HSS2404006

♪ theme music ♪

(Derek) Welcome to Hope Sabbath School,

an in-depth, interactive study

of the Word of God.

We are in the middle of an amazing series

on Themes in the Gospel of John,

today, More Testimonies about Jesus.

And it's my prayer that you'd be blessed,

not only personally, but be blessed

to go out and be a blessing

to those around you.

So welcome to Hope Sabbath School

and welcome to the team.

Take a look at each other and wave.

We're here, and God's in our midst,

and we're glad we can be

part of the program.

We've got some great remote team members

with us again today.

Zandile, great to have you

with us remotely, and, Cory, great

to have you back with us

as we continue our study.

And we're glad you're with us.

You know, we've got

Hope Sabbath School members

across the planet, and we're glad;

wherever you're watching,

we'd love to hear from you.

Why don't you write to us.

Take a note down, [e-mail].

You say, "Derek, I already know

the email address," then write to us,

tell us the country where you live

and how God's blessing you

through a study of His Word.

Here are just a few emails we've received.

One from Jacob in Malawi, Jacob writes

and says...now, Travis, I notice

you've been to Malawi

quite a few times, haven't you?

God's blessed your work there.

Jacob writes, "Your commitment

to a deep, interactive study

of the Word of God is truly inspiring.

It's through this dedicated exploration

that we uncover the profound blessings

woven within the Scriptures."

This is a profound thinker here.

"Each session unveils layers of wisdom

guiding us closer to understanding

the divine purpose for our lives."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) "Thank you for your dedication.

Together may we continue to grow

in wisdom and understanding as we journey

deeper into the Word of God. Blessings."

We say "Blessings" back to you, Jacob.

I hope you're teaching the Word of God.

Here's an individual

who is a deep thinker.

We hope you will take the outline,

download it from our website

and start an interactive class.

You may write back and say, "Derek,

we're already doing that," praise God.

Here's a note from Sitali in Zambia.

We have a lot

of Hope Sabbath School members

in Zambia, don't we?

"Hello, Hope Sabbath School."

(Team) Hello.

(Derek) "I greet you in the name

of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I watch Hope Sabbath School every week,

and I download your outline

for use in my Bible class.

I share it on the church WhatsApp group

and many are using the outline to teach!"

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) "You're wonderful people.
I feel like shouting..."?

(Team) "Hallelujah!"

(Derek) How did you know?

"May you keep inspiring us

with this good work.

God bless you indeed.

Let us meet in Heaven."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Sitali, thank you for writing

to us from Zambia.

Actually, he's writing here

from a boarding secondary school,

so could be that he's blessing

a lot of people there, young people.

I'd love to hear from you, Sitali.

Write to me and tell me more

about how God's using you.

Here's a handwritten note from a donor

in the state of New York.

Now, folks who don't live

in the United States may think New York

is just a city, and it is,

a very big city, but there's

also the state of New York,

and this person lives

in the state of New York and writes

and says, "I trust that this small drop

helps to fill a bucket

for some thirsty soul."

(Team) Amen!

(Derek) You like that?

(Team) Yes!

(Derek) By the way, that reminds us,

viewer, that people say, "Well, Derek,

I could only help with a little,"

but a little added to others [with whom]
we partner

can fill the bucket.

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) "Hope Sabbath School has

always been a source of comfort to me,

and the testimonies of the team inspire me

to keep holding on.

I'm the only Christian

I have in my family.

Please help me to pray that God will bring

my family to know Him

while there is still time."

Is that a prayer to pray?

(Team) Yes.

(Derek) And a contribution of 75 dollars.

God bless you there

actually in the city of Brooklyn,

state of New York, thank you

for being part of this great miracle.

And thank you to each one of you.

We're at that time of the year

you're saying, "Is there something

God wants me to do

coming to the close of the year?"

The answer is yes, lay up some treasure

in Heaven; help the gospel

go to the world; Jesus is coming soon.

You can go to our website,

hopetv.org/hopess,

click on the Donate button.

We smile. Why?

Because we're part

of a great miracle of God.

One last note, from Bismark.

Now Birmark is watching from Brazil.

Sabina, that's your home country, right,

Brazil, but he's from Ghana,

so Bismark's a long way from home.

But he writes, "I really want to thank

the Hope Sabbath School team

for their great interactive discussions

of the Word of God.

I've been watching for many years,

and it has contributed to my life."

(Team) Praise God.

"God bless you all."

Well, thank you, Bismark, for writing.

I don't know if you're still in Brazil

or back home on Ghana,

but we're glad you're part

of our Hope Sabbath School family.

And we'd like to hear from you, too.

Write to us at [e-mail],

or when you watch us

on the YouTube channel

(our YouTube channel is

growing every week),

you can leave a comment there,

but don't forget to tell us

the country where you're watching.

We're glad you're part

of our Hope Sabbath School family.

Before we sing our theme song, though,

I want to remind you

about the special gift we have for you

during this series.

I want to thank my wife, Bodil,

for making available a collection

of Trilogy Scripture Songs.

We sing a theme song, you know,

each series, but we've got a collection

of six songs from the words of Jesus,

four from the Gospel of John,

two from the book of Revelation.

Hide God's Word in your heart.

Hide the words of Jesus in your heart.

All you have to do to get

this special gift from Hope Sabbath School

is to go to our website,

hopetv.org/hopess.

I guess you could even just Google

Hope Sabbath School.

You find it, click on the Free Gift [tab],

and you can download a collection

of six Trilogy Scripture Songs

from the words of Jesus.

Share them with your family.

Hide God's Word in your heart.

Right now, we need you to help us sing.

This is also a Scripture song

from the Gospel of John,

but it's not the word of Jesus;

it's the word of a prophet

named John the Baptist.

"Behold!" He says, "The Lamb of God
who," does what?

He "takes away the sin of the world."

Let's sing it together.

♪ music ♪

(Derek) You know, I was thinking

as we were singing, and of course,

we're not like some famous choir, right?

But we're giving our testimony

even when we say, "I have seen,

and I testify that Jesus

is the Son of God." Amen?

And also, "The Lamb of God

who takes away the sin of the world,

that's my sin, too."

No wonder we're happy, right?

That's my sin, too, He's taken away.

What a powerful testimony.

I don't think John the Baptist,

when he cried out when Jesus came there

to the Jordan, knew how many lives

would be impacted by his testimony.

But we're going to discover

in our study today,

More Testimonies about Jesus,

that even today on Hope Sabbath School

lives will be impacted

by your testimonies,

whether you're here in the studio,

or Cory and Zandile joining us remotely,

and even you may be impressed

to write to us with your testimony,

[e-mail], and let God

use your testimony to impact lives.

Let's pray; Father in Heaven,

we're praying in the name of Jesus

as we continue this wonderful series,

Themes in the Gospel of John,

that Your Holy Spirit would energize us,

energize our minds, give boldness

to our speech and give us hearing hearts

as we interact together,

that lives would be blessed,

not only here but around the world.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) One of the key witnesses

about Jesus as Messiah, as you know,

was John the Baptist,

fulfillment of prophecies,

of two prophets at least.

Name them for me, the prophet?

Isaiah and the prophet Malachi

speak about this one,

a voice crying in the wilderness, right?

One who makes straight the path

of the Lord to come.

And I want to begin by reviewing something

we studied in a previous study,

and, Sabina, if you could begin our study

in John 1, we could read, starting in 29,

"Behold! The Lamb of God,"

but I'm going to pick up in verse 32

to 34, and I want you to notice

that he has been guided supernaturally

in his testimony.

(Sabina) Okay, I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,
and it says:

(Derek) Now, if it was just verse 32,

Tendi, where he says, "I saw the Spirit

descending from heaven like a dove,"

that would be a testimony, right?

And that's not unimportant.

We give our testimony.

But what did you see in verse 33

that says there was something supernatural

there that gave him a boldness in verse 34

to say, "I testify that this is

the Son of God." Tendi?

(Tendi) There was the Spirit

descending upon Him?

(Derek) Right, we saw that,

but then verse 33, Gladys?

(Gladys) It says that he did not know Him

himself, but that he received

a revelation of what to look for,

"The One who sent me to baptize with water

told me, "The One whom the Spirit
comes down on and remains.'"

(Derek) He received

a supernatural revelation, and that's

what gave him boldness

in his declaration. Sabina?

(Sabina) Yeah, so we see from Scripture

that John was a prophet, John the Baptist,

so he seemingly was acquainted

with how to understand and listen

to the voice of God.

So, God, who had already sent him

with the message of repentance

for the coming of the Messiah

that was about to come soon

also helped him recognize that Jesus

was the Messiah he was announcing.

(Derek) So, I have a question for you.

We study the Bible.

It's Hope Sabbath School;

we study the Bible.

Why is divine revelation

or supernatural revelation so important

in order to arrive at truth

with full confidence? Puia?

(Puia) In our previous discussion,

we talked about the chasm

between God and man; it's just so vast

that unless God reveals Himself to us,

we cannot find out

about who He is on our own.

And Travis pointed out before that the god

of this world, Satan, according to Paul,

has blinded us, so we need

that supernatural revelation

so that the veil would be taken away.

(Derek) Alright, Viara?

(Viara) Eastern meditation is very popular

today, but I feel that the problem of it

is that it focuses inward.

We look for the answers within ourselves.

But for me, this is like I'm drowning,

and I'm trying to get myself

out of the water by pulling myself out.

(Derek) Doesn't work.

(Viara) It doesn't work.

(Derek) So, what do we need?

We need something

from outside of ourselves.

Now, Travis, and then I want to ask

what is the clearest revelation

that God gave so that we could know

the truth about Him?

(Travis) One of the things

that sets our Creator God apart

from any other gods is that He knows

the end from the beginning.

And I remember Daniel alluding to that

in chapter 2, and in chapter 14 of John;

it says, "I told you these things

before they happen so when they do

that you would believe."

Prophecies, even small, short prophecies,

maybe a few weeks, a few months,

a few years, these are

supernatural prophecies; nobody else

but God knows this.

And it just gives us confidence

that He is God.

(Derek) Now, can you think

of a Bible verse that reinforces

what we've been saying.

What Viara said, "I need something

outside of myself that can help me

to get clarity regarding the truth

that God wants to reveal to me."
Yes, Jason.

(Jason) I do have a verse,

if we can read it.

It's from 2 Timothy, chapter 3,

verses 16 through 17.

(Derek) Alright, now some people may think

2 Timothy was written

by Timothy, but it wasn't.

There's a 1 Timothy and a 2 Timothy

written to Timothy by...?

(Derek, Team) The Apostle Paul.

(Derek) And you're reading
2 Timothy 3:16,17?

(Jason) Correct, and it is written:

And verse 17 says:

(Derek) So, the Bible.

Isn't there a psalm that says,
"Your Word is a..."?

(Derek, Team) "...lamp to my feet

and a light to my path."

(Derek) Psalm 119, right, verse 105.

So, the Bible is a revelation that can

help us, with confidence, to know truth.

But, Sabina, I saw your hand raised.

(Sabina) Also, if I may share a verse

from Hebrews, chapter 1?

Verses 1 and 2, so it would be...

(Derek) Alright, give us a moment

to find Hebrews, chapter 1.

(Sabina) Verses 1...

(Derek) I think you're going to tell us

where the brightest revelation came from.

Hebrews 1, verses 1 and 2?

(Sabina) That's right, so I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,

and Hebrews 1, verses 1 and 2 say:

(Derek) So the clearest revelation,

you're saying, is Jesus,

but now I have a difficult question:

How much would we know about Jesus

if the prophets hadn't

written in the Bible?

How much would we know?

Why, God would have to give us a vision

or have to give us a dream, right?

So, are we thankful for the Bible today?

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) We're thankful

for the Bible today.

Well, I'm going to ask Cory if you'd read

for us this same prophet John,

who boldly shared because he

had received divine revelation,

his testimony in John 3, verses 30 to 36,

John 3:30-36, and I want you to listen

and ask yourself the question:

How can we ensure that we're

always pointing people to Jesus

rather than drawing attention

to ourselves? Cory?

(Cory) John 3:30-36, I'm reading

from the New King James:

(Derek) What impresses you

about that testimony?

Thank you, Cory, for reading that.

I mean, this is startling.

I know that John the Baptist

didn't go to the school of Shammai

or the school of Hillel.

I know he didn't study under Gamaliel.

He grew up with elderly parents,

and then, at some point, went

into the desert, right, to detach hmself

from the corruption.

Where did he find such profound wisdom

in his testimony about Jesus as Messiah?

Anybody, where did he find that? Travis?

(Travis) It could only be

from the Spirit of God, it could only be.

(Derek) You know, I think of fishermen

like Peter who end up speaking so boldly

on the Day of Pentecost.

It can only happen

by the Spirit of God, right?

John gives a testimony.

Anything that impresses you, Puia,

about his testimony about Jesus?

(Puia) Right, the Gospel of John

didn't include this part of the story,

but Matthew included that later he was

thrown in prison and then he

at one point struggled to understand

the mission of Jesus Himself.

From the darkness of the prison,

he sent his disciples to Jesus

to ask if He was truly the Messiah.

And yet through it all, he was faithful

until he lost his life,

and that is just so powerful.

(Derek) Thank you for giving us

that extra summary; that's why all

of the Gospels are helpful, aren't they?

We're focusing on John,
who doesn't mention

any of those details, but you're right.

Because John the Baptist rebuked

Herod Antipas for living

with his brother's wife, Herodias,

she schemed to have him beheaded.

A tragic ending, but he remained

faithful, didn't he?

(Team) Right. Amen.

(Derek) The boldness, "He who believes

in the Son of God has eternal life,"

what do you think of that?

What are your thoughts about that,
verse 36?

Zandile, that sounds crystal clear to me,

"He who believes in the Son of God

has everlasting life."

(Zandile) It reminded me of John 3:16

where Jesus Himself says that He is

the life, that, "Whosoever believes in Him

should have eternal life."

So John is kind of quoting

from the words of Jesus Himself,

yet it is the Spirit of God

that inspired Him.

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Amazing, could it be -

you're watching Hope Sabbath School today,

we're here - could it be that, filled

with the Holy Spirit - because you
did talk

about the Spirit guiding him, right -

that filled with the Holy Spirit, we

could speak with such clarity and boldness

in our witness about Jesus?

Is that possible?

(Team) Yes.

(Derek) It's possible, isn't it?

Well, we're going to continue our study,

and we're going to look

at the feeding of the 5,000.

You say, "Derek, we looked at that

in this series," but we're going to see

what happens afterwards.

So could someone please summarize?

Jesus goes to a secluded place.

In fact, he encourages his disciples

to come and rest a while, but everybody

starts following Him around the lake.

Some of you have been to Israel.

You've been on the Sea of Galilee,

and you know you can see

to the other side; I mean,

it's not like 500 miles across, right?

It may be seven or eight miles,

maybe less up toward the north part
of the lake.

So, they're all running around.

Jesus ends up teaching them all day,

and then He provides a meal for them.

Where did they get the food?

Someone help us; where did they
get the food? Gladys.

(Gladys) There was a little boy

with a basket with five loaves

of bread and two fish.

(Derek) I kind of imagine that story,

this little boy, he's given a lunch

by his mother, right?

He's going to listen to Jesus.

As Jesus starts taking the bread

and the fish, having prayed to God,

right, the Father,

I imagine the little boy kind of looking

under the basket, you know, like,

"Wow, my mama gave me

a big lunch today," you know?

And I imagine Jesus -

I may be wrong - but I imagine Jesus

just smiling at him, you know?

He's just smiling, as He's taking the food

and feeding the multitude;

That's the story, 5,000 men

plus women and children, right?

But I want to pick up what happens

the next day, because we're going to see

another powerful testimony about Jesus.

And it's a testimony from someone

who could have given up.

So, John, chapter 6, Viara, if you

could read for us John, chapter 6,

beginning with verse 22.

Let's pick up the story and see

how the crowd expects things

to happen the next day.

(Viara) I'm reading

from the New Living Translation:

(Derek) Thank you for reading the story

with such enthusiasm,

because what are they wanting?

(Team) Miracles. More bread.

(Derek) More bread.

Miracles is right,

but specifically more fish sandwiches,
right?

"If You could just keep performing

those miracles for us..."

But what is the most important work?

By the way, they say, "Let us

perform works," in other words,

"Give us the ability to..."?

(Jason) Make food.

(Derek) "...perform miracles, too,"

"...to make food, too," right?

And what is the most important work,
Jesus says?

(Team) Believe.

(Derek) To believe in Him, right? Viara?

(Viara) It's so interesting,

why, as humans, if we have

to do something, we are right there;

do we want to perform something

to deserve our salvation?

And what it takes is surrender,

surrender and believe.

Surrender your will to God,

and it seems like this is more difficult

for us than to do something.

(Derek) For sure.

Tendi, can you continue the story.

We could read the whole chapter,

but I'd like to pick up in verse 48

where Jesus expands

on what He said earlier,

that it's not about free fish sandwiches;

it's about bread that comes

down from Heaven, that if they eat that,

they will have life forever.

Pick up for us, if you would, in verse 48

and following to 66, and let's see

how the crowd [reacts] that's come

for more miracles and more food.

(Tendi) And I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,

John 6:48-66, and it reads:

(Derek) I don't know

what the percentage was,

but "many" is many.

We're going to discover even the twelve

think about leaving.

What message was so difficult

for them to hear?

What was so difficult for them

and maybe a little beyond their
comprehension? Sabina?

(Sabina) So it seems like they were

expecting something that they

could immediately see, you know,

as sustenance for them, for instance.

And we know even the Jewish community

was expecting a kingdom to be set up

that would help that oppression

they were suffering to be taken away.

So it seems to me that it was hard

for them, one, to understand it was a gift

that was being extended to them,

because even the question that they had,

how they would perform the same works,

et cetera, Jesus said, "Hey, you just need

to receive what I have here for you;

just believe it."

But then further, it gets

a bit more difficult, not only that it

was a gift, but it seemingly it was

not something they would immediately see

in every avenue of their expectations

of what an abundant life would look like.

So, I think that's part of the reasons why

some of them left because they
just wanted the...

(Derek) There are probably some people

even today who say, "I have

no idea what this means," right?

What does it mean (Puia, I see your hand)

to eat the flesh and drink the blood

of the Son of God?

Jesus has come into humanity;

what does that mean?

(Puia) That's what I was

going to point out.

For people who would be hearing this

for the first time when Jesus said,

"Eat my flesh and drink my blood,"

it's very raw, and they

probably couldn't understand.

And moreover, I believe Jesus claiming

that He came from Heaven

and that He was talking about God

as if God was His Father,

for them to hear this, you know,

it just didn't make sense to them

if they were not open.

(Derek) Now, we have the advantage

of some time passing, because when you

think of, "This is My body broken for you;

this is My blood," we

immediately think of what service?

(Derek, Team) The Communion.

(Derek) The Last Supper

where Jesus takes symbols...

Now, that can't literally have been

His body and blood shed and broken

because this is before His death,

but they symbolize, right?

The bread from the Passover meal,

the juice from the Passover meal,

and when we take them inside of us

what does that mean

even in that service? Anybody?

What does it mean when we accept

those symbols of the broken body

and shed blood of Jesus?

(Gladys) We accept Jesus' sacrifice

and redemption for us,

but the key here is the belief.

We said before that unless the Father

reveals, gives a revelation,

there's no way that you can understand.

(Derek) I don't why He didn't say it

a little more simply.

Maybe He was just wanting

to challenge them because He could have

just said, "If you accept Me," right,

"you will have...," but He said that

earlier, didn't He?

That's the work, to believe, right?

But accepting Jesus is what He's

calling us to do,

rather than just accept free gifts.

Well, this was difficult, many left.

I want to go on and look in verse 67,

and, Zandile, I know you've had

your hand raised very patiently,

so I'm going to ask you

to make your comment, and then read for us

from John 6:[66]-69,

how even the closest disciples

of Jesus reacted.

But feel free to make your comment first.

(Zandile) Okay, I wanted to say that they

were blinded by the past.

They were blinded by the manna,

and they could not link together

when Jesus was saying, "I am the bread."

That was referring to that manna

that He fed to their fathers.

But they failed to see the future,

and they wanted a physical sign,

which Christ did not give at that time.

So, just like us today, sometimes

we have things that are blinding us,

we are holding onto things of the past,

yet God is moving us

in a certain direction.

(Derek) Thank you for sharing.

Read for us, if you would,

from John 6:[66]-69.

(Zandile) And I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,
verse 66 says:

(Derek) What do you think

about Simon Peter's testimony? Cory?

He doesn't say, "I'm not confused;

they're all confused."

What do you think

about his testimony, Cory?

(Cory) It's beautiful and amazing

because he steps out in faith

and just shows that, "You have

the words of eternal life,"

so he hasn't linked, fully, the bread

and words together, but he sees

that Christ is that bread.

And that's an amazing step

of faith on his part.

(Derek) Anyone want

to add to that? Sabina?

(Sabina) I think that is one

of the most beautiful testimonies

that we find in the New Testament

about what Jesus has to offer,

because Jesus offers abundant life.

In so many ways, He blesses us,

but if we forget the most important

and fundamental truth that while He came

primarily to give us eternal life,

restore us from death to life

and that we can have

relationship with God forever,

then all the other things

[don't matter at all], right?

I'm thinking of Paul also when he says

that, "What do we profit if we don't have

the truth of life eternal?"

(Derek) I'm remembering, and then I'll

come to many hands raised,

the scientist who said to me...

He studied with a lot of atheists,

agnostics and evolutionists

and studied advanced genetics.

He said, "I have a lot of questions,

but I'm going to ask them

when I see Jesus."

In other words, he was saying,

"I have come to believe and know

that Jesus is the Christ, the Son

of the living God," listen now, "and I can

live with some unanswered questions

because I know the most important question

has been answered."

Are you with me?

I don't think Peter understands,

like Cory said, I don't think

he understood it all, but he said,

"Jesus, I know who You are.

I'm going to trust in You." Gladys?

(Gladys) That's what I was going to say,

that he may not have understood

everything, but he said, "Where can I go?

You are the only One

that I want to be close to.

You are the Son of God."

So he may not have understood everything

that Jesus was trying to imply

with His body and the blood,

and drink this and that, but he knew

that he wanted to be with Jesus.

(Derek) There is so much more

we could share; I'm going to let Puia

make a comment, but I want you

to think about this question.

I want you to think, was

there ever a turbulent time in your life

(a lot of people were leaving Jesus),

and you just said, "I'm going

to hold onto Jesus"?

"Even though it may be that all

of my questions aren't answered,

I'm going to hold on."

I see, Cory, your hand raised.

Puia, make your comment,

but maybe someone's watching,

maybe you're watching and saying,

"Derek, you have no idea.

I have family members leaving Jesus.

I have a spouse who says,

'I don't believe anymore.'"

How do we hold on

during that difficult time? Puia?

(Puia) I wanted to pick up on what Gladys

just commented on earlier.

The part that touches me

from Peter's words is, "Lord,

to whom shall we go?"

Like, "What other options do we have?"

As you pointed out, Derek, no worldview

or no system of belief closes all the gaps

or answers all the possible questions

that we may have in this world.

Even when we follow Jesus, we will

still have questions that we can't answer

at all on this end.

But the approach is, if we were

to reject Jesus and choose

a different worldview or choose

a different person to follow, is

there any actual better option than Jesus?

I don't think so.

(Derek) Thank you.

Cory, do you want to share with us?

(Cory) Yeah, and you know part

of this story, Derek.

A few years ago, I lost

my father tragically, suddenly.

I ended up doing CPR on him

for quite a while, so I was pretty mad

at God for a while

and didn't understand why,

much like Peter here doesn't

understand all the why.

But I had a habit of getting up

every morning and reading my Bible.

And in reading my Bible and continuing,

I realized that He is the God of life,

not of death, and it wasn't His plan,

that it was Satan's plan.

And I don't understand all the why,

but I have Jesus,

and that's all that matters.

(Derek) Thanks for your testimony, Cory.

Praise God. That's beautiful.

We're going to move on.

We've looked at the testimony

of John briefly and the testimony

of Peter here, but I want to go

to the testimony of God the Father.

Because if you remember, there were

a few times in the ministry of Jesus

when God the Father spoke.

Zandile, I'm going to ask you

to go to Matthew 3, verse 17.

Do you know that John...

No Gospel writer tells us everything

about the life and ministry

of Jesus, right?

John doesn't mention the baptism.

Now, we know Jesus was baptized,

so it's not like he didn't believe that,

but Matthew, Mark and Luke

give us a little more information.

And, Zandile, could you read for us

how Matthew records the baptism

of Jesus in Matthew 3 and verse 17?

(Zandile) Yes, and I'll be reading

from the New King James Version.

Verse 17 of Matthew 3 says:

(Derek) And you know Mark and Luke

also record very similar words,

"This is My beloved Son."

Can you think of another time

when the Father spoke

during the ministry of Jesus?

(Derek, Team) On the Mount
of Transfiguration.

(Derek) Let's look at that.

Jason, could you read for us

in Mark, chapter 9 and verse 7.

It's also in Matthew 17:5.

On the Mount of Transfiguration,

again John didn't record this,

but these are testimonies of the Father.

What do you read there in Mark 9, verse 7?

(Jason) And I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,

and the Bible says:

(Derek) Slightly different,

"This is My beloved Son

in whom I am well pleased,"

but now, "This is My beloved Son..."?

(Team) "Hear Him!"

(Derek) "Listen to Him," right?

"Listen to Him."

Now, John does speak

about the testimony of the Father.

I want to look at two verses with you,

First, John 5, verses 36 to 38,

and, Joshua, if you'd be willing to read

for us John 5:36-38 and also John 12,

which is actually one time the Father

speaks that is only recorded by John.

So I'm thankful for all

of the Gospel accounts.

But, Joshua, if you could read for us

John 5, beginning with verse 36

through verse 38?

(Joshua) Alright, I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,
John 5:36-38:

(Derek) So even if the Father

had never spoken audibly,

the testimony of the Father is seen in...?

(Team) The Son.

(Derek) How?

(Team) His life.

(Derek) By the things He did, right?

"No man can do these things,"

Nicodemus said, "unless God

is with Him," right,

so just the testimony of His life.

But there were times,

we mentioned the baptism, we mentioned

the Mount of Transfiguration.

Let's go to John, chapter 12.

Gladys, could you read for us

beginning in verse 27.

We're getting very close

to the arrest of Jesus now.

This is right at the end of His ministry,

and some people come.

Let's see what happens in John 12,

verses 27 through 30.

(Gladys) John 12, verses 27 to 30:

(Derek) Why did some people

hear it as thunder?

I think there were some people

at the baptism that didn't hear,

"This is my beloved Son."

What do you think, Travis?

Why did they think it was thunder?

Someone else says, "No,

I think an angel was speaking."

(Travis) So, I'm going back to something

we talked about earlier, and that is

in the Corinthians where it talked

about him blinding the eyes of the mind.

(Derek) Satan, the ruler
of this world, right,

blinding our eyes?

(Travis) Yeah.

(Derek) So, that could be why?

(Travis) One place in Scripture,

"Give me ears to hear, " you know, so...

(Derek) "Spiritual things..."

(Derek, Team) "...are

spiritually discerned,"

(Derek) The Apostle Paul says.

So, the Father is speaking,

and the unreceptive heart

or the deaf ears only hear...?

(Team) Thunder.

(Derek) Noise, right?

I think when the Lord, risen Christ,

spoke to Saul of Tarsus, "Saul,

Saul, why are you persecuting Me?"

that some of his entourage,

some of his bodyguards

didn't hear that, right?

They just saw the light.

So, again we come back to the need

for a receptive heart.

But why are these testimonies,

baptism, transfiguration, right before...

By the way, "I have glorified My name,

and I will glorify it..."?

(Team) "...again."

(Derek) What's that?

When has He already glorified His name?

In the ministry of Jesus, right,

life and ministry.

And when will He glorify it again?

(Travis) Resurrection.

(Derek) On the cross and the resurrection

and the ascension, right,

and the exultation where Jesus

is given a name...?

(Derek, Team) Above all names.

(Derek) Yes, so, "I've glorified it;

I will glorify it again."

Why do you think these overt testimonies

of God the Father are important?

Not only for Jesus, not only for those

who heard with a receptive heart,

but also for us? Anybody?

What do you think? Jason?

(Jason) I think just as John

had confidence, that bold humility,

we, too, can have that

as we read the Scriptures and understand

how God had done a great work

in Jesus' life, and that we can

share in that same work as well.

(Derek) Okay, so that's written down.

We just read it because the Holy Spirit

inspired Matthew (we read from Matthew),

Mark (we read from Mark), John

to write those things down, right,

so we could hear it. Yes, Sabina.

(Sabina) And we just started our lesson

talking about the chasm that is

between God and us

in understanding God, that there is

a need for His self-revelation to us.

And I think that especially distinguishes,

like, recognizing that He was God.

No one else, apart from God the Father,

the Son and the Holy Spirit

can testify of that, right?

So that's why I think it's so important

that not only people saw the works,

and they recognized there was

something special, but also God Himself

was able to communicate that

in that very special way.

(Derek) In this setting, Jesus says,

"The words were spoken not for Me

but for you," but I think at the baptism,

correct me if I'm wrong, help me, anybody,

Cory, Zandile, team members here,

that the voice spoken at His baptism

was also for His benefit

as well as others like John the Baptist.

The voice on the Mount of Transfiguration

was also for Him to encourage Him.

I don't know, Puia, what do you think?

(Puia) When I try to put myself

in the shoes of the people at that time,

they probably were not used to the idea

of God having a Son,

because they grew up being taught

that God is one, and there is only one.

And for God to have a Son, it was

a strange idea, so the Father testifying

that this was His Son, I believe,

would have broadened their understanding

of the nature of God.

(Derek) "This is My beloved Son."

Zandile, you want to add

to the discussion.

(Zandile) Yeah, I want to add

on what Puia just said.

Back in the Old Testament, He said

in the mouth of two witnesses or three,

it let whatever it was be established.

And now I see God going back to His Word

and establishing the fact that Jesus

was His Son because He testifies of Him

more than two times.

(Derek) Right, well, the testimony

is in the works Jesus is doing

and in the word the Father is speaking.

Well, let's look, the last testimony -

we're talking about More Testimonies

about Jesus - is the testimony

of Jesus Himself.

And we could look at many verses,

but I want to focus in on John 7.

In fact, we talked about this, didn't we,

on the last day,

the great day of the feast.

Cory, if you could read that for us

in John 7:37,38, and let's see

how Jesus testified about Himself.

(Cory) From the New King James Version:

(Derek) I think, Travis, when we were

talking about The Testimony

of the Samaritans, that living water

that Jesus spoke about.

But let's go down to verse 40 now,

Tendi, if you could read in John 7,

let's see how those present responded

to this bold testimony of Jesus

about Himself, verses 40 to 44 of John 7.

(Tendi) And I'll be reading

from the New King James:

(Derek) By the way, "take Him,"
take Him...?

(Travis) To kill Him.

(Derek) To kill Him, right,

take Him by force.

In fact, as we pick up in verse 45

down through 49, we'll see

that the chief priests had already sent

a detachment of soldiers to arrest Him.

And, Joshua, if you could read that for us

in John 7, verses 45 to 49,

they've gone; their mission

is to arrest Jesus, and let's see

their testimony about Jesus.

(Joshua) I'll be reading

from the New King James Version:

(Derek) Now, I don't know what happened.

I don't know, they were told, "Go

and arrest Jesus."

So I imagine the soldiers, the officers,

the temple guard, they go.

And the crowd is there, and so as they

are kind of getting closer,

they start hearing Jesus speak.

And what's their reaction?

Well, we know later because they

tell the chief priest.

What's their reaction?

(Team) "No man spoke like this."

(Sabina) Surprise.

(Derek) "The people who sent us

don't talk like this," right?

(Team) Right.

(Derek) Right? They don't speak

with authority from a living connection

with the heavenly Father.

So I don't know; you'll have

to help me on this.

I don't know if they were so impacted

by what they were hearing

that they forgot why they were there!

(Team) Possibly.

(Derek) Has that ever happened to you?

You went somewhere,

and you forgot why you went there?

And say, "I've got to go back."

I don't know whether they went back

saying, "Okay, time for lunch."

I don't know, maybe they knew

exactly why, but they felt

incapacitated by the powerful words
of Jesus.

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) What can we learn from this story?

By the way, that was

their testimony, right?

What was their testimony about Jesus?

(Derek, Team) "Nobody..."

(Team) "...spoke like Him."

(Derek) "...spoke like this Man speaks."

We've got just a couple of minutes left.

Take a big look at the picture here.

What lessons can we learn, Viara?

What can we learn from this?

(Viara) I have times when I go to church,

and I only hear, "Blah, blah, blah,
blah, blah, blah, blah..."

(Derek) I don't know

how to translate that.

(Viara) Or I open the Word of God,

and I only hear, like, "Blah..."

I don't get touched.

And then I pray to God,

and I'm like, "God, if You're real,

please talk to me."

And I have to say that the Holy Spirit

is so real and present, even today.

And when I say this prayer, my ears open,

my eyes open, and I hear something

that touches my heart, and I see

the reality and presence of God.

(Derek) Powerful. Now, I just had

an epiphany, an awareness.

I wonder if when Jesus saw

the temple guards coming to arrest Him,

He prayed, "Holy Father, open their ears!
Open their..."

(Derek, Team) "...eyes."

(Derek) The religious leaders

are blind and deaf, but the temple guards

don't come for a revival meeting;

they come because they've been

asked to arrest Him.

Do you think Jesus prayed

even for the temple guards

that God would open their ears

and open their eyes?

Anybody else, closing lesson. Puia.

(Puia) Enough people

have testified about Jesus.

We only have to read the stories

and open our hearts for us to receive

that revelation of God, too.

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) I just want to challenge

you today, and we've heard,

read the story, but also pray

that the Holy Spirit would take away

that blinder the enemy

has put in front of us so that we can see

and we can hear the truth about Jesus,

about the immeasurable and unfailing love

of God that He came to reveal

from our heavenly Father.

That is a miracle!

And it can happen for you and for me.

In fact, I think it needs to happen

day by day, because the distractions

of this world are all around us.

And, friend, when that happens,

we've been learning from the testimonies

that have been given, we will be changed,

transformed, and become

living witnesses for Him.

Let's pray; Father in Heaven, we've heard

some powerful testimonies today,

and I just thank You, that even when we

don't have all of the answers

that we can say, "I know who Jesus is,

and I'm going to press close

to Jesus my Savior."

I pray that for each one,

and may lives around us be blessed.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Thanks for joining us
for Hope Sabbath School.

We're not done with the journey,

Themes in the Gospel of John,

life-changing messages.

The key to that message:

Press close to Jesus.

And then go out and be a blessing

to those around you.

♪ music ♪