 Welcome. My name is Michael Fax and today we're going to be studying the fifth lesson of the cornerstone connection for the first quarter 2024. Now on the set we have our wonderful team Shamala Omwiri Subira and our wonderful team's teachers. On the sign language we have Joyce and on the orchestra we have Subira playing the clarinet. Now I'll be going through the mission story so please let's go through it together. The title is once poor now rich and it talks about a five-year-old girl named Amitur. Now Amitur lived in Nepal and her family was very very poor. The family was so poor that they couldn't even afford to give her breakfast, lunch or supper. They couldn't have money for cabbage, rice or even some little potatoes. Now when the cold came the family was so poor that they didn't have enough money to even buy her some warm clothes, some wool socks, some boots and a warm jacket. So during the night and during this winter period she will freeze and just hope for the summer to come quickly. Now one day the mother left home and left the father and Amitur all by themselves. Amitur was very sad and she never saw her mother again. Father didn't like living without a wife. So a few months later he married again and the new wife came with two children. Amitur was so happy. She was so happy and wanted to please the new mother. However the mother and the father loved the other new children more than Amitur herself. She will be the last person to serve food. She'll be the last person to get the warm clothes during winter and she will always be the ones doing chores. The little ones and the other children did not do anything in the house besides get very treated very nicely. Now when Amitur was eight years old a neighbor told her parents about a seventh day Adventist orphanage that cared for children who had no parents or our parents who could not take care of the children. Father and mother took looked at each other and loved this idea very much and without consulting Amitur they quickly took her to the orphanage and left her there. Now moving into a new place was scary for Amitur and but the good thing is she quickly adopted and started to like the orphanage and the activities that were going on. She liked going for breakfast and lunch and dinner. She liked having warm clothes during the cold season and she loved going to Sabbath, going to church every Sabbath. Now she's never gone to church and she's never heard about this God but six years of past since Amitur moved to the orphanage and today she's very happy. Once she was poor but now she's rich in Christ. I am very thankful to my heavenly father who brought me here she said. If I were not here today I will not have known God. Now I know who my savior is. She's studying hard and hopes to help other little girls with difficult childhoods one day. I would like to help people like me in the future she said. So I ask you to pray for me. I want God to use my life for his purpose. May his will be done in my life. Thank you for your prayers. Part of this 13th, part of this quarter's 13th Sabbath offering will help establish a school where children like Amitur could study in Nepal. Thank you for planning a generous 13th Sabbath offering. Welcome to our lesson today. The title of this lesson is Confessions of a Foolish Wise Man. Confessions of a Foolish Wise Man. Is it possible to be foolish and wise at the same time? It's something that will explore even as we study this lesson. But before we begin I'd like to introduce the panelists who will be here with me and I'll start from my left-hand side. Please introduce yourself. My name is Umuiri. Okay, thank you. Hello, my name is Shamala. Hello, my name is Subir al-Kundi and I'm happy to be here. Welcome even as we study the lesson. Before we start I'd like to invite Shamala to offer a word of prayer. Let us pray. Our Father in Heaven we come before you this day thanking you for the gift of life and for the gift of this gathering. We are about to discuss this lesson. We pray that you will speak through us, that your Spirit will dwell with us and guide us. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Our reading for today will be from the book of 1st John chapter 1 verse 9 and 10 and it reads, anyone who claims to be in the light but hates our brother or a sister is still in darkness. Anyone who loves their brother or sister lives in the light and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. We'll move ahead to our what do you think section from number one meaning it's the most important reason to 10 the least important. Why do you think people find confession and repentance difficult to do? I will begin by asking teacher Niko to define the terms here confession and repentance. Okay so confession is when you know you have done something wrong and you acknowledge that you have done wrong so the realization comes to you that whatever act that you committed is wrong then repentance is turning away from the wrong act. I remember when I was young sometimes my parents find me in trouble then I say I will not do it again but interestingly I end up doing the same thing that is not repentance. Repentance is actually when we confess and say we know what we've done is wrong then we say because I understand that this is wrong I will not do it again so that's how I define the two terms. Oh wow it's similar to an understanding of like confession being I know what's right I know what is good and then repentance is living out the good. Thank you very much I'll begin by sharing my number one reason why people find it hard to confess and repent. I think that is they don't want to stop what they're doing as much as outside voices and influences such as our friends may tell us why would you really choose to do that is it such a big deal the decision to repent or confess lies with us so if we really don't want to do that then we won't. Oh Mary what did you give as your one as your number one reason? I agree that most of the time it's because people don't this they don't want to continue in sin and I think that combines with that they don't believe they'll be able to stop committing the sin because you can confess but then you feel like at the back of your mind you know you're going to do it again so you wonder what's even the point of confessing and I would say it's not good to continue in sin but God's grace is enough and for example the Israelites they sinned many times but God still forgives them again and again. I think well that the reason why people find confession and repentance difficult to do is because they feel guilty. I think what sin does it just puts you in this alternate reality and once you continue doing it you feel as though what I'm doing it is it's nature it's what I'm doing it's not bad at all so you sort of switch off this conscience and I think of conscious conscience as spiritual pain that tells us you need to stop doing what you're doing but once you continue doing sin that pain is sort of numbed it goes down so I think that guilt that they feel is that if I truly confess and I repent I'm telling myself that what I'm doing is wrong and it just gives you it doesn't give you a pass to continue doing what you have to do so that's what I think. The thoughts there are actually quite interesting and if we think about it repentance is made easier when we confess for example if you're a thief and you need to go and confess to someone that you're a thief that is really really hard turning away from it is easier done after you have confessed it so that's why confession and repentance normally come together because you can't repent from something which you don't even acknowledge that yeah is wrong in the first place so I'd like to highlight something that is important because there's an area that sometimes we feel that we won't be able to stop doing this thing that we are repenting from. The Bible says in Philippians 4 verse 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me so it is Christ that helps us to be able to repent but confession is something that it's us who have to do. The Bible says it is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance so God is good to us and gives us the power so if we try turning away from sin ourselves you can try it and you'll end up failing but if you do it with God you'll be able to turn away from it completely. Amen. So the next question can you take us through that Shamal? Okay I think teacher Niko has clearly pointed out how confession can bring us closer to God. When we do something wrong to someone and acknowledge it the next step is typically how do I get on their good side again and therefore when we accept our wrongdoing to God we will most likely be urged to take steps towards correcting our wrongdoing and I think confession when done and not and that's our whole life really because we as humanity with a fall in Genesis chapter 3 we went through this period of just falling out of relationship with God and the whole idea of confessing and repentance is really defining what it is to be human because we have to confess daily to the sins that we continually commit but our repentance is working to live Christ like and leading our lives in a way that is sort of imitating the way Christ did. So his example on earth is to truly show us what repentance is in full light so that we can get back to relationship with God. Do you guys think that there is any connection between pride and the unwillingness to confess? I think that there's a connection because when you're proud you're more likely to to see yourself as right or to justify the things that you do so then you went to the need of confessing as opposed to being humble then you'll know that you know you're sinful in nature and you confess here. In teens class we're exposed to a form of prayer it's called acts A that stands for adoration C that stands for confession and T for gratitude or thanksgiving and S for supplication. It's super important first of all to adore God to praise him for the things that you that he's done for you but confession is a very crucial element. With prayer it's important for us to have humility to bow down our head to being utter all of what God has done and what he will do and when it when we confess just like your question it's very difficult for us to do that because we have so much pride in us. What we did is not as bad so why is God punishing us for it and why do we really have to confess so that pride really does come as an obstacle to our confession our repentance and restoring that relationship with God. Yes, Amen. We can move on to the next section. Yeah sure so we've learnt a lot about confession and repentance from the what do you think section and as you continue talking about the confessions of a foolish wise man we want to see how confession actually took place in King Solomon's life. I'd like to invite Subirre to actually take us into this story to actually understand what led the wisest man to be foolish and what did he confess after. Absolutely so God gave Solomon great wisdom and a very great insight as well and a breath of understanding as measureless as the sands on the seashore. Solomon's wisdom was greater than all the people in the east and all the land of Egypt so in Ecclesiastes he says I said to myself come now and I will test you with pleasure to find what is good but that also was meaningless. So King Solomon was greater in riches and in wisdom than all the kings of the earth so that the whole world sought audience with Solomon but he also writes that wisdom is better than weapons of war and that one sinner can destroy much good. There's an evil he says I have seen under the sun the sort of error that arises from a ruler that is that fools are put in the highest of positions but also the rich occupy the low positions. He reminds us to remember your Creator in the days of your youth before the days of trouble come and it's a whole poetic paragraph that says before you say I find no pleasure in them before the sun the moon the light grow dark the clouds return after the rain when the keepers of the house tremble when strong men stoop when the grinder sees because they are few and when people rise up at the song of the birds but all their songs grow dim then people go to the eternal home and mourners go about their streets we must still remember him but it comes down to this statement meaningless meaningless says the teacher everything is meaningless now all that has been heard here is the conclusion of the matter we are God and keep his commandments where this is the duty of all mankind. It's a really powerful story here and we're really told that the Bible emphasizes Solomon's great riches and his wisdom but still he does fullest his foolish decisions in his life so my question to you is how is it that the wisest man in the whole world could make such foolish choices in life? I think the answer lies in the question itself wisest man human human weakness and fleshly desires can lead us to act out of character and make us do things that people would not likely expect of us and I think that's that's where Solomon fell okay thank you so much for that in fact the title itself that we're really talking about is Confessions of a foolish wise man it's a paradox foolish wise man what do you guys think about the title? I think it's contradictory in nature because it's had to be foolish and wise at the same time and it's interesting that Solomon actually is referred to as a foolish wise man and in relation to the question you asked think sometimes we might become foolish even when we are wise because the Bible says in Jeremiah chapter 9 verse 23 let not the wise man glory in his wisdom and let not the mighty man glory in his might and let not the rich man glory in his riches Solomon had everything the riches and the wisdom were all his and as a result he gloried in this not recognizing God as the source so that is the way that we can actually become foolish while wise you have everything but you lose it so the title is actually interesting because of the nature of its contradictory self absolutely and when someone has so much it's very easy for them to become prideful the things that they have but now we're really taught that he confessed these are the confessions of the foolish wise man and what does Solomon's repentance teaches about God I would say that the fact that God was able to forgive Solomon after he had spent probably decades living in sin worshiping the the gods of his wives I think it shows that God is very forgiving he can he can forgive you for watch for you know your sinful nature and it's important to remember that just because he forgives us that I mean we should continue living in sin absolutely that time of reflection is necessary thank you and I also think that God gives us long life even as we consider how long Solomon was given to live God did not say that now because you have done this your kingdom will end he had the chance to live his life and see the results of his sin and thereby he was able to repent I can imagine if God was to kill us for every sin that we did immediately no one would ever even have a chance to repent right so we actually see the grace of God in his dealing with Solomon yeah so I think that's something interesting that you can look at so Shamala I'd like you to take us through some of the interesting things we find about what Solomon says in Ecclesiasties 12 about the life that what happens at the end of life this is in the Monday section okay so here we can match what Solomon says to the elements of aging for example the grandest seas because they are few that refers to teeth rot and fallout yes those looking through the windows grow dim I think that refers to our falling eyesight basically what he was trying to point out is that nothing will stay the same forever and therefore we should appreciate that which is here now before it loses its meaning and we can continue by reading through the key text which comes from Ecclesiasties 12 verse 1 and it says remember your creator in the days of your youth before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say I find no pleasure in them so I would like to ask the panel what do you think remembering your creator in the days of your youth means okay so I think we as teens we are really aware of this youth is determined as a really critical period of harvesting our faith and our belief in God therefore even Proverbs chapter 22 verse 6 I believe I'm talking about train up your the child in the youth and then when they grow up they will not depart from it it has great truth in our lives and remembering God the remembrance of God at a time like this where our values our belief system is truly shaped is very important because then once we grow up we have this solid understanding and trust in God despite the struggles that we go through and I think adulthood is really a teacher of life and I think a teacher Niko can testify about that but really just talking about how it when we're younger it's a beautiful time for us to grow our faith so that when we are older and we're facing these challenges we're more we are certain that God is still with us and where any thoughts I would also say that many people think that they can live for the world as they are and they'll commit themselves to God later in life when they grow up and over here Solomon was trying to teach us against us because when you do that the longer you stay in sin the harder it's going to be for you to get out of it and live preciously and when you're in seniors also missing on opportunities to help other people to do what God would want you to do so we need to we need to use our time in our youth will remember in your creator in the days of your youth is actually so key for us because when we remember our creator it helps us to make the right decisions in fact the Sabbath was given to us to remember creation because in six days you shall labor and do all your work but in the seventh day we rest from all our leave the reason we rest on Sabbath is because we remember what God did in creating us and it's particularly important for us when we are still young because the decisions that we make right now will determine what we do later in life someone shared with me something interesting which I think I should share and it was basically saying that states a good decision is a bad decision if there is a better decision to make a good decision is a bad if there is a better decision to make yes and the term creator really speaks so much because at this time of social media where we're exposed to lifestyles of people really quickly we sometimes lose our own identity and our identity in Christ in God so once we remember our creator and who he is to us it's really easier for us to live and exist in a world that's so quick and I think that term creator can really speak to teens today yeah so we'll move ahead of flashlight section but before we do that where could you read Matthew 6 verse 24 and as you read that you can share with us the flashlight of the lesson today Matthew 6 24 says no one can serve true masters for either he will hate one and love the other or he will be devoted to one and despise the other you cannot serve God and mammon which is riches or else yes so to the flashlight the flashlight is by his own bitter experience Solomon learned the emptiness of a life that's six in earthly things it's highest good it the Lord for sook him not by messages of reproof and severe severe judgment he sought to arouse the king the realization of the sinfulness of his course so lumines repentant to Cynthia but the harm that his example of evil doing had had brought could not be undone though the king confessed his sin and wrote out for the benefit of after generations a record of his fallen repentance he could never hope entirely to destroy the baleful influence of his wrong deeds the question in Tuesday how can you not get caught up in earthly things that many teens get caught up in that's in order to contribute I think we can do that by constantly tapping into what the Lord says reading our Bibles constantly can help guide us even when we feel like we're about to fall I would especially like to share a verse that I find quite encouraging in Galatians 6 from verse 7 to 9 and it says to not be deceived God cannot be mocked a man reaps what he sows whoever sows to please the flesh from the flesh will reap destruction whoever sows to please the spirit from the spirits will reap eternal life let us not become wary in doing good for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up and I think here Paul is very clear it is you do right you get you get good things you do wrong the end is inevitable and therefore we should stick to that path of constantly trying to do the right thing doing that which the Lord expects from us and we will rip a good harvest so very do you have any thoughts there no I think she said it beautifully it's really important for us to keep account of the things that we do good and bad because then it makes confession it makes repentance much easier and yeah I would add that one of the ways of not getting caught up in earthly things is to involve yourself in heavenly things to involve yourself in like the work that God gives us whether you're volunteering at church or you're helping out at the hospital just it's good to keep yourself busy the devil he likes an idle mind and when you're busy keep yourself busy with God's work yeah we shouldn't let ourselves caught up in every other thing the world offers and God's work is actually left languishing believe it's in the book of Colossians chapter 3 verse 2 where the Bible says we should set our affections on things above and not on things on the earth so when we set our affections on things above then it so much more determines what we do in our lives and that comes close to what it means to remember our Creator because if you're thinking about God constantly chances of getting involved in some of the things that I mentioned here that led solo monastery is had to actually come by then still there's someone wanted to add something yeah okay yeah then I'm where you're still like you to read something else from actually maybe severe I can read it Matthew 16 verse 26 then I'm where you can help us to understand what are some of the aspects from solo monastery that we learn about absolutely and this verse is a one of the punchlines my favorite actually so Matthew chapter 16 verse 26 reads what good will it be for someone to gain the whole world yet forfeit their soul or what can anyone give an exchange for their soul wow I really like this verse as well and then I'm where is of course is gonna go after but I would like to say that the soul is so immensely precious a gift from God and in this world it's very easy for people to say selling your soul and I think it's very disrespectful I would say to come from that point of view when the Heavenly Father our Creator has truly given you this ability to live a chance to choose the right thing to do a chance to choose him so I think having the whole world is very meaningless as Solomon goes on to say his lived and done that he has all the riches he has all the wisdom what more could you ask for and still in that point and having everything he realizes that there's it's not much meaning there's not much value and he encourages us just like you said to look on heavenly things to look on things that are of eternal value and I think that's important I would add that when we were created we were in communion with God when Adam and Eve were created and then sin came into the world and you know we were separated from him so now there was a space that was left you know in our hearts and it was it's a God-sized hole and you can put all you want into it you know money or power and it'll never be full because God is infinite so just yeah you can never be fully satisfied with the things of this earth because we weren't meant to be satisfied by them another thing we learned from Solomon's story is that the gaining wealth on this earth it might feel good but then it's only for a very short time compared to eternity even if you live to an old age like Solomon did and you do you still have money up to your death it's nothing compared to how much time you could spend with your father in heaven so it just focus more on the eternal than the things of this world is that anything you can learn from Solomon's story the greatest message I received was pointed out in the flashlight where Ellen says yet the Lord for Suki not by messages of reproof and by severe judgments he sought to arouse the king to realization of the sinfulness of his course God's grace is endless and his messes are new every morning and as much as Solomon had been given everything by God he was led astray by the things of the earth but God did not leave his side God continued to teach him and show him that his path was the only one that was right and it's the same thing that the Lord does to us now as much as we wrong it doesn't mean an end of anything it doesn't break our relationship with the Lord forever he always wants us back yeah so that's what I got the most amen amen so severe could you take us through the punch lines absolutely so these are verses that really speak to the lesson at hand but equally things that we can apply my favorite of course was mentioned before Matthew 16 verse 26 in treasuring our soul but in the same way not desiring things of this world but looking above so I would like to ask what verses do you really speak to you guys what verses are your favorite I would say that my favorite might be Hebrews 1024 and let us consider how we may spell on another toward love and good deeds not giving up meeting together as I'm in the habit of doing but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day approaching this the day approaching of course is talking about Jesus second coming and here we are being encouraged to to spar one another to push one another towards good deeds that's one of the reasons we come to church because when you're standing alone of course it's possible for you to do good but then when you're in a community you're going to it's going to be easier for you to continue on the path towards heaven because when you make a mistake that you might not even notice then someone else can help you and guide you along the path yeah for me the first I like most was some 62 verse 10 where the Bible says do not trust in extortion or put vain hope in stolen goods and the part that speaks to me most is this last part that says though your riches increase do not set your heart on them I believe this of us that in principle is basically saying as your blessings increase it is not for you to think about how much you have been blessed because the moment you start thinking about this then you lose focus on the one who gave you the blessings so that speaks to my heart because it tells me be thankful to God for the blessing you have because it might go just in one day so appreciate the blessing every day don't act like you now have it all I really like what's Chaniko has said and I think that is why it is important for us especially in our younger days to establish a good relationship with the Lord so that when we establish riches or other greater things material things in the future we are not led astray we are still in the path that the Lord has set for us because we had a strong relationship with him to begin with yeah that's absolutely amazing I think like you said material things and I think I've heard one so someone say before I'm not sure who but materialism is cured by content and willingness to align with the will of God I think that's something a food for thought man so as we close the lesson for today like someone to read probably 16 verse 18 anyone has it probably 16 verse 18 and 19 yeah whoever gets it first can actually read it for us yes probably 16 18 and 19 18 and 19 and it says pride goes before destruction a haughty spirit before a fall better to be lowly in spirit along with the oppressed then to share plunder with the proud amen the Bible tells us in Ecclesiastes 9 verse 18 that wisdom is better than weapons of war but one sinner destroys much good it further goes on to say in Ecclesiastes chapter 10 verse 1 dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking saver so does a little foley him that is in reputation for wisdom and honor what I'm reading are the confessions of Solomon then again he says in Ecclesiastes chapter 10 verse 5 and 6 there is an evil which I have seen under the sun as an error which proceeds from the ruler foley is set in great dignity and the rich sit in low place the meaning of the word foley is a bad choice or a bad decision or a foolish choice that is made so Solomon was saying that he has seen a great evil under the sun and that is foley is set in great dignity that is the wrong things are esteemed to be the right things and set in a high place such that foolish choices actually look good that's why Solomon is making his confessions as the ruler of Israel he made many wrong decisions such that when people looked at him as the ruler of Israel they were like if the king can do that then even I can do it so lomon was at a high place and he therefore ended up misleading the nation and it's interesting to know that many times they went into an idolatry from the book prophets and kings were told from such examples we should learn that in watchfulness and prayer is the only safety for both young and old one may for many years have enjoyed a genuine Christian experience but he is still exposed to Satan's attacks in the battle with inward sin and outward temptation even the wise and powerful Solomon was vanquished his failure teaches us that whatever a month's intellectual qualities may be and however faithfully he may have served God in the past he can never with safety trust in his own wisdom and integrity so I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me so I didn't like to invite everyone to share the closing thoughts that would so be absolutely all that has been said is amazing but my last remark would be that confession is only brought to God's full attention when seasoned with reflection and realized by repentance is that the Lord does not forsake us even when we go wrong he will continue to bring us back to his light and therefore we should not let our sin burden us we should not let our sin make us feel like we're not worthy of God's forgiveness because he's always there to take us back yes and it's good for us to confess the things that we need to confess because we don't have all the time remaining we don't know when we're going to die in fact if we can confess our sins as early as possible let's do it let's not wait our whole life to actually confess to the whole world like Solomon let's do it when we notice I would say that we should we should be aware of when we are sinning because sometimes you can't see and then you don't you don't even know so try by reading the Bible of course and think about what you've done that day think about the reasons behind why you're doing it in Solomon's case he might have been looking for peace or pleasure which is not entirely wrong but then now the ways in which he did it was the wrong part so just be aware of the reasons behind why you're doing something thank you all for joining us for the lesson today those were the confessions of a foolish wise mind wise man and it's up to us to determine if we are wise or foolish and I'd say that wise men confess their sins foolish men do not like to invite Shamala to say a closing word of prayer for us. Let us pray. Our Father what's in heaven we thank you for our discussion today about the confessions of a foolish wise man we pray that your revelation to us today will lead us to a place of confession that we may acknowledge our sin and work towards correcting it we thank you for your endless grace and your mercy and we praise you and honor you in Jesus name we pray amen thank you for joining us today we'll meet again next time