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Luccas Rodor: Hi friends,
it's so good to be here with you
00:00:35.96\00:00:38.60
for another
"Sabbath School Study Hour."
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Today, we have a very
great study prepared for you.
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We're studying
this quarter's lesson,
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which is "Making
Friends For God."
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And today, we'll be
setting lesson number nine,
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which is
"Developing a Winning Attitude."
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This lesson
promises to be very good,
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it promises to bring a lot of
insight into the best attitude
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that we can have when we
want to make friends for God.
00:00:58.72\00:01:01.86
But before we get there, we
do have a free offer for you,
00:01:01.89\00:01:04.43
and the name of the free
offer is "From Stress to Joy."
00:01:04.46\00:01:07.23
So, if you would like to receive
this free offer that we have
00:01:07.30\00:01:10.30
to mail to you, then all you
have to do is call 866-788-3966.
00:01:10.33\00:01:17.71
Or you could
send a text to SH031,
00:01:17.74\00:01:22.84
and you'll send that to
40544 for a digital download.
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And I'm sure that you will have
a lot of enjoyment coming from
00:01:28.15\00:01:30.95
this free offer.
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But before we begin the
actual study of this lesson,
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we have a special song for you.
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It's a beautiful song, I'm
sure that you'll enjoy it a lot.
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Don't go anywhere
because right after,
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we have our lesson of this, we
have the study of this lesson.
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¤¤¤
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¤ Sometimes, the
tempter tries to take my joy ¤
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¤ And all my dreams in
life he would destroy ¤
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¤ But I've a friend in
heaven who is listening to me, ¤
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¤ ready to respond
to my heart's plea ¤
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¤ I believe in prayer, that
the words of my mouth reach ¤
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¤ the heart of God ¤
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¤ Jesus is waiting there,
the intercessor of my prayer ¤
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¤ And He goes to His
Father on His throne, ¤
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¤ takes all my
burdens, makes them His own ¤
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¤ In a moment of despair, never
forget the power of prayer ¤
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¤ Morning, noon, and
night, to Him I'll pray ¤
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¤ a fervent prayer
with faith in Jesus's name ¤
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¤ And someday, I will see
the path He chose for me was ¤
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¤ made a little
brighter when I prayed ¤
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¤ I believe in
prayer, that the words of my ¤
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¤ mouth reach the heart of God ¤
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¤ Jesus is waiting there,
the intercessor of my prayer ¤
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¤ And He goes to his
Father on His throne, ¤
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¤ takes all my
burdens, makes them His own ¤
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¤ In a moment of despair, never
forget the power of prayer ¤
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¤ Across the
miles, beyond the sky, ¤
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¤ through time and
space, past heaven's gates, ¤
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¤ Jesus cares and
He hears my prayer ¤
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¤ I believe in prayer,
that the words of my mouth ¤
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¤ reach the heart of God ¤
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¤ Jesus is waiting there,
the intercessor of my prayer ¤
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¤ And He goes to his
Father on His throne, ¤
00:05:03.63\00:05:08.47
¤ takes all my
burdens, makes them His own ¤
00:05:08.50\00:05:13.34
¤ In a moment of despair, never
forget the power of prayer ¤
00:05:13.38\00:05:23.39
¤ Never forget the ¤
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¤ power of prayer ¤¤
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¤¤¤
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Luccas: All right,
what a beautiful song.
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I hope you enjoyed that.
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Before we begin, we will
start with a word of prayer.
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Dear Father God, thank You so
much for Your blessings and for
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bringing us here today.
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Thank You so much for
the Sabbath School lesson,
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Lord, where we can learn
important lessons about how to
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live, not only the lessons
that we extract from the Bible,
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but how to apply those
lessons in our day to day life.
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Today, Lord, as we talk about
developing a winning attitude,
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we ask You to truly help us to
withdraw and to extract from the
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Bible the meaning and the lesson
that You have for us today.
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Please bless everyone at
home, wherever they may be.
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Please use them,
Lord, throughout the
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rest of this week.
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And just guide us as we
open Your Word and understand
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Your truth for us right now.
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I thank You and I ask You
in the name of Jesus, amen.
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All right, as I
already mentioned before,
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this week's
lesson, lesson title is
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"Developing a Winning Attitude."
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You know, friends, a lot in life
has to do with our attitude.
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Someone once said that you can't
really control everything or
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really anything
much that happens to you.
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The only thing that you do have
in your control is how you're
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going to react to that, what
your attitude is going to be
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regarding that that happened.
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Now, there are many examples,
very good examples in the Bible
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about people who
had winning attitudes,
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winning characters,
people who did things,
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who reacted the right way.
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And on the other side, we
do have some examples of people
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that did not have
winning attitudes that
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we can learn from.
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But if we really want
to take the best example,
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the best lesson, we
have to begin at Jesus.
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We have to begin with Jesus,
who was our very best example.
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He was the one that
we can truly learn from,
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and this week's
lesson opens with that.
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You know, even though 2,000
years have passed and 2,000
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years have gone by, Jesus's
life continues to intrigue us.
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His leadership style
remains amazing to this day,
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relevant and
intrinsic to the Christian walk.
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And it may be
applied to our day to day,
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practical life,
to our day to day,
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practical interactions with
people that we have and that
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we meet at home,
at school, at work.
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You know, Christ's
method of dealing with people,
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of treating people,
of interacting with them
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continues to be the true
model for the Christian--
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for Christian witnessing.
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If we want to learn
how to be good witnesses,
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if we want to learn how
to make friends for God,
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truly we have to
imitate Jesus's example in that,
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because His
example was truly the best.
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The way that He
dealt with people,
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the way that He treated
people was always the best.
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He would approach
them, He was kind,
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He satisfied their necessities.
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And then He extended
His incomparable call,
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which was
"Follow Me, follow Me."
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Jesus was relatable,
He was compassionate.
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He sincerely cared for people.
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This is perhaps one of the most
important lessons that we can
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learn from His life.
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He cared for people, He
was compassionate about them,
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He felt--He felt
what they were feeling.
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And we understand that
when Jesus came to our world,
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that's exactly what He came for.
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He came to live our
life, to suffer our hardships,
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to shed our
tears, to shed our blood,
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and eventually to die our death.
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So, Jesus was relatable,
He could relate to what we go
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through on the day to day.
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He became part
of the human family.
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Have you ever
thought about that?
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Jesus became part
of the human family.
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Actually, one of His
most well known titles,
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Emmanuel, it means exactly that.
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He became one
with us, God with us.
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He became part of the
human family to guide people,
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independent of their origin,
independent of their social
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status,
independent of their religion.
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And this is one of the major
characteristics that He provided
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within a context
toward leadership.
00:09:36.14\00:09:38.14
The leadership in Jesus's day
depended or demanded dominion
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over people, dominion.
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But Jesus opened another path.
00:09:46.75\00:09:48.68
He provided
another way of leading,
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of loving, and
of guiding people.
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Actually, guiding people
was what Jesus did throughout
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His whole life.
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That was one of
His major callings,
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to guide people, leading
their minds and their hearts,
00:10:00.73\00:10:03.10
awakening in them a hunger
for what they could be in Him.
00:10:03.13\00:10:06.57
And this is something that we
have kind of repeated throughout
00:10:06.60\00:10:10.51
the whole quarter is that Jesus,
He didn't see people for what
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they were, He saw them
for what they could be,
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transformed by His
grace and by His love.
00:10:17.48\00:10:20.35
Jesus made no distinction
between those who sought Him
00:10:20.38\00:10:23.42
for help or for advice,
or even for those who simply
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wanted to know Him.
00:10:27.16\00:10:28.62
And we have a few of these
people in the Bible that just
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approached Jesus
because they wanted to know Him.
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There was something
different about Him.
00:10:33.93\00:10:35.53
You know, Jesus had a
very magnetic personality.
00:10:35.56\00:10:39.23
Wherever He went,
people wanted to meet Him,
00:10:39.27\00:10:41.74
they wanted to know Him.
00:10:41.77\00:10:43.20
His message always found a
way into the hearts of those
00:10:43.24\00:10:46.61
who heard Him.
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Contrary to the
rabbis of His days,
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contrary to the religious
leaders of His days that thought
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that sanctity, sanctity demanded
distance from people and to
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distance people from themselves.
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Jesus, who was the
only one that was God,
00:11:00.32\00:11:03.36
the only one
that was truly holy,
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Jesus manifested
another attitude.
00:11:05.33\00:11:07.03
He was approachable,
He came close to people.
00:11:07.03\00:11:10.17
And that kind of
attitude, friends,
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is what makes friends for God.
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Jesus always used the
best way to communicate
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to each individual.
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He treated crowds as though
He were speaking to just one
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individual, speaking to them,
loving them through metaphors
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and through parables that
to this day remain powerful in
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their effect upon the
different types of people,
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and help them
comprehend themselves
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and their hope of salvation.
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And this provokes a
desire of deep change.
00:11:38.66\00:11:40.93
These stories, this impact,
this way that Jesus worked,
00:11:40.96\00:11:45.67
that's really what provoked in
people and evoked in people this
00:11:45.70\00:11:49.14
desire for change, this desire
to be someone else in God.
00:11:49.17\00:11:53.27
We have many examples.
00:11:53.31\00:11:55.31
For example, Nicodemus,
the rabbi of midnight,
00:11:55.34\00:11:57.31
the midnight rabbi
who came to Jesus and,
00:11:57.35\00:12:00.95
upon hearing that he
needed to be born again,
00:12:00.98\00:12:03.42
he was memorized
by who Jesus was,
00:12:03.45\00:12:06.32
by what Jesus was saying.
00:12:06.35\00:12:08.36
And this was something
way beyond all the--all the
00:12:08.39\00:12:11.53
mechanical formulas of
tradition that he was used to.
00:12:11.56\00:12:15.20
You know, Nicodemus was a rabbi,
he was trained in the--in the
00:12:15.23\00:12:18.60
discourse, in the
knowledge of the rabbis.
00:12:18.63\00:12:21.40
And yet, something
was missing, something
00:12:21.44\00:12:24.01
that only Jesus could provide.
00:12:24.04\00:12:25.74
You know, friends, to Jesus,
leadership had nothing to do
00:12:25.77\00:12:29.08
with
declarations, but with actions,
00:12:29.11\00:12:32.11
capable of transforming.
00:12:32.15\00:12:33.72
Even foreigners, despised within
the context of the first century
00:12:33.75\00:12:37.12
Israel, were
received, they were accepted,
00:12:37.15\00:12:40.46
they were treated
as creatures of God.
00:12:40.49\00:12:42.59
And what that truly teaches
us is that no one is excluded
00:12:42.62\00:12:46.43
from the kingdom.
00:12:46.46\00:12:49.36
None are excluded,
except those who decide
00:12:49.40\00:12:51.40
to exclude themselves.
00:12:51.43\00:12:52.97
Jesus sought out new paths and
opportunities to reach people.
00:12:53.00\00:12:56.47
Jesus used anywhere,
He could be anywhere,
00:12:56.50\00:12:59.07
a synagogue in Capernaum,
on the countryside of Galilee,
00:12:59.11\00:13:02.48
on the margins of a lake,
a small Samaritan village.
00:13:02.51\00:13:06.75
He would arrive
with the breath of God,
00:13:06.78\00:13:09.42
healing
paralytics, healing lepers,
00:13:09.45\00:13:12.09
healing the blind, and leaving
behind the fingerprints of God.
00:13:12.12\00:13:16.89
I remember when He healed
the son of the Roman official,
00:13:16.93\00:13:21.06
blind to the difference that
that man had within His context,
00:13:21.10\00:13:24.63
the Gentiles, seeing
them as creatures of God,
00:13:24.67\00:13:28.10
seeing them for their
needs, coming to their aid,
00:13:28.14\00:13:30.94
treating them as
royalty of heaven.
00:13:30.97\00:13:34.18
That's who Jesus was.
00:13:34.21\00:13:36.85
When it came to people, Jesus
was an extraordinary optimist.
00:13:36.88\00:13:39.98
Those who everyone
else saw as failures,
00:13:40.02\00:13:43.49
Jesus saw as opportunities
for the glory of His Father.
00:13:43.52\00:13:46.72
No one else ever wagered
so much on humans as Jesus.
00:13:46.76\00:13:52.26
You know, Christ forever
led us to hate who we are,
00:13:52.29\00:13:57.13
to only then fall in love
with who we can become in Him.
00:13:57.17\00:14:01.17
He demonstrated that forgiveness
is the greatest transforming
00:14:01.20\00:14:06.01
force in the universe.
00:14:06.04\00:14:08.04
And in this way, He
exercised an influence,
00:14:08.08\00:14:10.51
He exerted an influence
that no one else ever had.
00:14:10.55\00:14:14.55
He saw the marks
of God on humans.
00:14:14.58\00:14:16.99
His name, friends, still
brings tears to people's eyes,
00:14:17.02\00:14:20.26
making us eternally unsatisfied
with those things that diminish,
00:14:20.29\00:14:24.69
that dehumanize,
that superficialize,
00:14:24.73\00:14:28.63
and that materialize us.
00:14:28.66\00:14:30.30
As our Father, He established
a powerful connection between
00:14:30.33\00:14:34.00
creature and creator, connecting
us and linking us into
00:14:34.04\00:14:38.34
that irresistible
father-son relationship.
00:14:38.37\00:14:43.38
Jesus freed us from the farce
of the persona to recreate in us
00:14:43.41\00:14:48.65
His original plan, to transform
us into real people without
00:14:48.68\00:14:52.25
masks or disguises.
00:14:52.29\00:14:54.39
And to be just like Him,
to be more compassionate,
00:14:54.42\00:14:57.26
to be more real, and
to reflect His attitude.
00:14:57.29\00:15:00.40
And that's where this
week's lesson comes in.
00:15:00.43\00:15:02.56
Because this week's lesson
is all about reflecting Christ's
00:15:02.60\00:15:06.37
winning attitude and reflecting
the attitude that He provoked in
00:15:06.40\00:15:10.34
people, the attitude that people
who came into contact with
00:15:10.37\00:15:14.41
Christ had when they
came into contact with Him.
00:15:14.44\00:15:17.41
So, the study, this study, this
week's lesson studies--study
00:15:17.45\00:15:21.02
focuses on various moments
of His ministry here on earth,
00:15:21.05\00:15:26.05
people that He interacted with.
00:15:26.09\00:15:27.82
And really one of the--or
perhaps the first story that
00:15:27.86\00:15:30.46
this week covers is the
story found in John chapter 4,
00:15:30.49\00:15:34.03
which is the study
of the Samaritan woman.
00:15:34.10\00:15:36.03
You know, Jesus--and this is
something incredible about the
00:15:36.06\00:15:40.20
character of who
Jesus was, His attitude.
00:15:40.24\00:15:44.54
He spoke to the unspeakable.
00:15:44.57\00:15:46.54
He touched the untouchable.
00:15:46.57\00:15:49.34
He listened and He
heard the unhearable.
00:15:49.38\00:15:52.05
And that is something already
revealed through His genealogy.
00:15:52.08\00:15:55.25
When you look back
at Jesus's history,
00:15:55.28\00:15:57.12
we find people such
as Ruth, the Moabitess.
00:15:57.15\00:15:59.52
We find people such as Rahab,
the prostitute from Jericho.
00:15:59.55\00:16:04.86
And this is just a
small example of the people in
00:16:04.89\00:16:07.40
Jesus's pedigree in a society.
00:16:07.40\00:16:10.40
In a context where
pedigree was everything,
00:16:10.43\00:16:13.17
the lineage was
everything, the genealogy,
00:16:13.20\00:16:15.37
the blue blood was everything,
Jesus allowed it to be tainted
00:16:15.40\00:16:19.21
with people such as this,
showing us forever that He sees
00:16:19.24\00:16:23.45
people for who they truly are.
00:16:23.48\00:16:25.35
And that's what
really matters to Him.
00:16:25.38\00:16:27.32
You know, in John
chapter 4, verse 4,
00:16:27.35\00:16:30.05
we read that Jesus told His
disciples that He needed to go
00:16:30.09\00:16:33.29
through Samaria.
00:16:33.32\00:16:34.92
The text says, "He
needed to go through Samaria."
00:16:34.96\00:16:36.93
Now friends, that need,
it wasn't a geographical one.
00:16:36.96\00:16:40.16
There were other, better ways
to arrive where He was going.
00:16:40.20\00:16:43.70
No Israelite would
go through that route,
00:16:43.73\00:16:45.70
right through Samaria.
00:16:45.73\00:16:47.44
But the text tells us that Jesus
needed to go through there.
00:16:47.47\00:16:51.67
You see, to Jesus,
there were hearts that needed
00:16:51.71\00:16:55.24
to be reached.
00:16:55.28\00:16:56.78
The disciples had deep--had deep
set prejudices that they needed
00:16:56.81\00:17:00.52
to overcome, preparing
them to proclaim the gospel.
00:17:00.55\00:17:03.85
You know, the Jews and
the Samaritans were extremely
00:17:03.89\00:17:06.32
religious people, and that
demonstrates and teaches us that
00:17:06.35\00:17:10.29
there are often very deep
prejudices between religious
00:17:10.33\00:17:15.26
people, or at least
supposedly religious people.
00:17:15.30\00:17:19.63
In general, you know friends,
and this is something that has
00:17:19.67\00:17:23.41
to do with us, this is something
that happens to us today just
00:17:23.44\00:17:25.81
as it happened to
them in those days.
00:17:25.84\00:17:28.24
We often like to talk
about other people's prejudices,
00:17:28.28\00:17:31.05
other people's fanaticisms,
or other people's problems.
00:17:31.08\00:17:34.78
How different would the world
be if people could actually just
00:17:34.82\00:17:37.79
recognize their own
problems, their own prejudices,
00:17:37.82\00:17:41.42
their own fanaticisms, and work
on that instead of extending
00:17:41.46\00:17:44.36
that and placing the
blame on someone else?
00:17:44.39\00:17:47.60
All of us have these problems.
00:17:47.66\00:17:49.16
I remember this one
time, it's really a story
00:17:49.20\00:17:52.67
that my father tells me.
00:17:52.70\00:17:54.27
When he was a young
pastor in Brazil and he was
00:17:54.30\00:17:56.24
studying--actually, he
was teaching in a school,
00:17:56.27\00:17:59.37
he was the chaplain of a school.
00:17:59.41\00:18:00.98
And when he went there,
he saw this young boy who was
00:18:01.01\00:18:03.45
extremely--it was a
mixture of sadness and of anger.
00:18:03.48\00:18:06.45
And he asked the boy, you
know, he taught that boy in high
00:18:06.48\00:18:09.92
school and he knew--he
knew him, and so he said,
00:18:09.95\00:18:12.79
"Well, you know,
what's the matter?
00:18:12.82\00:18:14.26
What's going on,
why are you so angry?"
00:18:14.29\00:18:15.86
And the boy said, "Well, the
school told me that if I don't
00:18:15.89\00:18:17.89
cut my hair, they're
going to kick me out."
00:18:17.93\00:18:20.80
You see, this is a boarding
school in South America,
00:18:20.83\00:18:22.76
and it had very strict rules.
00:18:22.80\00:18:24.73
You know, much like
many military schools,
00:18:24.77\00:18:26.47
they had very strict rules.
00:18:26.50\00:18:28.24
And one of the rules was that
the boys needed to cut their
00:18:28.27\00:18:30.44
hair very short.
00:18:30.47\00:18:31.71
And this boy had long hair, and
he was very angry that they were
00:18:31.74\00:18:34.54
demanding him to cut his hair.
00:18:34.58\00:18:36.11
And he said, "This school's
full of fanatics and this school
00:18:36.14\00:18:39.05
is--they're all full
of prejudice against me."
00:18:39.08\00:18:42.08
And my father said something,
and later telling the story
00:18:42.12\00:18:45.62
to me, I'll never forget it.
00:18:45.65\00:18:46.89
He said, "Look, there are the
fanatics of long hair just as
00:18:46.92\00:18:49.52
there are the
fanatics of the short hair."
00:18:49.56\00:18:51.96
And in that way, friends,
there are all different kinds of
00:18:51.99\00:18:54.30
fanatics, there are all
different kinds of people with
00:18:54.36\00:18:56.83
prejudice, the prejudice of this
kind of food or that kind of
00:18:56.87\00:19:00.34
food, the prejudice of this
kind of clothes or that kind
00:19:00.37\00:19:02.64
of clothes, of
this place of the world
00:19:02.67\00:19:04.47
or that place of the world.
00:19:04.51\00:19:05.84
And truly what we have to try
to do is understand what is our
00:19:05.87\00:19:08.11
problem, what is our prejudice,
how do I work on that?
00:19:08.14\00:19:12.41
I can't change someone
else, but I can change myself.
00:19:12.45\00:19:15.58
That has to do with my
attitude regarding these things.
00:19:15.62\00:19:19.85
Now, in this story,
part of the context,
00:19:19.89\00:19:22.26
part of the--part of
understanding Jesus's winning
00:19:22.29\00:19:25.23
attitude here is understanding
who the Samaritans were.
00:19:25.26\00:19:27.96
You know, today when
we speak about Samaritans,
00:19:27.96\00:19:30.67
there is this other word that
automatically almost pops up.
00:19:30.70\00:19:33.47
I mean, when you
think about the Samaritan,
00:19:33.50\00:19:36.67
what word comes
before the Samaritan?
00:19:36.71\00:19:38.94
It's the word "good."
00:19:38.97\00:19:40.64
When we think about Samaritan,
we automatically think about
00:19:40.68\00:19:43.21
the good Samaritan.
00:19:43.24\00:19:45.18
But in those
days, in Jesus's days,
00:19:45.21\00:19:47.45
that was an oxymoron.
00:19:47.48\00:19:49.22
That was a--these were two words
that would never go together.
00:19:49.25\00:19:52.59
Good and Samaritan,
they were conflicting terms.
00:19:52.62\00:19:56.42
No one would say--there
were no good Samaritans,
00:19:56.46\00:19:58.79
not to the Israelites.
00:19:58.83\00:20:00.73
There were no good Samaritans.
00:20:00.76\00:20:02.76
They were considered to
be a kind of hybrid race
00:20:02.80\00:20:06.60
since the times of the
Assyrian invasion in 722 BC,
00:20:06.63\00:20:09.57
so there was
millennial hostility.
00:20:09.60\00:20:12.51
They were
considered to be hybrid Jews,
00:20:12.54\00:20:14.94
they were seen as enemies.
00:20:14.98\00:20:16.75
You know, the Samaritans
were not accepted as proselytes.
00:20:16.78\00:20:19.38
Their food was more unclean than
eating pig's flesh or pork flesh
00:20:19.41\00:20:24.05
to the Jews.
00:20:24.09\00:20:25.55
Sitting beside them was seen
as being so impure that it was
00:20:25.59\00:20:28.09
thought that you could contract
or you could get lethal diseases
00:20:28.12\00:20:31.69
just by sitting
beside a Samaritan.
00:20:31.73\00:20:34.30
Their witness had no impact,
it was worthless in the Jewish--
00:20:34.30\00:20:37.97
in the Israelite legal system.
00:20:38.00\00:20:39.47
A Samaritan could not
adopt a Jewish orphan.
00:20:39.50\00:20:43.17
Samaritan women were seen
as unclean or impure vermin.
00:20:43.20\00:20:49.04
That's how--that's
how difficult this battle,
00:20:49.08\00:20:54.98
this fight
between the Samaritans and
00:20:55.02\00:20:56.79
the Israelite was.
00:20:56.82\00:20:58.12
A Jewish man would never speak
to a Samaritan woman considered
00:20:58.15\00:21:02.56
to be unclean and a vermin.
00:21:02.59\00:21:05.89
So, by asking for water, which
was seen as an almost religious
00:21:05.93\00:21:10.27
duty among the
ancient Middle Easterners,
00:21:10.30\00:21:14.17
Jesus reveals an extraordinary
sense of closeness.
00:21:14.20\00:21:17.77
This was a very politically
incorrect meeting that Jesus
00:21:17.81\00:21:21.44
was having here.
00:21:21.48\00:21:22.94
He asks for a small favor, but
one that spoke volumes amidst
00:21:22.98\00:21:26.95
the hostility, the hatred,
the prejudice of their people.
00:21:26.98\00:21:32.15
By asking this woman for water,
Jesus was breaking millennia
00:21:32.19\00:21:35.59
of hostility, of
hatred, of prejudice.
00:21:35.62\00:21:39.56
When denied because the
woman denied His request,
00:21:39.59\00:21:41.80
Jesus rises above that denial,
creating an opportunity to make
00:21:41.83\00:21:46.63
the greatest--the
greatest offer possible.
00:21:46.67\00:21:50.74
You know, in the
beginning of their encounter,
00:21:50.77\00:21:52.77
it was Jesus who was thirsty,
and it was the woman who
00:21:52.81\00:21:56.18
had the water.
00:21:56.21\00:21:58.11
But by the end,
the tables turned.
00:21:58.15\00:22:00.32
And at the end, it was
the woman who had the thirst,
00:22:00.35\00:22:02.55
and it was Jesus
who had the water.
00:22:02.58\00:22:04.65
This Samaritan
woman, my friends,
00:22:04.69\00:22:07.22
she's not only an
example of a typical Samaritan,
00:22:07.26\00:22:09.82
but she's an
example of a typical human.
00:22:09.86\00:22:12.69
She had sought out
satisfaction in superficial,
00:22:12.73\00:22:16.10
empty relationships,
cheap sex, five husbands,
00:22:16.13\00:22:21.24
five wounds, five deceptions,
00:22:21.27\00:22:24.07
five princes
that had become frogs.
00:22:24.11\00:22:27.18
It's not surprising that
she comes to that well at noon,
00:22:27.21\00:22:31.31
alone, precisely
at the hottest hour.
00:22:31.35\00:22:34.02
It was the custom of the women
to go together for protection,
00:22:34.05\00:22:37.25
and to go either in the
beginning of the day or more
00:22:37.29\00:22:39.85
towards the end of the
day, when the day wasn't as hot.
00:22:39.89\00:22:42.99
But this woman comes
alone at noon because she wanted
00:22:43.02\00:22:46.03
to avoid exposure.
00:22:46.06\00:22:47.56
She knew that people
would talk about her,
00:22:47.60\00:22:49.20
people would gossip about
her, they would point at her,
00:22:49.23\00:22:51.53
they would accuse
her and judge her,
00:22:51.57\00:22:53.17
and so she didn't
want to deal with that,
00:22:53.20\00:22:54.97
and she comes precisely at
the hottest hour of the day.
00:22:55.00\00:22:57.14
But here, Jesus offers
her something above and beyond
00:22:57.17\00:23:02.04
any of her
previous searches, anything,
00:23:02.08\00:23:04.71
above anything that
she could have hoped for.
00:23:04.75\00:23:07.08
What she really
wanted was something that
00:23:07.12\00:23:09.65
only Jesus could offer.
00:23:09.68\00:23:10.99
Chapter 4, verse 14 tells us
that the--Jesus told her that,
00:23:11.02\00:23:14.49
"The water I shall give him
will become in him a fountain
00:23:14.52\00:23:18.73
of water springing up
into everlasting life."
00:23:18.76\00:23:22.10
And that's what she wanted.
00:23:22.13\00:23:23.90
She wanted water
that would never end.
00:23:23.93\00:23:25.90
Jesus then asked her
to bring her husband.
00:23:25.93\00:23:29.37
And hearing that,
she said, "I can't,
00:23:29.40\00:23:31.84
I don't have a husband."
00:23:31.87\00:23:33.44
And hearing her answer,
Jesus in verses 17 and 18,
00:23:33.48\00:23:36.51
He says, "You have said well, 'I
have no husband,' for you have
00:23:36.54\00:23:40.35
had five husbands, and
the only--and the one whom you
00:23:40.38\00:23:43.72
now have is not your husband."
00:23:43.75\00:23:46.25
Jesus already knew.
00:23:46.29\00:23:47.99
He knew that she couldn't
carry out what He asked,
00:23:48.02\00:23:50.36
so the question
is, why did He ask her?
00:23:50.39\00:23:52.89
Why did Jesus ask this woman
to do this thing if He already
00:23:52.93\00:23:56.83
knew the answer to it?
00:23:56.87\00:23:58.30
Well, it's because He
wanted to give her the
00:23:58.33\00:24:00.90
opportunity to confess.
00:24:00.94\00:24:02.74
Or alternatively, He wanted to
give her the opportunity to run
00:24:02.77\00:24:06.27
away from that encounter.
00:24:06.31\00:24:08.38
It would be very
easy for her to say,
00:24:08.41\00:24:10.11
"Okay, I'll go get
him," and then she would go
00:24:10.15\00:24:11.81
and not come back.
00:24:11.85\00:24:13.18
She could have run away.
00:24:13.21\00:24:14.68
She could have
not exposed herself.
00:24:14.72\00:24:16.15
But I imagine this
woman there before God and,
00:24:16.18\00:24:18.25
you know, Jesus, this is one of
the only encounters where Jesus
00:24:18.29\00:24:22.52
point blank says
that He was the Messiah.
00:24:22.56\00:24:25.46
To this lonely woman in Samaria,
Jesus made one of the greatest
00:24:25.49\00:24:28.76
declarations of His ministry.
00:24:28.80\00:24:31.37
So, He gave her the opportunity
either to confess her sin,
00:24:31.40\00:24:34.40
or to run away and avoid that
confrontation with her reality.
00:24:34.44\00:24:40.24
The effect that Jesus had
upon this woman was astounding.
00:24:40.28\00:24:44.21
Leaving her jar behind,
she ran back to her village,
00:24:44.25\00:24:47.75
forgetting the exposure,
forgetting the embarrassment,
00:24:47.78\00:24:51.05
and she went
back telling everyone,
00:24:51.09\00:24:53.59
"Come, see a man who told
me everything that I have done.
00:24:53.62\00:24:55.86
Could this be the Messiah?"
00:24:55.89\00:24:57.86
This is how people react and
how they behave when they drink
00:24:57.89\00:25:02.00
from the living water.
00:25:02.03\00:25:03.67
This is the attitude
that we have when we become
00:25:03.70\00:25:06.84
sources of living water.
00:25:06.87\00:25:08.74
The eyes of the disciples
then in this encounter,
00:25:08.77\00:25:11.44
they were open to
the great harvest,
00:25:11.47\00:25:13.27
to the great field
that Jesus had for them.
00:25:13.31\00:25:15.64
His impact was incalculable.
00:25:15.68\00:25:18.11
And friends, so can ours be
when we reflect His attitudes
00:25:18.15\00:25:22.25
and His actions.
00:25:22.28\00:25:24.85
You know, they say that our
attitudes are more important
00:25:24.89\00:25:28.12
than any other human emotions.
00:25:28.16\00:25:30.76
Martin Luther, the
great Protestant reformer,
00:25:30.79\00:25:32.73
he used to say that
our attitude determines
00:25:32.76\00:25:34.36
of what spirit we are.
00:25:34.40\00:25:36.43
And it will also determine
the limits of our influence
00:25:36.46\00:25:39.67
upon other people.
00:25:39.70\00:25:41.27
The lesson puts it this way,
and this is in Monday's lesson.
00:25:41.30\00:25:43.71
Our attitudes often determine
our ability to influence others.
00:25:43.74\00:25:48.64
A harsh, critical, and
unfriendly attitude is going
00:25:48.68\00:25:52.11
to drive people away from you.
00:25:52.15\00:25:54.42
And even if you
are able to witness,
00:25:54.45\00:25:56.55
your words, no
matter how truthful,
00:25:56.58\00:25:59.25
are much less
likely to be received.
00:25:59.29\00:26:01.99
In contrast, a positive
attitude and a belief in
00:26:02.02\00:26:04.83
others draws them to us.
00:26:04.86\00:26:06.96
It creates a bond of friendship.
00:26:07.00\00:26:09.13
Jesus stated that--Jesus stated
this principle beautifully
00:26:09.16\00:26:11.83
when He said, "No
longer do I call you servants,
00:26:11.87\00:26:14.84
for a servant does not
know what his master is doing.
00:26:14.87\00:26:17.71
But I have called you friends,
for all things that I have heard
00:26:17.74\00:26:21.48
from My Father, I have
made--I have made known to you."
00:26:21.51\00:26:24.51
That's in John 15:15.
00:26:24.55\00:26:26.08
Friends accept one another
in spite of their weaknesses and
00:26:26.11\00:26:30.22
mistakes, and freely share
their joys and their sorrows.
00:26:30.25\00:26:33.49
So, we find this reality
portrayed in the life of the
00:26:33.52\00:26:36.69
Samaritan woman, and
also portrayed in the next few
00:26:36.73\00:26:39.33
stories that the lesson
brings to teach us about
00:26:39.36\00:26:41.60
Jesus's winning attitude
and how He would win people
00:26:41.63\00:26:44.17
over for the kingdom.
00:26:44.20\00:26:46.37
The next story that we find in
this week's lesson is about the
00:26:46.40\00:26:48.74
Canaanite woman found
in Matthew chapter 15.
00:26:48.77\00:26:51.37
She is to all appearances
treated very harshly by Jesus.
00:26:51.41\00:26:55.34
I'll admit that studying
the story when I was younger,
00:26:55.38\00:26:58.65
I tried to relate or to
conciliate the Jesus that I knew
00:26:58.68\00:27:01.65
from the rest of the
gospels to this story.
00:27:01.68\00:27:04.32
Why did Jesus act this way?
00:27:04.35\00:27:06.96
Why did he talk to
this woman, why did he speak
00:27:06.99\00:27:09.52
to her so harshly?
00:27:09.56\00:27:11.26
What was going on?
00:27:11.29\00:27:12.83
Who is this Jesus?
00:27:12.86\00:27:14.60
Later on, I understood what was
happening here in this story.
00:27:14.63\00:27:17.90
Her request to Him, the request
that this woman made to Jesus,
00:27:17.93\00:27:20.94
was for the healing
of her daughter possessed
00:27:20.97\00:27:22.84
by an evil spirit.
00:27:22.87\00:27:24.97
According to Mark, this woman
is a Syro-Phoenician woman.
00:27:25.01\00:27:27.98
And according to
Matthew, she was a Canaanite.
00:27:28.01\00:27:31.05
They are
both--they're both synonyms.
00:27:31.08\00:27:35.85
Syro-Phoenicia was the
land--was a land in Canaan.
00:27:35.88\00:27:39.22
Jesus's words in the
story, they seem hard,
00:27:39.25\00:27:42.89
they seem harsh.
00:27:42.92\00:27:44.46
But to the woman,
they didn't seem that way,
00:27:44.49\00:27:46.63
at least not enough to
dissuade her of her mission.
00:27:46.66\00:27:49.73
The words that
Jesus speaks to her,
00:27:49.76\00:27:52.23
they don't--they
don't offend her,
00:27:52.27\00:27:53.94
they don't make her give
up asking for that blessing.
00:27:53.97\00:27:57.21
You know, to the modern reader,
it might seem inconsistent
00:27:57.24\00:28:01.24
with His character.
00:28:01.28\00:28:02.64
When we analyze
Jesus's ministry,
00:28:02.68\00:28:05.21
his ministry of healing was
mostly confined in Palestine
00:28:05.25\00:28:08.42
to the Israelite nation.
00:28:08.45\00:28:10.32
The question that
arises here in this story is,
00:28:10.35\00:28:13.32
why didn't this woman feel
offended by what Jesus said?
00:28:13.36\00:28:17.36
Because what Jesus
says to her request is,
00:28:17.39\00:28:20.13
"It's unfair to take, you know,
the bread of the children and
00:28:20.16\00:28:23.26
throw it to the little dogs."
00:28:23.30\00:28:25.67
Who wouldn't be
offended by something like that?
00:28:25.70\00:28:27.17
Was Jesus
calling her a little dog?
00:28:27.20\00:28:28.80
What kind of comparison is that?
00:28:28.84\00:28:30.84
Why did Jesus act this way?
00:28:30.87\00:28:32.47
But we know that this
woman, despite what Jesus said,
00:28:32.51\00:28:36.04
she did not give up, and she was
determined to claim the blessing
00:28:36.08\00:28:40.95
that she was seeking.
00:28:40.98\00:28:42.78
Now, while we don't truly know
the attitude of Jesus's words
00:28:42.82\00:28:46.59
here, I mean, he could've said
these words with a wink in his
00:28:46.62\00:28:50.16
eye, encouraging her to
persist, not to give up.
00:28:50.19\00:28:54.30
And this is something
that we have to remember about
00:28:54.36\00:28:57.23
the whole Bible, friends.
00:28:57.27\00:28:58.57
The written word
preserves the spoken word,
00:28:58.60\00:29:01.60
but it can't communicate
the tone of the words,
00:29:01.64\00:29:05.97
the inflection, the subtleties.
00:29:06.01\00:29:08.64
Perhaps his tone
encouraged her to persevere.
00:29:08.68\00:29:11.45
He said it in a way that sounded
that He wasn't really telling
00:29:11.48\00:29:14.95
her to go away as
the disciples wanted,
00:29:14.98\00:29:17.22
but He was encouraging
her to exercise her faith.
00:29:17.25\00:29:21.06
You know, I remember growing
up watching many of the--of the
00:29:21.09\00:29:23.49
portrayals of
Jesus and His ministry,
00:29:23.53\00:29:25.76
movies about Jesus, and
they're--one thing that's
00:29:25.79\00:29:29.40
interesting about
these kinds of movies,
00:29:29.43\00:29:31.73
you know, the
word for word movies,
00:29:31.77\00:29:33.90
not the ones that kind
of create stories and drama,
00:29:33.94\00:29:37.31
the romanticized or the novel
stories about Jesus's life,
00:29:37.34\00:29:40.51
but the word to--the verse
by verse sorts of movies about
00:29:40.54\00:29:45.41
Jesus's life is that in many of
these versions of these movies
00:29:45.45\00:29:49.32
with different actors and
different people playing the
00:29:49.35\00:29:52.65
different parts, they kind
of bring to life something that
00:29:52.69\00:29:54.82
I had only read before.
00:29:54.86\00:29:56.66
And I'll admit that I quite
enjoy watching some of these
00:29:56.69\00:30:00.60
movies because it
brings to life the tone,
00:30:00.63\00:30:03.63
the inflection, the
tears in Jesus's eyes,
00:30:03.67\00:30:06.07
for example, in
Matthew chapter 23,
00:30:06.10\00:30:08.04
when he's calling
out the Pharisees,
00:30:08.07\00:30:10.14
"Woe to you,
Pharisees, you hypocrites."
00:30:10.17\00:30:11.84
You know, sometimes you read
those words and they sound one
00:30:11.87\00:30:14.74
way, but when spoken out loud
and in an environment like that,
00:30:14.78\00:30:18.68
and you can see the tears in
Jesus's eyes as He said that,
00:30:18.71\00:30:21.52
or you know, in other moments,
the smile on his face when
00:30:21.55\00:30:24.29
dealing with people, that brings
to life certain emotions that
00:30:24.32\00:30:27.36
the written Word can't portray.
00:30:27.39\00:30:30.29
And so--and so, that
is something that we don't
00:30:30.33\00:30:34.20
have here in this story.
00:30:34.20\00:30:35.50
We have what Jesus said,
but we don't have the tone,
00:30:35.53\00:30:38.20
we don't have the subtlety
of the inflection of His voice.
00:30:38.23\00:30:40.60
Because this woman was not
dissuaded of claiming that gift.
00:30:40.64\00:30:43.27
You know, when we
analyze what Jesus says here,
00:30:43.30\00:30:47.68
the Greek word for
dogs--and this is very harsh.
00:30:47.71\00:30:50.58
When we read it in
English, it sounds very harsh,
00:30:50.61\00:30:52.81
He's calling her a dog.
00:30:52.85\00:30:55.05
That's horrible, you
don't do something like that.
00:30:55.08\00:30:57.39
That's
offensive, that's horrible.
00:30:57.42\00:30:59.32
In the Greek, the
word that appears here,
00:30:59.35\00:31:02.66
it appears in the diminutive,
in a diminutive term of--
00:31:02.69\00:31:05.66
or term of endearment.
00:31:05.69\00:31:07.66
It's like a little pet, a
beloved family member almost.
00:31:07.66\00:31:11.87
And that softens the
blow of his statement here.
00:31:11.90\00:31:14.50
So, what we see here in this
story is another moment where
00:31:14.54\00:31:18.21
Jesus teaches, He educates his
disciples by saying something
00:31:18.24\00:31:21.54
to this Gentilic
woman that no other rabbi at
00:31:21.58\00:31:24.81
that time would say.
00:31:24.85\00:31:26.75
What Jesus tells this woman,
what He talks about or how He
00:31:26.78\00:31:30.12
describes her is something that
no rabbi at that time would say
00:31:30.15\00:31:33.76
about this woman or
about someone like her.
00:31:33.79\00:31:35.89
Because in Matthew
chapter 15, verse 28,
00:31:35.92\00:31:38.69
Jesus says, "Oh
woman, great is your faith."
00:31:38.73\00:31:42.80
No Israelite rabbi would
say that about a Gentile,
00:31:42.83\00:31:47.00
but Jesus says it to her.
00:31:47.04\00:31:49.30
And here again, He teaches His
disciples that all are called,
00:31:49.34\00:31:51.81
all are chosen for the kingdom.
00:31:51.84\00:31:55.38
Her faith in Him provided an
immediate cure for her daughter.
00:31:55.41\00:31:59.21
And as in other instances where
we find a faith found in the
00:31:59.25\00:32:03.92
synoptic
gospels, or Matthew, Mark,
00:32:03.95\00:32:06.39
and Luke, the synoptic gospels,
as for example the centurion in
00:32:06.42\00:32:10.16
Capernaum, this healing happens
without a direct contact,
00:32:10.19\00:32:13.66
over distance because
their faith in Him was so great.
00:32:13.70\00:32:17.87
The contrasting story on
the same day of the lesson,
00:32:17.90\00:32:21.64
the contrasting story to this
woman from Syro-Phoenicia is
00:32:21.67\00:32:24.14
the story of the woman
that anoints Jesus's feet.
00:32:24.17\00:32:27.38
So, differently from the woman,
from the Syro-Phoenician woman,
00:32:27.41\00:32:31.55
from the Canaanite
woman, this woman was Israelite,
00:32:31.58\00:32:34.35
she was Jewish.
00:32:34.38\00:32:35.88
And this story is
also full of context.
00:32:35.92\00:32:38.09
Jesus had been invited
to eat at the house of a
00:32:38.12\00:32:40.49
Pharisee named Simon.
00:32:40.52\00:32:42.92
The hospitality of those days,
and think about this, all right?
00:32:42.96\00:32:45.46
This is something big.
00:32:45.49\00:32:47.40
Maybe this isn't something that
would be considered so important
00:32:47.46\00:32:49.90
in our day, but in
those times, in that culture,
00:32:49.93\00:32:52.50
the terms or the rules of
hospitality demanded a kiss of
00:32:52.53\00:32:55.50
welcome, water to wash the feet,
and oil to anoint the head.
00:32:55.54\00:33:01.64
And none of these small details
had been offered to Jesus when
00:33:01.68\00:33:06.38
he is invited to the
house of this Pharisee.
00:33:06.41\00:33:09.05
Did this perhaps reveal
the contempt that this host had
00:33:09.08\00:33:11.99
for Jesus, had for Christ?
00:33:12.02\00:33:14.36
Did this perhaps reveal
where his heart was really at?
00:33:14.39\00:33:16.79
We don't know.
00:33:16.83\00:33:18.89
But we know that
the woman in the story,
00:33:18.93\00:33:21.16
she comes into scene, and
she comes into scene as a woman
00:33:21.20\00:33:24.40
of ill repute.
00:33:24.43\00:33:27.27
At the feet of
that enigmatic rabbi,
00:33:27.30\00:33:29.90
she weeps uncontrollably.
00:33:29.94\00:33:32.41
She anoints Him with
an expensive perfume,
00:33:32.44\00:33:35.04
but what's more, she
anoints His feet with her tears.
00:33:35.08\00:33:39.28
And I imagine that
there in that room,
00:33:39.31\00:33:42.58
you know, and as we read this,
we have to--we have to forget
00:33:42.62\00:33:44.72
what we see sometimes in
movies and things like that.
00:33:44.75\00:33:46.99
Jesus, He wasn't
sitting down on the chair.
00:33:47.02\00:33:49.96
The way that it would happen
in those days was they had a low
00:33:49.99\00:33:52.29
table, and people
would sit down on one arm
00:33:52.33\00:33:54.30
with their feet backward.
00:33:54.36\00:33:58.17
And so, this woman,
she came out unannounced.
00:33:58.20\00:34:00.27
She's all the way in the back.
00:34:00.30\00:34:01.60
Jesus's feet is to the
back, and she begins to wash
00:34:01.64\00:34:04.31
His feet and to cry.
00:34:04.34\00:34:06.14
Jesus had
probably healed this woman,
00:34:06.17\00:34:07.88
freed her from
evil, from illnesses,
00:34:07.91\00:34:12.05
and she was so thankful that
this was the only way that she
00:34:12.08\00:34:14.68
could think of repaying
him and of thanking him.
00:34:14.72\00:34:17.49
And so, she is there
weeping, I imagine confused.
00:34:17.52\00:34:21.12
She tries to dry His
feet then with her hair,
00:34:21.16\00:34:25.06
which was the most glorious
part of the body according
00:34:25.09\00:34:29.06
to 1 Corinthians 11.
00:34:29.10\00:34:30.87
And she dries His feet, which is
the most--or the least dignified
00:34:30.90\00:34:35.17
part of the body.
00:34:35.20\00:34:37.01
And what is simply astounding in
the story is Jesus's reaction,
00:34:37.04\00:34:41.58
his attitude.
00:34:41.61\00:34:42.98
He rises above any sort
of political incorrectness,
00:34:43.01\00:34:46.15
above any sort of
taboo or religious prejudice.
00:34:46.18\00:34:49.22
His freedom here is incredible.
00:34:49.25\00:34:51.25
Jesus was absolutely
free here in this situation.
00:34:51.29\00:34:55.29
His acceptance of
this embarrassing offer is
00:34:55.32\00:34:57.73
of an intense beauty.
00:34:57.76\00:35:00.36
His question to the Pharisee,
who is judging Him--because
00:35:00.40\00:35:03.80
that's what's happening here.
00:35:03.83\00:35:05.77
This woman is there, you
know, washing Jesus's feet,
00:35:05.80\00:35:07.57
crying over Him.
00:35:07.60\00:35:09.30
That Pharisee is
judging Jesus, saying,
00:35:09.34\00:35:11.11
"Well, how is this man a rabbi?
00:35:11.14\00:35:13.41
How does He not know
that this is horrible?
00:35:13.44\00:35:15.48
This can't be happening.
00:35:15.51\00:35:17.05
I can't believe
this is happening."
00:35:17.08\00:35:18.65
And Jesus's answer to him
transcends the sublime, friends.
00:35:18.68\00:35:21.58
In Luke chapter 7, verse 44
that also records the story,
00:35:21.62\00:35:26.89
Jesus asks the Pharisee,
"Do you see this woman?"
00:35:26.92\00:35:30.96
And truly, the answer is no.
00:35:30.99\00:35:34.30
He didn't see the woman,
00:35:34.30\00:35:36.00
not the real woman, not the real
person in need of acceptance,
00:35:36.03\00:35:39.77
in need of grace,
in need of forgiveness.
00:35:39.80\00:35:41.60
Enclosed within his
religious formalism,
00:35:41.64\00:35:45.01
Simon the Pharisee
truly could not see her.
00:35:45.04\00:35:48.44
He couldn't see the real woman.
00:35:48.48\00:35:50.55
But Jesus transcended
the Pharisaic religion,
00:35:50.58\00:35:54.12
not allowing the idolatry of
forms to destroy His opportunity
00:35:54.15\00:35:58.65
of revealing the character
of God in His infinite grace.
00:35:58.69\00:36:02.46
And to this woman, to
this unnamed woman here in this
00:36:02.49\00:36:06.19
story, He gave the
utmost gift when He said,
00:36:06.23\00:36:10.80
and this is in
Mark 14:9, He said,
00:36:10.83\00:36:13.57
"Wherever this gospel
is preached in the world,
00:36:13.60\00:36:16.24
what this woman had
done will also be told as
00:36:16.27\00:36:19.27
a memorial to her."
00:36:19.31\00:36:21.78
This is the only
person that Jesus actively,
00:36:21.81\00:36:24.48
that He really said
something like this.
00:36:24.51\00:36:27.08
Wherever the gospel's preached,
her story will be told.
00:36:27.12\00:36:29.95
What an amazing
gift, this is spectacular.
00:36:29.98\00:36:32.29
This is the attitude of Jesus.
00:36:32.32\00:36:35.16
His optimism in seeing people,
in seeing the best of people,
00:36:35.19\00:36:38.29
that's who Jesus was.
00:36:38.33\00:36:40.70
He saw the best in people.
00:36:40.73\00:36:42.60
He didn't see
them for who they were,
00:36:42.63\00:36:44.27
He saw them for who
they could be in Him,
00:36:44.30\00:36:46.74
transformed by Him.
00:36:46.77\00:36:49.34
You know, friends, friendship
is truly a powerful force.
00:36:49.37\00:36:53.84
But in any
friendship, all right,
00:36:53.88\00:36:56.98
and this is also something that
comes--that comes as an example
00:36:57.01\00:36:59.88
from Jesus's--from Jesus's
teachings and His way of life,
00:36:59.91\00:37:03.59
His attitude.
00:37:03.62\00:37:05.32
Friendship is a powerful force,
but if there is no missionary
00:37:05.35\00:37:07.89
focus, if that
friendship has no intent,
00:37:07.92\00:37:11.23
if it's--if there is no
missionary focus in that
00:37:11.26\00:37:17.07
friendship, it leads nowhere.
00:37:17.10\00:37:19.53
It's really worthless.
00:37:19.57\00:37:22.04
Actually,
without intentionality,
00:37:22.07\00:37:24.97
not a lot can be achieved.
00:37:25.01\00:37:27.64
And this involves
two crucial elements:
00:37:27.68\00:37:29.88
prayer and planning.
00:37:29.91\00:37:31.41
To be a friend or
then to have friends,
00:37:31.45\00:37:33.85
it may very well mean nothing.
00:37:33.88\00:37:36.65
If you're just a
friend to people,
00:37:36.69\00:37:38.99
just a friend, but
there is no intention,
00:37:39.02\00:37:41.29
if there is no desire to tell
them or to talk to them about
00:37:41.32\00:37:43.86
the greatest thing in your life,
which is your relationship with
00:37:43.89\00:37:46.63
Jesus, well, then what
is that friendship about?
00:37:46.66\00:37:49.06
What is it for?
00:37:49.10\00:37:50.80
Where will it go?
00:37:50.83\00:37:52.57
And what will you say when that
person in the end perhaps comes
00:37:52.60\00:37:54.64
and says, "Well,
why didn't you tell me?
00:37:54.67\00:37:57.14
Why didn't you tell me
about this better way to live,
00:37:57.17\00:37:59.57
this better life to be
had that you knew about,
00:37:59.61\00:38:01.81
but you never told me?"
00:38:01.84\00:38:05.21
Many people are
ashamed, or simply afraid,
00:38:05.25\00:38:07.68
or simply uninterested,
and they don't share anything
00:38:07.72\00:38:10.62
with their friends.
00:38:10.65\00:38:12.52
They act as if
they were secret spies,
00:38:12.55\00:38:15.06
camouflaged Christians,
good at hiding their faith.
00:38:15.09\00:38:18.79
Someone once said that
the Christians living in this
00:38:18.83\00:38:22.36
generation, in this
period of time are the most well
00:38:22.40\00:38:25.57
camouflaged group of
pilgrims ever to be seen
00:38:25.60\00:38:30.24
in the history of the world.
00:38:30.27\00:38:32.27
And unfortunately, it's true.
00:38:32.31\00:38:34.04
Many of us act as though
we're camouflaged in society
00:38:34.08\00:38:36.31
and in the world.
00:38:36.34\00:38:37.78
You know, the basic element,
as we've already discussed in
00:38:37.81\00:38:40.35
a previous lesson a few weeks
ago, is the authenticity of
00:38:40.38\00:38:42.72
sharing what Jesus has
done for us in the past,
00:38:42.75\00:38:46.42
what He represents to
us today in the present,
00:38:46.45\00:38:49.66
and the hope that He
provides for our future.
00:38:49.69\00:38:52.96
So, doing this involves
an attitude of tolerance,
00:38:52.99\00:38:55.80
of patience with our friends.
00:38:55.83\00:38:58.60
Many people think that
when we become Christians,
00:38:58.63\00:39:00.97
we need to cut all ties
with previous relationships.
00:39:01.00\00:39:03.30
Friends, this is
wrong, it's completely wrong.
00:39:03.34\00:39:06.17
That's the wrong ideology.
00:39:06.21\00:39:07.88
We need to understand first--and
for you to understand what
00:39:07.91\00:39:11.88
I'm trying to convey here,
please don't take me wrong,
00:39:11.91\00:39:14.05
what I'm trying to
convey is, first of all,
00:39:14.08\00:39:17.32
accepting a person does not mean
that we accept what they do.
00:39:17.35\00:39:21.39
Do you see the difference?
00:39:21.42\00:39:23.06
God loves the sinner,
but he does not love the sin.
00:39:23.09\00:39:26.06
So, in the same way, I
can accept a person without
00:39:26.09\00:39:29.10
accepting what they do.
00:39:29.13\00:39:31.50
You see the difference?
00:39:31.53\00:39:33.07
And secondly, we need to take
into account that the real heart
00:39:33.10\00:39:35.84
of the matter is not if our
relationship with an unbeliever,
00:39:35.87\00:39:39.67
with someone that doesn't
believe or live as we believe
00:39:39.71\00:39:42.71
that you should live, we have to
understand that the heart of the
00:39:42.74\00:39:47.18
matter is not if that
relationship is right or wrong.
00:39:47.22\00:39:50.52
But in that relationship,
who is influencing who?
00:39:50.55\00:39:54.96
And that's what Jesus
did because Jesus walked
00:39:54.99\00:39:58.13
with all sorts of people.
00:39:58.16\00:40:00.30
He walked with prostitutes, he
walked with the tax collectors,
00:40:00.33\00:40:02.76
with the sinners of
His days, but Jesus was
00:40:02.80\00:40:04.80
not influenced by them.
00:40:04.83\00:40:07.14
It was the other way
around, He was the one
00:40:07.17\00:40:08.87
that influenced them.
00:40:08.90\00:40:10.41
And so, in the same way today,
I have to realize any given
00:40:10.44\00:40:13.54
relationship, who
is influencing who?
00:40:13.58\00:40:16.75
Am I being
influenced, or am I exerting
00:40:16.78\00:40:20.05
a position of influence?
00:40:20.08\00:40:21.38
Am I influencing for good?
00:40:21.42\00:40:23.25
These are things
that cannot be forgotten.
00:40:23.28\00:40:24.95
Being intentional with
our friendships means to value
00:40:24.99\00:40:29.39
the strong points in them,
to help them see themselves
00:40:29.42\00:40:32.89
under positive light.
00:40:32.93\00:40:34.56
We know that Jesus
was the master in this,
00:40:34.56\00:40:36.33
seeing the best in people, and
helping them to see themselves.
00:40:36.36\00:40:39.20
This is something that we find
in the other biblical heroes.
00:40:39.23\00:40:42.80
For example,
with the Apostle Paul,
00:40:42.84\00:40:45.27
he did this constantly.
00:40:45.31\00:40:46.98
2 Thessalonians
chapter 1, verse 3 and 4 says,
00:40:47.01\00:40:49.81
"We are bound to
thank God for you always,
00:40:49.84\00:40:52.05
brethren, as is fitting, because
your faith grows exceedingly.
00:40:52.08\00:40:56.85
And the love of every one of you
all abounds towards each other,
00:40:56.89\00:41:01.32
so that we ourselves boast
of you among the churches of God
00:41:01.36\00:41:04.26
for your patience and
faith in all your persecutions
00:41:04.29\00:41:07.66
and tribulations
that you endure."
00:41:07.66\00:41:10.13
The lesson, it observes
that Paul encouraged his church,
00:41:10.17\00:41:13.94
reminding them of
their positive qualities.
00:41:13.97\00:41:16.94
And of course, this doesn't
mean that he ignored the things
00:41:16.97\00:41:19.84
that needed to be
corrected, their mistakes,
00:41:19.87\00:41:22.18
but he didn't allow that to be
the only thing that define them.
00:41:22.21\00:41:26.18
In the words of Ellen White
in "Testimonies for the Church,"
00:41:26.21\00:41:29.85
volume 9, page 189: "If we would
humble ourselves before God,
00:41:29.88\00:41:34.96
and be kind and courteous and
tender-hearted and pitiful or
00:41:34.99\00:41:39.53
full of pity, there would be
100 conversions to the truth,
00:41:39.56\00:41:43.47
where now there is only one."
00:41:43.50\00:41:45.43
Isn't it ironic, friends, that
many times we want to win people
00:41:45.47\00:41:49.04
over to transform people,
when what would really be more
00:41:49.07\00:41:53.54
effective is to allow ourselves
to be transformed by Christ?
00:41:53.58\00:41:58.05
What would this mean
on a practical level?
00:41:58.08\00:42:00.45
In our church, to
be kind and courteous,
00:42:00.48\00:42:03.49
tenderhearted, and full of pity.
00:42:03.52\00:42:05.85
Wasn't this
precisely Jesus's method?
00:42:05.89\00:42:08.66
You know, Ellen White,
she observes in the following
00:42:08.69\00:42:12.06
passage, she observes
that kindness and sympathy were
00:42:12.09\00:42:14.63
always
imprinted on Jesus's face.
00:42:14.66\00:42:17.40
Why is it that in some
circumstances and in some
00:42:17.43\00:42:19.83
situations, not all, all right,
hopefully not where you are at
00:42:19.87\00:42:24.04
or where I am at, but sometimes
the Christian church is
00:42:24.07\00:42:27.74
identified as
judgmental, as inflexible,
00:42:27.78\00:42:30.55
as grouchy, as bad humored, as
incapable of relating to people.
00:42:30.58\00:42:35.55
The church has
sometimes been seen,
00:42:35.58\00:42:38.55
and in some, again,
in some circumstances,
00:42:38.59\00:42:40.96
in some places, as the only
institution that kicks those
00:42:40.99\00:42:44.09
who are already on the ground.
00:42:44.13\00:42:45.69
Why does it seem that way?
00:42:45.73\00:42:47.60
And look, friends,
this has nothing to do with
00:42:47.66\00:42:49.36
an institution, this
has to do with people.
00:42:49.40\00:42:51.57
You and I are the church.
00:42:51.60\00:42:54.24
So, why does
this happen sometimes?
00:42:54.27\00:42:56.54
Shouldn't we be the contrary?
00:42:56.57\00:42:58.54
Shouldn't we be
lifting people up,
00:42:58.57\00:43:00.61
encouraging to get back up?
00:43:00.64\00:43:02.58
You know, friends, the real
problem in life isn't truly--and
00:43:02.61\00:43:06.68
this is something that we find
again and again in the Bible.
00:43:06.72\00:43:09.55
The problem or the main
problem, it's not falling.
00:43:09.58\00:43:12.15
The problem is when we
start liking the floor.
00:43:12.19\00:43:14.99
It's when people start liking
the floor and they don't want
00:43:15.02\00:43:18.13
to get up anymore.
00:43:18.16\00:43:19.86
So, we have to encourage
people not to like the floor,
00:43:19.89\00:43:23.10
to stand back up.
00:43:23.13\00:43:24.53
That's what we should be doing.
00:43:24.57\00:43:26.07
Dwight Moody tells the
story of this little boy,
00:43:26.10\00:43:28.80
a street urchin that
lived on the streets.
00:43:28.84\00:43:31.01
And one day, this very kind,
tenderhearted man comes to him
00:43:31.04\00:43:34.54
and treats him with
kindness, gives him some food,
00:43:34.58\00:43:36.81
you know, talks to him.
00:43:36.85\00:43:38.48
And before leaving that meeting,
before leaving that encounter,
00:43:38.51\00:43:40.78
the little boy, he
turns back and he says,
00:43:40.82\00:43:43.39
"Mister, are you Jesus?"
00:43:43.42\00:43:46.55
And the man with
a smile on his face,
00:43:46.59\00:43:48.26
he answered him, "I'm
not Jesus, but I am one
00:43:48.29\00:43:51.09
of his good friends."
00:43:51.13\00:43:53.06
Oh, my friends, how I
wish that we could say,
00:43:53.09\00:43:56.80
we could all say that,
that we are His good friends,
00:43:56.83\00:43:59.00
that we're Jesus's
friends, one of His friends.
00:43:59.03\00:44:02.40
So, as such, how
should we represent Him among
00:44:02.44\00:44:05.14
our other friends?
00:44:05.17\00:44:06.98
How do we represent Jesus as one
of His friends to our friends?
00:44:07.01\00:44:11.35
Now, an important thing to
remember is that when we accept
00:44:11.38\00:44:15.02
Jesus, we don't
stop being us, okay?
00:44:15.05\00:44:18.72
When we accept Jesus,
we don't stop being us.
00:44:18.75\00:44:21.32
We do not stop being
either educated or uneducated,
00:44:21.36\00:44:23.99
or poor or rich,
or tall or short.
00:44:24.03\00:44:26.76
We don't stop being
Brazilian, or American,
00:44:26.80\00:44:29.66
or Japanese, or Nigerian.
00:44:29.70\00:44:31.93
We don't become an alien.
00:44:31.97\00:44:35.10
We don't become
someone who we weren't before.
00:44:35.14\00:44:37.07
That's not what happens.
00:44:37.11\00:44:38.51
No, the change is
on a deeper level.
00:44:38.54\00:44:40.98
We receive a new identity that
makes us all absolutely alike
00:44:41.01\00:44:45.38
and equal in what is
essential and fundamental.
00:44:45.41\00:44:49.88
We become citizens
of the kingdom of God,
00:44:49.92\00:44:52.12
sons and daughters of God.
00:44:52.15\00:44:55.12
And in that way, we
become brothers and sisters
00:44:55.16\00:44:57.99
in Jesus Christ.
00:44:58.03\00:44:59.33
That's why we are brethren,
that's why we call each other
00:44:59.36\00:45:01.83
brother and sister,
it's for this reason.
00:45:01.86\00:45:04.17
And this new identity in Christ,
this new identity in God as the
00:45:04.20\00:45:08.47
citizen of the kingdom,
that identity goes beyond
00:45:08.50\00:45:12.37
and transcends all other smaller
identities seen by the external
00:45:12.41\00:45:17.11
and superficial differences.
00:45:17.15\00:45:19.51
Oh, my friends, how better would
the world be if people could
00:45:19.55\00:45:23.49
understand that what defines
them is not where they're from,
00:45:23.52\00:45:26.52
it's not the
color of their skin,
00:45:26.55\00:45:28.79
it's not their social status,
it's not their academic status,
00:45:28.82\00:45:32.49
what defines them is
that they are children of
00:45:32.53\00:45:34.83
the Most High God.
00:45:34.86\00:45:36.30
When we understand that this
identity is what truly defines
00:45:36.33\00:45:39.60
us, what truly identifies
us, all the rest will stop
00:45:39.63\00:45:43.54
being an issue.
00:45:43.57\00:45:45.17
It will stop being the problem
because we understand that
00:45:45.21\00:45:49.08
the identity goes and is defined
by--on a much deeper level.
00:45:49.11\00:45:54.88
And here now, what I'm
going to tell you now is
00:45:57.05\00:45:59.45
something very serious.
00:45:59.49\00:46:01.79
If you have not
yet understood this,
00:46:01.82\00:46:05.33
if you haven't
understood this reality yet,
00:46:05.36\00:46:08.23
then you haven't understood
anything about what it becomes
00:46:08.26\00:46:11.73
to be--what it means to
become a disciple of Jesus.
00:46:11.77\00:46:14.64
If we don't understand that
our identity is provided by our
00:46:14.67\00:46:17.87
kinship to heaven, then we
haven't understood anything else
00:46:17.91\00:46:21.88
about what it means to
be a disciple of Christ.
00:46:21.91\00:46:24.98
You know, the term "one another"
appears none--not less than
00:46:25.01\00:46:29.72
54 times in the New
Testament, 54 times, always with
00:46:29.75\00:46:33.96
an emphasis on
fraternal relationships.
00:46:33.99\00:46:36.42
If we could put into
practice at least half of them,
00:46:36.46\00:46:39.03
we would
witness an extraordinary
00:46:39.06\00:46:41.63
transforming--transformation
among us.
00:46:41.66\00:46:44.10
Notice some of these occurrences
here in the New Testament.
00:46:44.13\00:46:46.37
For example, "Do not judge
one another," that's Romans 14.
00:46:46.40\00:46:49.64
"Do not lie to one
another," Colossians 3:9.
00:46:49.67\00:46:52.71
"Do not speak evil with
one another," James 4:11.
00:46:52.74\00:46:55.51
"Do not grumble against
one another," James 5:9.
00:46:55.54\00:46:58.65
"Love one another,
receive one another,
00:46:58.68\00:47:01.02
serve one another,
care for one another,
00:47:01.05\00:47:03.82
bear one another's burdens."
00:47:03.85\00:47:06.29
Friends, fraternal,
fraternal relationships,
00:47:06.32\00:47:09.09
fraternal love reveals
who we are as Christians.
00:47:09.12\00:47:12.96
John chapter 13:35 says, "By
this all will know that you are
00:47:12.99\00:47:17.47
my disciples, if you
have love for one another."
00:47:17.50\00:47:20.67
True disciples are not
known for their great ideas,
00:47:20.70\00:47:23.54
for their brilliant
sermons or discourses.
00:47:23.57\00:47:25.87
No, true disciples,
they're known for their love.
00:47:25.91\00:47:29.71
That's what this text is saying.
00:47:29.74\00:47:31.85
And on the other
hand, if on one hand,
00:47:31.88\00:47:33.62
if on one hand, our fraternal
love reveals who we are,
00:47:33.65\00:47:37.75
it also reveals where we are.
00:47:37.79\00:47:39.95
For John 3:14 says, "We know
that we have passed from death
00:47:39.99\00:47:43.36
to life because we
love the brethren."
00:47:43.39\00:47:46.43
Have we passed
from death to life?
00:47:46.46\00:47:48.03
Where are we on
our spiritual journey?
00:47:48.06\00:47:49.86
Or do we remain in the kingdom
of darkness and of death?
00:47:49.90\00:47:54.30
And also, what is the basis of
the acceptance of one another?
00:47:54.34\00:47:58.94
What's the basis?
00:47:58.97\00:48:00.61
Why do we accept one another?
00:48:00.64\00:48:01.94
How do we--how do we understand
that or reason that inside
00:48:01.98\00:48:04.95
the rationale of
being a disciple and of
00:48:04.98\00:48:06.48
having a winning attitude?
00:48:06.51\00:48:08.55
Well, the foundation
is that Jesus has forgiven
00:48:08.58\00:48:10.02
and accepted us.
00:48:10.05\00:48:11.52
Those who are conscious of
this, of the fact that Jesus
00:48:11.55\00:48:16.02
has forgiven them of so much,
they cannot live any other way.
00:48:16.06\00:48:20.56
Now again, please remember that
accepting someone does not mean
00:48:20.60\00:48:24.40
accepting
everything that they do.
00:48:24.43\00:48:27.34
And this is a very
common misconception,
00:48:27.37\00:48:29.20
and it's the basis for a
lot of Christian indifference.
00:48:29.24\00:48:32.21
So, the lesson puts it this way.
00:48:32.24\00:48:34.91
Jesus's attitude was
not, "Do whatever you please,
00:48:34.94\00:48:37.71
it's all right, I
still accept you."
00:48:37.75\00:48:39.61
That was not Jesus's attitude.
00:48:39.65\00:48:41.18
His attitude was rather,
"No matter what you have done,
00:48:41.22\00:48:44.39
I am still willing to
forgive you and provide you
00:48:44.42\00:48:46.59
with power to change."
00:48:46.62\00:48:49.46
Biblical truth presented humbly
in Christ's Spirit with a loving
00:48:49.49\00:48:52.69
attitude when--these attitudes
win hearts and change lives.
00:48:52.73\00:48:57.20
Friends, the salvation
that Jesus offers is salvation
00:48:57.23\00:49:00.97
from sin, not salvation in sin.
00:49:01.00\00:49:07.38
We've run out of time.
00:49:07.41\00:49:08.84
Perhaps the last thing that
I would like to tell you in the
00:49:08.88\00:49:11.05
study of this week's lesson, it
comes from "The Desire of Ages."
00:49:11.08\00:49:14.05
And this--these words, they're
beautiful and they sum up very
00:49:14.08\00:49:16.89
well the winning
attitude that we should have.
00:49:16.92\00:49:19.39
This is where we read, "In
Christ is the tenderness of the
00:49:19.42\00:49:21.79
shepherd, the
affection of the parent,
00:49:21.82\00:49:23.83
and the matchless grace
of the compassionate Savior.
00:49:23.86\00:49:26.66
His blessings He presents
in the most alluring terms.
00:49:26.70\00:49:30.03
He is not content merely
to announce these blessings,
00:49:30.07\00:49:32.97
He presents them in the
most attractive way to excite
00:49:33.00\00:49:36.40
a desire to possess them.
00:49:36.44\00:49:38.61
So His servants are to
present the riches of the glory
00:49:38.64\00:49:41.88
of the unspeakable gift.
00:49:41.91\00:49:43.45
The wonderful love of Christ
will melt and subdue hearts
00:49:43.48\00:49:47.35
when the mere
reiteration of doctrines would
00:49:47.38\00:49:49.52
accomplish nothing."
00:49:49.55\00:49:51.99
Friend, my deep desire for
you is that you may have this
00:49:52.02\00:49:55.36
winning attitude that Jesus
had, that you may reflect it.
00:49:55.39\00:49:59.56
And that while dealing
with others and loving them,
00:49:59.59\00:50:03.06
you can reflect the
person of Jesus and be called
00:50:03.10\00:50:05.83
a friend of His.
00:50:05.87\00:50:07.24
I loved having you
here with me today for this
00:50:07.27\00:50:09.30
"Sabbath School Study Hour."
00:50:09.34\00:50:11.11
Please do not
forget our free offer,
00:50:11.14\00:50:14.01
"From Stress to Joy."
00:50:14.04\00:50:15.64
If you would
like to receive this,
00:50:15.68\00:50:17.05
a physical copy,
again call 866-788-3966.
00:50:17.08\00:50:22.72
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00:50:22.75\00:50:25.09
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00:50:25.12\00:50:31.36
May God bless you, and I hope to
see you again here for another
00:50:31.39\00:50:33.43
"Sabbath School Study Hour."
00:50:33.46\00:50:35.80
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00:51:01.36\00:51:04.66
"Amazing Facts"
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00:51:04.69\00:51:07.76
and most important
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00:51:07.83\00:51:11.17
male announcer:
Amazing Facts: Changed lives.
00:51:16.34\00:51:19.81
female: It wasn't my
choice to be a Catholic.
00:51:24.31\00:51:26.88
It was my parents' choice.
00:51:26.92\00:51:28.95
My mom, she's
very, very religious.
00:51:28.98\00:51:32.62
My father, he was made the
presidential troubleshooter
00:51:32.65\00:51:38.09
during the martial law.
00:51:38.13\00:51:40.63
I guess having seven kids would
not be able to make my mother to
00:51:40.66\00:51:46.43
be--you know, be there
for each and every one of us.
00:51:46.47\00:51:49.70
But what is really very hard for
me was I was always told to be
00:51:49.74\00:51:53.91
the ugliest, to be the darkest.
00:51:53.94\00:51:56.78
You know, here
in the Philippines,
00:51:56.81\00:51:58.18
you're
beautiful if you're white.
00:51:58.21\00:52:00.22
But if you're brown
or a little bit darker,
00:52:00.25\00:52:04.22
which I was, you're ugly.
00:52:04.25\00:52:07.76
All of us had about seven
maids, one for each child.
00:52:07.79\00:52:12.09
The maids would say, "My baby,"
or the one she's taking care of,
00:52:12.13\00:52:16.63
"is a lot better than
yours," referring to me.
00:52:16.67\00:52:20.94
I believed because I was
ugly, I believed I was stupid.
00:52:20.97\00:52:24.01
I believed I was
good for nothing,
00:52:24.04\00:52:27.11
so I attracted all
the bad things in my life.
00:52:27.14\00:52:30.38
I had to believe
that God is fair,
00:52:30.41\00:52:34.08
so I said maybe that's because
I was bad in my previous lives.
00:52:34.12\00:52:41.19
So, I believe in, of
course, reincarnation.
00:52:41.22\00:52:45.06
And when I was young,
my mom told me that I could
00:52:45.09\00:52:48.90
really see ghosts.
00:52:48.93\00:52:50.90
I went into a lot of seance.
00:52:50.93\00:52:55.14
And there was even a time
when we did a ouija board.
00:52:55.17\00:52:59.27
And then in front of me
really--it really happened for
00:52:59.31\00:53:03.55
the four of us, the
glass, which is a wine glass,
00:53:03.58\00:53:06.21
it just--you
know, it just went up.
00:53:06.25\00:53:11.92
So, because this is my life, I
do believe that I was attracted
00:53:11.95\00:53:15.49
to the wrong man.
00:53:15.52\00:53:18.03
There's anything that really
happened very good was to have
00:53:18.06\00:53:21.23
my two adorable children, but I
was really abused in all areas:
00:53:21.26\00:53:26.87
physically, emotionally,
of course spiritually.
00:53:26.90\00:53:32.61
And you will
think, "Where is God?"
00:53:32.64\00:53:37.15
¤¤¤
00:53:37.18\00:53:40.92
I began to search, and
unfortunately my church doesn't
00:53:40.95\00:53:44.05
have a Bible study.
00:53:44.09\00:53:46.69
So, I was able to go
to a Baptist Bible study,
00:53:46.72\00:53:49.96
and there I had a
classmate, her name is Lu.
00:53:49.99\00:53:54.60
She gave me the DVDs, and
that is where I learned about
00:53:54.63\00:54:00.04
Pastor Doug and "Amazing Facts."
00:54:00.07\00:54:04.91
That Baptist
church saw my eagerness,
00:54:04.94\00:54:07.94
so when I started asking for the
Sabbath worship on a Saturday,
00:54:07.98\00:54:15.45
they took me out.
00:54:15.48\00:54:18.15
They even got a meeting and
they said that I was a stumbling
00:54:18.19\00:54:21.76
block, me and Lu,
and that is how we left.
00:54:21.79\00:54:26.46
Our friends are
all from the Baptists,
00:54:26.49\00:54:28.80
and we love them dearly, but
the truth cannot be compromised.
00:54:28.83\00:54:37.04
So, that is when we
started having a Bible study,
00:54:37.07\00:54:41.71
every 4 o'clock
at Club Filipino,
00:54:41.74\00:54:45.18
and I invite all my friends.
00:54:45.21\00:54:49.12
It pains me to think
that I was really lost.
00:54:49.15\00:54:52.29
Why is it that I'd find
teaching through a foreigner,
00:54:52.32\00:54:58.36
from Pastor Doug?
00:54:58.39\00:55:01.30
What if nobody
gave me the message?
00:55:01.33\00:55:03.60
Because my growth happened
because of the DVDs that I watch
00:55:03.63\00:55:11.01
every night, every morning.
00:55:11.04\00:55:15.68
And even my friends, who
happened to have master's
00:55:15.71\00:55:19.85
degree, they say, "Why
are you so much better?
00:55:19.88\00:55:23.75
Maybe your teachers are good."
00:55:23.79\00:55:26.19
Yes, my teachers are
from the Amazing Facts.
00:55:26.22\00:55:29.86
I owe my salvation really to all
the teachings that I've learned
00:55:29.89\00:55:34.73
from your DVDs
and from your books.
00:55:34.73\00:55:37.80
¤¤¤
00:55:37.83\00:55:43.84
¤¤¤
00:55:50.65\00:55:58.72
Doug Batchelor: So,
what is the brightest light
00:55:58.75\00:56:00.86
in the world?
00:56:00.89\00:56:02.32
Well, naturally
you'd say the sun,
00:56:02.36\00:56:03.83
but we're talking
about the brightest manmade
00:56:03.86\00:56:05.83
light in the world.
00:56:05.86\00:56:07.13
It's the light that
shines out of the roof of that
00:56:07.20\00:56:09.13
pyramid-shaped hotel in
Las Vegas called the Luxor.
00:56:09.16\00:56:13.10
There in the cap of that hotel,
there's a room that contains
00:56:13.13\00:56:17.07
39 washing
machine-sized xenon bulbs.
00:56:17.11\00:56:20.18
And each of those bulbs
requires about 7,000 watts.
00:56:20.21\00:56:23.61
All together, they
produce about 40 billion candle
00:56:23.65\00:56:27.32
power of light.
00:56:27.35\00:56:29.22
Can you imagine getting that
electric bill at the Luxor Hotel
00:56:29.25\00:56:32.15
every month?
00:56:32.19\00:56:33.56
That light is so
bright that planes can see it
00:56:33.59\00:56:35.96
250 miles away.
00:56:35.99\00:56:38.69
They are shooting light
ten miles up into space,
00:56:38.73\00:56:41.73
meaning if you
happen to be floating by,
00:56:41.76\00:56:43.47
you could read a
newspaper up there.
00:56:43.50\00:56:45.97
And as you might have guessed,
that bright light has become the
00:56:46.00\00:56:49.14
world's best bug attractor,
bringing in moths and bats and
00:56:49.17\00:56:53.17
owls, creating its own ecosystem
there at night above the hotel.
00:56:53.21\00:56:57.21
But the sad thing about the
brightest light in the world is,
00:56:57.25\00:56:59.85
especially when
the night air is clear,
00:56:59.88\00:57:02.38
without any particles,
the light doesn't hit anything
00:57:02.42\00:57:04.99
and it's invisible.
00:57:05.02\00:57:07.32
It shoots up into empty space.
00:57:07.36\00:57:09.76
The brightest light in
the world illuminates nothing.
00:57:09.79\00:57:13.53
You know, the Bible tells
us that there's another great
00:57:13.56\00:57:15.53
wasted light, and
that's the light of God's Word.
00:57:15.56\00:57:18.93
It says in Psalm 119, verse 105,
"Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet
00:57:18.97\00:57:24.21
and a light unto my path."
00:57:24.24\00:57:26.34
And yet, so many people
are walking in darkness.
00:57:26.37\00:57:28.51
"Furthermore," Jesus said,
"if you do have that light,
00:57:28.54\00:57:31.95
make sure you don't
put it under a bushel,
00:57:31.98\00:57:33.75
but you let it shine and
illuminate the lives of others."
00:57:33.78\00:57:36.62
Jesus said, Matthew chapter
5, "Set your light up on a hill
00:57:36.65\00:57:40.36
like a city so
that all might see it."
00:57:40.39\00:57:42.49
Light only benefits others when
it reflects off of something.
00:57:42.52\00:57:46.86
God wants our lights to
illuminate the lives of others,
00:57:46.90\00:57:51.13
so are you glowing for God?
00:57:51.17\00:57:53.03
Remember, Jesus
said, "Let there be light."
00:57:53.07\00:57:55.97
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00:57:56.00\00:58:05.98
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00:58:06.01\00:58:15.99
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00:58:16.02\00:58:23.70