 Happy Sabbath and welcome to the 13th lesson of the third quarter of the teens cornerstone connections lesson of 2023 In this week, we have Baraka and the mission story Amy and Ariya and in the orchestra. We have Amy and Ariana on the violins Sakai on the trumpet and Sid on the piano and For the lesson panel. We have the teens from Nairobi central along with their teens teachers and the mission story for today's entitled God of beats of red beats and It come from the country of Latvia like the previous three and just a few fun facts about the country The first Christmas tree ever was decorated in Latvia in the year 1510 The vent are waterfall Located in Latvia is also the widest waterfall in Europe Now getting into the story the story is centered around a little boy named crevice who comes from school one day and He excitedly tells his mom about all the things he was taught at school he tells her though they learned about Michalis who is a a pagan god from Latvian mythology and Basically what they were taught was when you plant something in the garden at the edge of the garden you're supposed to plant red beets or beetroots for the God and After hearing this the mother being an Adventist mother. She became very upset because What they're teaching her child at school didn't align with what her child was being taught at home and at church And so as most mothers would do she went to the school very upset and she wanted to speak to the teacher who taught her this She went to the school caused a huge commotion and complained that she didn't want her child learning about Pagan gods and Latvian mythology in school and so they had her complaints and As a result they they even offered her to start teaching Bible lessons instead however This came in on the condition that she would teach pottery as well given that the The teacher for pottery was leaving the school and they needed someone else to do it However, she didn't know how to anything about pottery. And so she was in a dilemma and so as one should do she She prayed to God and asked him for guidance And so no later. She was teaching both Bible and poetry at the pottery at the school and as She was teaching Bible many of the teachers began to become interested in the subject that she was talking about and so no later Many teachers became converted and they converted their families as well Part of this quarter's 13th Sabbath offering would help support pathfinders and other children in Latvia Offering will help construct a building in Latvia's capital Riga where children can learn more about the Bible and the real God of heaven who created red beets and every other vegetable in the world I'll now say a short prayer for the 13th Sabbath offering Let's pray. Oh dear heavenly father. We thank you for this day. We thank you for the gift of life and everything You've given us dear God would like to pray that you may please bless the 13th Sabbath offering so that Many more children may learn about you and they may not be misguided by other false gods Thank you for hearing for it's my prayer in Jesus name. Amen. Greetings to you all and welcome to our lesson for today The title of the lesson will be knowing God's will knowing God's will this is the 13th lesson of the lesson discussion for the cornerstone connections and He'll be discussed by me and my fellow teams and before we proceed I'd like to introduce those who'll be serving with me on the panel today And I'd like to start from my extreme right. Please say your name and greet our Congregation well hello to you all my name is Mikhail flex Hi, I'm Finley Chabar. My name is Benithian Okay, welcome to our lesson discussion As we consider what knowing God's will is We'd like to start with a word of prayer from Silas before we proceed Let's pray Offer the bills above in heaven. We thank you this way We thank you for the love and your care as we do this lesson in privilege You may help us love and all those who are watching us in Jesus. I may pray amen. Amen. Amen Amen I'd like to read a short story from the book of judges chapter 6 Verse 36 up to 40 which will set the pace for us to understand how we should know God's will the Bible says in judges chapter 6 verse 36 to 40 and God said unto Gideon if thou will save Israel by my hand as thou hast said Behold I will put a fleece of wool in the floor And if the dew be on the fleece only and it is dry on the earth beside Then shall I know that you will save Israel by your hand as you have said and it was so Oh, he rolls up early on the morrow and thrust the fleece together and ringed the dew out of the fleece a bowl full of water and God said and Gideon said unto God Let not your anger be hot against me. I will speak but this once Let me prove I pray you but this once with the fleece Let it now be dry only upon the fleece and upon all the ground let there be dew and God did so that night for it was dry upon the fleece only and there was dew on all the ground Now Gideon put a test and he wanted to know whether what he was going to do was the will of God So he actually pleaded with God to show him by signs Whether it was his will So the first time he asked that the fleece would be wet and the ground around it be dry And for sure he could squeeze out a bowl of water from the fleece But the next time he asked for the ground around it to have dew and the fleece to be dry And this could actually show the walking of God Now this was science or you can say a miracle that will show God's will But is this really how we should know the will of God? We'll be exploring that for the lesson today and we'll see how best it is for us to know What's the will of God is? So even as we begin I'd like to invite you Finley to please read first Corinthians chapter 14 verse 15 even as we seek to find out how is it that we know God's will first Corinthians chapter 14 verse 15 and it says So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding I will seek with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding So Finding God's will it's a hot topic in Among the teenagers and so It is during this time when the teenagers are trying to identify their identity and so most of them are Most of them generally want to know and follow God's will and if I may ask my final panelist In which circumstances in your life, did you find did you want to seek a God's will? I'll start with my Several situations, but I'll just mention one for example after high school One in my life that I wanted to know God's will is what career should I pursue? There's so many careers should I be a lawyer or a teacher or a doctor or a farmer? So I really wanted to know God's will in that regard Okay For me, I think is what to do on weekends Like weekend you're free But you don't really know what to do with your time and whether what should do is useful to your salvation or not Yeah Yeah, so what to do in we on weekends is a hard decision I think I also find it as a hard decision sometimes because you're not sure if I'm free what should I prioritize fast? I'd say one of the most difficult questions I've ever asked is whom to marry It's not a very easy question to answer and also one of the other difficult things I found was what career to choose Sometimes you found you have two jobs that are coming at you or you have two places Two things that you'd like to pursue Then you really need God's wisdom to actually discern what is the right thing to do and what's the wrong thing to do? And it may be possible that all of them are right So I think those are very hard decisions sometimes that we are called upon to make Yes, I agree and for me the one decision that really I really had to trust God's will was when I graduated from High school I had to see what course exactly am I taking and this was because I had a lot of interests in nursing in business and in other factors, so I really had to See what God is telling me where what I should pursue in the universe. So that was a really tough decision that I had to rely on God's will To me it was during last week, but one we are a Pray to God to know whether the last Sabbath was the right time to be baptized And so I'll give my panelists some least to choose from the most difficult one and the least difficult when it comes to knowing God's will The first one is home to marry what career to pursue What to do this weekend where to work this summer whom to ask out for a date How to choose friends? What book to read for pleasure what to say on Facebook whether or not to trust in Jesus whether or not to get involved in a local church so my answer is not necessarily from this but for me the the most difficult decision I'll say is What teacher Nico said what to prioritize first and this is because as the more you You know get closer to God is the more you get sensitive to what you're doing and whether it's right or wrong You know, shall I be continuing shall I stop and it's really something that I really internalized and I have to constantly Pray about it. You know what should I put fast my phone my social media apps and all these Are factors that are up to being the most difficult, but the least one I will say Probably out of all this What's in Facebook? I I don't say anything Okay for me I think What's good to read for pleasure whether to read The Bible or read any book that is on the library Is that difficult decision or an easy decision? It's a difficult decision Because you don't know what this what's all the other books in the library have and You at least have an idea of what the Bible has to offer so You think of doing something different today because you already know what the Bible is talking about But which one specifically to read is a difficult decision I think for me ranking the most difficult be what or whom to marry because When you're deciding whom to settle down with You're deciding on a person who will not only influence your life here or not, but also will influence your afterlife So I think that's a very difficult decision that needs a lot of prayer and a lot of counsel from God Thank you. So for me, I say the least difficult decision of this was Whether or not to trust Jesus think from the experience I have had seems to me that trusting Jesus is something that we should all be able to agree Shouldn't be a difficult decision and sometimes it gets really hard. I have to acknowledge that but when you don't see where your Money your food your livelihood will come from and somebody tells you trust in Jesus at this time Yeah, it might look like a very difficult decision then Yeah, of course the decision to whom to marry is very Difficult and also what career to pursue because all those are things that influence the cost of your life So I'd say that for me So to me the most difficult one is How to choose friends because friends influence you and he's a saying which goes show me your friend and I'll tell you a character Mm-hmm, and the least difficulty is what to say on Facebook Yeah This book sometimes or any other social media maybe Facebook Might be Twitter. I think you can influence a lot of people just by your words I think I personally find it difficult because There are very many different people who'll be seeing what you're saying and when you put out your thoughts you open up a lot About yourself on there. So you need to be a bit careful with what you say and what you do not say So we'd like to see some of the things that happened in Gideon's Gideon's life To actually show us why it was very important for him to know God's will because the book of Judges chapter 6 tells us Gideon was chosen by God. So I'd like flex to just share with us Some of the things that were happening in Gideon's life that shows us that He needed to know God's will before making any of these decisions. Yes. Thank you teacher Niko So I'll be reading from judges chapter 6 to 7 and if you have your bibles, please you can follow along and It begins by saying the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and for seven years He gave them into the hands of the Midianites Because the power of Median was so oppressive the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountains in mountain clefts Caves and strongholds the angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in opera that belong to Joas there are beers Abbey is right Where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a wine press to keep it from the Midianites When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said the Lord is with you mighty warrior The Lord go turn to him and say go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Median's hand Am I not sending you? Pardon me my Lord Gideon replied but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh and I am the least in my family The Lord answered I will be with you and you will strike down all the Midianites Living none alive Gideon replied if now I have found favor in your eyes Give me a sign that it is really you talking to me the Lord said to Gideon with 300 men that loved I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home When the when the 300 trumpets around sounded the Lord caused the men throughout the come to turn on each other with their swords the army fled to bed cheetah to add Zareha and Tabath Israelites from Neftali, Asia and all Manasseh were called out and they pursued the Midianites Gideon Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim saying come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of them as far as Beth Barra Now you see from this it has left out a bit of contact or a bit of their story For example, it left out the part for how to reduce the number. God told Gideon to Tell everyone who was afraid to go into battle to go back home And this was to prove to God that this is so that the man cannot say they defeated the Midianites by their own will but by the power of God and another part was how the test for the lapping of Water the people who went down on the down on their knees and drunk with your faces Were told to go home while the people who are left from their hands were told to go fight And that's why there were 300 and out of this story. I would like to ask my fellow panelist in your opinion What is the most important lesson of the story? Maybe Silas can take this one. Okay. I think the most important part of this story is When God reduced them by drinking the water Okay, it's Perhaps you won't really understand why those who drunk with their faces went home, but it's reasonable because It's a crucial moment You're going into battle and you take your time and the luxury to drink the water in peace Knowing your headed to battle, but the people who really wanted to save their people had the hurry and the urgency and And Had to look out to see is the enemy approaching. That's where they use their hands so we can see here. It's People who are ready for battle and the only ones who went Very very nice points one other thing I got from their lesson was Trust is something that has a heavy factor in actually accepting God's will give you on how to trust God with 300 men To fight a battle who the Midianites say the Camels walk now burned and the man war among the thousands So the trust Gideon had had to be strong for him to actually let go of his man and only go to battle with 300 people another question I would like to ask is What does this story teaches about knowing one's purpose in life? Maybe teacher Dorotheken Yeah, thank you for the question so one question that we normally battle with as teenagers and even as adults is Do I have a purpose in this life? Do I have a will in this life and what is God's purpose for me? so for me at first starts by answering and By saying that God has a purpose for each and every one of us in this life, okay, and then It was very interesting how The Lord Displayed Gideon's Papas for him Gideon was just minding his own business He was threshing the wheat in the field But in his head he had thoughts about his people He had thoughts about saving his people from the enemies their Midianites And at that point is when where the angel approached Gideon so the lesson I picked from this is God Meets us at our everyday Activities our everyday duties. So whether you're at school or whether you're in church or whatever activities you're doing The Lord can send a messenger to you so that he he's able to tell you your will or yeah, your purpose or your will so let's not Despise our common activities because the Lord can meet us there and then That the last thing I pick out in this story is that the Lord can use Can use anyone who is willing to be used of him because we can see Gideon saying he was the weakest he's from the weakest tribe and He he was weak and he was from the least tribe in Israel But the Lord still so it fit to choose him so even as teenagers and we might be the least Even in church or even in school We might be maybe just in form one, but the Lord can see it fit to use you where you are Thank you. That was very a very nice very nice point another point which I like to say is one one thing you can know about one's purpose in life is Constant communication with God and you see this with Gideon every time God told him to do something When he said go he said I am the week I'm the least in my tribe the least in my family, so In for him to know his purpose he had to communicate to God telling me his problems But God still answered them in his own way of course We don't know the the plans God has for us, but we know they're good But post to trust him we had to show him our problem which means communication With Jesus Another question in this one we can ask teacher Nico. What does this story teaches us about the mission for God's remnant people? Yeah, that's an interesting question on the remnant people I'd say there was a remnant in the story of Gideon First started with a large group of people and the number kept going down from almost 22,000 and 10,000 Suddenly going down all the way up to 300. You're wondering. What was God saying? I believe God can work with just a few people to accomplish his work He doesn't need the whole group to actually do a work and God is actually saying if you trust me to do it It's not in the power and might of what you have you might think you have something small in your hand But God is saying that is what I will work through and we see this through the remnant We consider the 300 people who remained the remnant are the ones who actually ensured They won the battle against the media nights. It wasn't the whole group of people Now our seventh day Adventist we consider ourselves the remnant church of God and God is saying There have been several people who follow Christ throughout all the ages But as you are the remnant church in this last day and age I want to work with you to finish the work into Asha in the coming of Jesus Christ It's true that as the remnant we might face more challenges than all the other generations that have been there But it might be just a similar case to the 300 What is 300 men against a really large army or a really large group of people? Sometimes it might look like we are few where the people who are challenged would sin the most But God is saying the remnant and the mission are like the people who are going to fight against them in media nights Though few though you have many temptations with you I am still with you and will help you in the battle against the devil even in the last days That's what I see the remnant there. Thank you. Thank you very very nice expansion of the question So maybe the last thing I can say is to capture this story in five words or more is Few things can lead to success Few things can lead to success And I agree with that because from this story I learned that God is not Interested in big numbers as much as he's interested in the character of people So he's he's willing to use people who are Who are trusting of him who are obedient of him and not people who are fearful or people who are prideful? Thanks for that So I'd like to ask Finley to please read the book of judges chapter 8 verse 33 to 35 Which is our key text for today and you can share with us a few of the lessons that we learned from this book I believe maybe there are some people on the panel who might share one or two lessons on the same judges chapter 8 verse 33 to 35 So judges chapter 8 verse 33 to 35 says Nassuna had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the bals. They set up a Barith as their God and he not and did not remember the Lord their God Who had rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on every side? They also failed to show any loyalty to the family of Yerub Baal that is Gideon in spite of all the good things he had done for them and So we should review the key text of the lesson which our desk likes to read for us all right the key text of The lesson It comes from Judges chapter 8 verse 35 and says Nassuna had Gideon died than the Israelites Set up Baal Barith as their God and did not remember the Lord their God who had rescued them from the hands of all Their enemies on every side They also failed to show any loyalty to the family of Yerub Baal that is Gideon in spite of all the good things he had done for them So what role does the spiritual leader play in us in safeguarding God's people from backsliding? Okay, I'd say the role of this a spiritual leader to get people from backsliding would be just to encourage everyone at their point of struggle and Give them a reason to continue and to push forward So for me the spiritual leader in the story of Gideon Gideon was Passing the message from God to the Israelites and so that played an important role What are the idols that we are tempted to worship today? Well, I believe there are several things that we have that we can worship it may be our jobs May be our parents. It may be celebrities the music we listen to the Sports all these things are gods and idols that we may worship Maybe even be our phones and social media are following the several things that we can worship today Question we ask ourselves is do we put these things before God? Is it possible that if our spiritual leaders were to be removed then we'd go back to these things after Jesus has saved us? Do we go back to these things or do we still stick with what God is calling us to do? So those are some idols that we may have Okay, I think that's an idol is anything you put before God like in the morning when you wake up Instead of praying fast Maybe it's one of those things you decide to do fast before you Go to go to prayer Yeah, another idol as Jenny has mentioned several of them but I Our education is it an idol do we choose to maybe focus on our school work, but Not give focus to the work of God maybe coming to church and and serving and also our careers or our jobs Are we giving it more time? other than spending time in fathering the work of God so anything that We put ahead of God's work then that becomes an idol So for me the most common idol today is Money because people see money as everything which is not So the next question is have you ever failed to remember the Lord even when God has rescued you from the hands of From the hands of all your enemies Yes, there were times maybe an example is when I was in school and I'll Pray every day God helped me in this test helping this test and I Succeed and I get a decent or good grade and then I don't thank him But say yeah, I walked out for this but a lot. So there were times and it's not good So mostly when you start a journey everyone prays But when you arrive safely you don't even remember to thank God So also reflect on the phrase they also failed to show Inequality to the family of Jerubbal that is given in spite of all The good things he had done for them How can you be more intentional about expressing thankfulness to the people who have had a spiritual impact in your life? I could take that For us we should always express a gift of thanksgiving to those who have been our spiritual leaders I could share with the panel here that how many times have you thanked your sabbat school teacher? Your elder your pastor or anyone for all the lessons that have imparted to you I think it's really important for us to show thanksgiving to them and One of the things we can do is honor them even as they let's say they leave their roles Like Gideon Then you shouldn't go back to the things that you were doing before But like us to quickly go to the flashlight section of the lesson So I can ask Silas, please read it to us and share with us some lessons You learn from the spirit of prophecy based on this flashlight We were reading chapter 53 of patriarchs and prophets Okay, it says Like Israel Christians too often held to the south to the influence of the world and to conform to its principles and Custom in order to secure the friendship over there and godly But in the end it will be found that these professed friends are the most dangerous in fools The Bible plainly teaches that there can be no harmony between the people of God and the world so this says that you can't be a friend to someone of the world a very close friend and be in church and Keep up with the same Influence you had and the same energy in the work of God Because of the influence around you the influence of your friends will change your perspective and your character Amen, the influence of our friends will change our character You don't have please take us through the punchlines You liked most and we can hear from the rest as well. What are some of the verses they like best? Thank you for that. I'm really enjoying discussing this lesson and One of the buses that stood out for me was Proverbs Chapter 3 verse 5 and 6 I'd say it's trust in the Lord with all your heart Lean not on your own understanding in all your ways submit to him and he will make your path straight Why it stood out for me is how many times do I worry rather than pray? Yeah, I worry so much about different decisions that I need to make in my life but if I just follow the console of this verse to trust God and Not lean on my understanding and submit to him by prayer and communication with him Then I'll be able to understand my purpose and will I Well for me mine is Isaiah 30 21 and I'll quickly read it Whether you turn to the right or to the left your ears will hear a voice behind you saying this is the way walking it and this is really Touching to me because it shows that God is always there to guide you in your every step And it shows that even though you fall You'll still hear the voice of God saying this is the way You know get up and walk in it. So it's really touching because it shows some guidance from God to us Chooses God's will yeah. Yeah, exactly. Finley My favorite verse is Proverbs 11 5 says the righteousness of the blemless makes their path straight But the wicked are brought down By their own wickedness So this text reminds you that we should be righteous all the time Righteousness is important always then you will know God's will silence Okay, I think we like this in verse when flex as a 30 or 21 It says whether you turn to the right or to the left your ears will hear a voice behind you saying this is the way working it it shows that God will always be there to remind you and Show you the way Amen For me, I love the vast first John chapter 3 verse 13 Where the Bible says Marvel not my brothers if the world hates you I think sometimes as Christians you're surprised when we Go and proclaim the gospel of Christ and we get a lot of backlash and resistance, right? But the Bible is saying don't be surprised In fact, if it hated Jesus why shouldn't you be hated? That's even the warning that Jesus gave us So I thought that that really was important as a punchline For us. So with all this vast is that important for us to keep in mind So I'd like uh flex to read Proverbs chapter 10 verse 9 Proverbs chapter 10 verse 9 Maybe you can share with us from This verse and the story of Gideon and his soldiers. What is a lesson that we can pick out from this? All right Proverbs chapter 10 verse 9 says he who works with integrity works securely But he who perverts his ways will become known Now we can see this in the story of Gideon how he reduced his the number of Uh men he went into battle with and this shows that he was working In righteousness. He was working with God and He trusted God enough to to an extent that even though The numbers are few and what he has is little compared to what he's fighting against It shows that God is bigger than his problems. So he worked in with integrity and It actually begs to differ. Where will we work if you were in that time? Maybe Finley can answer that. Where will you be? Will you be a part of the 300 or will you be among the people who went back home into the camp? I will be part of the 300 I'd also like us to read Jeremiah 29 Verse 11 and uh Silas you could share with us also the quote from the spirit of prophecy that talks about this Jeremiah chapter 29 verse 11 Anyone that finds it Can read it Jeremiah 29 11 says who I know the thoughts that I think toward you Say it the Lord thoughts of peace And not of evil to give you an unexpected end Okay, the quote from the commentary says The leader whom God chose to overthrow the media knights occupied a prominent position in israel He was not a ruler or priest or levite He thought himself the least in his father's house But God saw him a man of courage and integrity And was distrustful of himself and willing to follow the guidance of the lord God does not always choose for his work men of the greatest talents, but he selects those whom he can best use So this Talks about how you Give up yourself for christ you let everything go and follow christ And this shows that That is the only way to succeed Amen, amen So as we come to the end of this lesson I just like to get closing thoughts from each and every one of you Starting with the teacher donor when we'll finish with flex. I'll give the final one Thank you for that From this story I've learned that It's important for us to know the will of God for our lives because it will help us to live Lives much easier and knowing God's will Applies in every aspect of our lives whether it's in school whether it's in church whether it's what to post on facebook whether it's What to wear God's will applies in all aspects And for us to know God's will is to have constant communication with him so that you're in tandem or you're on the same page with him Okay, I would say Trust in God no matter the situation Because you never know what's happening next Amen, amen For me, God doesn't look at your size or position Like kidion, but he looks at your Abilities where he strengthens it to his glory Yes, what I get from this lesson is Faith in God is something that is necessary to actually accept and follow the will of God In correct in also alignment with communication with him. So you have to communicate with him and trust That he will actually do it and have faith that it will be for a successful outcome That you can give him glory and honor Amen, amen for me, I think I'm returned back to the story of the fleece and I think it wasn't right for Gideon to actually ask God of this miracle When God came to Gideon in judges chapter 6 verse 12 God said the Lord is with thee Thou mighty man of valour Then in verse 13 and Gideon said unto him, oh my lord Why if the Lord is with us? Why then is all this befallen us? Did not the Lord bring us from Egypt? But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the medianites Now God had an interesting answer to Gideon This is verse 14 of judges 6 And the Lord looked upon him and said Go in this thy might and you shall save Israel from the hand of the medianites Have not I sent thee Gideon had no reason to doubt God God actually said is it not me who is sending you When God speaks to you and calls upon you to do some work It's not a matter of how inadequate you are What talents you have Whether God will show you a sign if this is right or not When God has promised you will be with us. Let's trust him And secondly when we read Jeremiah 29 11 as we read earlier God says he has a plan he has a purpose for each and every one of us So when he has promised first to be with us Then he has promised that he has a purpose for us to actually have a good end Then our response should be God take me where you want me to go In fact our theme for church right now is I will go because we want to go where God is actually leading us And as we read in Isaiah chapter 30 verse 21 you shall hear a voice telling you this is the right way Walk this is the way So it's up to us to respond to God So that's the lesson to us to actually know God's will and let us not Forget his promises. So just like God was with Gideon God will be with us So thank you all for joining us for the lesson today Next week we'll be talking about you first Which will be the last lesson of this quarter the coniston connection guide Theamed line in the sun May God bless you all like to invite blacks to say a closing prayer for us Bless both of them But in just name we thank you all Lord for everything you've done for us Oh lord, we ask that you help us understand and accept your will oh my father help us have trust Like Gideon did oh my to go to go with 300 men Into battlefield oh lord where the enemy is stronger. Oh my to God because our God is stronger May you be with the listeners. Oh my to God may they pick out something And may you be with all of us for this I pray in just name amen