HSS2401013

♪ theme music ♪

(Derek) Welcome to Hope Sabbath School,

an in-depth, interactive study

of the Word of God.

Well, we're coming to the end

of an amazing series on The Psalms,

these inspired Scripture songs

we have been studying for this series.

And if you've missed any,

go to our website, hopetv.org/hopess.

You can watch the entire series,

or go to our YouTube channel;

they're all there; you can watch.

We've been on a journey, learning

about the powerful, inspired messages

of these Scripture songs.

Today, a vitally important topic,

Waiting on the Lord, both now

and as we wait for His glorious appearing.

So, glad you're here, welcome

to Hope Sabbath School.

And welcome to the team,

good to see you again.

Give a wave to all

of our Hope Sabbath School members

around the world.

We're just glad that we can be together.

We've got some remote team members.

Heide, great to have you back with us,

glad you're here today.

Leeah, always good to have you,

glad you're with us today.

And, Travis, good to see you.

I'm just so thankful

for our remote team members;

they add something to our discussion,

but you are also an important part

of our discussion,

and that's why your emails to us

are so important.

Write to us at [e-mail].

You make an important decision

or you have an insight to share

from your study of the Word,

we want to hear from you.

So, remember that email address,

[e-mail], and we'll

look forward to hearing from you.

We're always happy when we get emails.

Here's one from James in Namibia

in former German West Africa.

James writes and says, "My family and I

appreciate most the fact

that the class studies

are biblically based."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) "This enables us

to confidently share messages of truth

with our neighbors."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Yes! You're part

of the miracle, James.

Thank you for writing to us.

He concludes, well, he says,

"James and Family from Namibia."

We're glad that you wrote to us

and thank you for sharing the truths

that you're learning.

Here is a note from Julia in New York,

actually Long Island, New York,

"Hello, Hope Sabbath School."

(Team) Hello.

(Derek) I think they say that

so they'll get the wave.

"My name's Julia from Long Island.

I've been watching Hope Sabbath School

since 2019, and I love

the interactive Bible study.

I love you all, and those testimonies

have been an inspiration

and encouragement to me."

Well, Julia, you'll hear

some testimonies today

that will be a blessing, I'm sure,

but thank you for pointing that out.

"I have shared the link for the program

with other families."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Right? "Thanks so much

for your ministry.

I'm glad I was able to contribute

to Hope Sabbath School.

Let's continue to pray and share

the truth with the world.

May God bless you as you

continue to be a blessing

all over the world, Julia."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Well, Julia, thank you

for taking the time to write to us

from Long Island,

there in the state of New York.

We're happy you're part

of our Hope Sabbath School family.

Here's a little hand-written note

from Washington State,

that's in the northwest part

of the United States,

and a donor couple write, and they say,

"Your Bible study class

and all other programs

are such a huge blessing to us.

The Lord is blessing you mightily.

God bless you all."

That's a lot of blessings, isn't it?

And a gift of 200 dollars

to bless the ministry.

Thank you, you know who you are,

thank you for writing to us

from Washington State.

We're all part of a great miracle,

all working together, and your gift

means a great deal.

If you want to be part

of this miracle, you say, "Derek,

could I do a little something each month?"

or maybe, "Someone just gave me

an inheritance," or, "I have something,"

like someone said, "My saving account

keeps getting bigger,

and I'd like to help," go to our website,

hopetv.org/hopess,

click on the Donate button,

or get an address and write us a note.

Let us know how you're blessed

through a study of God's Word.

Thank you for all you do.

One last note, from As in Mali.

Where's Mali, anybody know?

Yes, Lilica, it's close to home, isn't it?

You're from Guinea-Bissau.

Where is Mali in connection

to where you live?

(Lilica) So, it's just east of my country.

(Derek) Toward the center

of the great continent of Africa, right?

(Lilica) Yes...

(Derek) Well, As writes and he says,

"Hope Sabbath School is an opportunity

for all of us to study the truth

of God's Word together.

It comes back to the love

of God through Jesus,

manifested by the Holy Spirit

changing our hearts."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) That was a good summary,
wasn't it?

"I appreciate that the lessons

do not stray from the Bible."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) By the way, Mali

is predominantly non-Christian, right?

(Lilica) Muslim.

(Derek) "The discussions are clear,

simple, and honest.

We can study like the Bereans

who searched the Scriptures daily

to see if those things were so.

What a blessing, thank you."

Well, thank you, As, for writing to us

from the country of Mali,

not too far from Lilica's home country

of Guinea-Bissau.

We're thankful that God's calling people

from every nation, kindred, tongue

and people, am I right?

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) And we are just so happy

that you wrote to us.

And we'd like to hear from you.

You say, "Well, I wrote five years ago."

Write to us again: [e-mail].

Let us know how your life, your family

is being blessed

by an in-depth, interactive study

of the Word of God,

how you've been blessed

and are blessing others

as you share what you have learned.

Well, this is the last opportunity for you

to get a beautiful collection

of Trilogy Scripture Songs

from the Psalms; there are six of them,

and the theme song, Psalm 105,

"Oh, Give Thanks to the Lord,"

is one of them.

All you have to do

to get your free collection

is to go to our website:

hopetv.org/hopess.

You say, "I don't have a pen."

Well, take a picture of the screen:

hopetv.org/hopess.

Go to the website, click

on the Free Gift tab, and it will

let you know how you can

download that collection

of six Trilogy Scripture Songs,

including our theme song for this series.

And I love this theme song,

"Oh, Give Thanks to the Lord."

I'm singing it in my sleep, and I want

to invite you to sing it with us just now.

♪ music ♪

(Derek) Let's pray together.

Father in Heaven, we want to call

upon Your name just now

and give You thanks that You are

a great and awesome God.

We want to thank You

for this series on The Psalms,

these inspired Scripture songs

preserved for our blessing.

And today, as we conclude our series

with the theme of Waiting on the Lord,

I pray by Your Spirit You would teach us

what that means and the blessings

that come when we wait on You.

I thank You, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) We're going to begin our study

in Psalm 27, and, Nancy, if you would read

the last two verses

of that psalm, Psalm 27:13,14.

We are introduced to a concept

which we want to study further,

and that is Waiting on the Lord.

(Nancy) I'm reading from the NASB,

New American Standard Bible:

(Derek) Alright, that translation,

"Wait for the Lord,"

some other translations, "Wait

on the Lord," but there's

this idea of waiting.

We want to explore that.

By the way, just a note

to our Hope Sabbath School members

around the world, that's one

of the six Scripture songs

that's on the free collection

that you can download for this series,

Trilogy Scripture Songs from the Psalms,

is Psalm 27 that we just read.

That's one of my favorites.

But let's go, Stephanie, to Psalm 37,

and I'm going to ask you to read

three verses from that psalm,

beginning with verse 7, verse 9

and verse 34, and let's hear

this theme again, and maybe we'll learn

a little more about what it means

to Wait on the Lord.

(Stephanie) And I'll be reading

from the New King James Version, verse 7:

Verse 9:

Verse 34:

(Derek) Alright, and now I want

to hyperspace to Isaiah the prophet.

He lived about 300 years

after the psalmist David.

And I'm going to ask Leeah if you'd read

from Isaiah, chapter 40.

We've moved out of the Psalms here,

but we'll see this as a common theme

in the Scriptures, a beautiful passage

in Isaiah 40, verses 28 to 31.

(Leeah) Sure, I'll be reading

from the English Standard Version,

Isaiah 40, verses 28 through 31:

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Anybody else love

that promise besides me?

Isn't that a beautiful....

Someone's raising their hand

in Mali, maybe, or in the Philippines

saying, "Derek,

I love that promise."

So, having heard this theme repeated,

wait for or wait on the Lord, can someone

tell me what that means?

Yes, Heide, what do you think it means?

It's not just talking

about, like, passively waiting
around, right?

(Heide) No, and if we can, I would like

to go to one of my favorite verses

in the Bible; it's Proverbs 3,
verses 5 and 6.

(Derek) Okay, and then you'll answer

the question of what it means

to wait on the Lord, right?

Proverbs, chapter 3, verses 5 and 6.

And what translation of the Bible

are you reading from today?

(Heide) I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,
and it says:

So, in my opinion, part of waiting

on the Lord is living in submission to Him

and living in His will and learning

to make that a part of everything

that I do, even if it's a simple thing,

how I dress - is this

according to His will?

What I'm eating - is this

according to His will?

What I do - is this according to His will?

What I say - is this

according to His will?

It's doing things God's way

versus man's way.

(Derek) Well, thank you, Heide,

for pointing that out.

So, you're quoting from Proverbs there,

and the idea of, acknowledge Him,

and He will direct your path,

that's part of the waiting

that you're talking about.

Travis, you want to add to that?

What does it mean to you?

From hearing the Scripture now,

not just a personal opinion,

but from the Scriptures, what does it mean

to wait on the Lord?

(Travis) Well, Derek, I agree

with what she just said, but again, I want

to share a story from the Bible

of an individual who literally had

to wait on the Lord, if you don't mind.

That is Daniel, chapter 10.

(Derek) Okay, just tell it to us

in your own words.

(Travis) Okay, in Daniel, chapter 10,

Daniel has fainted; this time prophecy

has boggled his mind.

He doesn't know how to process it.

He doesn't understand it,

and he fasts for 21 days.

And then Gabriel the angel comes to him,

and he says, "We heard you,"

basically, "We heard you, but there is

a battle behind the scenes

that I've been involved with,

and it's taken 21 days

to complete this battle,

and now I've come to answer your prayer."

So, it wasn't that God

hadn't heard Daniel's prayer,

but I think waiting on the Lord,

we have to realize there's a cosmic battle

behind the scenes.

We don't know what's going on,

and God has to operate

within the free will of each human person,

so it has to be in His time.

He knows the beginning from the end.

We can trust that our prayers are heard.

And the story of Daniel shows me not only

that I can trust, but that they'll

be answered as well.

(Derek) Powerful, thank you

for sharing that Bible story.

I want to give you an opportunity to share

a time, a season of your life.

Well, let's talk about Jesus first,

because even Jesus had to learn

to wait on the Lord.

If we believe what Travis just said,

and it's certainly biblical,

Jesus was in the middle

of a great cosmic battle, right?

So, where do you see, in the life of Jesus

from His birth, growing up in Nazareth,

where do you see Him demonstrating,

John, waiting on the Lord?

(John) We see Jesus at the age of 12

in the temple, and then there's no record

of what happens until the age of 30.

(Derek) Eighteen years.

(John) And the only kind of words

that kind of show us what was happening

is the Bible says Jesus "grew

in wisdom and stature

and in favor with God and man."

That waiting period,

that's what Jesus was doing.

(Derek) And there's one other phrase

there, I think, in Luke

that says He was obedient to His parents.

But that's a long wait,

because if we understand

from Scripture, He said,

"I must be about My Father's business,"

at age 12, He's beginning to understand,

isn't He, but He waits until the Father

says, "Now is the time." Jason?

(Jason) Yeah, I was thinking

about Jesus' first miracle at the wedding

when He told His mother,

"My time has not come yet."

So, Jesus understood that there was

a time, you know, in God's eyes,

for things to be taking place.

And I believe that's the understanding

that we need, too.

As Jesus explained,

that basically the timing

has to do with everything

when it comes to God.

(Derek) And if we read that story

in John, chapter 2, I'm thinking

that Jesus probably said, "Father, is this

really the time?" and the Father said,

"Yes, now is the time,"

not just because Mother asked, right,

but, "Now is the time.

I do nothing of My own will,

but the will of Him who sent Me." Pedro.

(Pedro) I see Jesus' baptism experience.

After His baptism, He was taken

by the Spirit to the desert.

Now, Jesus was there for 40 days,

and He was being led by the Spirit;

all His life was led by the Spirit.

And we look into the aspect of waiting.

Some people ask, "What was the purpose

for [Jesus] to be 40 days fasting
in the desert?"

And sometimes we ask why we're going

through desert times in our lives,

and how is the Holy Spirit guiding us,

and the Bible gives an example of Jesus.

Even Jesus had to wait.

(Derek) He was there in the wilderness.

The beautiful biography, The Desire

of Ages, says, "He was contemplating

His mission," so He's praying,

listening to His Father.

Now, you mentioned that we may go

through those times of waiting, too,

so I want to ask a question,

maybe of one of our remote team members,

whichever one wants to raise their hand,

a time when you had to learn

to wait on the Lord, when you had to learn

to just, well, like Heide said,

in all your ways acknowledge Him

and kind of wait for Him

to direct your path,

anyone have a testimony to share?

I'm looking at the remotes; I'm not seeing

a hand, but I see Puia's hand.

Puia, tell us a time when you

had to learn, this idea

is not just waiting around, right,

but being attentive to God,

asking Him to direct your steps.

(Puia) I would say it's a constant lesson

that God is still teaching me every day,

to wait on Him because we live

in a day and age where we want

everything right away, right?

We go through fast food,

we want a fast internet speed,

and it's hard to wait on getting results

when you go through a test,

or when you go through an examination.

But looking at the Scripture, there is

so much wisdom in learning to be patient,

learning to wait on God,

especially in the context

of Psalm 37 we read earlier,

in the face of evildoers, in the face

of so much suffering in this world.

I believe the lesson that God

is teaching me is to trust that there is

a timing that God will step in.

(Derek) Yes. Tendi, a time

when you had to learn to wait on the Lord.

(Tendi) Yes, I had to learn to wait

on the Lord in the context of marriage.

I waited 14 years to get married.

(Derek) Fourteen years.

(Tendi) Yes, I had been studying

courtship and marriage, the way

God wants it to be,

and it was exhausting, the wait.

There was a lot of prayer

that went into it,

but the moment, on the fourteenth year,

I gave God my heart, and I asked Him

to find me a husband, so He did that

at the fourteenth year.

(Derek) So, I don't know when

the first year was; I'm guessing

the first year of the fourteen was

when you felt like you wanted

a life companion who would

love you and love God.

So, kind of, "I'm ready for that,"

and you waited 14 years because you

didn't want to just marry any man
that walked by.

(Tendi) That's right.

(Derek) You wanted to wait

for the person God had in mind for you.

(Tendi) God's choice...

(Derek) We're going to get a lot

of emails about that, because someone

might write, maybe you'll write and say,

"Pastor Derek, I wish I had done that.

I wish I had waited on the Lord

and let Him lead."

That's very practical, Tendi.

Thanks for sharing.

Travis, waiting, a time when God

maybe taught you what it means

to wait on the Lord.

(Travis) Derek, that's exactly what comes

to my mind, is that was

a lesson that I learned.

And many have heard, and I'm not going

to tell the story again right now

of the cell phone call, you know,

you and I had been involved in

when God miraculously dialed a phone.

But what I did learn from that

was, I was on fire.

I had just learned about God's goodness,

and I just wanted to go

and do these things,

and I fell flat on my face, kind of,

in a sense, spiritually.

And I realized, now looking back,

that God knew that I had

some things personally that needed

to be taken care of,

that I wasn't ready to get involved,

at least to the point where I

wanted to be involved.

And I had some life lessons to learn.

And through a series of events,

He taught me that it's all in His timing;

it's not in my timing.

Even though I desired to just go,

He was saying, "Wait, I have

to get you ready," and that was

really an important lesson for me.

(Derek) Powerful. Stephanie, I'm going

to ask you to go with us to Psalm 131,

because one of the things

that we need to learn

is to be at peace while we wait.

Yeah, we may wait 18 years like Jesus did,

from 12 to 30, 14 years like Tendi did

in her testimony.

Someone might say, "Pastor Derek,

I've waiting half my lifetime."

How do we learn to be at peace?

What insight do we get from the psalmist

in Psalm 131, verses 1 to 3?

(Stephanie) And I'll be reading

from the New King James Version:

(Derek) Alright, I'm going to ask Nancy

a question because I've met

some of your beautiful children.

So, what's the difference

between a nursing child

and a weaned child, first?

And then, when a weaned child comes,

what is that saying, and what can we learn

from that about waiting on the Lord?

(Nancy) Yeah, well, I had three boys,

and I remember the process

of them becoming weaned.

And I think what it's talking about here

is that you're going to trust that, well,

I'll say the child at some point

is no longer nursing, and they decide

that they're going to trust

that their mother will provide them

with the food that they need in the way

that she's going to do it.

And they're okay with it,

and they feel at peace with that.

And so, that's what God wants us to do,

is to trust that He's going

to provide for us at the time

He's going to provide for us.

(Derek) So even though when that
little one,

depending on how old they are

when they stop nursing, is now weaned,

did any of your boys still come

and snuggle with momma?

(Nancy) Of course, yes.

(Derek) Right, what's happening

at that moment, would you say,

and what could we learn from that

about this attitude of resting

or waiting at peace in the Lord?

(Nancy) Well, because they know

that you still love them, and they

still feel security and peace

in just snuggling with you.

But they're growing, and so they are

no longer going to be nursed by you.

You're going to feed them

in a different way, but you

still love them and provide for them.

(Derek) So, Heide, I know you've got

a couple of...they're not little anymore,

are they, Heide?

But when one of your children comes

just to spend time with you, are they

stressed out that you might not feed them

for the next week?

I mean, are they really anxious that they

might be evicted from their bedroom?

(Heide) No, not at all.

As a matter of fact, they say

that when a mother nurses a child,

it releases a hormone

that bonds them for life.

And in the same way, I think God,

when we come to Him, and we cast

our cares upon Him, and we learn

to fully surrender to Him, I think

it bonds us in this way that you come now.

And like you said, Nancy's boys

will still come to her lap,

and my children will come to my lap,

and some of the teen members

may not have children, but you have

your mother, and you remember

what it's like to go to your mother's lap.

It's this place of safety, of no fear,

of peace, and that's what God is saying

He wants to have with us,

what He does have already if we come.

(Derek) We want to move on

to another section; we could stay there.

By the way, I don't want dads

to feel left out either, because I know

that a weaned child can come

and snuggle with dad, too right?

And, Pedro, I know you have

a beautiful little girl, Bianca; she knows

she's safe to come and rest,

and at the right time, papa

will provide for her, right?

But there is, as we continue our study

about Waiting on the Lord, there is

the idea of working while we wait.

So it's not waiting around

in idleness, right?

It's not waiting around in inactivity.

It's that waiting in the Lord,

resting in Him, yes, you know,

the beautiful image

of resting in His arms.

That's so beautiful, isn't it?

But, Puia, could you read for us

Psalm 126, verses 5 and 6?

And then we'll go

to the teaching of Jesus.

What is the special mission

that God gives to all of His children

while we learn to wait upon the Lord?

(Puia) Yes, I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,

Psalm 126, verses 5 and 6:

(Derek) So, put that

into, kind of, practical language
for us, Puia.

What does God want us to be doing

while we're learning to rest in Him,

to wait on the Lord, to, in all our ways,

let Him direct our path?

(Puia) I believe when it talks

about sowing, that's sharing

the good news of Jesus,

planting seeds in the hearts of people,

while we wait for that hope

of the soon return of Jesus,

to be in the work

of sharing the good news.

(Derek) Alright, we know waiting

on the Lord is not inactivity.

It involves action, right?

So, Puia has said, well, it's

the precious seed that we're sowing

with the promise, what?

What does it say, Heide?

The promise that we'll come again

with what kind of attitude?

In verse 6, I don't know

how that is in your Bible.

We'll "come again..."?

"...with rejoicing, bringing our sheaves."

(Heide) I was thinking

of what you say at the end

of each Hope Sabbath School lesson

where you say,

"Don't just keep it to yourselves;

go out and be a blessing to others."

So, that's what I hear here.

You have been blessed; now, literally,

go and share that same thing

so that others can also be blessed.

(Derek) You know, Jesus uses

that same metaphor of the harvest

when He's speaking to His followers.

And, Lilica, could you find

Matthew for us, chapter 9 and verse 37?

And let's see the instruction.

You might say, "Well, that was

just the 12," but He actually gave

the same direction to the 70 who represent

all of the children of Noah, actually.

What instruction does Jesus give

in Matthew 9 and verse 37?

(Lilica) I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,

Matthew 9, verse 37:

(Derek) And would you read on now

in verse 38 for us?

(Lilica) Of course:

(Derek) Okay so, back, Puia,

to your comment earlier,

if the harvest is great,

what does that mean?

We've got Psalm 126, you read,

what does it mean

that the harvest is great?

(Puia) There are a lot of people

who are waiting to hear the gospel,

the good news of Jesus.

(Derek) Okay, they're waiting to hear,

but the challenge, Travis,

the challenge is that the laborers

are few, and why is that?

If we're not supposed to sit around idly -

you know, some people, it looks like

they're just trying to stay out of trouble

until Jesus comes,

but actually that's the best way

to get into trouble, isn't it?

You've told me in your testimony, "If you

want to see God work in miraculous ways,

get involved in His work," right?

Get involved in mission.

Why are the laborers few, Travis?

(Travis) You know, Derek, I think,

and I don't want to speak for everybody

or try to point out anyone's issues, but I

believe that we've become distracted.

I think it's interesting, in John,

chapter 4, Jesus says something similar.

He says, "You say there are four months

and then come the harvest, but I tell you,

lift up your eyes and look

because the fields are already white

for the harvest."

I think the instruction of Jesus

is to look because He was using

the fields, and it generally takes

about three to four months

for any crop to grow,

whether it's beans or corn.

And so, when the disciples looked out

over the field, they're like,

"Actually, we're just planting.

There's nothing to harvest."

But Jesus is saying to them,

"It may not look like there's a harvest,

but there's a harvest."

So maybe some of the problem

is we don't even think there's a harvest

in the area, but Jesus says there is.

We need to be intentional about looking

and praying for that harvest opportunity.

(Derek) Thank you, Travis.

You used the word "distraction."

John, I'm going to ask you to read for us

the passage that Travis alluded to

in John, chapter 4,

beginning with verse 34.

It's a beautiful passage about Jesus

interacting with someone

that His disciples don't

even want to talk to,

but God is going to use this woman

at the well to impact a whole city.

But let's look at what Jesus said.

Travis alluded to it

in his earlier comment.

(John) John, chapter 4, verses 34 to 38,

from the English Standard
Version, it says:

(Derek) What is the outcome, Pedro,

when we join the Lord

of the harvest in this work?

We're not just waiting around, right?

Fully surrendered to Him, enjoying

the beauty of His presence, right,

like a weaned child with its parent,

but what do we experience when we join

the Lord of the harvest...?

(Pedro) Joy, I went back to the Psalms.

We experience joy in the Lord.

It is the most amazing thing

to see someone accepting

Jesus in their life.

And I can share, for myself,

I'm addicted to Bible studies...

(Derek) Not just your own Bible study,

you're saying, but sharing with others?

(Pedro) Studying with someone.

I tell people, I don't give Bible studies,
I study the Bible with them

because there is something always

for me there that God is convicting me of

because I'm still growing in Christ.

But looking into this aspect here,

many people say, "The Bible says that,

but why is it not happening?"

And I have a little garden in my backyard,

and with some plants I have to use

a little cutter to make sure I get

the vegetables out of it.

And the other ones I have to use my hand.

Maybe we need to ask God, "Can You use me

as the right tool?" or make ourselves

available to be the right tool,

because we always want to do the same way

for different people.

He says no; God says,

"Let Me work through you."

There are different ways

that we can [share] Christ,

but the best way is Christ's method.

(Derek) So, I'm going to pause and ask

if there's someone that has

a joyful testimony of joining the Lord

in His harvest work.

And we're not all going to hold

a big series of meetings, right?

There are lots of ways that we

can share the love of God with someone.

John, tell us a time you experienced joy,

not just waiting around, right,

but waiting on the Lord

and working while you wait.

(John) There was a lady

who grew up in the church, but left

the church during the teenage years

and went through some difficult times

because of an accident.

But she was shopping at Giant's,

and she came across the church that was

right next to the shopping complex,

and she walked into the church.

And so, long story short,

I introduced myself to her; a friend and I

began studying with her,

and she eventually got baptized.

And then I will never forget

what she told me on the day

she was baptized.

She said, "I am here because of you."

Of course, it was the Holy Spirit...

(Derek) But God gives the people, right?

(John) And that was so meaningful to me.

(Derek) And how did you feel?

(John) Joyful.

(Derek) Right. We rejoice.

The sower and the reaper rejoice together.

Puia, can you think

of a joyful experience?

(Puia) Recently we had a revival

camp meeting in Pennsylvania

with a youth group from the church.

And my heart was very burdened

looking at our young people of the church.

Many of them seemed disinterested.

They came just because their parents

asked them to come.

But I asked the Lord, I said,

"God, I cannot bear this burden.

You have to do something here."

And as we labored together

with our other team, the youth leaders,

and as we studied the Bible,

at the end of the meeting, the youth

started sharing their testimonies

and how the messages landed.

One of them came to me and said,

"Pastor, I got what you were

trying to say; thank you

for sharing that with me."

And when you see the lightbulbs

coming into their eyes, and, you know,

you see the wheels turning in their heads

when they're starting to understand,

"Oh, this is how God wants

to reveal Himself to us," there is

no better feeling in the world

than knowing that God is using you

to bring people to Him.

(Derek) So, for those of you

sitting on the front row, Puia was

smiling while he was saying that, right?

Leeah, I want to ask you a question,

then I'll come to Nancy.

Leeah, you've shared in various programs

that you lead worship music, right?

You sing; that's a gift God's given you.

Can you think of a time when you

were working while you wait, so to speak?

You were using your gift, leading music,

and you saw God work, and it

brought joy to your heart?

(Leeah) Yeah, in fact there are

many instances of that.

I was leading worship a few weeks ago,

and it was a song I didn't know very well.

It was a song I wasn't quite confident in,

and I wasn't quite sure that it was

actually resonating with people.

So, I tried my best.

You know, I asked the Lord

to strengthen me, to produce

some sort of message.

And I saw a man in the back of the church,

the only person in the sanctuary

who had his arms raised in worship.

And I was so thankful

that in my moment of inadequacy,

it seemed to land with someone.

There have been many times

that I have been singing

for different events or whatever,

and there is almost a darkness.

It almost seems too hard to do,

like there's a spiritual darkness

that happens, and it almost becomes

physically difficult to sing praises

to the Lord, but God has

always helped me overcome that.

And there are always people that are

blessed through the gift of music,

so I'm grateful for that.

(Derek) So that reminds us

of the Great Controversy.

And by the way, in a previous study

John led, this raising hands

is really worshiping God,

isn't it, honoring God.

And one person in the back, a man,

God was speaking to him

through that music, and, Leeah, I saw

by your smile that you experienced joy.

Oh, excuse me, Nancy first and then Tendi.

(Nancy) So, this has to do with waiting

on the Lord and then also God

turning things around for us.

My husband was building a fence

for around our house.

This was when our kids were younger.

And there was this one piece

that maybe was from that desk to here

that needed to be filled in,

so he had a post there.

He talked to the neighbor because we

wanted to connect to the neighbor's fence,

and we just needed to connect

from our post to theirs,

and then we're done

because my kids wanted to have a dog.

So, my husband went

and talked to the neighbor,

and he said, "Sure, no problem."

Unbeknownst to us, his wife

didn't want that to happen,

and so we couldn't finish.

So eventually we started praying about it,

and so we just, like, every day

we're going to pray about it.

And so, my husband was praying,

"Oh, please change the heart

of our neighbor's wife;

it's for our kids..."

And I even went over there

and talked to her, and, no,

she wasn't having it.

And I'm like, "What is the problem?"

We kept praying and praying.

And then, as I went over and talked

to her again, I realized,

"Oh, they have needs; let's pray."

So, it changed us,

then we started praying

about what needs they had,

what concerns they had.

And it totally changed...instead...

(Derek) So, waiting on the Lord

to direct your path changed the way

you were thinking about the situation.

(Nancy) And then my husband

starting praying that God

would bring her to our house to talk

about the situation, and I'm like,

"How is He going to answer that?!"

It happened; she came to our house

to tell us that it was okay.

(Derek) So, God is good.

But He changed the way you thought.

(Nancy) Yes!

(Derek) That was very practical.

I never thought of waiting on the Lord

and fences and dogs.

I mean, pretty practical, right,

about learning to wait.

Thank you for sharing that. Tendi.

(Tendi) So, growing up, I was

a very shy person, and I had a good voice,

but at my home church I was considered

one of the background singers.

When I moved to the U.S., I asked the Lord

to give me a voice where I could

minister for Him, but I was still shy.

The first solo I sang was

at our wedding (with Scott)

as my vows to him.

And ever since then, I have been singing

in a way that people come to me and say

they have been touched.

They have been moved,

that I should sing more often.

So, I just want to praise God...

(Derek) That's courageous to have

the first solo at your wedding, right?

Well, we want to move on

to actually something that's in the title

of our program, Hope Sabbath School,

because the Sabbath is a time when we can

rest in the Lord while we wait.

And I want to look at two verses

that may be very familiar to some

but not to others.

Jason, if you could read Mark,

chapter 2, for us, and verse 28.

Jesus is speaking.

(Jason) Right, and I'm reading

from the New King James Version,

and the Bible says:

(Derek) Now, someone maybe is watching

Hope Sabbath School,

maybe you're watching, and you say,

"I don't know this Hope Sabbath/Sunday
School,"

you know, "I don't know the word Sabbath."

So, it's like a Sunday School, but Sabbath

is actually found

throughout all the Scripture.

I still remember one gentleman

who actually came here

watching Hope Sabbath School,

and he said, "I started reading the Bible,

and it's like Sabbath, Sabbath,

Sabbath, Sabbath, Sabbath," right?

Where in the commandments

is this conversation about the Sabbath?

Heide, can you...There are

ten commandments, right?

We know we shouldn't kill,

we shouldn't steal,

we shouldn't commit adultery.

Where is that commandment

that speaks about the Sabbath,

and interestingly the first word

in that commandment is rather significant.

Would you read...?

(Heide) So, yeah, absolutely, so it's

in the fourth commandment.

And it's kind of like right in the center,

in the core of the Ten Commandments,

and I will gladly read it; I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,

and it's Exodus 20, verses 8 through 11.

And the first word, which you asked,
is "remember":

(Derek) Now, some people think

Sabbath day of rest means

you sleep all day, but that's not

what it talks about, right?

We want to go to worship.

We rest in the Lord in the worship,

but Jesus also taught that it's good

to do good on the Sabbath.

So, I have a practical question.

Raise your hand.

The practical question is, how do I know

when this work is something

that should wait for Sunday, Monday,

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday,

or when it's something that would be good

to do on the Sabbath

because it's good to do good?

How do I distinguish, anybody,

between what should wait for another day

and what would be good to do

on the Sabbath? Pedro?

(Pedro) I look into the principle
of the Bible.

Jesus shows the aspect of need for others,

you know, if I'm doing anything for others

on the Sabbath, it's a good rule of saying

this is good to do on the Sabbath.

Now, you ask us, can I

do this in a few days?

Can I plan ahead on this?

It says, yes, you should plan things ahead

so you can spend time

[worshiping] with others and Scripture

and spending time with the Lord.

But if you have an emergency,

as Jesus comes to the Pharisee and says,

you know, if you have an [ox] that is

stuck [in a ditch], would you

just not do anything?

And I can share that one time

I was out at the church, and there was

this member who had a car problem.

He forgot his key inside the car running.

Now, we had to run to get a tool

to open his door so he could go back home

and obviously not have the car

running all day in the parking lot.

(Derek) So, you would see that,

like the ox stuck in the ditch.

Jesus also used that when He

talked about healing someone

on the Sabbath, right?

Because it's good to do...?

(Derek, Team) Good.

(Derek) ...on the Sabbath, right,

so there was a distinction.

Someone else. Lilica, how do
we distinguish?

There might be a time when God says,

"Lilica, do it now. Do it today.

It's Sabbath, but it's good

to do this good thing."

(Lilica) Well, the Lord

does not contradict Himself,

and He that gave the Law gave

the principles or ways,

as we have mentioned.

He said what to do

or not do on the Sabbath.

Of course, it's not everything,

but we have general principles to follow.

And in case of doubt, we can

always go to Him and say, "Lord,

I want to honor You.

I really have this desire of honoring You.

What do You say?"

(Derek) Alright, so I could ask.

I came home from church, actually, Pedro,

and someone next door was sitting

with the hood of his car

(we call that a bonnet in England,

so I had to remember to get it right),

but the hood of his car open,

and he was looking in.

Now, you have to know that most people,

especially us men, even if we know nothing

about the engine, we still look

inside there, hoping we can find
some help.

Well, I just came home from church,

and he was next door -

a Christian gentleman -

next door, he was looking, and I

went over to him, and I said,

"Michael, what's the problem?"

He said, "My battery is dead."

And I said to him, "Well, I have

jumper cables right here in my car.

I'm happy to just hook them up for you."

And he said, "Oh, I wasn't going to ask

because I know it's your Sabbath."

And I said, "Well, Jesus said,

'It's good to do good.'"

Now, if he had said, "Would you help me,"

you know, "paint my car,"

or, "do some body work where I

just dented the side of my car," right,

but maybe he needed to do something.

But I like what Lilica said, and that is,

we can pray and say, "God,

is this something that I could say,

'I'll come by on Monday,'

or is it something

that I should do today?"

Did anyone want to share a testimony?

Because we want to, certainly, rest

in the Lord on the Sabbath, but we

also can work while we wait?

Can you share a time when you were

resting in the Lord on the Sabbath,

but you were also involved

in serving others in a meaningful way?

Anybody? I want to give an opportunity.

Heide, I see you waving over there.

A time that was meaningful to you,

and you say, "Well, going to church

is wonderful, singing hymns is wonderful,

praying is wonderful, but doing good

in Jesus' name on the Sabbath

is also wonderful," share your story.

(Heide) So, I went to a church

where on one Sabbath of the month

they would go and they would feed

the homeless, and that entailed

a lot of work because we actually went

to an area that was

a ways from our church.

And we had to take tables, chairs.

We had to preplan the meal

and prepare the meal and bring

plates and utensils and all the things.

But once a month we would go,

and we would do that,

and we would talk with them,

mingle with them while we served the food

and while they ate.

And sometimes we would eat with them.

And that was something that we did

where I would feel happy

because I like going to church, and Jesus

gave that example very clearly,
that that's something

we do on the Sabbath.

But I also like, you know, to get outside

of the four walls of the church.

He called us to go, and I liked that,

because it was a way that we could go,

and we could minister to others.

On another occasion, I remember

that we went door to door, inviting

families to a fun event our church

was going to have,

but at every house we would also ask,

"Can we pray for you?

Is there something we can

pray about for you?"

And I was really surprised that all

these people just started opening up,

even people you wouldn't have thought

would have opened up.

They would be like, "Oh, yes, pray

for my family," "Pray for my sibling,"

"Pray for my child."

And I remember feeling just so satisfied

at the end of that day and that event,

coming back and having prayed for people.

(Derek) Beautiful, joy, joy.

Well, I want to go to our last section

and a verse, Nancy, I'd like you

to read for us in Psalm 30 and verse 5,

because while we're waiting,

we're also waiting, in some ways,

in a valley of tears, aren't we?

We're waiting in a place where there is

still this great battle

between good and evil.

But there is a hopeful word
the psalmist gives

in Psalm 30 and verse 5.

(Nancy) I'm reading

from the New American Standard Bible,
and it reads:

(Derek) I like that translation. Lilica?

(Lilica) So, I have six points that I took

from these lessons

that we have been learning,

that waiting is excruciating.

It's painful, depending on how much

you desire that thing.

And that we have the desire

of doing things our own way,

but in the waiting, it's so precious

because God takes that time to make us

do self-examination.

(Derek) While waiting.

(Lilica) While we're waiting, it's a time

of self-examination and preparation.

So, it's so important,

but we don't want it

because we want what we want.

And in that time, as we go to God,

as a child goes to the mother

during weaning, it's a time when we learn

to trust His promises

and rely on Him to rest on Him

and have that faithful assurance

that the One who promised is faithful.

One day the joy will come.

(Derek) So, what' Lilica's says here,

sometimes the waiting can be excruciating,

but the promise of joy coming

in the morning, back to the text

that you just read, is that talking

about tomorrow morning?

Is that talking about sometime
in the future?

Or, Puia, is it talking about...Let's say

you just lost a loved one,

how does joy come in the morning?

Is it talking

about that great resurrection morning?

What do you think the text

is referring to here?

(Puia) I believe in the biblical sense,
it's talking

about that ultimate resurrection morning

when God is going to re-create everything.

And in the context of what we

have been studying, I believe

waiting on the Lord can be trusting

in advance what will only make sense

when we look back

from that point in the future.

(Derek) So, Lilica's pointing out

that that waiting can be very painful,

excruciating even, but let's talk

about losing a loved one.

Someone here, or someone watching,

you've lost a loved one.

It's painful, it's excruciating, to use

the word that Lilica used,

but how does your grieving...

Is there anyone here

who has lost a loved one?

John, how does our grieving,

painful as it is, differ from those

who've not learned to wait on the Lord?

(John) I was close to my grandfather,

but then he passed away.

He did not believe in Bible truths,

but on his deathbed he told us

that if he ever were to walk again,

he would be baptized.

And so those were his parting words,

and so we have that hope that we will

see him the resurrection morning.

(Derek) So, the loss was still painful,

but you believe that joy

comes in the morning, right?

Anybody else have a testimony?

Because we live in a world

where there is pain,

where we experience loss.

Could joy come earlier

than the great resurrection day

when Jesus comes?

(Team) Yes.

(Derek) Certainly so, right?

You experience a loss of some kind,

but joy comes in the morning? Pedro.

(Pedro) I can relate with John.

I lost my grandma during the pandemic.

I was unable to get back to Brazil,

and she was the one who raised me,

was a very dear person...

(Derek) And you weren't able
to travel back.

(Pedro) And there were a lot

of restrictions during that time,

so I would not have been able

to even see her in the hospital

or even anything in that nature, you know,

having that last-minute experience.

I was able to talk to her on FaceTime

a week prior to that event.

Now, looking forward to that, I have hope

in the resurrection by Christ.

I know that she had Jesus in her heart.

And that's why I labor to share the gospel

because I won't only see Jesus,

but I want to focus and also take time

to see my grandma

when the resurrection day happens.

So, I want to disburse my energy,

not mourning for her but to say

I'm looking forward and express
my energy...

(Derek) ...still grieve, but you

want to focus on helping

others to be ready.

I like the translation, not only joy

comes in the morning but "a shout of joy,"

New American Standard Bible,

"A shout of joy comes in the morning."

Can you imagine, can you imagine

on that great day?

But God may give you joy

tomorrow morning, too, if you learn

to wait, to rest in Him, as we've studied.

But that great day, what a shout of joy

when we are not only with Jesus,

but with those we love and those

we've shared the gospel with who have

chosen to let Jesus save them

and be part of His eternal kingdom.

Let's pray that we can experience

that joy today and look forward

to that future joy.

Father in Heaven, You want us

to rest in You now, to wait on You now,

to trust in You now, but You also give us

joy for the present and the future.

May we rejoice in the joy

that only comes from You.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Thanks for joining us

for this series on The Psalms,

practical lessons as we live

in this troubled world,

but what a joy we have in Jesus.

Go out and share that good news

with those around you.

♪ theme music ♪