Lesson 5 - The Controversy Continues (1st Qtr 2016)

♪ theme music ♪

Welcome to Hope Sabbath School,

an in-depth, interactive study

of the Word of God.

I'm glad you joined us today,

as we continue an important series

of studies, From Rebellion to Redemption,

the story of the great battle

between good and evil,

and God's ultimate victory,

not only in terms of the world,

but in terms of your life, and mine.

Our topic today:
The Controversy Continues,

as we look at the time from King David

down through King Hezekiah

and how God is at work,

even in the midst

of very difficult circumstances.

So, welcome to Hope Sabbath School today.

We're glad you joined us,

and welcome to our team.

Thanks for being here today.

We're kind of flying at -

what do they say? -

30,000 feet,

you know, we're looking

at the big picture of the Bible,

but I'm learning some important lessons -
are you?

And I think we'll really enjoy

the study today, as well.

These are familiar stories,
perhaps, to you -

we'll talk about people like David

and Elijah,

but we're looking at a combined picture

and the message that comes through

of God's faithfulness,

even in the midst of a great struggle

between good and evil.

We're happy you write to us, by the way.

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

and we smile whenever we get emails.

We're not able to read them all,

but we'd love to hear from you,

how God is blessing you

through a study of His Word.

And Greg, I want to thank you

for writing from the United States
of America.

He says, "My wife and I are faithful
Hope Sabbath School participants

The beginning of our Sabbath

would not be the same

if we missed your smiling faces."

(Team) Oh, wow!

(Derek) I told you, you have to smile,
all right?

"I feel truly blessed.

I know this is God's plan

for you to do this.

God bless you all."

Well, Greg, thanks for encouraging us.

Sometimes we feel

like we're not that strong

and we're not that smart,

but, really, that's the story
of the Scripture,

that God can choose people

and enable them

and work through them

in supernatural ways.

So, thanks for your encouragement

from the United States.

Here's a note from Tembo.

Thanks for writing from Zambia.

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

And he says, "I greet you all

in the name of our soon-coming Savior,

the Lord Jesus."

(Team) Amen!

(Derek) Sounds like a good greeting.

"I've been blessed by your
interactive discussions,

ever since I discovered

Hope Sabbath School, many years ago.

I usually download the video presentation

and the lesson outline."

You know, you can go to our website

and download the outline

that we use, right?

So he does both of those.

He says, "It's been very helpful

in my spiritual growth.

God will reward you positively

for blessing many lives."

Well, Tembo, may God bless you, too.

I hope you're teaching
what you're learning,

using the outline.

Thanks for writing from Zambia.

Anybody here from Kenya?

No Kenyans here in our group today.

We had a Kenyan in our group,

in one of our past programs.

Elkanah writes from Kenya,

and says, "Praise God

for the wonderful work

of Hope Sabbath School,

reaching millions around the world.

I and my family tune in

to Hope Sabbath School every night,

and we're blessed.

I have also downloaded the Hope SS

(or Hope Sabbath School)
app on my tablet,..."

And by the way, if you don't know,

we have an app for iPhones, iPads,

we also have an app for smart phones,

Android phones, tablets,

and they're free,

so go to the App store

that you get your apps from,

and download Hope Sabbath School.

"...watch it any time," he says,

"even when I'm out of my house.

It's really amazing
what technology can do.

Know that we're praying for you all,

and look forward to our study today."

Well, Elkanah, we look forward

to you being with us today,

and thanks for writing to us,

and I will tell... there was actually

a family that sponsored the production

of that app, and a young man

who was committed, and said,

"I'll do that as a missionary project,"

and so I'm going to tell them

that someone in Kenya

is appreciating the Hope
Sabbath School app.

(Team) Amen!

(Derek) Here's one last email

from José.

Now get this, he's Portuguese,

living in South Africa,

working in Namibia.

Well, Namibia, as you know,

is just north, kind of north-west,

it used to be called German West Africa,

now called Namibia.

And José works in Namibia,

though he lives in South Africa.

He said, "I'm actually from Portugal.

On the Sabbath, there's no church here,

as we're working in a desert."

So, you know, one of the main industries

in Namibia is diamonds,

and another one is uranium mines,

so there are a lot of resources there.

He says, "...I'm working in the desert.

I listen to Hope Sabbath School,

sitting in my room.

I was baptized last November,"

and he said, "After 33 years,

God led me to a seminar,

touched my heart,

and said, 'It's time to follow

God's Bible Sabbath.'"

(Team) Amen!

(Derek) So now he's a Sabbath-keeping
Christian, there,

but he's out in the desert, in Namibia.

He said, "Two months later,"

after his baptism,

"I was involved in a motorcycle accident,

traveling at 130 km/h,"

that's what? That's fast.

That's about 80 mph, Wilbur.

He says, "I came out with only
a dislocated shoulder."

"I praise God," he said.

"I think the devil wanted to stop me,

but God won!"

(Team) Amen!

"Anyway," he says, "keep up
the good work."

Get this, he says, "I have downloaded

150 episodes of Hope Sabbath School

so I can watch them in my room,

in the desert."

So, I just want to thank you, José,

for writing to us.

You know, it really is amazing to us.

We know there are way more
than a million participants,

but to know there's someone

in the Namibian desert

who came from Portugal

and lives in South Africa,

and downloaded 150 episodes,

just makes us say "Amen!"

We're glad you're part
of Hope Sabbath School.

And by the way, have you learned

our new song for this series

on Rebellion and Redemption?

It's an ancient Scripture song

from Psalm 9, verses 1 and 2,

"I will praise you, oh Lord,

with my whole heart."

You can go to our website,

hopetv.org/hopess,

download it,

download the sheet music.

I hope you've learned it already.

Let's sing it together, right now.

♪ music ♪

(Derek) You know, one of
the amazing things

about Scripture songs,

it's like advertisers know,
it gets sticky,

and it helps you to remember
that Scripture.

What I'm praying is that Hope
Sabbath School members will learn this,

and just when they need it,

the Spirit will bring it
to their remembrance.

So let's sing it together, one more time.

♪ music ♪

(Derek) Amen.

Well, let's pray together,

that the Holy Spirit will guide our study

of His Holy Word.

Thank you, Father in Heaven,

that we could sing Your praise today.

We do want to praise you

with our whole heart,

and we do want to tell

of all Your marvelous works.

Today, looking from the time of King David

and Elijah, all the way down to Nehemiah,

Lord there are lessons
You want to teach us

about the battle, yes,

but about Your faithfulness,

and I pray that there would be lessons

for our lives today,

that we would choose to trust You

with our whole hearts.

And I thank You.

In the name of Jesus,

Amen.

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Well, we're going
to start our study, today,

in the book of 1 Samuel.

1 Samuel, chapter 17,

and Olric, I'm going to ask you

if you would pick up a very famous story

in verse 43, of chapter 17 of 1 Samuel.

Read down through verse 51.

This is the well-known story

of David and Goliath.

Now, many people don't know much

about the Bible, but they've heard

about David and Goliath,

but they may not know

the most important lesson

we need to learn.

Was it just that a shepherd boy

killed a giant?

So, what is the important lesson?

Olric, would you start reading for us
in verse 43 of 1 Samuel 17?

(Olric) Yes. I'm reading from
the New Living Translation.

The Word of God says,

(Derek) I can just imagine

boys and girls around the world,

sitting on the edge of their seats,

listening to you read that amazing story.

A little shepherd boy is, like, so bold!

What's the secret, Jonathan?

What do you hear there, in his words

that's so important?

(Jonathan) He's confident in God

rather than in himself.

All he has is a sling and a stone,

but, I mean, both sides are appealing

to their gods,

but it seems like David's approach

is very different than the other gods.

Instead of coming via power

and the strength, like, our strength,

he is like, "No, God is the one

with the control, it is His battle,

I trust Him to work this out."

And so it's a different...
it's faith, it's trust.

(Derek) It's a totally different way
of looking at life, right?

Anybody else?

What really impacts you

in the words that are spoken here?

Hulda?

(Hulda) I was thinking, David, he speaks

in such a way that he must have

had experience to have
that type of trust.

It's not something that you
just come up with,

in the heat of the moment.

It's something that you've had
to experience this,

and know this for yourself,

to be that courageous in that situation.

(Derek) That's a pretty powerful lesson,

because I think a lot of people

try to seek God when they're
in this terrible crisis, right?

By the way, will God come to us

if we seek Him in a terrible crisis?

Sure, He will, but you're saying,

there's some preparation

that happened before. Thank you.

Stephanie.

(Stephanie) And he didn't even know,

it wasn't just that he knew
the right words to speak,

but when it came time,

he ran into battle.

He said, "I trust God, not only in word,

but I'm going for it.

God's going to have victory."

(Derek) Yeah. Daisy.

(Daisy) I'm just imagining
that confidence,

because you have to look at the contrast.

This is a giant, who was about, what,
10 feet tall, and then David...

(Derek) Like a human tank.

(Daisy) Yeah, a very huge person,

and all these men of valor

were all scared of him

and were running away,

and here comes David,
a shepherd boy,

standing in front of him

and speaking with such confidence

and saying all those words,

but the words that come out

is the confidence of knowing

who God is, and His power,

so that even though Goliath came,

talking about his gods, and cursing him,

it did not even touch him,

he did not get scared of that,

because he knew his God was stronger.

And he came with confidence

and ran after him.

I just love that confidence

that he came with.

(Derek) So there are some lessons
for us, today. Gloria?

(Gloria) I'm really impressed about how

he was willing to defend God's honor.

Like, he wanted to go into battle

to kill this person,

but the main purpose was that,

"I can't let you defile
the name of my God,"

and that was really powerful.

(Derek) So it's not just,

"I can't let you take our property."

"How dare you speak about
our God like that?" Right?

Kyle?

(Kyle) He also wasn't listening
to what others were saying.

He was listening to God's voice,

and was able to charge in,

listening to God and trusting in Him,

wanting to defend God,

not worrying about what his brothers

or even Saul, the king, said.

He trusted in God.

(Derek) You know, I imagine -
maybe this is wrong -

but I imagine, once he knew

that's what God wanted him to do,

he looked and thought,

"What a big target!" You know?

His fear was set aside, right?

And if the Lord, if God is for us,...

(Team) ...who can be against us?

(Derek) Who can be against us?

And I wish that was the only story
about David, but, you know,

David illustrates both staying focused,
you said, on God,

but also losing our focus.

Let's go to 2 Samuel, chapter 11,

and Adrian, I'm going to ask you

if you would read the first 5 verses

of 2 Samuel, chapter 11.

Now, all Scripture is given by inspiration
of God, we've talked about that,

the importance of the Bible,

and not only prophecies,

which God can reveal to the prophets,

but also lessons for our lives,

and some might say, "Why would they

include this story in the Bible?"

But I think there's a lesson for us,
so let's look at 2 Samuel, chapter 11,

and the first five verses.

(Adrian) I'm reading from the
New International Version:

(Derek) Now, a sequence of bad decisions.

First bad decision?

He's supposed to be
with his people, right?

Apparently there was some territory

that needed to be defended

and didn't it even say

that the kings would normally do that?

So, Olric, he's just hanging out.

What's the danger there?

(Olric) There's a saying that goes,

"The devil plays on idle minds."

When you're not where

you're supposed to be,

then you open yourself up

to doing things that you ought not
to be doing.

(Derek) So he wakes up,

can't sleep, goes out on the roof.

Looking around, something
catches his attention,

or should I say, someone.

Next mistake?

Daisy?

(Daisy) He sent to find out about her,

while he also continued to look.

(Derek) Ah, thank you. Yeah.

You know, we live
in an internet age, right,

where you can be searching
for a toothbrush

and get something that
you're not looking for.

Does that ever happen?

Don't raise your hand, please.

Could it happen?

(Team) Yes.

(Derek) Absolutely.

I mean, there are people out there,

just trying to...

I know, Jonathan, you work
with computers all the time.

There are probably people,
that, their whole job

is to try to catch you
to come into something

that they want to show you.

What do we have to do at that moment?

What - it's easy to say,
what should David have done?

But what's the strategy?

(Daisy) He should have turned
and run away,

just turned away from it.

(Derek) Actually, in this series,

we've learned something very close

to that, Stephanie.

What is it?

We need to turn and...?

(Stephanie) ...run to God.

(Derek) Run to God.

You know, because part of the anxiety

might have been, "Wow,

I felt something inside me

want to keep looking."

And that's not good.

So I'm going to run to God

and say, "God can You
help fix this?", right?

Be honest with God,

because He actually already knows, right?

Yes, Kyle.

(Kyle) Pastor Derek, we're talking
about the great controversy,

and this struggle that's the big struggle,

you know, that we think about
as this great war,

but so much of it often happens
right in those little decisions,

that moment in time,

where you have to decide
one way or the other,

and that's what David was faced with,

and that's what we're faced with,
every day.

I look at my life, and I see

plenty of times when I've made
the wrong decision,

but I praise God that He gives us

these kinds of stories to warn us

so that we can change our course,

and live for Him.

(Derek) And one of the things
I really appreciate about David

is He wrote Scripture songs,

because I like to sing them.

And I want you to look
at one with me, in Psalm 51.

The whole song is beautiful,

but I'm going to ask Jonathan
if you would read verses 10 through 12

of Psalm 51.

Maybe later you can go back

and read the whole psalm,

because it's directly related

to this failure, this terrible failure

of taking his eyes off
of the Lord, his God.

(Jonathan) All right, I'll be reading

from the New International Version:

(Derek) Now, let me ask you a question.

When you fail - I say when, not if,

because, Kyle, you said
we all fail, right?

In different ways.

When you fail, what is Satan's temptation

for you, at that moment?

(Team member) To go away from God.

(Derek) To hide from God, right?

To go away from God,

which is the exact opposite

of what you need to do, right?

So what do we learn from David,

who's been, if you will, a great victor

and also a great failure?

What do we learn from this passage?

(Jonathan) I know,
later on in the chapter,

it says, "You do not delight in sacrifce."

I mean, he had this picture of God,

that it wasn't that God
was coming to get him,

he knew that God,

if he had a broken spirit
and a contrite heart,

this was what God wanted,

and he cried out to God.

He had that relationship

where he knew God wanted
his heart changed,

He didn't want to catch him,

He just wanted him healed.

(Derek) So I guess that picture,

back to what Hulda said,

about David who already had
this picture of God,

that picture of God, like, "I know,

however much I messed up,

I can run to Him," right?

We could spend the whole time on David,

but I need to move on, hyperspace forward

to 1 Kings, chapter 17, and verse 1.

1 Kings 17 and verse 1.

We're going to look at a prophet

that perhaps some of you
have heard of, named Elijah,

but when he shows up,

nobody really has a clue who he is.

He comes out of nowhere.

Amina, would you be willing

to read that for us,

in 1 Kings 17 and verse 1?

(Amina) I'm reading from
the New Living Translation:

(Derek) Anybody know where Tishbe is?

I mean, is that a real famous location?

Tishbe.

"Where are you from?"

"I'm from Tishbe."

Like, where is that, right?

What do you learn from that first verse?

Wilbur?

(Wilbur) I think he was speaking

with authority, so you can tell
he was someone that spoke to God,

and knew who God was.

(Derek) Okay, so he spoke
with authority, certainly.

He knew who God was,

and he was connected with God.

What else do we learn?

Pretty big lesson!

(Stephanie) That he trusted God.

(Derek) Well, he trusted God.

(Gary) He serves God.

(Derek) I'm looking for something

much more obvious.

(Daisy) He is a nobody.

(Derek) Yes! He's a nobody.

Who is this fellow, Elijah?

I mean, later we go,

"Oh, Elijah," you know,

he becomes a key player

in Bible history, doesn't he?

Elijah?

And then the second coming of Elijah

with John the Baptist.

Elijah shows up,

you know, he's taken to heaven

without dying.

I mean, he's like, huge in Bible history.

But he was a nobody.

And he came from a nobody place.

And yet, you're right,

he was connected with God.

Let's listen, Stephanie,

to a few of his bold words,

and bold actions,

in 1 Kings, chapter 18.

Would you read for us

verses 21 through 24.

(Stephanie) Sure, and I'll be reading
from the King James Version:

(Derek) What do you think about this man?

Jonathan?

(Jonathan) I think he knew the times

and what the issues of the day were.

He knew what really needed to be addressed

and he was willing
to stake his life on it.

He was willing to say,

"Okay, I am going to pray

there'll be no rain.

I'm going to put confidence in God

and say, 'Okay this needs to be addressed.

We as a community, people,

need to look at this, square on.'"

(Derek) Wow, I'm impressed
by your comment.

He was willing to stake his life upon it.

And Kyle, I'm going to ask you

to keep reading, verses 25 through 29

of 1 Kings 18,

because these 400 priests of Baal,

they have knives.

This is a showdown between one prophet
of the Lord God, and 400..

Is it 450?

That's 50 more knives!

Verses 25 through 29.

Let's hear how the story unfolds, Kyle.

(Kyle) Okay, and I'll be reading
from the New King James Version:

(Derek) No voice!

Yeah, and you know
the rest of the story, right?

Who can tell me the rest of the story?

Elijah comes, he says, you know...

I don't know where
they got the water from,

there was the drought, right?

This is pretty precious water,

which tells me that Elijah knew

God was going to do more

than burn up the offering.

He was going to take care of this drought.

They get it all wet, he prays,
what happens?

Fire comes down, and?

It consumes the offering, the altar,

and the water.

And you go, "Wow!

What an amazing person!

Focused on God."

But then comes another passage.

Sean, could you read chapter 19,

verses 1 through 4,

1 Kings 19, 1 through 4?

And again, I want us to ask ourselves

the question, "Okay, what's the lesson

we need to learn from this story?"

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

(Derek) Now, this is right after

this amazing victory.

So, question: Does the great
controversy end, just because the Lord

gains a great victory?

No.

There are still people
on Satan's side, right?

And this person's name is?

Jezebel, right?

Her name's Jezebel,

and she calls out a death threat.

She says, "I'm going to kill you."

So, what lesson could we learn

from this story?

We're talking about the great battle

between good and evil.

What important life lesson

could we learn from this part
of the story?

Stephanie?

(Stephanie) Something that comes
to my mind is my own experience

when I've been on the mountain top

with God, and He's done something amazing,

then the devil always wants
to bring me down,

into a valley, and get me discouraged.

But when we hold on to God,

He can keep us on a plateau.

(Derek) So, you would say,

"Brace yourself."

(Stephanie) Yes, absolutely.

(Derek) Okay, but the same God

who was there with you is still here.

Yeah, Daisy?

(Daisy) The way I like to look
at these examples

is watching a game,

like maybe soccer, or basketball.

You know, when your opponent
scores against you,

you can't just stand there and lament.

Yes, you lament a little bit,

but you have to keep on

till the time is up

and everything is over.

You've got to keep playing

and fighting until you actually win,

and at the end, you're the winner.

But as much as we're still alive

and Jesus has not come yet,

we have to continue to fight,

because if you stop and think,

oh, because you've won
this experience, that's it,

you're wrong, because the devil

is still.... the time is not over yet,

the devil still has more time

to get back at you.

(Derek) So I've got to remember
the great power of God

to bring the victory,

but also realize the battle's
still going on, right?

(Derek) Gary.

(Gary) I was just going to echo

what Daisy was saying.

Don't get complacent, because complacency,

you feel self-satisfied,

"I did something great,
with the power of God,"

or "The power of God used me
to do something great,

everything's going good,"

and Satan's like, "Okay,

you took down one of my pegs.

I have another one, right behind."

(Derek) The question is,

is the Lord God able
to take care of Jezebel?

(Team) Yeah.

(Derek) You say, "What a silly question!
Of course!"

The Lord God actually wants
to save Jezebel,

but if she refuses, can He
take care of Elijah?

(Team) Yes.

(Derek) He can take care of Elijah.

One more comment.

We have to move on. Olric.

(Olric) I notice, here, the zeal of Elijah

for the honor of God,

and this is one of the things
that we should have in us

as followers of Christ,

is that inner love and zeal

for the things of God,

that we're willing to stand up

even when our life may be at stake,

to present this.

And I really compliment many of the folks

in different lands around the world

who are doing this under much duress.

It's very courageous,

so that's one thing we must remember.

(Derek) Yeah, but I guess

the lesson would be, even the strong,
bold, courageous people

can face a hard moment.

And what do we have to do

when we go, "I feel like running
for my life!" ?

Answer?

(Team, Derek) Run to God.

(Derek) Right. Run to God.

Say, "God, I don't know
what You're going to do, here,

but I'm running to You."

Well, we have to move to Hezekiah.

You know, we're looking
at several hundred years, here.

Sometimes we don't study the Bible

in the big pictures,

but I think that can be helpful.

Hezekiah's story is in 2 Kings,

and I'd like someone to read.

Hulda, would you read
verse 1 through 5

of chapter 18?

2 Kings 18.

Maybe you don't know much

about King Hezekiah,

but here's a brief summary,

that's quite impressive.

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

(Derek) Pretty good resume, right?

You say, "Wow, that's really impressive."

And now he's going to face a challenge

from Assyria, and let's see
how he responds to that.

Daisy, could you keep reading for us,

in verses 7 through 16?

Still in 2 Kings, chapter 18.

(Daisy) I'll be reading from
the New Living Translation:

(Derek) Let's hold it right there.

What are you thinking about the way

that Hezekiah's reacting here, Kyle?

(Kyle) Well, he's afraid,

and I see the parallels, now, with David,

with Elijah, and now with Hezekiah.

These guys have had their victories.

They're faithful men and then,
somewhere along the journey,

they're faced with that fear,

and in this case, he's afraid

and he pays that tribute

to try to secure his own salvation,
in a sense.

(Derek) Is there anything wrong
with paying that tribute?

What do you think? Adrian?
Anything wrong with paying the tribute?

Assyria was a very violent foe, right?

I mean, they had a reputation
for being ruthless, right?

Is there anything wrong
with paying the tribute?

What do you think?

(Adrian) I think the way he went about
paying the tribute,

where he took it from.

He took it from the temple,

he took it from things

that belonged to God

and not, you know, from his own treasury

but from God.

(Derek) He's actually dismantling

part of the temple, right?

(Jonathan) Maybe that's why God

didn't prevent him from coming,

anyways, to attack them. I don't know.

I mean, if he was trusting
in his own works,

then God's like, "Well, I can't
protect you, now.

I have to show that you trust in Me,
and so...

(Derek) Well, certainly,
the fear is an issue, right?

At first he seems very strong,

trusting in the Lord,

but now, I suppose all of us

could have something
that's too much for us.

Like, I can handle that,

I can handle that,

I can't handle that, right?

What do we need to do?

(Team, Derek) Run to God.

(Derek) But he doesn't,

but rather than get stuck there,

because, of course, I think

he is taking the money

from the wrong place.

Go to chapter 19 with me.

And somebody read for us

verses 14 through 19.

Quite a different response.

Sean, would you read that for us,

starting in 2 Kings 19 and verse 14?

(Sean) Sure. I'll be reading

from the New King James Version:

(Derek) Now, hold it just one second,

before we even read the prayer,

how come you're smiling?

(Olric) He went up to the temple,

the same temple that he took
all the stuff from,

to give to the Assyrians.

(Derek) What's he doing?

He's saying, "Ok, God, I can't do this.

I have no idea how
You're going to fix this,

but I'm going to lay this before You."

Does that make sense?

Sean, can you keep reading for us,

verses 15 through 19?

(Sean) Okay, continuing:

(Derek) What do you think of that prayer?

I love that prayer!

(Olric) It's a good prayer,

but why couldn't you do this

before you handed
all the stuff to the people?

(Derek) Was there some language, there,

that reminded you of another story

that we've just read,

about "reproaching the living God"?

Yeah, David talking to Goliath, right?

How dare you talk about God like that?
Right?

Read the rest of the story for me,

Gary, if you could read verses 35 to 37,

the last verses in chapter 19 of 2 Kings.

(Gary) Okay, and I'll be reading

from the New King James Version:

(Derek) We gave you that one to read,

because it had all the difficult words!

What's the end of the story?

You know, God is like, "These people

are actually coming to attack me," right?

And the king, Hezekiah, says,

"I don't know what to do here."

Jonathan.

(Jonathan) It just strikes me
that the last part,

or the previous part we read,

where it says how they'd conquered

all these kings, and it's like
it was a stage.

All the other nations could see

he was appealing and saying,

"Lord, this is Your time to show
who You are,"

and I think it sounds similar

to some of the other stories,

that that's what faith

and the prophetic trusting
in God lead to.

(Derek) It's definitely a bigger picture -

and we're going to move on
to Esther, now -

it's a bigger picture than just
an individual battle.

It's a great controversy, isn't it?

And God is on the line, here.

He is the one who's being challenged.

And Hezekiah's saying, "Those other gods

aren't gods at all.

There's only one true God."

Kyle.

(Kyle) It just reminds me
of one of my favorite promises

from the apostle Paul

in Ephesians, chapter 3 verse 20.

It says, "And God is able to do
exceedingly abundantly

above all we can ask or imagine."

(Derek) And let's look at that

in the story of Esther, can we?

Some of you know this,

a little bit of the background

of this story, where King Ahasuerus

makes some foolish decisions,

sets the queen aside,

and then goes through a whole selection

to find another queen,

ends up with a young lady named Hadassah,

but we don't know her by that name,

we call her Esther, right?

And then there's this plot

against the people of God,

and I'd like to read that text

in Esther 3, verses 8 through 11,

and who has that and would read it for us?

Yes, Gloria, please, verses 8 through 11,

Esther, chapter 3.

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

(Derek) Now, this fellow, Haman -

evil man, right?

Why would he be willing to pay -

he gives how much of his own money?

10,000 talents of silver!

If anybody knows the story,

why would he be willing to pay

that much money to initiate a genocide?

Right?

The eradication of an entire people.

Olric?

(Olric) He disliked the Jewish people...

(Derek) Disliked them?

He's going to kill them all, right?

(Olric) Yes, because Mordecai
did not show him honor,

by bowing to him and he realized

that the Jewish people, many of them,

who at least want to stick
to what they believed,

don't show honor in bowing to dignitaries
and so forth, and that offended him,

and it filled him with enmity
against Mordecai and Jewish people.

(Derek) And wanting to just kill them all.

So the story continues, Esther chapter 4.

Adrian, would you read
verses 13 through 17?

Because what we're going to learn here,

is not only is there
a big battle going on -

not just individual skirmishes,
but a big picture -

but we have a part to play

in that great controversy,

that God calls those who'll trust Him -

we've looked at people, so far,

like David, right?

Hezekiah, Elijah.

God calls them to stand up

and say, "I don't know what
You're going to do here, God,

but I'm going to be bold for You."

Let's look at Esther 4,
verses 13 through 17.

(Adrian) Okay, I'll be reading from
the New International Version:

(Derek) In my Bible it says,

"...all that Esther commanded him."

You know, we talked about David

getting really bold, you know?

Esther has been told by her uncle, right,

everything to do, and all of a sudden

she's telling him what to do,

because there's, like, this holy boldness

that's come over her.

What's the lesson? Adrian?

(Adrian) I think, I love what she says.

You know, "If I perish, I perish."

And so, we have to trust in God,

no matter what.

Even if we perish.

(Derek) I wonder if David wondered
if he was going to make it

when he went against Goliath.

Do you think there was any question

in Elijah's mind before the 400 - 450?

I mean, he knew God was going to work,

but could it possibly involve sacrifice

on his part?

(Team) Yes.

(Derek) Esther was willing
to be bold for God.

Yeah, Sean?

(Sean) And regardless, I think

all of these individuals knew

that God had a specific plan
for their life,

and I heard it this way,

that King David, he couldn't die,

because he had to fulfill the plan

that God had for him -

unless he stepped away from His will.

But as long as you stay in His will,

and like you said, you've run to Him,

then you don't have to worry,

even though you hear things.

(Derek) Well, the end of the story

is really - I want someone to read Esther,

chapter 8, verses 1 through 8.

Olric, you could read that for us?

Esther 8, 1 through 8.

You know, sometimes we hear stories

and we just kind of say what happened.

I want you to think about
the remarkable u-turn

that the king makes.

I just have to say, something supernatural
is happening here, in Esther, chapter 8,

verses 1 through 8.

(Olric) Yes. Reading from the
New Living Translation:

(Derek) What's remarkable
about this story?

(Olric) God comes through
for His people again.

(Derek) Yeah, I mean, you know,

it's one thing to say,

"Well, I really like you,

I'm going to save you."

What does the king say she can do?

"Write your own letter.

Write your own letter,

and then seal it with my ring."

So there's a lesson here -

we've got one more character to look at,

his name is Nehemiah -

that God can take the impossible situation

and turn it around.

And here it's just for His people

in a specific time and place.

The question is, is it true

for His people for all time,

that He can...

(Team) Yes. Amen.

(Derek) ...that He can work
all things for good?

(Team) Yes.

(Derek) For those who love Him.

We've got one last character,

his name is Nehemiah.

He lived in the 5th century,

around 445 B.C.

He was a cup-bearer,

and he's grieving
that his city is in ruins.

He hears the word, and he's grieving

and he wants to do something about it.

And God touches the heart of the king,

and the king says, "Why are you so sad?"

and he says, "My people, you know,

my place is in ruins."

He gets permission, right, to go back.

He could have said,

"I've got a nice retirement here,

I've got a very prestigious job."

Cup-bearer is one of the top jobs

in the kingdom.

But he says, "I have got to be involved

in God's work."

See, we have a part to play, don't we,

in the great battle?

The second chapter of Nehemiah

is where we are going
to pick up the story,

verses 16 through 18,

and Wilbur, could you read that for us,

starting in verse 16
of Nehemiah, chapter 2?

Let's see what happens when Nehemiah

gets to Jerusalem.

(Wilbur) I'll be reading from
the New King James Version; it says:

(Derek) How is he able
to turn their minds?

I mean, they were there, the whole time,

and the place was in ruins
and they were doing nothing.

Somehow, he can now motivate them

to turn around, and start
rebuilding the city.

How does he enable them to do that?

Anybody know?

What do you think, Gary?

(Gary) His testimony.

(Derek) Okay, he's got his testimony...

(Gary) How God has intervened in his life.

(Derek) Yeah. God's been good,

He's opened the door.

Anything else?

Well, certainly, he believes

that God's going to work
prophetically, right?

Yes?

(Jonathan) I think he was helping them

to see things from God's perspective.

He's like, "No, wait, look, look,

what's important from God's point of view,

if you put that first, He will take care
of your fields, your...

(Derek) So if you look
from a human perspective,

what do you see?

Ruins, right?

But he's saying, "Look at it

from God's perspective."

Look back, Kyle, in verse 11,

you don't need to read it out loud,

but look at verse 11.

What do you think he was doing

during those three days?

Does that number 3 have any significance?

He's there for three days,

apparently doing nothing.

Do you think of any other stories

where people would take three days

to do something?

Isn't that in Esther, too?

What did he do?

Fasted and?

(Kyle) Prayed.

(Derek) Prayed, for three days,

and that's what happened with Saul, too,

in Damascus, right?

I wonder if, instead of
just sitting around,

or worrying about whether
he can convince anybody to work,

he was fasting and praying.

And then he comes out and says,

"I want you to see it
from God's perspective."

Well, I want you to look
at one last text,

in Nehemiah 4.

Stephanie, if you'd read verses 21 to 23,

because I really do believe
a take-away lesson

is not only that God can work good,

but that He wants to use us to work good.

And we're going to go,
"This is way beyond us,"

but God says, "I want you
to be a part of the miracle

I'm going to work."

Let's see from Nehemiah's example,

in chapter 4, verses 21 to 23.

(Stephanie) And the King James Version
says it this way:

(Derek) So what do you learn from him?

First of all, why did they have spears?

Anybody know?

Why did they need spears
for building a wall?

To pry stones loose?

(Olric) Enemies were threating
to destroy them...

(Derek) The Great Controversy, right?

God's got a work,
Satan's trying to oppose it.

What do you learn about Nehemiah

that's a lesson for us today?

(Jonathan) Perseverance.

(Derek) Perseverance, and?

He's there!

He says, "I haven't even
changed my clothes.

I'm joining God in what He's doing."

By the way, he was a cup-bearer,

not a weight-lifter, right?

(Kyle) He used what God gave him,

and just went forward. Holy boldness.

(Derek) Isn't that awesome!

Is that an inspiration for us, today?

In all of the stories, God says,

"I want you to join Me

in the work I'm doing."

The battle is not ours, but God's,

but He wants us to join Him
in the battle,

and to experience, yeah,
the joy of victory.

I don't know how it is in your life,

but maybe you say, "I don't think
that I can do anything great for God."

I want to tell you, God is wanting
to do something great through you,

as you join Him in His work.

We've seen He can use people from nowhere,

who have no pedigree, who just say,

"God, I want to believe You
and trust You."

And I want to challenge you
to be that kind of woman,

that kind of man, for God,

in these days of earth's history.

And I want to pray that each one of us

can be that, for the honor of God's name.

Let's pray.

Father in Heaven, thank You.

We've looked at the big picture today,

we've seen success and failure,

but success, victory comes,

when we trust wholly in You,

when we run to You

and when we say,

"God, You know what to do here,

and we will follow wherever You lead."

I pray we would be women of God,
men of God,

who would stand in this generation

and allow You to work in us and through us

in supernatural ways,

to fulfill Your purpose,

and for the honor of Your name.

And this is our prayer.

In the name of Jesus,

Amen.

Well, thanks for joining us

for Hope Sabbath School.

If you've missed any in the series,

you can go to our website,

because this big picture

is God working through the ages,

and the lesson for me today, at least,

is God wants me, God wants you,

to be a part of His victory.

So join Him in His work,

and don't keep this Good News
to yourself,

go out and share it with those around you.

♪ theme music ♪