Hope Sabbath School Lesson 12 To love mercy

[Music] [Applause] [Applause] welcome to Hope Sabbath school an in-depth interactive study of the Word of God we are coming to the close of a very practical series of studies based on the words of Jesus ministering to the least of these to those in need our topic today to love mercy and that is so aligned with the heart of our loving God I pray you'll be blessed and it's good to be together and study isn't it and I'm excited because one of our team puya is going to be teaching today and it's so exciting not only to have some members of our team who teach but to know that thousands of people around the world are downloading our outline and you're having an in-depth interactive class where you live we would love to hear from you what people are learning about the Word of God what you're learning about sharing the Word of God you can write to us at SS hope and hope tv.org and we would be happy to hear what God's doing in you and through you here are just a few emails we've received recently one from chip o in Zimbabwe chipper writes hi everybody my name's chip o I'm a 17 year old girl learning at a high school in Zimbabwe the same school where one of you team Sammy so went to school well we all know sue me so he's not with us today cheapo but we're glad that you're studying there I look forward to watching hope Sabbath school programs because they encouraged me to read the Bible more and to memorize Bible verses which I often struggle with when I'm alone thanks to your program I enjoy contributing during my own Sabbath school class and proving to my classmates that we shouldn't be embarrassed when we know more Bible verses than we do about the latest movie or popular song that's powerful your testimonies give me great assurance that I serve a living and powerful God well you just encouraged that for I study today chipper thanks for writing to us from Zimbabwe and your write the Word of God is more powerful and modern movies or popular songs khadiyah writes from jamaica anyone from jamaica here alright Nicole Jamaican heritage anyway right my name's kadai I'm writing from Jamaica I recently got introduced to hope Sabbath school I was so amazed and refreshed that there was a program that I could watch that would help me to further understand the Bible with the introduction of this program I can now understand better and make application to my own life I'm thrilled to share it with my husband because we do Sabbath school together we can now have a more in-depth discussion and the program will help both of us to know how to understand the Word of God this platform rights Cuddyer is remarkable and I'm looking forward to the ones in the future thank you and God bless you all well could I I'm impressed that you not she's already encouraged a husband to watch too and you know someone you're watching today wherever you are around the world you know someone who'll be blessed by a study of God's Word the Holy Spirit's the one who changes hearts but we can invite people to be blessed through his word manual writes from Angola and he says I've been watching this program for seven years Wow now I'm a member of Hope Sabbath School this program has been changing my life I understand the Scriptures well through Hope Sabbath school well his main language in Angola is not English is it there's probably some tribal languages and Portuguese right in Angola so we're just glad Manuel that you're part of our hopes have a school family let's see I have another note here I think I mixed them all up that's it oh no here's two more in my Bible here's one from a donor in Arizona in the United States Trevor you're from Arizona aren't you well say a little wave to a family there this person writes my faith mentions a mainline church of 60 years has been void for a long time I didn't know what was missing and one day I found hope Sabbath school and I know now what I was missing I was missing the Word of God is it possible to go to church each week and not hear the Word of God I realized it was God's Word reading studying savoring that's what was lacking in my life a couple of years of regular watching has inspired me to seek out a personal Bible study group which I have now found and this donor sent a gift of $25 to hopes ever school and you know we're all part of the miracle say thank you for helping this donor supported ministry one last note from Randi in Ohio in the United States thank you for blessing us through the weekly Bible study it's been a tough year for me I was rushed to the hospital and later diagnosed with dead bowel syndrome and had emergency surgery still affected still I'm still experiencing the effects of that surgery then in November I was to have cataract surgery on my right eye because of a red and a detachment a year earlier it was great the next day I was able to see then in December became necessary to have surgery on the other eye and during that surgery something went terribly wrong instead of a 10 or 15 minute surgery it took an hour and a half this surgery left me blind in my left eye hopefully temporarily so far I've gained only 50% of my vision in my left eye haven't been able to drive or go to church but I've been able to watch Hope Sabbath school well I want to tell you those who wait on the Lord I believe will renew their strength and we want to be praying for continued healing for you Randy that's obviously a challenge isn't it yeah but you know when we hide the word in our hearts even if we lose some sight we still have the word within us and that's why we sing scripture songs as theme songs for this series for this series on the least of these we've got a beautiful text from second Thessalonians 3 verse 5 and 16 now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God let's sing together [Music] [Applause] [Music] now may the Lord direct your heart to the love of God and may the Lord direct your into the patience of Christ now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace always and everywhere Lord be with you lord I wrecked your heart into the director into the patience of Christ the Lord of peace himself even gives always Lord be with you [Music] well I'm excited as we study together today that we can't director hearts into the love of God and to love mercy as he does Priya why don't you lead us in prayers we begin our study shall we pray how are their loving Heavenly Father we come to you in the name of Jesus Lord we thank you for this opportunity that you have given to us today to study your word once again but we pray that you will be with us that you speak to us through the Holy Spirit but I pray not only for the hope Sabbath school team members here in the studio but I pray also for all the hope Sabbath school members around the world whenever it is that they're watching this episode or wherever it is that they're watching this from Lord I pray that you will be with them as well amen we thank you for your love and we pray this in the name of Jesus amen amen all right we are on a series of studies on the topic of ministering to those in need the least of this according to the teachings of Jesus and today we are on lesson number 12 and the title of our study is to love mercy I want to start our study by reading Micah chapter six verse eight Jonathan can you please read for us Micah chapter six verse eight and here we will find the call of God for mankind all right in this verse we will be able to see what God requires of us as mankind Micah six verse eight alright I'll be reading from the New Living Translation No Oh people the Lord has told you what is good and this is what he requires of you to do what is right to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God amen so here in this verse what is God requiring us as mankind or people in your version yeah anything that's definitely to do justly walk humbly with him and mercy which is the title of our study today this is what God is asking of mankind every one of us all right and as we have seen in our study in our in this series of studies we have seen time and time again that the Bible is filled with descriptions of God's concern for the poor and the oppressed people and also the calls for his people to stand for those people yet despite all these attention it is not enough we still live in a sinful world right we still see sins and evils around us and those are most often portrayed we can see them through poverty difficulties harsh hardship sickness pain and so many mores and today we will study what it means to have mercy to love mercy amidst these troubles and the time that we live in all right so let's continue our study by reading Matthew chapter 6 verse 25 through 33 Addyson if you can read for us Matthew chapter 6 verse 25 starting from verse 25 down to verse 33 for sure and I'm reading from the King James Version therefore I say unto you take no thought for your life what you shall eat or what ye shall drink nor yet for your body what you should put on is not the life more than meat and the body more than raiment behold the fowls of the air for they sow not neither do they reap nor gather into barns yet your heavenly Father feedeth them are you not much better than they which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature and why take ye thought for raiment consider the lilies of the field how they grow they toil not neither do they spin and yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these wherefore if God so clothe the grass of the field which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven shall he not much more clothe you O ye of little faith therefore take no Thought saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink or wherewithal shall we be clothed for after all these things do the Gentiles seek for your heavenly Father knoweth that he have need of all these things but seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you amen so what is Jesus telling us here in this verse that we just read anything oh he doesn't want us to worry I noticed that the word warrior worrying is here at least four times right you saying instead of worrying which is just half faith that he will provide for us what we need so we can find assurance that God is going to take care of us right Evelynn I think what the Lord is trying to tell us is that many times we prioritize the material things in our life or treasures or how we're going to prosper in life right and God is telling us you don't need to worry about that if you seek me first because I will provide for you look I should be your priority that's what the Lord is telling us amen so how should this assurance that we have in God changed our priorities in life what should we prioritize first as you said yes Trevor our focus should really be on those who are in need hmm because we know we have a master and he's gonna take care of us so if we have our focus on others we won't be concerned about what am I gonna wear I'm eat how I'm gonna pay my bills because the focus is on helping others yes we put our focus on that God will bless amen amen yes Travis I think too in the context of what we're studying is that it's easy in life today to say well I would go do that but I need this job or I would go do this but I need to and God is saying I'll take care of your needs you know go ahead and do these things we often use our jobs and the things the necessities we need in life is an excuse not to go and help the poor or to do that amen amen so the next question is then why is showing mercy to those in need important for followers of Jesus but before we answer that I want to say I want us to go to Luke chapter 6 verse 36 and Pedro if you can read for us Luke chapter 6 verse 36 and after readings that this verse we will answer the question why is showing mercy to those in need important for followers of Christ who I'll be reading for the New King James Version and Luke 636 therefore be merciful just as your father also is merciful hmm all right so what should be the reason why this is important showing mercy to those in it yes Jonathan had to reflect the beauty of who Christ is and how he he reflects God's compassion and mercy and yeah amen yes Travis you know that we can't pay God back for anything he's done we can't mmm I mean the bill that he's paid for us there's nothing we can do there is one thing we can do and we can extend the same mercy that he's extended to us to others mm that's the one thing that we can do for God hmm amen amen and I honestly believe we that brings joy to the heart of God yeah it's not like well you ought to do that because I expect it mm-hmm I think even as parents when we see our children acting in a beautiful way mm-hmm weaks means joy I think it brings joy to the heart of God when he sees his mercy extended through us and then so can we say that in life food clothes money they're important but they're not the most important or they're not the priority these priorities that we should have in life can we say that right but that means that God called us to a higher standards than that of the world and that may bring us into situations sometimes where our relationship with those in power that may change our relationship with those people who are oppressing other people right so how should we respond as Christian if we are in situations where our convictions from the Word of God may not be in line with the policies of the government or people in power all right as let let us read Acts chapter 5 verse 29 to give us an idea of how the people of God or at least the disciples of Jesus dealt with situations like that in the past after reading this we will answer that question again so traffic Trevor if you can read for us Acts chapter 5 verse 29 Acts chapter 5 verse 29 and I'll be reading from the New King James translation but Peter and the other apostles answered and said we ought to obey God rather than men before before in before talking about that verse should we obey the government first let's let's answer the question is government important in our lives yes there are other Bible texts that tell us we should yeah yes so then the next question is what if the policies of the government or people in power come in conflict with the teachings of God yes Edinson well I think of the example of Daniel I mean he had one of the highest positions in Babylon and he did it the very best job you could possibly do the only time when he would go against decrese the laws of the land if it was going to conflict with his with being obedient to the law of God and following his conscience he was even willing to go to the Danza Lions because he chose rather to obey God rather than men yes Stephanie yes I I just when I think about Daniel and I think about how Jesus responded it wasn't defiantly mm-hmm it was with a humble spirit and I think we need to keep that in mind that even though it there might be a conflict when we deal with that conflict we humbly follow God and we don't we don't go to the the lower plane hmm and and be mean ruff yes we may also have the choice unlike some prisoners of war who didn't have the choice to leave we may have the choice to say I think I'm going to emigrate to another country mm-hmm because I'm thinking of friends who at certain times lived in parts of Europe where there was no religious freedom and they chose to to move to another country where there was religious freedom right because they wanted the children to be able to study the Bible to honor God so I I don't think we always have to get into a a like a fierce conflict we may say that's the way they choose choosing to be here but that's not the way I've chosen to live Daniel especially in his young life didn't have that choice he like prisoner of war mm-hmm but we may choose it would be better to live in this setting then then please lay there even yes looking at Daniel that you mentioned look at his story he stood up for people right isn't that what God calls us to standing up for people even if the policies or the rules that the government or people in power have put in place to oppress other people yes Travis and in in I like what everyone's saying because this brings something to my mind is when when we're faced with this kind of thing we can go out in protest and make all kinds of but you know Daniel prayed so maybe we should pray test instead of protest instead of making a big deal we can go to God with this yes Pedro and this is also I think is a time of witnessing and we're witnessing with the humble heart you know we're not trying to impose what we believe we're trying to share the light of Christ and we do it that rambly amen Jonathon thinking it's kind of how the kingdom of God is advances in a totally different way than the kingdoms of this world rather than by force it's by appealing to these leaders hearts and demonstrating a way of peace we're working for them but we're also standing up for truth and for the poor so it's it's yeah seek ye first the kingdom of God it goes about in life in a different way and appeals to people amen amen can anyone share an experience or a time when God gave you the courage or the power to honor him in a potentially compromising situation Trevor as a teacher I am constantly faced with issues of having to do things on the Sabbath hmm and recently I just receive a special certification but at the time I didn't know the training for that would take place over the Sabbath oh and I got wise counsel and prayed to God what should i do how should I handle this and he did give me the courage and the strength and someone said it's a witnessing tool to share my faith and humble myself and it all worked out because she understood in the end about faith and honoring that and accommodations were made for me so as we mentioned it doesn't have to be a protests and be aggressive you can humble yourself and share your faith and witness at the same time and God will bless and he gave me the courage because I was pretty nervous I thought I would have to pay back the funding for that training but God bless in the end amen amen let us continue our study by reading James chapter 2 verse fifteen and sixteen and Gary if you can read for us mmm James chapter 2 verse 15 and 16 and we will answer the question then what are we called to do as Christians in terms of helping those in need is knowing the fact that people need help enough or not Gary okay I'll be reading from the New King James Version James 2 15 and 16 if a brother or sisters naked and destitute of daily food and one of you says to them depart in peace be warmed and filled but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body what does it profit what can we learn from this verse yes Gary we have to put our actions where are our words are right so if you see someone with the need and you say okay this is the way you should go well do something about it yes Addison I was just going to react or what he was saying we got a as as Christians we have such that we have a privilege to write translate those words into actions and those those powerful words of Jesus that counsel he gives us yes Holy Word we can we can make and create actions and out of those I like a difference I like what you said about that by using the word privilege you know it is an opportunity right yes Travis this verse just reminds me like you're a man who doesn't own a car and you tell somebody yeah just take my car but you just don't have one you know you're promising something that you don't have it's like empty all right so let's get practical now right so what are the ways that we can show mercy what are the ways that we can put our words into action let's answer that question by first reading Leviticus let's go to the Old Testament let's look at some principles that God gave back in the Old Testament Leviticus chapter 25 verses 35 to 37 and Nicole if you can please read for us Leviticus chapter 25 verses 35 to 37 and we will look at what God the principles that God gave to his people in the Old Testament Leviticus 25 verses 35 to 37 the New International Version says if any of your fellow Israelites become poor and are unable to support themselves among you help them as you would a foreigner and stranger so they can continue to live among you do not take interest or any profit from them but fear your God so that they may continue to live among you you must not lend them money at interest or sell them proffered at a profit Wow so what stands out for you from that verse yes well there's two things they stand out from me here first of all taking care of our brethren you know sometimes in in the church environment we want to help the others outside of the church which are important but we forgot to check if we're family members and our church are being cared for and one of the things and that's the principle I always took of of seeing here we should not take profit of each other and if we can help without expecting nothing eternal of not trying to get something from them you know somebody struggling hmm yes Gladys yes why I got my attention was what it says treat them as a foreigner a stranger and in a previous lesson we talked about how to treat the stranger in our midst if you have a veneer or feel leave out don't don't pick up everything just live something for for for the stranger and the furnace oh that is interesting that is say is thinking about the people that come you know and that are just part of our of our family like like Peters ephedra said about in our own churches that may be hungry and we may not know so providing for the people in house as well amen amen so what principle can we take from this this verse that God gave to the people his people what would be the one principle that we can take away in terms of helping those in yes Jonathan it reminds me of the verse where Christ says what good is it for if you give to those who'd give back to you right I mean living this way changes you from what do i how do I calculate in order to get something for myself or how to this is know this is about being a blessing to this person who has no relation to you and may actually be hurting you in some way but your goal is to think about their needs and to prioritize them yes you know it's quite countercultural because some people if they shortage of food they put the price up so they can money and and and the bible is saying don't do that it don't advance someone and what I was thinking of was the simple principle of Jesus to treat them the way you would like to be treated yeah if you'd say well if I was in that situation I would appreciate some mercy then show mercy to them yes yes Nancy can you read for us 1st Timothy chapter 6 verse 17 to 19 let's jump now to the New Testament we have looked at the principles from the Old Testament let's go down to the New Testament and see what the principles that God gave to us 1st Timothy chapter 6 verse 17 to 19 1719 okay and I'm reading from the New King James Version command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty in order to trust in uncertain riches but in the Living God who gives us richly all things to enjoy let them do good that they be rich in good works ready to give willing to share storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come that they may lay hold on eternal life so what does this verse tell us about generosity towards those in need any what do you when it was talking about stirring up I thought of the exact opposite which is the fellow that kept building a bigger barn yes doing it for himself and here it's saying store up by giving away yeah or what why are you storing treasure in heaven yeah we're thieves can't break in and steal a moth can't eat or rust corrupt right yes but that's kind of strange by giving to those in need we're actually storing up treasures yes isn't that isn't it interesting like that's as you have mentioned that's countercultural it once again both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament we find principles in the scripture of God inviting us to reach out to people if you are rich share your blessings so here we can we can say for this section that one way out of the many ways one way to show mercy to those in need to put our words into action is to be generous amen yeah so that next question is what are some ways to be generous besides giving money donating to a certain cost Gladys our time that's the most precious thing that we have we only have 24 hours a day and sometimes we say I'm too busy mm-hmm you know I cannot do it and like Travis said you know sometimes we sour jobs we said I have I'm too busy with my job or I have 10 kids or five kids for there to take care of and we've put helping others aside yeah keeping our time that is a way that we can prioritize mmm doing the work of God so beside money sharing time is one way of being generous yes Pedro sharing your skills out so you know you have many talents I might church I like to help people with the things I do I like to face cars I like to do handiwork at homes and I make myself available to do those things because sometimes people know how to do it they don't have the money to be able to fix things that are very expensive with you for people who are skilled I have no cost so skills yes Travis I think prayer you know prayer is a huge tool and a manufacturer I don't remember where the verse is but I remember it's saying in the verse that not to intercede for somebody in prayer is a sin like God says you need to pray for them you know we need to pray for people and I think prayer is a huge thing prayer yes Trevor education is very valuable mm-hmm in terms of how can you possibly help any community unless you know about that community one of the first things we did in my church because we wanted to do more in our little small community is I went to the city and got a needs assessment and in that needs assessment oh the information was so valuable because then we can pinpoint what exactly people need and what agencies can we work with to help them and so education about your community is priceless amen amen so that is that is an example of how God impressed you yes to reach out to other and show mercy can anyone share an experience when someone came to you and someone showed you mercy or a through a generous spirit or it could be time or money any experience where you felt blessed by someone else yes Travis I when I was just starting business 20 years old I had a truck it broke down and I was building my first house for and this he was such a nice man and he knew my truck broke down and he took me down to the to the auto lot and he bought me a truck and he I had to pay for it but it would come out of the house and I felt embarrassed because I'm building his house but I built him a home his his name was Rick and he's passed away now and I never got to go back and thank him but for years I thought about how generous that he was to do that for me and I was my first whole home and I longed it launched my career as a home builder and it was just an amazing thing that I still remember to this day you know that reminds me of saying that goes no man is an island yeah we all need help you know we can't survive alone we are created to be people of community you know we function best as human beings as mankind when we work together in together right so let's conclude this part of our study by saying that one major way that we can show mercy that we can put our words into action is by being generous it could be through money or through time through skills through prayer right through education but let's look at let's take it to the next level and find another way how we can put these words into practice right let's read Matthew chapter 5 verse 9 and we will find we will we will find another way of how we can show mercy to others Stephanie can you read for us Matthew chapter 5 verse 9 sure and I'll be reading from the King James Version blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God amen before we ant unpack that let's continue reading Isaiah chapter 52 verse 7 let's go back to the Old Testament and after reading this we will unpack those two verses alright Gary if you can can you kindly read force Isaiah chapter 52 verse 7 okay and I'll be reading from the New King James Version how beautiful how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who bring good news who proclaim peace who brings glad tidings of good things who proclaim salvation who says to Zion your God reigns all right so let's unpack those two verses what word stood out for you and turns up showing mercy to others yes Jonathan I just think about how in our world there's so much contention over different issues um in various areas where people just aren't able to listen to each other or are more prone to look at and can point out the problems of other people and I think this as a calling to say it's as as followers of Christ it's our responsibility to reach out and to try to be the voice of the other side or to listen and seek to understand and you build bridges of trust so you can say okay there's something yes good about this other person they're coming from their own context yes we we found we found - from those two verses one word that summarizes what you just said he's right he's making right yes Stephanie I guess it came to my mind was Romans 5 verse 1 where it says well if we can go there do you want to read that sure just give us time to go there first one Romans chapter 5 verse 1 and it also talks about peace okay making keys yes all right and I'll be reading from the King James Version therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ hmm and I I took the view that this peacemaking is bringing people to Jesus to have that connection and find that peace with him mm-hmm just like in Isaiah 52 7 mmm publishing peace and sharing the gospel with those right isn't the whole Ministry of Jesus the fact that he came to this earth was to make peace right to reconcile mankind with God so from these two verses I believe we can learn that if we are children of God if we are followers of Christ we are called to be peacemakers yes there in the P attitude it just caught my attention Puia you would think it would say blessed is the one that the peacemaker helps to find peace but it doesn't it says blessed is the peacemaker mmm so what that tells me for you huh is that when we join God in what he's doing we're blessed now I believe that let's say this contention and you help people to find peace or someone's separated from God and you help them find peace with God I believe they're blessed but this is saying you're blessed as the peacemaker yeah when you join the Prince of Peace yes what he's doing yes yes yes so in bringing that back to the title of our study so how does how does your ministry to others as a peacemaker demonstrate your love for mercy how does the word mercy and peacemaking go together yes Nicole if you look at the definition of the word mercy its compassion and forgiveness for someone that you could harm they're under your authority you can actually harm them and so if you're bringing peace you're actually showing mercy because you are taking away the ability to be able to harm them and actually putting them in a place where they can actually have life so that's I think the to kind of relate yes so you can't separate the two right making peace and having mercy go hand in hand so can anyone share an experience where God gave you the opportunity to be the peacemaker and any experience that you have had of making peace between two of your friends or it could be between two countries two schools or two institutions and the experience yes Nancy well with my children I have and I found that what's helpful is to listen to them people want to be heard and when you hear their perspective you understand more where they're coming from and then they come to a place where they can reconcile yes so starts with the family yes recently you know my school there was some situation with a teacher in another teacher um one teacher thought that the other teacher has said something about her and she was very defensive hmm and it was just like the Lord just saying you know just ask you know I say have you talked to her it was just a thing well have you talked to her ask her exactly you know because I sometimes people just are afraid to go straight on and say hey I heard this is this true though it was so simple but at the same time so profound to me because the Lord was just like speaking to me as well when I have a situation do I go first to the person and say hey you know can we work this out right you know so it was just an amazing experience not only for for her and there was a teacher but it was also for me being able to ask the question in solve the situation right amen amen God puts us in situations in places where we can be peacemakers right and so we have looked at one way of showing mercy or having mercy by being generous right and the next that we just looked at is by being peacemakers now let's go further into a lesson and study another way of having mercy or loving mercy right let us read Psalm number 146 and verse 9 and Jonathan if you can you please read for us Psalms 146 verse 9 alright and I'll be reading from the New Living Translation the Lord protects the foreigners among us he cares for the orphans and widows because he frustrates the plans of the wicked mm-hm alright before we unpack that let us read Isaiah chapter 58 verse 6 and 7 and Trevor if you can read for us Isaiah 58 verse 6 and 7 we will look at these two verses and answer the question what are the ways can we show mercy to others right Isaiah 58 verse 6 and 7 and I'll be reading from the New King James translation starting with verse 6 is this not the fast that I have chosen to loose the bonds of wickedness to undo the heavy burdens to let the oppressed go free and that you break every yoke is it not to share your bread with the hungry and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out when you see the naked that you cover him and not hide yourself from your own flesh mm-hmm so looking at those two verses that we just read what stands out for you Travis I see you smiling I've studied this whole chapter a lot and and and there's multiple meanings in this thing for me right first in the context of our study today in the context of our study today is there's people in this world who don't know Jesus and and when it talks about that we should clothe somebody many are not clothed with the righteousness of Christ when people are hungry Jesus is I'm the bread of life we need to bring them the bread of life it's not just physical food but we can bring them spiritual food and it and at the end it's just don't hide yourself from your own flesh mm-hmm we as Christians need to be open we're just sinners just like everybody else right and and to hide yourself from that from who you are to people it's it's it's basically lying yes Thank You Nicole but while I agree with what Travis said you have to also look at the people who have needs yeah people were hungry they're people who need shelter and just as Jesus did he met the physical needs of the individual came in contact with and then he also blessed them spiritually so sometimes they have to reach people where they are in order to get their attention and then we can then bring them Jesus and let them know listen because Jesus I was able to help you and that may be able to reach someone in a way that we could reach them yes yes amen these are people who needs help yes Gladys I'm just thinking the same in the same vein as Nicole that sometimes we just like say to the people I'm gonna pray for you and we have the resources or no the connections to have somebody that can help them but we just say we're gonna pray for you and we don't get involved personally something that the text is basically telling you telling us mm-hmm just go out there and do your part do what you can do yes and God will provide yes Patricia I notice that the first acts that we've read says that the Lord watches over those people but then the second taxes telling us you need to do it I thought yes so can we say that God is asking us to stand up yeah those people to be the voice for the voiceless right to stand up for the unjustice that we see around us yes there you know I heard a story for you just this weekend and I won't share all of the details but it was a family that saw another family that it was in great need hmm the family had suffered some trauma and an accident and this other family said you know our house just happens to be a handicapped accessible house they have ramps we have wide doors mm-hmm now that could just be a coincidence or it could be the even ahead of time God provided and so then he brought this family in need who would need wide doors and ramps I know what I'm saying right so I think when we just pray God I want to be open to love mercy like you do today mm-hmm that he might say I have someone that needs exactly back to what Pedro said may be a skill or it may be a home that has wide doors and ramps right and I'm gonna lead someone so that you can show my love to them yes yes God loves everyone but he wants to use this as his instrument in his hands and feet right yes Nancy I have friends who have three children of their own but then they believe they were thinking about adopting and God actually showed the mom of vision she was out in the summertime and she saw in this in the clouds a formation of the word joy she thought am I seeing things then they went to a service and they were singing a song that had the word joy in it a lot and then they just kept running into situations with the word joy it turns out that the little girl that they were to adopt her name has joy the word joy in it and she's just this little asian girl you know with Down syndrome and she's just precious now you would think that that okay they adopted one but also they adopted two more children by the time you know they had already adopted one then they adopted this one and then the husband had a dream and in the dream he dreamt that he was in a courthouse and all of his he and his family big big family were on one side and on the other side was this little boy this little asian boy and he was all by himself and the judge asked him if he was willing to adopt him and he thought my goodness but I already have my three children and two others and then the Spirit of God spoke to him but this boy has no one and they adopted him too and these children the little boys is one of my son's very very dear friend and I just really admire this family they they've given so generously exactly this is what God calls us to be to give to give like extravagantly like he gives to us amen amen so let's look at the Ministry of Jesus looking at his time while he was here on earth when do we see Jesus standing up for people who didn't have a voice or people who those who need his help is there any story or a chapter or like something that you have read come to mind of when Jesus stood up for someone who didn't have a voice yes Trevor I think this is a very subtle example I think it's in maybe Luke I believe chapter 14 but the women that came in and she she used her tears to wash she's a speech she had that expensive oil anointed his head mm-hmm and Judas was like wait a minute was so wasteful hmm she could have used that money for the poor and we know at the time Judas was not being sincere because he was the one that kept the money bag and doing some cheating there with the money and so jesus said leave her alone she has done a good thing so I think that's a very subtle example where Jesus was like wait a minute this woman is doing a good thing do not you know fault her for doing that hmm yes thank you yes Nicole Luke same book when he raised the widow's son you know the widow she had no one else all she had was her son her sons passed away she was very very sad and he went and took compassion on her and did not want to be alone and so he actually raised her son from the dead so that's him looking out for widows yes yes and yes Stephanie well I was thinking of when the mothers brought their children to Jesus for him to bless them and his disciples were you know don't bother he said no no bring them here and he blessed each one of you amen amen yes Pedro well it's interesting during the sufferings of Christ you know he's at the cross he remember his mother care for her and says John take up me my mother you know I'm dying on the cross for our sins mmm but he looked down and he remembered his mother mother it was there yes amen yes Gary I can't remember which feeding but it was I believe the gospel said that Jesus had compassion on the crowd the multitude yes that was following him for you know next number of days he meant fed them all so throughout the ministries of Jesus we find him standing up for people standing up for the oppressed sending and standing up for people who are outcasts right Jesus was always the voice for the voiceless and that's why his teachings were so radical for the his time now let's come to our day and age today in modern times who comes to your mind as someone who stands up and speaks for the voiceless or people who are oppressed it could be out from outside of the Bible or outside of the Christian literature anybody comes to mine as an example who fights for the rights of people yes there you know I'm just thinking that we probably wouldn't know their name because that's know why they do it good point so they're there in the inner city mm-hmm Moses to where we live and they're getting out there and they're maybe running the food pantry like Trevor talked about in your home area and they're not they're not being interviewed on national TV right but but they are indeed extending the love of God in a very tangible way right maybe we should ask the least of these yeah right and they would tell us who they are they say oh it's Susan it's John it's that that person that comes you know late at night mm-hmm that story I heard of a of a an elderly lady who decided she would have a ministry to women who were on the streets who would come and put her arms around them now now you talk about different talents that's not a talent that God would ask Gary or Jonathan to do you know but this mother is this loving godly woman could go out there and and put her arms around these young women who were in such a dangerous setting we may never know their names but Jesus so someone let's say hopes have a school member from another part of the world is watching this episode and is wondering yes I'm convicted that I need to show mercy right I need to love mercy but what can I do now right how can my love for mercy expand what if someone is asking that question how would you respond yes Nicole I would say the first thing to do is pray that's the spirit to lead you and guide you in the way that you should go to be able to show mercy to someone because I think on our own we are not capable really of showing true mercy because it's just not our character and with the Holy Spirit and with Christ in our life I think we then are led to where we can actually show mercy and then we ask the Lord to give us the strength to be merciful to that person that we come in contact with yes yes Gladys it's just like fessor Derrick was saying just making ourselves available mm-hmm it's not just you know praying but also making ourselves available like God lead us to the person or the people that we need to be serving every day yes Edinson anything else comes to mind why I specifically I'm from Canada and I'm just thinking about my home church right now okay growing up there I mean it's always had a special place in my heart and so I just want to re react o of the things that have been said here today to my home church back home in Canada just want to continue each of you to show mercy to others pray for a willing spirit yea and allow God to use you in a powerful fedra or we see the relationship is key for this to happen because if you don't know the people how can you help them so got to know in prayer ask God to put people in your life that will be able to impact they don't have the relationships you don't meet with them relations and a personal level you will never know amen amen Gary um pray for for a understanding of how God has been merciful to yourself good to you because without a true appreciation for what God is doing what he has done for you you can't be spurred on to do anything even if people are around you that need it but when you ask God to open your eyes to see how much he has blessed you and been a blessing in your life you'd want to share that Amen man those are all good points to it my personal point of view I think in my personal experience when it comes to having mercy towards others what has helped me is education you know reading and exploring knowing the facts being informed about what's happening around the world and also traveling you know traveling really helps it's one thing to see someone in need through TV screen but it's a whole other experience when you're actually on the ground seeing the people in need you know you could visit a refugee center or if a reason visit a refugee camp somewhere or even a refugee resettlement here in the United States you know we can go to the grounds and by traveling I believe we can really find practical needs that we can help people with now let's conclude our study so we have looked at the port the fact that God wants us to be merciful and we can be merciful by being generous right being the peacemakers and standing up for people what a great study you know I'm just reminded of what Jesus said and Jesus says it simply but powerfully he says be merciful just as your father in heaven is merciful let's pray that that could happen in your right Nicole it is a miracle but it can happen by the power of the Holy Spirit let's pray father in heaven we're just so thankful that you were a merciful God Father Son and Holy Spirit that you love mercy and that you want to show your mercy innocent through us we just want to be available not just to talk about mercy but to act mercifully may those around us be blessed and may joy come to your heart we pray in the name of Jesus amen what a challenging study thank you for you thank you for being with us don't just go out and talk mercy go out and be merciful be a blessing to those around you [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Channel: HopeSabbathSchool

Views: 17,230

Rating: 4.7704916 out of 5

Keywords: hopesabbathschool, Hope Sabbath School, Derek Morris, Seventh-Day Adventist, bible study, love mercy

Id: ny2ibe4mF0c

Length: 58min 29sec (3509 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 15 2019