where it seems

that the prophets are silent.

And then, of course, comes a messenger

to prepare the way of the Lord.

Let's see what the prophet Malachi says.

(Heide) I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,
and it says:

(Derek) So, let's look and see

how the Scripture interprets that prophecy

because we could guess.

We could say, "Well, I think that's...,"

but let's see how the Scripture

interprets the prophecy, Malaina,

in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 1,

verses 13 through 17.

Now, just out of interest

for you Bible students

and our Hope Sabbath School members
around the world,

Luke was not one of the 12
disciples, right?

He was not an eyewitness,

so how did he gather

all of this information?

Well, I can hear Nicole saying,

"The Holy Spirit," and that's right;

Peter said holy men of God

spake as they were moved

by the Holy Spirit.

But, Heide, he tells us how,
do you remember?

(Heide) I know that in Bible commentaries

it says that it was believed

that he was a companion of Paul,

and we see that in the book of Acts also.

(Derek) Right, Paul talks about Dr. Luke

traveling with him. Gary?

(Gary) I was going to say,

in verses 1 to 3, he recounts

that he went and interviewed eyewitnesses

and made "an orderly account,

most excellent Theophilus."

(Derek) For his medical student friend,
maybe, Theophilus, right?

We don't know who Theophilus was,

but it's kind of a nice name,

"One who loves God,"

so apparently it was

a fellow seeker after truth,

and he writes it down,

talking by the Spirit's guidance
to eyewitnesses.

So let's see what he records

in...who did I ask to read that?

I'm so excited, I forget...It was Malaina;

thank you, Malaina, Luke 1:13-17.

(Malaina) I'll be reading

from the New King James Version:

(Derek) By the way, who is that angel?

This is an angel, now, giving
a prophecy, not Malachi.

Who is the angel?

(Team) Gabriel.

(Derek) His name is Gabriel.

I mean, that's like high-ranking
angel, right?

And he says, "This child that will be born

is a fulfillment of Malachi's prophecy."

So how did John the Baptist fulfill

the prophecy of turning the hearts?

Remember the appeal of Elijah

was not just, "Get along,
fathers/sons, sons/fathers,"

but turning the hearts where?

(Team) To God.

(Derek) To God, right?

How did John the Baptist accomplish that?

Well, let's look at a few Bible texts

that may answer that question.

John 1, verses 29 to 34.

Chelsy, could you read that for us?
John 1:29-34.

Actually, I really like this part;

it gives some insights

that maybe many people don't know

because, remember, John the Baptist

is involved in what way

with the ministry of Jesus?

He baptized Him, right?
He baptized Him.

Let's see the testimony of John.

(Chelsy) And I'm reading

from the English Standard Version:

(Derek) That sounds like

the boldness of Elijah, right?

By the way, he not only saw

the Holy Spirit descending

on Jesus at His baptism,

what else does he say?

"I was told beforehand,

that that's what would happen

to the One who is Messiah."

So he's giving..."I have seen

and testified, this is the Son
of God," right?

How else did he prepare the way for Jesus?

Well, look with us in John,

chapter 3, verses 22 to 30,

and, Kyle, could you read it,
from John 3:22-30?

And this, I think,

is an important lesson for all of us

because we all want

to point people to Jesus, right?

Let's see how John does that,

obviously with his life,

but let's hear his testimony.

(Kyle) Okay, and I'm reading

from the New King James Version:

"After these things...,"

No, did I go on the right one? I'm sorry.

(Derek) Yes, John 3.

(Kyle) Okay, just making sure, thank you:

(Derek) The Jewish historian Josephus,

he said that Herod Antipas,

that's the son of Herod the Great,

was afraid of John the Baptist

because he had so much influence
over the people.

What impresses you about this prophet,

that Jesus would call

the greatest prophet?

(Ranela) His humility.

(Derek) His humility, okay.

(Ranela) He understood

what his specific purpose was.

(Derek) All right, like Elijah, too,
right? Yes, Kyle?

(Kyle) What impresses me

is he was so bold and courageous.

He was just willing

to call sin by its right name.

I mean, and they knew

he was connected with God,

but he was so just courageously

proclaiming the truth and doing it

in a way that it moved

the hearts of the people.

(Derek) Tragically, he put

his life on the line

just like Elijah, right?

But let's see how he lived his short life.

Travis, your point.

You know, he didn't live that long.

How old was he when he died?

Early 30s, right? Anybody here early 30s?

You say, "That's not that old," right?

And yet he lived a life

that really counted for God,

pointing people to repent.

And somehow in that message, turning

the hearts of fathers to the children,

and children to their fathers. Travis?

(Travis) I would just like to point out,

as it was pointed out earlier with Elijah,

if we went back to Luke,

is that he was turning the hearts

of the children of Israel towards God,

and the wicked, he was calling them

to repentance as well.

This was, again, a global message.

This was a message to everybody;

it wasn't just for the children of Israel.

It was for everyone.

(Derek) Yes, Thomas?

(Thomas) I'm just struck by the contrast

between this and our previous lesson

where we talked about Hezekiah

and turning people to ourselves
rather than God.

And I think John the Baptist

is a good example of how he's

turning people, not to himself,

because any leader
who has a lot of followers

could easily be tempted and say,

"Hey, look at me!

Look at all these people."

But instead he says, "Everything I have

has been received from Heaven,"

and so he was turning people
to God the Father.

(Derek) Powerful, isn't it?

Let's look at a couple of testimonies

regarding this great prophet of God

who is, if people have faith to believe,

coming in the Spirit and power of Elijah.

He's coming , if you will,

with the Elijah message, right?

"If God is God, serve Him."

Matthew, chapter 3, verses 1 through 12.

Who'd be willing to read that?

Stephanie, first 12 verses

of Matthew, chapter 3,

and let's see the testimony

about this great prophet of God.

(Stephanie) And the King James
Version says:

(Derek) What impresses you

about this prophet? Nicole?

(Nicole) In order to be bold, in order

to have an understanding of your purpose,

you have to have a connection

to the Person who gives you that purpose.

So, for me, I'm very much impressed

by John's relationship with Jesus

and his openness to surrender

his will to God's will, to allow him

to be used in a way

that brings folks to Christ.

(Derek) The word that comes to my mind

is fearless; he's fearless.

Anybody else, what do you hear? Chelsy?

(Chelsy) The repetition that he uses

for people to repent,

including for the religious leaders
of his day.

It can be hard for us

to step on people's toes.

I mean, granted, we don't ever
want to do that,

but calling people to recognize

their sin and repent

requires that fearlessness, that boldness,

because usually it's just like,

"Oh, well, I'll let the Holy Spirit

convict their hearts about their sin

and their repentance."

(Derek) Back to Sean's comment earlier

with the Elijah message,

do you think some of those Pharisees

or Sadducees did repent?

I mean, there were Pharisees -

a Pharisee was not necessarily

a bad thing, by the way;

they were the spiritual leaders,

but most of them rejected Messiah,

but not all of them did, right?

So he's calling them to repent.
Yes, Ranela?

(Ranela) Something that stood out to me

is that John's message is very relevant

to the audience he's speaking to.

In this particular instance,

he is speaking to the religious leaders,

and someone said earlier,

it's a message of repentance to all.

Sometimes we think of John the Baptist,

and we think, "Oh, I need to go out there

and tell all the people

that are not following Jesus

all the things that they're doing wrong
and all, you know...

And the thing is, he had
a relevant message

for that particular audience

who knew these things,

but their hearts were not
connected to God.

So he was calling them back

to a real relationship with God,

and the relevancy of his message
fit his audience,

and he did it boldly and courageously.

(Derek) And I think we would agree

that was enabled by the Holy Spirit

of God, right? Sean?

(Sean) I was just going to add to that,

that the message he was portraying,

some of these words

or some of the imagery

was portrayed by Jesus Himself

with the trees bearing fruit,

you know, baptizing with fire.

All of these things,

if you did not believe in Jesus,

and you were there when He died

and then He rose again,

you could at least go back

and trace Jesus' words, His life,

back to what John said

and back to the Old Testament,

which brought everything together

so you're thinking, "Oh, I understand

where this is coming from.

This didn't just happen overnight.

This took thousands of years,

constructed by God,

so that we would realize

how much He cared for us,

how much He's working

the plan of salvation out for us."

(Derek) And this prophet,

who was so bold for God,

and even saying, "This One, I was told,

I saw, He is the Son of God,"

I want you to notice the testimony

not only of his words

but especially of his life.

I'd like to ask someone

to read Luke 3:15-16.

Patricia, would you be able

to read that, Luke 3?

This is a startling testimony,
Luke 3:15-16.

(Patricia) This is the New King James
Version; it reads:

(Derek) Can you imagine

someone coming to you and saying,

"I've been watching you;

are you the Messiah?"

I mean, they're not joking, right?

They wondered, "Are you the Messiah?"

And constantly,

what is John the Baptist doing? Kyle.

(Kyle) He always pointing to Jesus.

(Derek) That's right.

(Kyle) He doesn't want

to take anything to himself.

He's always pointing to Christ.

(Derek) He's always pointing to Christ,

and here's the testimony

that Jesus Himself gives

in Matthew, chapter 11,

verses 7 through 14.

Travis, could you read that for us?

This is Jesus, Himself, speaking

about John the Baptist, who, by the way,

has a very short ministry,

and yet has impacted

every generation since his time.

What does Jesus say about him?

(Travis) I'll be reading

from the New King James Version:

(Derek) "So he is...,"

This is not a reincarnation, right?

He's John the Baptist, but he's saying,

that prophecy about the message

of Elijah turning the hearts,

not only to God but to each other in love,

that really sums up what Jesus said,

"Love God with all your heart and..."?

(Team) "Love your neighbor as yourself."

(Derek) That's it, really.

That's the message, isn't it?

And John says, "It's all about Jesus,"

constantly pointing people
to Jesus. Patricia?

(Patricia) I always found it interesting

that Jesus waits until John's
messengers leave,

so He can say all these things about him.

And, I mean, He says great things

about him, you know.

John would love to hear those words;

he would love to know,

but maybe for his sake,

you know, for John's sake,

he waits until his messengers
leave the scene

to then tell the disciples.

(Derek) It's going to be wonderful

in the Kingdom of Heaven

because we know John the Baptist

will be there, right,

to be able to walk with him

through that journey.

But I'm finding myself,

and this is our last section,

is this message still relevant today?

"If the Lord Creator God is God,

serve Him," is it still relevant?

(Team) Yes.

(Derek) Absolutely.

And when we love God

with all of our hearts,

it will change our family relationships,

even for those who have

not yet accepted God's grace.

Could it be that a brother or a sister

will say to you, "Nobody loved me

my whole life more than you did"?

"Even if I choose to reject
the grace of God,

nobody loved me more than you did,

because my heart has been turned."

That's a phenomenal thought.

So, let's talk about the message

for the Last Days.

Is God going to raise up

another prophet in the Last Days

with the same message to declare?

Because it's telling us

the judgment is at hand,

the end of all things is at hand,

and even John talks

about unquenchable fire, right?

Who's going to bear that Elijah message

in the Last Days?

(Team) We are.

(Derek) Not just Hope Sabbath School,
right?

Every follower of Jesus

is called to say what?

"Make up your mind," you know?

"If the Lord God is the God of Heaven,

serve Him, love Him with all your heart."

When people praise you,

deflect all of the praise to Jesus,

and tell them, "Yes,

a time of destruction is coming,

but God is not willing

that any should perish

but that all should come to repentance."

Talk to me now about the Elijah message.

Let's go back to Luke,

chapter 1, and verse 17.

Gabriel had given the prophecy,

and who could read for us, Gary?

In Luke 1, verse 17,

Gabriel had given the prophecy
about what this one

with the Elijah message was going to do.

Let's talk about the responsibility

for those in the End Time

with that Elijah message.

(Gary) Okay, and I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,
Luke 1, verse 17:

(Derek) Now, I don't know about you,

but I'm thinking,

who of us is sufficient to do that?

(Stephanie) None of us.

(Derek) But that's the mission
that's given, right?

I mean, John the Baptist could have said,

"I'm not sufficient to do that,"

and yet he did it, in the spirit

and the power of Elijah. Stephanie?

(Stephanie) I was just going to say

none of us, but none of us

in and of ourselves,

but complete dependence on God.

(Derek) So what right do we have

to call people to repentance

when we ourselves have fallen short

of the glory of God? Ranela?

(Ranela) I think God knows

that it's through this whole experience

of calling people to God

that our own hearts are confirmed
in that as well.

And, in fact, every single one of us

needs that experience,

because that is the work of all of Heaven.

And obviously it puts us

in a state of great humility,

knowing that we ourselves

need that every day.

(Derek) I'll always remember,

and then I'll come to your comments,

a professional who said to me,

"I believe what you said about God

by the way you treat your family." Thomas?

(Thomas) Yes, that's exactly

what I was thinking about.

I think too many people

in our churches today

think that this is about presenting truth

that's going to hit people over the head.

But what I'm struck by in this story

is about how much the prophets

actually cared about the people.

This is a very relational message.

It's about, because they loved them,

and they want to turn people's hearts.

You can't do that through arguing.

It has to be through love and humility,

and that's what really attracts
people to God.

(Derek) And a miracle

of God's enabling Spirit, right? Chelsy?

(Chelsy) Right. I think of Elijah

and John the Baptist who, themselves,

even though they were great prophets,

and Jesus, Himself, praises
John the Baptist,

you know, they're still human,

they still have their doubts.

Elijah comes off of Mount Carmel

with his doubts, thinking

that he's the only prophet

who's faithful to the Lord.

But God's like, "Well, actually

there are others, not just you."

And then John the Baptist,
even though he's like,

"This is the Son of God,"

when he's in prison,

he then has his doubts,

and he's like, "Are you really
the Son of God?"

So even for us, when we

might not feel sufficient

to take up this message,

we can remember that these great prophets

even had their doubts,

and He can use us, too, in our doubts.

(Derek) And when we say,
"God, I'm available.

Fill me with Your Spirit.

Help me to be bold for You,

pointing people to Jesus,"

and God actually does that,

we can say, "God, You're amazing," right?

"All glory goes to You."

And I just want to challenge you.

We're coming to the end of this series,

but God wants to use you

to impact the world.

Say, "God, I'm available.

I'm frail; I'm not that strong;

I'm not that smart,

but I'm available to You.

Fill me with Your Spirit,

and I want to point people to You, God,

in these Last Days."

And it will also happen as hearts

are turned to each other in love,

people will say, "What's happening
in your family?"

You say, "It's the love of God
in my family

that's turning our hearts to one another."

"Oh, God, raise up families like that,

that will point people to You,"

is my prayer; is that your prayer, too?

Let's pray it can begin in our families,

it can continue in our families.

Let's pray together.

Father in Heaven, we've been challenged

through this series of studies,

different seasons we go through
as families,

and hear that our families can, indeed,

be part of that proclaiming

of the Elijah message,

"God is God; serve Him!"

And may the love of God

that turns hearts of families together,

be a living witness

that Your love is with us.

And, God, may families be blessed

because of what You do
in us and through us.

In Jesus' name. Amen.

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Take the message you've heard,

don't keep it to yourself,

go out and be a blessing

to those around you.

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