♪ theme music ♪ (Derek) Welcome to Hope Sabbath School, an in-depth, interactive study of the Word of God. I'm excited about today's topic in this series on <i>Lessons for Life.</i> We're finding education in the Word of God and today's topic is <i>Learning to Worship</i> <i>in Spirit and Truth.</i> I've wanted to learn about this topic for so long. We're going to learn in our in-depth, interactive study. We'd love to hear from you, too, and I'll be challenging you to participate in just a little while, but welcome; we're glad you're with us. And welcome to the team, and again we're just the remnant, aren't we? Just five of us because
of the restrictions, but we know Hope Sabbath School members are joining us all around the world, and God's been working in this series, <i>Lessons for Life,</i> practical lessons from the Word of God. We're getting an education from the Word of God and today, talking about worshiping the Lord, <i>Learning to Worship in Spirit and Truth.</i> And we're glad you're part of our Hope Sabbath School family. We're always so happy to hear from you. You can write to us at sshope@hopetv.org. I get excited when I read emails of how the Spirit of God is blessing you through an in-depth, interactive study
of His Word. I get especially excited when I hear that you're teaching a class using the outline from our website at hopetv.org/hopess. You can download the same outline that we use for our class. So, we're part of a great miracle
of God together. I want to thank Yohanna for writing from northern Nigeria; in fact, he sent us a picture, and we're going to take a look at Yohanna on the screen there. You know, northern Nigeria has faced some challenges at times, but he says, "Greetings to Hope Sabbath School members in the name of Jesus." Let's give Yohanna a wave. He says, "I'm so excited to have found a friend in Jesus." Oh my! I'm going to get excited. He's found a friend in Jesus and "through Hope Sabbath School." (Team) Wow. Amen. (Derek) "I'm learning to invite other people around me to be friends with Jesus." (Team) Amen. (Derek) "I'm going through a tough time in my life right now, but I just finished watching
your broadcast, which I downloaded from YouTube, and I must confess, the Holy Spirit has used your program to lift me up today, as always, and I'm so filled with hope right now for the future, because I know Jesus loves me." (Team) Amen! (Derek) That was worth it for the whole series, wasn't it? Just to hear from Yohanna. "Special greetings to Jason, my friend in Jesus." Jason, give Yohanna a wave. "I want Jason to know I always look out for him during the Scripture song every week. I love his enthusiasm. Hope to see you in Heaven." Well, I want to thank you, Yohanna, and actually, during this pandemic, with all the restrictions and just five people on our team instead of twelve, we're not allowed to sing, but you'll be singing there in northern Nigeria, and we know that the Word of God will bless many lives. Here's a note from Olaotan in Canada. Olaotan was born in Nigeria, moved to England, stopped going to church about 14 years ago, God worked His way back into his life in 2013 through Hope Channel! (Team) Amen. (Derek) "Hope Sabbath School and more recently another program, InVerse," some of you
have watched InVerse, "have been a regular part of my weekly study. I am truly blessed," says Olaotan. "I now live in Canada and enjoy being part of the global family." Now, remember he was born in Nigeria. I looked up the town where he lives in Canada. They get 41 inches of snow a year, 44 snow days, and they're on the edge of Lake Ontario. And so, Olaotan, we're going to be praying that you stay warm! But we're glad that you're part of our Hope Sabbath School family. Isn't it amazing that God brought him back home and that Hope Channel could be a part of that? I just want to say, "Hallelujah,
praise God!" Alright, a donor writes to us from South Carolina. You might say, "You know, I don't know if I could really make a big difference." Well, I believe everyone can be part of the mission, and this precious donor wrote and said, "Here's my contribution for Hope Sabbath School," and a gift of 46 dollars. (Team) Amen. (Derek) And I say, "Praise God," because we can all be part of God's great mission to the world. You can go to hopetv.org/donate. You can be a part of that. Whether it's a little or a lot, God knows our hearts. We can be a part of that, and I'm thankful for your support from South Carolina. Well, here's one note from the U.K. from Dumisani. Dumisani writes and says, "I'd like to say a big thank you
for all you do. Your teaching methods are very simple to understand. I would like to make a donation to Hope Sabbath School. Please send me a link. Keep up the good work. Dumisani from England." Well, you know, I want to thank you. Someone said, "My donation is to pray for Hope Sabbath School." I said, "Amen," but we just want to thank you for partnering with us. Here is one last note; it's from Michigan in the United States. "Thank you for blessing my Uncle Eb Ebenezer." His name's Eb Ebenezer from Michigan. "He's 80 years old; he enjoys so much watching Hope Sabbath School. Please say hello to Uncle Eb on TV. He would appreciate it, from the Ebenezer family." Well, let's give Uncle Eb a wave, alright? Eighty years old, part of our Hope Sabbath School family. You know, we have Hope Sabbath School members, we've had some write in,
like, 10 years old. Our oldest one was 102. So, Eb, you're a youngster. If you're watching today, you're a youngster at 80, but we're glad you're part of our Hope Sabbath School family. Right now we need you to help us sing our theme song. It's taken from, a Scripture song, from Proverbs 19 and verse 20. It says, for this series on <i>Lessons for Life,</i> "Listen to counsel, receive instruction, that you may be wise in your latter days." Let's sing it together. ♪ music ♪ (Derek) Let's pray together. Father in Heaven, we're excited today to learn more <i>Lessons for Life</i> as we look at what it means, learning to worship You in spirit and in truth. I thank You that Your Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path, and that when the Holy Spirit comes, Jesus told us, He promised, the Holy Spirit will lead us
into all truth. So, guide us in our study today. May lives be blessed. May families be blessed. We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen. (Team) Amen. (Derek) Well, this is a topic that really caught my attention, <i>Learning to Worship in Spirit
and in Truth.</i> It has been said that we all
worship something, that there's this God-shaped vacuum
inside of us, that actually only God can fill, the true God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, who we've learned from this series
loves us with an immeasurable and unfailing love. But what are some other things that people try to put in the place of God? What are some things people worship or people that people worship? Anybody. (Team Member) Money. (Derek) Some people worship money. (Stephanie) Any kind of talent. (Derek) Some people worship a special talent they have, or someone else's talent. (Sabina) Even their job or the results of their job. (Derek) So, their status, their position, they kind of worship that. Billy? (Billy) I've even seen chlidren, like, they love their children so much it's like they worship their children, which, is, yeah, unbelievable. (Derek) There are some parts of the world that children are kind of treated like they are a deity, right? Whatever they want, they're given. People worship other people, right? And, of course, you say, "Well, people also worship idols." Some people worship demons. But there is a longing in the heart to worship. Did you know that three
of the commandments talk specifically about worship? Let's take a look at them in Exodus, chapter 20, three commands that talk about worship. Exodus, chapter 20, verses 2 and 3. Let's start there, Gary, if you would read one commandment that talks about worshp. (Gary) Okay, and I'll be reading from the King James Version,
Exodus 20, verse 2: (Derek) Alright, so, the first commandment basically is to worship...? (Team) God. (Derek) The one true God, right? What about verses 4 through 6 of the same chapter? Billy, could you read that for us? (Billy) Sure, and I'll be reading from the King James Version: (Derek) It's interesting that while Moses is bringing the Ten Commandments down off of Mount Sinai, they're worshiping an idol
down there, right? They made, what? (Derek, Team) A golden calf. (Derek) ...which was one of the things that were worshiped back in Egypt, and they're saying, "You're the god who brought us out of Egypt." So, there's this tendency in many cultures to make something and say, "Well, that's my god," and to worship it, right? There's a third commandment that talks about worship. Stephanie, in verses 8 through 11
of Exodus 20. (Stephanie) The King James Version says: (Derek) I have a question for you. I don't know that there's necessarily
a right answer, but at least from your perspective, three of the commandments
talk about worship. Jesus is going to challenge us, when we worship, to worship HIm in spirit and truth, but let me ask you, which of those three commandments do you think is most disregarded today? (Stephanie) The first one. (Derek) The first one, that they put some other thing before God. Alright, anyone else? Idols? No, not so much? Billy? (Billy) I was going to say, statistically speaking, if you look at the Christian community, it seems that the fourth commandment is the one that's least practiced in terms of worshiping. (Derek) Which is to remember
the Sabbath day. (Billy) Exactly, as a form of worship to God, yeah. (Derek) Yes, Gary? (Gary) I guess my question would be, does it matter if one was more than the other, because either way, you break one, you break them all... (Derek) So, yeah, that's a good point. You know, we should not be disregarding any of those commandments
about worship, right? But it's interesting that people will find <i>something</i> to worship, and they'll find a way to worship. The question is, is it what God's asking for, or does He want us to worship in spirit and truth? Jason. (Jason) Thinking of the second
commandment, we think of it a lot of times only in terms of physical images, but an idol is anything that takes the place of God. It can be beliefs, philosophies, ideas. And so, I would argue that today, particularly in, say, Western culture,
maybe there's not so much a physical representation, but when it comes to ideas, that commandment is disregarded probably the most of almost any
of the others. (Derek) Well, it's interesting, not only in the commandments but in a last message to be given to the world by these angels representing a last day message in Revelation, chapter 14, it's also all about worship. Let's take a look at that, Jason, if you'd read for us in Revelation, chapter 14, verses 6 through 10. (Jason) And I've got the New King James Version here. Revelation, chapter 14, verses 6 through 10 say this: (Derek) So, the question here, when we're talking about worship, apparently the last message is that we need to get this whole worship issue right, right? (Team) Yes. (Derek) It seems, and we're going to look at an ancient story, that there's actually going to be an attempt to force people to worship a beast. Now, in Revelation, "beast" is not like an animal, though it's portrayed...it's
a power, right? Either a political, religious or politicoreligious power forcing people to worship in a certain way. And the call is to do what, in the message in Revelation 14? (Billy) To worship the true God. (Derek) To worship the true God,
that's right. The One who is the Creator God, right? So, this issue of worship
is not unimportant. In fact, it's essential. Now, this whole idea of being forced to worship in a way that is contrary to the teaching of the commandments of God has a story, way back in the book of Daniel. If you look with me in Daniel, chapter 3, we're going to pick up this story. We did a whole series on Hope Sabbath School on the book of Daniel. And, by the way, just pausing to talk to you folks. If you didn't get that series on Daniel, you can go to our website,
hopetv.org/hopess. You can also get a series of Bible studies on Daniel and Revelation at HopeBibleStudy.org. We have hundreds of people signing up for Bible study. HopeBibleStudy.org, choose the one on <i>Focus on Prophecy</i> because if ever we needed to be studying Bible prophecies, it's now, in these last days of Earth's history. But this story in Daniel, chapter 3, isn't just about back then. How many years ago is it?
2,600 years ago, almost. It's about something that we're going to have to face, too. So, let's pick up the story, and, Gary, could you start reading for us, please, in Daniel, chapter 3, and would you read the first 7 verses for us? (Gary) Okay, and I'll be reading from the King James Version, Daniel 3: (Derek) Now, sometimes it's good to have a more modern translation because when you read "threescore cubits," most of the people in the world had no idea what you were talking about. A cubit was the distance from the elbow to the tip of the finger, and a score is 20. Does someone have another translation, or do you have something in your margin? How tall was this statue? Jason? My notes say it's about 90 feet high. (Derek) About 90 feet high, so this is not some, "Oh, I think I can see it." This is a huge statue. Now, people say it would have been terribly out of proportion; maybe it was standing on a pedestal because it was 90 feet tall, and it was only - how wide was it? I think it was 6 cubits wide, right, so it would be like a long skinny stick, but maybe it was broader, and it was up on a pedestal; it was huge. Now, here's the question: (If you didn't read Daniel, chapter 2, you wouldn't understand.) What does this huge golden man or who does it represent? What's the answer? Do you know, Stephanie? (Stephanie) It represents the Kingdom of Babylon. (Derek) Okay, the Kingdom of Babylon? (Stephanie) The gold, the kingdom. (Derek) Well, in Daniel 2... (Stephanie) In Daniel, chapter 2. (Derek) ...gold was representing
the Kingdom of Babylon. (Sabina) It represents Nebuchadnezzar
himself? (Derek) Yeah, "This is me. This is me. I'm the man. And, by the way, that thing about my kingdom and then the silver, and then...no, no; my kingdom
will last forever." So, he's actually commanding all of the leaders who've come there to the plain of Dura, he's commanding them to do what? (Team) Worship. (Derek) To worship him; to worship
him, right? A direct...what's the word I want
to use here? (Jason) Challenge? (Derek) ...challenge to the teaching of the Scripture, which is you shouldn't bow down and worship an idol, okay? So, the story continues, and, Jason, if you could read on in this amazing story because most people know about this story because of three young men, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, but people don't know them by those names; they know them by their Babylonian names, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. Let's see how the story unfolds. But remember our topic is <i>Learning to Worship in Spirit and Truth,</i> and what does this story have to do with the end time? Let's see how the story unfolds. (Jason) And I've got the New King James Version here, Daniel, chapter 3, verses 8 through 18: (Derek) So, what does that story have to do with us today? By the way, we don't know the rest of the story yet. Someone watching Hope Sabbath School
for the first time is going to say, "What happened to them?" We'll find that out in just a moment, but we're talking about false worship being forced upon people, and how many people go along with it? (Billy) A lot. (Derek) Almost all of them. Weren't there other Jews who had been taken with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego and Daniel? And it says that, we're going to discover, everybody except those three. Where was Daniel, by the way? (Stephanie) He must not have been there. (Derek) Yeah, he wasn't there. We don't know where he was. I guess the lesson is, we all have a test, and our test may be different. He'll face a test in the lions' den,
right? But here these three young men are tested. What does that have to do with us today? Sabina, could you go all the way to the end of the Bible, to Revelation? Keep your place in Daniel, chapter 3; we'll come back to hear the rest of the story. But Revelation 13, verses 11 to 15, it's almost like this story in Daniel was recorded to help us prepare for an end-time test. What do you read there, starting in verse 11 of Revelation 13? (Sabina) Okay, so I'll be reading from the New International Version,
and it says: (Derek) Sounds like Daniel, chapter 3, forced worship of an idol, clearly not the God of Heaven, and consequence of disobeying? (Team) Death. (Derek) Well, someone's going to say, "Well, maybe I should just go along with it, you know. I mean, when they tell you to bow down, maybe I could just bend and tie my shoe, drop something and bend to pick it up?" But we're going to learn from the story in Daniel, chapter 3, that it's really an issue of the heart, isn't it? Worship (we're going to talk about spirit and truth) is of the heart, and what does that heart relationship that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego have with the Creator God, how does that impact the outcome of the story? Let's go back to Daniel, chapter 3, and pick up in verse 19, verse 19. And who will read that for us? Stephanie, beginning with verse 19 of Daniel 3, here's the rest of the story that would be retold to their children and grandchildren and is being told today about three young men, who, because of their love for God, decided that they would worship in spirit and truth. Let's see what it says. (Stephanie) And I'll be reading from the King James Version, starting in verse 19: (Derek) It's an amazing story. And it's interesting, even the king will confess that they were willing to basically lay down their lives, that they would not serve nor worship any god except their own God, who even Nebuchadnezzar will later come to confess is the true God, the Most High God, right? So, here are these three young men who are willing to die rather than engage in false worship. End-time, what is it going to take for men and women to have the courage to say, "I would rather die than engage in false worship"? What's it going to take, Stephanie, from the story? (Stephanie) What comes to my mind is in chapter 2, when they looked at a death decree in that chapter, their response was a prayer to God, and they saw God work a miracle on their behalf. And I think it's that connection with God and that experience with Him that has built a trust and a faith that you can put your entire life into God's hands and trust Him, that, even if He chooses not to answer the way you're asking Him to answer, you're accepting that and saying, "God, this is Your life; my life is Yours. You do as You would have." And Billy shared an example of that in a previous study, and I think that's faith, to say, "Even if You don't answer the way I want you to, I still trust You." (Derek) I find myself saying, "I want to live like that." I want to have that kind of courage. Now, has anyone in our group, maybe someone watching, maybe you've experienced this, I don't know if any of us here have, that someone's tried to force you to worship in a way that was contrary to the Word of God. Has anybody...Did we grow up in a land where we're fairly free. We've not had that kind of coercion. Gary? (Gary) I don't want to say it was forced, as in, on pain of death, but maybe in my social circle, my group of friends, or because a lot of people were doing it, doing something a certain way, that I had to say, "No, I'm not going to do this..." (Derek) You had to take your stand. (Gary) Yeah, "I'm glad you
brought me here, and I don't want to disrespect
what you're doing, but I don't believe in doing this right now." (Derek) Or, "I don't believe
in doing it at all." (Gary) Yes, I'm sorry. I don't believe in doing this at all. (Derek) "And I'm not going to do it now." (Gary) Correct. I had an experience like that in college. I had met a group of, well, it was a Christian community, and they wanted to go to this big ecumenical Christian
convention type of thing. And we went, and there were some practices on their version
of Communion that didn't sit right with me, with what I understood and what I understand that the Bible teaches about Communion. And I said, "Look, I'm glad to praise God here with you, but I don't believe that doing this is what I should do, according to what the Bible is telling me, and I'm sorry." Yeah, I mean, they didn't ostracize me. It was an opportunity to share the Bible,
but yeah. (Derek) I'm sure that someone watching,
maybe you're watching and saying, "I have." Maybe you grew up, and I won't mention particular countries or philosophies where people have been imprisoned for believing in Jesus or believing and wanting to follow the Bible. But we will all have to face that test. And that heart commitment, that relationship with God, that we'll say, "God's able, but if He chooses to do some other way, I would rather die than engage in false worship." Now, that takes us to what Jesus said in John 4, verse 24 in a meeting with a Samaritan woman. The story is about a woman that Jesus meets at a well, Jacob's well, outside of the city of Sychar, and what are those words, Jason, that Jesus speaks to this Samaritan woman in John 4 and verse 24? (Jason) I've got the New
King James Version here, which says John 4:24: (Derek) So, what does that mean, and is that important? Well, in answer to the question, "Is it important?" Stephanie, could you go back to the previous verse in John, chapter 4 and verse 23? Again, Jesus is speaking to the Samaritan woman, and what does He say? (Stephanie) I'll be reading from the King James Version: (Derek) Is it important, Billy? (Billy) Very, very. (Derek) It's very important! The Father's seeking people who will worship Him in spirit and in truth, so what does that look like? What does it mean to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth? Sabina. (Sabina) I think that one thing that we can already see in the text, just to begin our reflection on that, is the fact that this lady, she was inquiring of Jesus about the fact that, how could she worship if her parents and her tradition were demanding her to be worshiping in a particular place, a mountain, and compared to the Jews who would worship in Jerusalem. And then Jesus responds to her that it would come, this time where the true ones would worship in spirit and in truth. So, I think that one thing already to respond to your question is, it doesn't depend on a particular place... (Derek) Okay, it's not this mountain
or that mountain. (Sabina) Exactly, so that's one... (Derek) This is important because the Father is seeking people to worship Him in spirit
and truth. Stephanie? (Stephanie) I'd like us to read Philippians 3, verse 3, if we could. (Derek) Sure, Philippians, chapter 3? (Stephanie) 3 and verse 3. (Derek) And verse 3, just give us a moment to find that. And this is helping us to understand a little more about what it means to worship God in spirit and truth? How does that read in your Bible? (Stephanie) The King James Version says: And I see two things here, that it's a heart issue. That "circumcision of the heart," is a gift from God. He creates in us clean hearts, and He changes our hearts of stone. And also, it's not only that, but they have "no confidence in the flesh," so when I'm worshiping in spirit and in truth, my confidence, and I'm revealing my confidence in God, not myself. (Derek) Would you say that worshiping in spirit is like a capital S, like worshiping, guided by the Holy Spirit? (Team) Yes. (Derek) Directed, empowered by the Holy Spirit? The Bible also speaks about praying in the spirit, right? So, how would the Holy Spirit, from what we know from the teaching of Jesus, how would the Holy Spirit guide us in our worship? What do we know from the teaching
of Jesus? Jason? (Jason) Well, Jesus said that the Spirit would guide us into all truth, so the Spirit can actually lead
into the truth and show us the correct way to live, to relate to each other. (Derek) And He says also He won't speak of Himself, right, but, "What I have said, He will proclaim to you." So, you would say, then, to worship in the spirit would be worshiping in harmony with the teaching of Jesus? (Team) Yes. (Derek) What about the rest of the Bible, because isn't the Holy Spirit the One that inspired the prophets, too, right? Sabina? (Sabina) And also the Bible tells us that a true conversion can only come out of the work of the Holy Spirit impressing our hearts about our sinful nature and our need for Christ. So, if we don't have an experience with the Holy Spirit, we are not going to repent, we are not going to have a relationship with Jesus. Therefore, our worship will not be out of truth, right? It's not going to be out of a truthful relationship, a truthful conversion,
so that's something. (Derek) This whole idea of worshiping in spirit and truth, it's going to be heart, heartfelt worship, but it's always guided by the truth, and what's the truth? (Team) Jesus. (Derek) Jesus is the truth, right? And His Word is truth, right? "Sanctify them by Thy truth; Thy Word is truth." So, it's a worship that's alive, heart worship, energized by the Holy Spirit that's in harmony with the Bible and with the teachings of Jesus. That's the kind of worship that the Father's seeking, not a forced worship of idols, right? But everyone will find
something to worship, but this is a heart worship guided by the Holy Spirit, in harmony with the Word of God. Billy? (Billy) I was going to emphasize that you need both, because if you only worship, let's say, you know, in truth, but your heart is not there, then there is no connectoin. It's out of hypocrisy; you are putting just a performance. And also, on the same side, the Spirit might be there, but there is no truth in it, so I think it's a combination of both, that they have to be combined and presented to God in our worship. (Derek) There's another text in the Old Testament in 1 Chronicles 16 and verse 29, which I'd like you to help me with because I think the two are related, that those who worship in spirit and truth...What does it say? Does someone have 1 Chronicles 16? Billy? No? You have it? 1 Chronicles 16? (Billy) What verse? (Derek) Verse 29. (Billy) Sure, and I'll be reading from the King James Version; 1 Chronicles 16, verse 29 says: (Derek) So, that's another insight, Gary. What do you think it means to, "Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness"? Let me give you the opposite. When the priests of Baal are running, trying to get this god to answer them, and they're cutting themselves, and they're screaming - you remember the story with Elijah - that is not the beauty of holiness, right? When they were worshiping the golden calf, running around naked, and the Bible describes the kind of immorality
that was happening, that's not the beauty of holiness. What do you think it means, "Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness"? (Gary) I think that those two descriptions that you had just described prior, God is not the author of confusion, right? There's an order and a way in which God would appreciate our worship, and I think if what we're doing is to worship or give glory to God and falls within the context of His Word, that is the beauty of holiness there. So, like, I mean there are different activities you could do, pray, sing, all those things, they were probably doing to their god, but the way in which they were doing it did not give glory to Him. (Derek) And that could vary from culture
to culture, couldn't it? (Gary) Yes. (Derek) You know, I've traveled
quite a bit in the world, though I'm not traveling anymore right now because of the health pandemic, but in some parts of the world, when you say, "Let's pray," everybody stands up; that's a sign of reverence. In other places you say, "Let's pray," everybody kneels down, not just the person up front,
everybody kneels down. You know, it's different. My wife's grandmother from Beijing, she would kowtow and blow kisses to Jesus, you know? That was her culture. Could all of those be the beauty of holiness? (Team) Yes! (Derek) Unless you were doing it to bring attention to yourself or, Billy, like you said, with a cold formalism, right? So, let's not try to say everyone has to do it exactly the same, but it reflects the beauty of God and His character. So, in the few minutes we have left, I'd like you to share a time because I think a lot of times worship is not in spirit and truth. It's cold; it's formal. People go to it, and they go, "If that's what it is, I don't need that," and they never go back again. Share a time when you really sensed you were participating in worship that was worshiping God in spirit and truth, and your heart was really impacted, like the "beauty of holiness," you know? You have a testimony? Sabina. (Sabina) I do. I think that true worship, this true worship that comes in truth and spirit usually and many times can be the result also of our gratefulness to God when you have an experience with Jesus and you are so happy and excited about the things He's been doing in your life. And there was an opportunity where I really experienced God in a very special way. This was maybe six or seven years ago, I shared with you before how when I was a teenager I once did a prayer asking the one true God to reveal Himself to me. And after 10 years from that, one day I had a dream, and in this dream I was dressed in a dress with a Bible and a fire on it, and there was a song that was playing in this dream also. And the song referred to the passage in 2 Kings when the prophet Elijah, he challenges the prophets of Baal. So, I kept the dream on my heart. I wrote it down, and sometime later I was about to leave Brazil to go into missionary work, and God reminded me of the dream. And when I was preparing my farewell to my church in Brazil, I got that message that He had given me, and I read it again. And God pointed me to the fact that in that text that was in the song, He was informing me that the one true God was Him. So, right in the moment that I was about to leave my church, right, after so many years, God was pointing to me to the fact that He had seen me 15 years before in my prayer, in my moment with Him and that He actually had responded to me, that the fire,
that the one true God is from the Bible, so that's how I interpreted the message on my clothing and that He actually had heard me. And I had the experience during all those years to get to know Him, that He was the one true God. And so this was very special, and I experienced worship in that moment in my church in a very special and unique way to me. (Derek) It's amazing when the Word of God becomes His personal word to you, and when you're worshiping, not just what's next, next, next, now we go for lunch, but you're heart is connected to Heaven, worshiping God in spirit and truth. Billy, did you have an experience that you'd like to share? (Billy) I used to live in South Sudan for humanitarian aid work, and I remember, I visited a church, and that was during the time of civil war. I visited a church; they weren't
speaking English. I was just there, but I fed
into their worship because they had, I believe, nine people who were baptized that day, and they went to baptize them, and they came back. And when they came back, basically we had lunch, and the lunch was just like, you know, rice and beans and a lot of oil; I don't know, this is, like, the culture. But the whole atmosphere was just joyous because somebody
just got baptized... (Derek) Decided to follow Jesus, right? (Billy) ...follow Jesus, but that was
not the end. After lunch, the whole church got in line, and they had those, I think, nine people in front, and they just started dancing, and every church member was shaking their hands. And while they were doing that, the band is playing, giving praise to God, and they were just doing that and just...worshiping God. And they were doing that until I think like after 8 o'clock or 9 o'clock, all night. And even though I didn't understand what was going on, their worship was so true, and I felt so connected. And even though I was in the war area, that that did not stop them
from worshiping God. And their worship was even contagious, outside the boundary of language, outside the boundary of culture, that you felt like you were connected with them
in worshiping God. (Derek) So, I have a question for you as we wrap up our study. You were smiling while you were talking about that. Sabina, you were [smiling] as you were sharing that time. We know the Father is seeking people who worship Him in spirit and truth. That's a Holy Spirit, it's a miraculous time, isn't it, when our heart connects in a very powerful way with Heaven. What are some things we can do to help prepare? We can't engineer worship in spirit and truth, but what are some things we can do to prepare for those experiences? Yes, Stephanie. (Stephanie) If we had time, I would have given one of my experiences, but I notice that for me it happens during my quiet time... (Derek) You have 90 seconds if you'd like
to share the story. (Stephanie) Okay, I was looking for a car, and I was looking at a specific one, and I knew that was going to be the one. At the end of the day, I didn't get it. And the next morning, I was having my conversation with God. "God, You promised me that You would provide for my needs. You promised all of these things." And then there was this silence, and it was as if He was saying, "I did provide for your needs. I provided someone that you could rent a care from. I provided someone to take you and drop off the rental car that you had. I provided...," and He just went
down the list. And I said, "Oh, woe is me." (Derek) So you actually sensed the Lord speaking to you directly? (Stephanie) Yes, very clearly, and I just said, "Praise God. You did answer those prayers." But the answers were different than what I was looking for. (Derek) So, how would we prepare then for that kind of encounter? Whether it's in a church or alone in my worship time, how would I prepare? Jason? (Jason) I think by focusing on the Word of God because the Word of God can point you and prepare you to worship. (Derek) Okay. You want to add to that, Gary? (Gary) Yeah, I was going to say, kind of like what Stephanie is saying, have intentional time with God because, when you have that worship experience, I was taught Sabbath should be a culmination of experiences
throughout the week. (Derek) A whole week. (Gary) Yeah, and that it's just an eruption of celebration,
to have that time... (Derek) I love that, "an eruption of celebration." Worshiping God in spirit and truth, getting into the Word, and having a heart daily surrendered, so that when we come to worship, we can celebrate our great
and awesome God. And when people try to force us to false worship, we'll take our stand. We'll say, "I would rather die than dishonor God in false worship." That worship will be in spirit and truth when it's guided by the Word of God and where Jesus is at the very center. Let's pray that we'll experience that joyful spirit-and-truth worship each week, maybe even each day. Let's pray; Father in Heaven, You're seeking people who worship You in spirit and truth. Maybe it's a moment-by-moment experience, a heart connected to Heaven. And I pray that You would set us free from misconceptions and false teachings, that we can worship You in spirit and truth. And give us courage to stand, that we would worship only You, the one true God. In Jesus' name. Amen. (Team) Amen. (Derek) Thanks for joining us for Hope Sabbath School, challenged to look at how we worship. Let the Holy Spirit guide us through His Word. Worship Him in spirit and truth, and then go out and be a blessing to those around you. ♪ theme music ♪
