[This was originally a handout in class that was to be turned in]
The purpose of this questionnaire is for me to get a sense of what level to teach at for this class, on this particular topic. It will also help me to understand the kind of things you are interested in learning about and what are the best things to focus on.
• Do not feel overly self-conscious if you do not know the answer to one or all of the questions pertaining to Scripture knowledge — these questions are to give me some perspective — that’s all.
• Take as long as you need to fill it out within the class time.
• Please do not use the Bible or others as a source of help — this is to determine what you currently think and know — not what you wish you knew.
1. Who is known as “The father of faith”?
2. When did Abraham receive the 10 Commandments?
3. Who in the Bible is associated with fire, brimstone, and burning coals?
4. What was the “forbidden fruit” that Adam and Eve ate?
5. Name 7 of the 12 disciples
6. List as many of the 10 Commandments as you can remember:
7. Is there a central character in the Bible? If so, who?
8. In one sentence, write what you think is the main theme of the Bible:
9. Write down all the references to Scripture verses that you have memorized (and still remember): Ex. Psalm 23; Romans 8:28, etc.
10. Think back over the last 3 months and give a rough average on the amount of time (quantity) you spend PER WEEK in: (Ex. 35 minutes)
a. Bible study/devotional time: _____________ b. Prayer _____________
C. Fasting: __________ d. Serving the Lord: ________________
11. How would you rate the QUALITY of these on a scale of 0-10:
(0= nonexistent; 1= poor; 5= average; 10= GREAT!)
a. your Bible study/ devotional time: ___________
b. Prayer________________
c. Fasting: ___________ d. Serving the Lord: ________________
12. How would you describe your devotional time with God? (check one or more)
a. bored to tears ______ b. exciting ______ c. clueless______
d. so-so _______ e. frustrated ______ f. Other? _____________
Why do you think that is?
13. If you were to gauge your own spiritual maturity, where would you fall on a scale of one to 10? (1= very little; 10= right up there with Paul and Peter)
What do you think is the primary reason for this?
14. If you died today, do you know where you would spend eternity?
Yes/no: _________________
If so, where would that be?
How can your be sure of that?
15. What does a person need to do to be saved?
16. If you are a Christian, how long have you been one?
17. What do you most want to learn about Bible study?
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Thursday, April 2, 2009
8-10 How God speaks — final 3 categories
8. The Body of Christ — the church (1 Cor. 12:27; Romans 12:5; Ephesians 4:11-13)
God communicates through believers:
• with Wise counsel:
Prov. 1:5 (See also Prov. 12:15 Prov. 24:6)
Expect God to use other believers in your life to give you wise counsel.
• about Spiritual things that pertain to life and eternity:
Ephesians 4:11-13 (NKJV)
Apostles “sent ones”: those sent to proclaim the message of the gospel to all the nations/peoplegroups of the earth.
[For study when going through spiritual gifts segments: There are/were only 12 original Apostles (capital A). This is consistent throughout Scripture. But there have been many disciples who have been sent out, as the original apostles were. So in a sense, there have been other “small “a”” apostles, or “sent ones” who communicate God’s message of salvation to the “panta ethne” = all the people groups of the world.]
Prophets (from Blue Letter Bible.com)
“one who, moved by the Spirit of God and hence his organ or spokesman, solemnly declares to men what he has received by inspiration, especially concerning future events, and in particular such as relate to the cause and kingdom of God and to human salvation)”
of men filled with the Spirit of God, who by God's authority and command in words of weight pleads the cause of God and urges salvation of men
in the religious assemblies of the Christians, they were moved by the Holy Spirit to speak, having power to instruct, comfort, encourage, rebuke, convict, and stimulate, their hearers”
Evangelists (from Blue Letter Bible.com)
1) “a bringer of good tidings,
2) the name given to the NT heralds of salvation through Christ who are not apostles”
Pastors (from Blue Letter Bible.com)
“of the overseers of the Christian assemblies”
Teachers (from Blue Letter Bible.com)
“of those who in the religious assemblies of the Christians, undertook the work of teaching, with the special assistance of the Holy Spirit”
God communicates to us through believers in the church — about all kinds of spiritual things: how to live a godly life; who God is; what salvation is all about; how to know Christ the Son of God; what our future in heaven is like; how to be built up in faith and more like Christ; how to become part of God’s mission in the world; etc.
For further study, see also:
1 Corinthians 12: 8-11, 28; 14:1-4 Certain Holy Spirit gifts God uses to speak to others.
Word of wisdom — by the Holy Spirit
Word of Knowledge — by the Holy Spirit
Prophecy — by the Holy Spirit
Tongues & Interpretation of tongues— by the Holy Spirit
Teaching — by the Holy Spirit
• Acts 1:8 God communicates/proclaims the Gospel through the church, to the world.
Core lesson: God speaks through the “body of Christ” — the church. Whether through a sermon, a word of wisdom, some encouragement, a practical need met, a strong warning, or a Gospel presentation — God will use believers — people like you and me in the church — to speak to others, and for others to speak into our lives.
This is one of the reasons why people who think church is optional to the Christian life are sorely mistaken. To disregard God’s plan for communicating to them and building them up through His body is a sad display of pride.
Some people say things like “I believe in God, but not organized religion” when they communicate their disdain for the church and not wanting to be a part of it. But what they are saying to God is “I don’t care for your plan, or your people — I will conduct my spiritual life as I see fit — I choose to engage in spiritual things the way I want to — I choose to imagine a god that allows me to do what I want.”
Write down one example of how God has spoken through the body of Christ, to you!
9. Spiritual wisdom — you probably don’t think about this one much — you just figure it out and go on thinking it was you that came up with that great idea or solution.
In daily life: how to love your spouse, how to work well with others, how to go about making a decision, how to discipline your child, how to answer people, how to approach a difficult challenge, etc.
• James 1:5-6
• Prov. 2:6,10-11
(See also: Daniel 1:17,20; 1 Cor. 1:24; 1 Cor. 2:6-15; Eph. 1:17-18 (We see here that spiritual wisdom is connected to the Spirit!)
Core lesson: God speaks to us through wisdom that is sent from God. We can ask for it. We probably won’t often recognize it as, “Wow! This is from God!” But sometimes we will. As we ask God about certain decisions we need to make, or go about life, He will drop wisdom from heaven into our minds that we may have His mind and heart on how to approach things.
Write down something you could use God’s wisdom in__________________________
10. Through unconventional and even bizarre ways (i.e. Don’t put God in a box!)
Ex. Creation/nature: Psalm 19:1-6; Romans 10:16-18
Ex. A donkey: Numbers 22:21-31
Ex. A finger writing on a wall: Daniel 5:1-6, 11-12, 24-28
Ex. Moses hearing God speak through the burning bush! Exodus 3:1-4
Core lesson: Let’s not put God in a box on how He might speak to us. But test ALL things with the Scriptures.
That’s the end of our series on How God speaks!
6 Ways to effectively hear God
God speaks in various ways, as we have learned, but does automatically mean we will hear and understand what He has communicated?
• If you have ever been in a conversation using two cell phones, you know that sometimes the signals get weak and all you hear is garbled speech — whole words and phrases and sentences drop out and you don’t understand the person on the other line — though you know they are saying something! And just because one person is speaking quite clearly over here, doesn’t mean that person over there is hearing it. How can we get the strongest, clearest communication pathways to and from God?
1. Make time: a resolute decision to set aside regular time to meet with God
• How much time do you spend with God — as much as possible or as little as possible?
• It seems a bit silly to approach God as if we’re trying to fit Him in — like a someone trying to get an interview with your company or something. I mean think of it — the God of the Universe that created you and me — us saying to Him — nah, don’t think I can make time for you today. Imagine if you young child did this to you…
2. Remove distractions: if you can’t find a quiet place, find a quiet time-fame — like early in the morning.
3. Cleanse your vessel: Be a clean, obedient vessel — put your “yes” on the table before the Lord. Confess and repent of all sins. Eph. 4:17-18,30
4. Seek! Seek! Seek!
Prov. 1:28; Prov. 8:9,17; Deut. 4:29; Jer. 29:13-14; Luke 11: 5-10
1 Chron. 28:9
5. Listen: Talk to God then listening, discernment and awareness of the various ways God may speak — God may be speaking, but we may be looking and listening in the wrong places. Cultivate discernment between your voice, the Holy Spirit, Satan’s voice, the flesh.
Be aware of impressions that may be fairly general, or may be even specific words. Make sure you pay attention to them, but test them to see where they originated from.
• Be still (Ps. 145) to hear that still, small voice (1 Kg 19:9-16) If you are still, and you have an immovable reference point, you can actually see the moon move!
• Be open to the various ways God may answer.
6. Journal: to keep a log of what God is doing in your life
— Stones of remembrance in Joshua
WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED ABOUT HOW GOD SPEAKS?
Homework:
1. Keep listening — and write down in a journal what you think God is saying.
2. If you have heard from God — share it with someone in the body of Christ.
Where we’ve been in our course thus far:
• Being a disciple
• How God speaks
Next week begins a new series:
• Bible study: Igniting a passion for God’s Word through effective Bible study practices and methods
God communicates through believers:
• with Wise counsel:
Prov. 1:5 (See also Prov. 12:15 Prov. 24:6)
Expect God to use other believers in your life to give you wise counsel.
• about Spiritual things that pertain to life and eternity:
Ephesians 4:11-13 (NKJV)
Apostles “sent ones”: those sent to proclaim the message of the gospel to all the nations/peoplegroups of the earth.
[For study when going through spiritual gifts segments: There are/were only 12 original Apostles (capital A). This is consistent throughout Scripture. But there have been many disciples who have been sent out, as the original apostles were. So in a sense, there have been other “small “a”” apostles, or “sent ones” who communicate God’s message of salvation to the “panta ethne” = all the people groups of the world.]
Prophets (from Blue Letter Bible.com)
“one who, moved by the Spirit of God and hence his organ or spokesman, solemnly declares to men what he has received by inspiration, especially concerning future events, and in particular such as relate to the cause and kingdom of God and to human salvation)”
of men filled with the Spirit of God, who by God's authority and command in words of weight pleads the cause of God and urges salvation of men
in the religious assemblies of the Christians, they were moved by the Holy Spirit to speak, having power to instruct, comfort, encourage, rebuke, convict, and stimulate, their hearers”
Evangelists (from Blue Letter Bible.com)
1) “a bringer of good tidings,
2) the name given to the NT heralds of salvation through Christ who are not apostles”
Pastors (from Blue Letter Bible.com)
“of the overseers of the Christian assemblies”
Teachers (from Blue Letter Bible.com)
“of those who in the religious assemblies of the Christians, undertook the work of teaching, with the special assistance of the Holy Spirit”
God communicates to us through believers in the church — about all kinds of spiritual things: how to live a godly life; who God is; what salvation is all about; how to know Christ the Son of God; what our future in heaven is like; how to be built up in faith and more like Christ; how to become part of God’s mission in the world; etc.
For further study, see also:
1 Corinthians 12: 8-11, 28; 14:1-4 Certain Holy Spirit gifts God uses to speak to others.
Word of wisdom — by the Holy Spirit
Word of Knowledge — by the Holy Spirit
Prophecy — by the Holy Spirit
Tongues & Interpretation of tongues— by the Holy Spirit
Teaching — by the Holy Spirit
• Acts 1:8 God communicates/proclaims the Gospel through the church, to the world.
Core lesson: God speaks through the “body of Christ” — the church. Whether through a sermon, a word of wisdom, some encouragement, a practical need met, a strong warning, or a Gospel presentation — God will use believers — people like you and me in the church — to speak to others, and for others to speak into our lives.
This is one of the reasons why people who think church is optional to the Christian life are sorely mistaken. To disregard God’s plan for communicating to them and building them up through His body is a sad display of pride.
Some people say things like “I believe in God, but not organized religion” when they communicate their disdain for the church and not wanting to be a part of it. But what they are saying to God is “I don’t care for your plan, or your people — I will conduct my spiritual life as I see fit — I choose to engage in spiritual things the way I want to — I choose to imagine a god that allows me to do what I want.”
Write down one example of how God has spoken through the body of Christ, to you!
9. Spiritual wisdom — you probably don’t think about this one much — you just figure it out and go on thinking it was you that came up with that great idea or solution.
In daily life: how to love your spouse, how to work well with others, how to go about making a decision, how to discipline your child, how to answer people, how to approach a difficult challenge, etc.
• James 1:5-6
• Prov. 2:6,10-11
(See also: Daniel 1:17,20; 1 Cor. 1:24; 1 Cor. 2:6-15; Eph. 1:17-18 (We see here that spiritual wisdom is connected to the Spirit!)
Core lesson: God speaks to us through wisdom that is sent from God. We can ask for it. We probably won’t often recognize it as, “Wow! This is from God!” But sometimes we will. As we ask God about certain decisions we need to make, or go about life, He will drop wisdom from heaven into our minds that we may have His mind and heart on how to approach things.
Write down something you could use God’s wisdom in__________________________
10. Through unconventional and even bizarre ways (i.e. Don’t put God in a box!)
Ex. Creation/nature: Psalm 19:1-6; Romans 10:16-18
Ex. A donkey: Numbers 22:21-31
Ex. A finger writing on a wall: Daniel 5:1-6, 11-12, 24-28
Ex. Moses hearing God speak through the burning bush! Exodus 3:1-4
Core lesson: Let’s not put God in a box on how He might speak to us. But test ALL things with the Scriptures.
That’s the end of our series on How God speaks!
6 Ways to effectively hear God
God speaks in various ways, as we have learned, but does automatically mean we will hear and understand what He has communicated?
• If you have ever been in a conversation using two cell phones, you know that sometimes the signals get weak and all you hear is garbled speech — whole words and phrases and sentences drop out and you don’t understand the person on the other line — though you know they are saying something! And just because one person is speaking quite clearly over here, doesn’t mean that person over there is hearing it. How can we get the strongest, clearest communication pathways to and from God?
1. Make time: a resolute decision to set aside regular time to meet with God
• How much time do you spend with God — as much as possible or as little as possible?
• It seems a bit silly to approach God as if we’re trying to fit Him in — like a someone trying to get an interview with your company or something. I mean think of it — the God of the Universe that created you and me — us saying to Him — nah, don’t think I can make time for you today. Imagine if you young child did this to you…
2. Remove distractions: if you can’t find a quiet place, find a quiet time-fame — like early in the morning.
3. Cleanse your vessel: Be a clean, obedient vessel — put your “yes” on the table before the Lord. Confess and repent of all sins. Eph. 4:17-18,30
4. Seek! Seek! Seek!
Prov. 1:28; Prov. 8:9,17; Deut. 4:29; Jer. 29:13-14; Luke 11: 5-10
1 Chron. 28:9
5. Listen: Talk to God then listening, discernment and awareness of the various ways God may speak — God may be speaking, but we may be looking and listening in the wrong places. Cultivate discernment between your voice, the Holy Spirit, Satan’s voice, the flesh.
Be aware of impressions that may be fairly general, or may be even specific words. Make sure you pay attention to them, but test them to see where they originated from.
• Be still (Ps. 145) to hear that still, small voice (1 Kg 19:9-16) If you are still, and you have an immovable reference point, you can actually see the moon move!
• Be open to the various ways God may answer.
6. Journal: to keep a log of what God is doing in your life
— Stones of remembrance in Joshua
WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED ABOUT HOW GOD SPEAKS?
Homework:
1. Keep listening — and write down in a journal what you think God is saying.
2. If you have heard from God — share it with someone in the body of Christ.
Where we’ve been in our course thus far:
• Being a disciple
• How God speaks
Next week begins a new series:
• Bible study: Igniting a passion for God’s Word through effective Bible study practices and methods
Saturday, March 21, 2009
7 CIRCUMSTANCES AND EVENTS Part 2
God speaks through circumstances & events: God’s sovereignty
Begin with: Ex. “What happens when Almighty God calls you house?”
(BP Story 12/27/01: a pastor cites this urban legend in his sermon)
We’ve heard a wonderful story about God’s sovereignty from last week. Let’s take a look at this from another perspective — where God allows pain and hardship into a person’s life for good.
For example: One of my extended family members had a catastrophic accident to his leg one day. A large, heavy spool of industrial electrical wire (like on electrical lines), fell on his leg and ankle — shattering it in several places. He did not know if he would ever walk again, and had to have steel rods and pins inserted into his bones. He told me one day, that he knew absolutely that God had a purpose for that accident. He had been wayward from God a long while, and he came back to God because of this traumatic event. He even told me that he was glad it happened because he knew it took this kind of event to get his attention and that God had totally used this trauma, this accident, this misfortune for priceless good in his life. He would not trade it for anything.
I believe his perspective was right on. God had orchestrated/allowed this event for good into this believer’s life.
God “spoke” through this saying something like: “I love you and want you back. I will do whatever it takes to bring you back to me because your relationship with me is that important. If temporary harm brings eternal blessing, then it is overwhelmingly worth it — and I will allow this for good. You may not understand now, but you will later.”
Emily’s story — We had a young, college-age, editorial intern work with us at the Mission Board several years ago. Her name was Emily. You could tell by her slow speech and irregular walk that something traumatic had happened to her. One day while during our weekly chapel sessions, I was surprised to see her on stage. She gave her testimony about how she had given her life to Christ. I remember her saying that she had once been on top of the world — she was extremely popular in school, a great soccer player, very beautiful, lots of friends, etc. but she had a big problem. She had a lot of pride and God did not have a place in her life. She remembers having it all, but feeling a deep down sense of hollowness. And she could not seem to give her life to God, although she knew that she needed to. She recognized all her earthly success, beauty and pride was an impossible hurdle for her to leap — that with all that going for her it was impossible to get her life with God right. One day she cried out to God in utter distress and told him that He could do whatever it took to get her in a place where she could have that relationship with Jesus. She was at that point of desperation. Not long after, she had a life-changing car-wreck that nearly killed her. All of the things that previously stood in her way of getting to God dissolved immediately. I think she had spinal injuries and head injuries. She cried through parts of her testimony, but she said toward the end, that she would never in a million years trade what she has now with God — that all she went through and lost with the accident could in no way be compared with the joy she has now in Christ. It was an amazing testimony!
What was God communicating? Something like, “Emily, I hear your prayer and will do what I have to do to bring you into a love relationship with me. I will allow a painful experience into your life — but you will later thank Me for it — because the temporary pain of today cannot compare to a relationship with Me through Jesus — or the limitless wonders of heaven and eternal life. I will grant your prayer.”
A word of caution: We should not analyze every circumstance and event — thinking God has some message for us in it. We need to understand this in broader terms.
Not every accident has a lesson.
Not every misfortune has a message.
My broken arm as a child, my alcoholic and abusive stepfather, the loss of my cat to cancer, the loss of my dad last year — none of these things had a message in it for me, as far as I could tell. We live in a sinful, fallen world and God does allow suffering and pain for a time.
But God promises to work all those things for good. That’s a promise!
Much of life seems to be guided by (good and bad) choices, missed and taken opportunities, (good and bad) circumstances.
• But does that mean your life is governed by happenstance, or by God?
• Did you know that God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life?
• Did you know that God is so powerful that He is in control of all things — all history — your life — and that nothing happens outside His power, full knowledge or permissive will?
That means good and bad things — by the counsel of His divine, often-mysterious will. It’s mysterious to us, not Him, and we must wrestle with the conclusion that God somehow, in some way, is working things out for good for us who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28). And it may not be in this present life that we see the reason, or the benefit — but it may be in heaven, where blessings, rewards and eternity awaits.
Getting to the place where I can find some comfort in knowing that God is indeed in control — despite my circumstances — is my goal by faith.
Exploring more scriptures
Prov. 3:5-6 lesson: As we TRUST in the Lord (rather than ourselves), and consider Him as we make decisions — God will communicate His way and path for us.
See also Prov. 20:24 and Jer. 10:23 and Psalm 139:16: A person who thinks that all their choices are governed by their own will is sorely mistaken. We need to acknowledge God is more in control of our choices and destiny than we think. Whether or not it turns out in our favor is dependant on simple choice to humble ourselves before the Lord.
Psalm 37:23; Prov. 16:1,9 Lesson: God sovereignly moves in man’s choices and even words — there is a mystery here — is it every choice? Every word? Why or why not?
(Reference Saul’s story in 1 Sam. 9 for choices & words)
Phil. 2:13 Lesson: God works in a believer to have the motivation and ability to accomplish what God wants. Therefore we can look at our own abilities and desires to see what God is doing and saying about our lives (Ex. Calling and spiritual giftings)
For example:
Exodus 35:30-31: What motivation and ability did God give?
Other kinds of circumstances:
• Suffering — God may speak through some suffering (as with a few of the stories above)
Waiting — God may speak through waiting: He may be saying “Not yet” or “Be patient — I have other things to do in you or in others before the time is right” Psalm 37:7
• Silence — God may speak through silence with the intention of communicating something like “I am testing your faith. What will you do if I leave you hanging… will you give up on me? Rebel against me? Choose to do something of your own inclinations?” or “I want you to go back to the last thing I told you to do — and not neglect it, but do it. Why should I answer your newest question when you haven’t been obedient to my voice over the last one?”
• Judgment — God may communicate something by the judgment which He meets out. See the “Going Deeper” optional homework study.
As you walk with the Lord, and listen — you do start to get a sense of which of the above God is speaking through. But sometimes, even many times, we have to wait or push forward without answers. But we do so in faith. The ultimate answer is not what I can teach you through this Bible study, but what will come from the Lord as you struggle through deepening that personal relationship with Him on a daily basis.
Core Lessons:
1. God is more a part of lives and circumstances than we may have ever thought or believed.
2. God will be speaking through our circumstances at various times
3. Therefore we need to discern, pray, and listen.
Read excerpt from “Holy Moments” (Lenya Heitzig) pg. 17-18 God’s Fingerprints story
Homework: Read Walking by faith down difficult roads and look up the Scripture references listed in it.
Read Walking by faith down difficult roads devotional
Excellent books to read on this subject:
Holy Moments — Recognizing God’s Fingerprints in your Life by Lenya Heitzig; Regal Books, 2006.
Found: God’s Will — Finding the direction and purpose God wants for your life by John MacArthur Jr., Chariot Victor Books, 1977.
Going Deeper with God’s sovereignty: extended optional homework study
It is easy to get into a subject like God’s sovereignty and because we do not understand it fully, we may begin to blame God for our own bad choices, painful circumstances and sinful tendencies (we don’t tend to blame Him for the good stuff). But this perspective reflects a misunderstanding of God, His character, and His Kingdom purposes. Therefore, let’s do a simple “pre-study” that will hopefully guide us in our understanding of God’s sovereignty.
• I recommend reading all verses in New King James Version for this study
Pre-study: In general, you find these principles in Scripture:
1. God loves us! And wants a relationship with us (John 3:16)
2. However, God hates sin and because of His righteousness, must punish it.
(John 3:36; Prov. 6:16-19; Ps. 34:16; Ps. 37:9; Ps. 96:13; Rom. 6:23)
3. God extends mercy and grace to sinners (2 Peter 3:9; 1 Cor. 6:9-11; Rom. 3:21-26; Rom. 5:1-2, 8)
4. If a person or a people disregard God’s love, mercy, grace, and continue to sin — you find passages that show He will powerfully and sovereignly move to chastise or judge those who are prideful, arrogant, and continue in sin. He will work their circumstances against them in order to get their attention — to hopefully bring about repentance — but if not, then judgment. (Hebrews 10:26-31; 2 Peter 2:9; 1 Kings 22)
5. If we heed God’s warnings and repent, with a humble heart — He extends mercy — and begins to work our circumstances for our good. (1 John 1:9; Rom. 8:28; 1 Kings 21:29) The story of the wicked Ninevites in the book of Jonah)
• Read 1 Chronicles 21:1-30; 2 Samuel 24:1-25 (parallel account)
Q. Who influenced David to sin by numbering all Israel?
Q. Who was ultimately behind the scenes orchestrating it all?
• Read 1 Kings 22:19-23, 30-37 and parallel account 2 Chronicles 18:18-22, 28-34
Ahab, in general, was a very wicked king. Read: 1 kings 21:25-26
Q. What killed Ahab?
Q. What influenced Ahab to go into battle?
Q. Who was ultimately behind this?
• Go back to the pre-study and review points 1-5.
• Other verses to read and consider:
Joshua 11:20; Ps. 105:23-26; Deut. 2:30; Exod. 4:21; 1 Sam. 2:25; Judges 9:23-24; 2 Thess. 2:9-12; Isaiah 19:14; 2 Kings 19:6-7
Begin with: Ex. “What happens when Almighty God calls you house?”
(BP Story 12/27/01: a pastor cites this urban legend in his sermon)
We’ve heard a wonderful story about God’s sovereignty from last week. Let’s take a look at this from another perspective — where God allows pain and hardship into a person’s life for good.
For example: One of my extended family members had a catastrophic accident to his leg one day. A large, heavy spool of industrial electrical wire (like on electrical lines), fell on his leg and ankle — shattering it in several places. He did not know if he would ever walk again, and had to have steel rods and pins inserted into his bones. He told me one day, that he knew absolutely that God had a purpose for that accident. He had been wayward from God a long while, and he came back to God because of this traumatic event. He even told me that he was glad it happened because he knew it took this kind of event to get his attention and that God had totally used this trauma, this accident, this misfortune for priceless good in his life. He would not trade it for anything.
I believe his perspective was right on. God had orchestrated/allowed this event for good into this believer’s life.
God “spoke” through this saying something like: “I love you and want you back. I will do whatever it takes to bring you back to me because your relationship with me is that important. If temporary harm brings eternal blessing, then it is overwhelmingly worth it — and I will allow this for good. You may not understand now, but you will later.”
Emily’s story — We had a young, college-age, editorial intern work with us at the Mission Board several years ago. Her name was Emily. You could tell by her slow speech and irregular walk that something traumatic had happened to her. One day while during our weekly chapel sessions, I was surprised to see her on stage. She gave her testimony about how she had given her life to Christ. I remember her saying that she had once been on top of the world — she was extremely popular in school, a great soccer player, very beautiful, lots of friends, etc. but she had a big problem. She had a lot of pride and God did not have a place in her life. She remembers having it all, but feeling a deep down sense of hollowness. And she could not seem to give her life to God, although she knew that she needed to. She recognized all her earthly success, beauty and pride was an impossible hurdle for her to leap — that with all that going for her it was impossible to get her life with God right. One day she cried out to God in utter distress and told him that He could do whatever it took to get her in a place where she could have that relationship with Jesus. She was at that point of desperation. Not long after, she had a life-changing car-wreck that nearly killed her. All of the things that previously stood in her way of getting to God dissolved immediately. I think she had spinal injuries and head injuries. She cried through parts of her testimony, but she said toward the end, that she would never in a million years trade what she has now with God — that all she went through and lost with the accident could in no way be compared with the joy she has now in Christ. It was an amazing testimony!
What was God communicating? Something like, “Emily, I hear your prayer and will do what I have to do to bring you into a love relationship with me. I will allow a painful experience into your life — but you will later thank Me for it — because the temporary pain of today cannot compare to a relationship with Me through Jesus — or the limitless wonders of heaven and eternal life. I will grant your prayer.”
A word of caution: We should not analyze every circumstance and event — thinking God has some message for us in it. We need to understand this in broader terms.
Not every accident has a lesson.
Not every misfortune has a message.
My broken arm as a child, my alcoholic and abusive stepfather, the loss of my cat to cancer, the loss of my dad last year — none of these things had a message in it for me, as far as I could tell. We live in a sinful, fallen world and God does allow suffering and pain for a time.
But God promises to work all those things for good. That’s a promise!
Much of life seems to be guided by (good and bad) choices, missed and taken opportunities, (good and bad) circumstances.
• But does that mean your life is governed by happenstance, or by God?
• Did you know that God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life?
• Did you know that God is so powerful that He is in control of all things — all history — your life — and that nothing happens outside His power, full knowledge or permissive will?
That means good and bad things — by the counsel of His divine, often-mysterious will. It’s mysterious to us, not Him, and we must wrestle with the conclusion that God somehow, in some way, is working things out for good for us who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28). And it may not be in this present life that we see the reason, or the benefit — but it may be in heaven, where blessings, rewards and eternity awaits.
Getting to the place where I can find some comfort in knowing that God is indeed in control — despite my circumstances — is my goal by faith.
Exploring more scriptures
Prov. 3:5-6 lesson: As we TRUST in the Lord (rather than ourselves), and consider Him as we make decisions — God will communicate His way and path for us.
See also Prov. 20:24 and Jer. 10:23 and Psalm 139:16: A person who thinks that all their choices are governed by their own will is sorely mistaken. We need to acknowledge God is more in control of our choices and destiny than we think. Whether or not it turns out in our favor is dependant on simple choice to humble ourselves before the Lord.
Psalm 37:23; Prov. 16:1,9 Lesson: God sovereignly moves in man’s choices and even words — there is a mystery here — is it every choice? Every word? Why or why not?
(Reference Saul’s story in 1 Sam. 9 for choices & words)
Phil. 2:13 Lesson: God works in a believer to have the motivation and ability to accomplish what God wants. Therefore we can look at our own abilities and desires to see what God is doing and saying about our lives (Ex. Calling and spiritual giftings)
For example:
Exodus 35:30-31: What motivation and ability did God give?
Other kinds of circumstances:
• Suffering — God may speak through some suffering (as with a few of the stories above)
Waiting — God may speak through waiting: He may be saying “Not yet” or “Be patient — I have other things to do in you or in others before the time is right” Psalm 37:7
• Silence — God may speak through silence with the intention of communicating something like “I am testing your faith. What will you do if I leave you hanging… will you give up on me? Rebel against me? Choose to do something of your own inclinations?” or “I want you to go back to the last thing I told you to do — and not neglect it, but do it. Why should I answer your newest question when you haven’t been obedient to my voice over the last one?”
• Judgment — God may communicate something by the judgment which He meets out. See the “Going Deeper” optional homework study.
As you walk with the Lord, and listen — you do start to get a sense of which of the above God is speaking through. But sometimes, even many times, we have to wait or push forward without answers. But we do so in faith. The ultimate answer is not what I can teach you through this Bible study, but what will come from the Lord as you struggle through deepening that personal relationship with Him on a daily basis.
Core Lessons:
1. God is more a part of lives and circumstances than we may have ever thought or believed.
2. God will be speaking through our circumstances at various times
3. Therefore we need to discern, pray, and listen.
Read excerpt from “Holy Moments” (Lenya Heitzig) pg. 17-18 God’s Fingerprints story
Homework: Read Walking by faith down difficult roads and look up the Scripture references listed in it.
Read Walking by faith down difficult roads devotional
Excellent books to read on this subject:
Holy Moments — Recognizing God’s Fingerprints in your Life by Lenya Heitzig; Regal Books, 2006.
Found: God’s Will — Finding the direction and purpose God wants for your life by John MacArthur Jr., Chariot Victor Books, 1977.
Going Deeper with God’s sovereignty: extended optional homework study
It is easy to get into a subject like God’s sovereignty and because we do not understand it fully, we may begin to blame God for our own bad choices, painful circumstances and sinful tendencies (we don’t tend to blame Him for the good stuff). But this perspective reflects a misunderstanding of God, His character, and His Kingdom purposes. Therefore, let’s do a simple “pre-study” that will hopefully guide us in our understanding of God’s sovereignty.
• I recommend reading all verses in New King James Version for this study
Pre-study: In general, you find these principles in Scripture:
1. God loves us! And wants a relationship with us (John 3:16)
2. However, God hates sin and because of His righteousness, must punish it.
(John 3:36; Prov. 6:16-19; Ps. 34:16; Ps. 37:9; Ps. 96:13; Rom. 6:23)
3. God extends mercy and grace to sinners (2 Peter 3:9; 1 Cor. 6:9-11; Rom. 3:21-26; Rom. 5:1-2, 8)
4. If a person or a people disregard God’s love, mercy, grace, and continue to sin — you find passages that show He will powerfully and sovereignly move to chastise or judge those who are prideful, arrogant, and continue in sin. He will work their circumstances against them in order to get their attention — to hopefully bring about repentance — but if not, then judgment. (Hebrews 10:26-31; 2 Peter 2:9; 1 Kings 22)
5. If we heed God’s warnings and repent, with a humble heart — He extends mercy — and begins to work our circumstances for our good. (1 John 1:9; Rom. 8:28; 1 Kings 21:29) The story of the wicked Ninevites in the book of Jonah)
• Read 1 Chronicles 21:1-30; 2 Samuel 24:1-25 (parallel account)
Q. Who influenced David to sin by numbering all Israel?
Q. Who was ultimately behind the scenes orchestrating it all?
• Read 1 Kings 22:19-23, 30-37 and parallel account 2 Chronicles 18:18-22, 28-34
Ahab, in general, was a very wicked king. Read: 1 kings 21:25-26
Q. What killed Ahab?
Q. What influenced Ahab to go into battle?
Q. Who was ultimately behind this?
• Go back to the pre-study and review points 1-5.
• Other verses to read and consider:
Joshua 11:20; Ps. 105:23-26; Deut. 2:30; Exod. 4:21; 1 Sam. 2:25; Judges 9:23-24; 2 Thess. 2:9-12; Isaiah 19:14; 2 Kings 19:6-7
7 CIRCUMSTANCES AND EVENTS Part 1
God speaks through circumstances and events — that is, through God’s sovereignty
God may choose to communicate His voice and movement in your life through nearly imperceptible means. You may see God’s divine orchestration after the fact.
Q. How do you know you are where you’re supposed to be in life — In your career? What led you to that conclusion?
Q. Have you ever thought or asked God: Have I missed my calling? Am I where I’m supposed to be? Did I make the right career choice? Did I marry the right woman/man? Did that choice derail me from God’s plan?
If you have asked those questions to God — how did He respond? Do you know for sure His answer?
Q. Have you ever asked questions like these: Did that misfortune or loss keep me from God’s best? How can God work good (Rom. 8:28) out my great loss? Life hasn’t turned out like I expected, what is God up to?
• God doesn’t always speak to you through a verse of Scripture.
• God doesn’t always clearly speak to you by His Holy Spirit.
• God may rarely, if at all, speak to you through visions, dreams, and angelic visitations, handwritings on walls, talking donkeys, or through His direct, manifest presence and voice.
• God may not give you wisdom to figure it all out every time you have a question.
• God may not give you counselors that know the specific answer you need.
So, what do you do when God doesn’t seem to be speaking?
1. Make sure you are not living in sin — for God may not answer because of unconfessed and unrepentant sin (Isaiah 59:2; 1 Peter 3:12; )
2. Seek Him with all your heart. (Jer. 29:12-14; 1 Chron. 28:9; Deut. 4:29; Prov. 8:17)
3. Trust in His sovereign, unseen, nearly undetectable guidance over your life. This life we live by faith (Heb. 11:1 and 2 Cor. 5:7 and Rom. 1:17b, 20) — we trust in Him whom we cannot see. Understand that God may be “speaking” through His divine orchestration of your life’s circumstances.
Ex. 1 Samuel 8:1— 10:1 The story of Saul becoming Israel’s first king.
Things to watch for:
1. What were the circumstances and events that brought Saul to Samuel?
2. Who was behind bringing Saul to Samuel? And how do we know that?
3. What choices were made that brought Saul to Samuel?
Q. What were the circumstances in the story?
— Israel rejected God’s appointment of judges and wanted a king
— God decided to give them a king — and have Samuel anoint him
— Kish’s donkeys go missing
— Kish decides to send his son Saul and a servant
• Go through the story and list the decisions that were made and who made them.
— Kish decides to send Saul and a servant to look for the lost donkeys (their wealth).
— Saul decides to choose a particular (unnamed) servant to go with him (remember this choice and look for a strategic reason why God may have wanted him with Saul)
— Saul chooses on particular path to go — Ephraim, Shalisha, Shaalim, Benjamites, Zuph) = Southwest. He could have gone north, northeast, East, West and ended up in hundreds of different locations.
— Saul chooses to look and keeping looking for 3 days — he didn’t give up after one day, or two.
— Saul decides after 3 days, it’s time to quit and go home. What keeps him from doing that at just the right time?
— The servant has information Saul doesn’t, and is motivated to share with him about a particular prophet, in a particular close-by place, that may be able to help them.
— Saul chooses to reverse his decision to give up, and decides to go into Zuph.
— The young women were in the right place at the right time, with the right information to guide Saul and his servant to where they needed to be.
— Samuel the prophet comes right toward them and meets up with them on the way.
— 9:16 Key point: God said to Samuel the day before, “Tomorrow, about this time I WILL SEND YOU A MAN from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him commander over MY people Israel.
This verse begins to put all the above story into perspective!
God was behind bringing Saul to Samuel.
Think about every circumstance, choice, even misfortune that happened — and we see that God was sovereignly using it all — orchestrating it all — to bring Saul to Samuel.
Then basically Samuel invites them up to the special sacrifice, to be his special guest — then tells him not worry — that those donkeys have been found which were missing. After that he springs on Saul that he has just become the most important person in all Israel — which takes Saul by obvious surprise (like all of a sudden Billy Graham coming to your house and telling you that you just became president of the United States!)
After that he secretly anoints Saul and you can read the rest in 1 Samuel 10.
Core lessons we can learn from this story:
• “Random” misfortunes and loss…
• “Random” choices we make…
• “Random” people and their influence in our lives…
• “Random” paths we may choose to walk down…
• “Random” events that pop up in life…
… all may be leading to a blessing in disguise. All may be pointing toward God’s divine orchestration. God could very well be speaking through these circumstances and events.
In this story we see Psalm 37:23; Prov. 16:9 come to life! (A man’s steps are ordered by the Lord…)
In closing. read “God’s Got your number” — Ken Gaub testimony (verified by his ministry)
God may choose to communicate His voice and movement in your life through nearly imperceptible means. You may see God’s divine orchestration after the fact.
Q. How do you know you are where you’re supposed to be in life — In your career? What led you to that conclusion?
Q. Have you ever thought or asked God: Have I missed my calling? Am I where I’m supposed to be? Did I make the right career choice? Did I marry the right woman/man? Did that choice derail me from God’s plan?
If you have asked those questions to God — how did He respond? Do you know for sure His answer?
Q. Have you ever asked questions like these: Did that misfortune or loss keep me from God’s best? How can God work good (Rom. 8:28) out my great loss? Life hasn’t turned out like I expected, what is God up to?
• God doesn’t always speak to you through a verse of Scripture.
• God doesn’t always clearly speak to you by His Holy Spirit.
• God may rarely, if at all, speak to you through visions, dreams, and angelic visitations, handwritings on walls, talking donkeys, or through His direct, manifest presence and voice.
• God may not give you wisdom to figure it all out every time you have a question.
• God may not give you counselors that know the specific answer you need.
So, what do you do when God doesn’t seem to be speaking?
1. Make sure you are not living in sin — for God may not answer because of unconfessed and unrepentant sin (Isaiah 59:2; 1 Peter 3:12; )
2. Seek Him with all your heart. (Jer. 29:12-14; 1 Chron. 28:9; Deut. 4:29; Prov. 8:17)
3. Trust in His sovereign, unseen, nearly undetectable guidance over your life. This life we live by faith (Heb. 11:1 and 2 Cor. 5:7 and Rom. 1:17b, 20) — we trust in Him whom we cannot see. Understand that God may be “speaking” through His divine orchestration of your life’s circumstances.
Ex. 1 Samuel 8:1— 10:1 The story of Saul becoming Israel’s first king.
Things to watch for:
1. What were the circumstances and events that brought Saul to Samuel?
2. Who was behind bringing Saul to Samuel? And how do we know that?
3. What choices were made that brought Saul to Samuel?
Q. What were the circumstances in the story?
— Israel rejected God’s appointment of judges and wanted a king
— God decided to give them a king — and have Samuel anoint him
— Kish’s donkeys go missing
— Kish decides to send his son Saul and a servant
• Go through the story and list the decisions that were made and who made them.
— Kish decides to send Saul and a servant to look for the lost donkeys (their wealth).
— Saul decides to choose a particular (unnamed) servant to go with him (remember this choice and look for a strategic reason why God may have wanted him with Saul)
— Saul chooses on particular path to go — Ephraim, Shalisha, Shaalim, Benjamites, Zuph) = Southwest. He could have gone north, northeast, East, West and ended up in hundreds of different locations.
— Saul chooses to look and keeping looking for 3 days — he didn’t give up after one day, or two.
— Saul decides after 3 days, it’s time to quit and go home. What keeps him from doing that at just the right time?
— The servant has information Saul doesn’t, and is motivated to share with him about a particular prophet, in a particular close-by place, that may be able to help them.
— Saul chooses to reverse his decision to give up, and decides to go into Zuph.
— The young women were in the right place at the right time, with the right information to guide Saul and his servant to where they needed to be.
— Samuel the prophet comes right toward them and meets up with them on the way.
— 9:16 Key point: God said to Samuel the day before, “Tomorrow, about this time I WILL SEND YOU A MAN from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him commander over MY people Israel.
This verse begins to put all the above story into perspective!
God was behind bringing Saul to Samuel.
Think about every circumstance, choice, even misfortune that happened — and we see that God was sovereignly using it all — orchestrating it all — to bring Saul to Samuel.
Then basically Samuel invites them up to the special sacrifice, to be his special guest — then tells him not worry — that those donkeys have been found which were missing. After that he springs on Saul that he has just become the most important person in all Israel — which takes Saul by obvious surprise (like all of a sudden Billy Graham coming to your house and telling you that you just became president of the United States!)
After that he secretly anoints Saul and you can read the rest in 1 Samuel 10.
Core lessons we can learn from this story:
• “Random” misfortunes and loss…
• “Random” choices we make…
• “Random” people and their influence in our lives…
• “Random” paths we may choose to walk down…
• “Random” events that pop up in life…
… all may be leading to a blessing in disguise. All may be pointing toward God’s divine orchestration. God could very well be speaking through these circumstances and events.
In this story we see Psalm 37:23; Prov. 16:9 come to life! (A man’s steps are ordered by the Lord…)
In closing. read “God’s Got your number” — Ken Gaub testimony (verified by his ministry)
Monday, March 9, 2009
5 and 6 VISIONS AND DREAMS
God speaks through visions and dreams
READ: Acts 2:17-21 (NKJV)
Key verse 17
5. Visions (generally awake) — “An experience in the life of a person, whereby a special revelation from God was perceived.” (Holman Bible Dictionary, C.1991, p.1396)
• Acts 18:9-10 Jesus spoke to Paul at night by a vision by which he gave him instructions.
• Acts 10:1-10 Cornelius, the Centurion, saw an angel of God in a vision — who gave him instructions for what he needed to do. Peter fell into a trance and saw a vision of the large sheet and animals, and heard a voice from heaven that gave him instructions.
• Acts 9:10-16 The Lord spoke to Ananias of Damascus, in a vision, and gave him instruction to go to the man Saul. And apparently Saul also had a vision about that same time — of a man named Ananias coming to lay hands on him for healing.
Ex. Buddhist woman, Li, sees visions of Jesus: The Jesus Film Project newsletter Aug. 5, 2003.
6. Dreams (asleep) — God sometimes sends word to people in dreams.
Q. Why would God use dreams to communicate? Any thoughts?
• They can be symbolic and mysterious, or straightforward. They can bring a deep sense of horror and foreboding as with some of Daniel’s dreams (Daniel 7).
• They may bring revelation of who Jesus is, or a warning, prophecy of future events, or a message of instruction for God’s mission (Ex. Paul’s Macedonian call).
• Genesis 15:12-17: Abraham had a prophetic dream about the future of his children and the generations after them.
• Matthew 1:18-21 The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream to instruct him about the situation he was in.
Ex. Overseas story: Nadira story of Jesus revealing Himself to her in a dream: The Jesus Film project newsletter Feb. 2, 2007
** Not all dreams are from God or your own subconscious — read the story of the Indian widow & the idol dream (Window on the World April-May 2002, theCommission)
Muslims Encountering Jesus In Unusual Dreams
(I am not advocating everything this website states — only that some of the testimonies recorded accurately reflect what our missionaries hear about all the time)
Core lessons:
• Raise our awareness that God still speaks today through visions and dreams (— though admittedly it tends to be rare in the United States, and more prevalent on gospel frontiers, where persecution exists.)
• God’s reasons for using visions and dreams seem to be often connected to the expansion of the kingdom of God.
READ: Acts 2:17-21 (NKJV)
Key verse 17
5. Visions (generally awake) — “An experience in the life of a person, whereby a special revelation from God was perceived.” (Holman Bible Dictionary, C.1991, p.1396)
• Acts 18:9-10 Jesus spoke to Paul at night by a vision by which he gave him instructions.
• Acts 10:1-10 Cornelius, the Centurion, saw an angel of God in a vision — who gave him instructions for what he needed to do. Peter fell into a trance and saw a vision of the large sheet and animals, and heard a voice from heaven that gave him instructions.
• Acts 9:10-16 The Lord spoke to Ananias of Damascus, in a vision, and gave him instruction to go to the man Saul. And apparently Saul also had a vision about that same time — of a man named Ananias coming to lay hands on him for healing.
Ex. Buddhist woman, Li, sees visions of Jesus: The Jesus Film Project newsletter Aug. 5, 2003.
6. Dreams (asleep) — God sometimes sends word to people in dreams.
Q. Why would God use dreams to communicate? Any thoughts?
• They can be symbolic and mysterious, or straightforward. They can bring a deep sense of horror and foreboding as with some of Daniel’s dreams (Daniel 7).
• They may bring revelation of who Jesus is, or a warning, prophecy of future events, or a message of instruction for God’s mission (Ex. Paul’s Macedonian call).
• Genesis 15:12-17: Abraham had a prophetic dream about the future of his children and the generations after them.
• Matthew 1:18-21 The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream to instruct him about the situation he was in.
Ex. Overseas story: Nadira story of Jesus revealing Himself to her in a dream: The Jesus Film project newsletter Feb. 2, 2007
** Not all dreams are from God or your own subconscious — read the story of the Indian widow & the idol dream (Window on the World April-May 2002, theCommission)
Muslims Encountering Jesus In Unusual Dreams
(I am not advocating everything this website states — only that some of the testimonies recorded accurately reflect what our missionaries hear about all the time)
Core lessons:
• Raise our awareness that God still speaks today through visions and dreams (— though admittedly it tends to be rare in the United States, and more prevalent on gospel frontiers, where persecution exists.)
• God’s reasons for using visions and dreams seem to be often connected to the expansion of the kingdom of God.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
4. God’s word — the Bible: part II — God’s word is living and active
Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and powerful” (it’s active!)
Read Psalm 103 (NIV)
1. God’s word SPEAKS to us today, as fresh and RELEVANT as it was when it was originally spoken
• So when David says to praise the Lord, we can believe that we should be doing that too
• When David says to not forget God has all kinds of benefits for us, we should adopt that as a word from God to us here today
• When David says God forgives all our sins — we should believe God’s word —that He will do that very thing, as we confess our sins and believe on the Son of God for cleansing of sin.
• When God’s word says He heals all your diseases — we can believe that God’s word is true, and living, and powerful, and active and that God still heals us today.
• When God’sword says that He redeems your life from the pit — we can read this word, believe it is as true today as it was 2000 years ago — and that we can by faith believe God speaks to us through it.
2. Personalize God’s word when you read it — because He means it for you today.
Ex. “I will praise you Lord! I will not forget any of your benefits! You forgive me of all my sins! You heal me of all my diseases! You redeem my life from the pit! And you crown me with love and compassion!
Listen to Pastor Duane Miller story "Redeemed from the Pit"
Also see Duane's website: http://www.nuvoice.org/
Read Psalm 103 (NIV)
1. God’s word SPEAKS to us today, as fresh and RELEVANT as it was when it was originally spoken
• So when David says to praise the Lord, we can believe that we should be doing that too
• When David says to not forget God has all kinds of benefits for us, we should adopt that as a word from God to us here today
• When David says God forgives all our sins — we should believe God’s word —that He will do that very thing, as we confess our sins and believe on the Son of God for cleansing of sin.
• When God’s word says He heals all your diseases — we can believe that God’s word is true, and living, and powerful, and active and that God still heals us today.
• When God’sword says that He redeems your life from the pit — we can read this word, believe it is as true today as it was 2000 years ago — and that we can by faith believe God speaks to us through it.
2. Personalize God’s word when you read it — because He means it for you today.
Ex. “I will praise you Lord! I will not forget any of your benefits! You forgive me of all my sins! You heal me of all my diseases! You redeem my life from the pit! And you crown me with love and compassion!
Listen to Pastor Duane Miller story "Redeemed from the Pit"
Also see Duane's website: http://www.nuvoice.org/
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
4. God’s word, the Bible — speaks!
HOW GOD SPEAKS:
The Bible: is the most sure, reliable, safe way we can know God’s voice. All other “communication channels” need to be tested against God’s word of truth.
Hebrews 4:12-13 (NKJV)
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NKJV)
God’s Word:
1. Is living! (a living plant vs a rock — Bible vs any other book)
2. Is powerful! (God’s word has energy in it — it is active! — like an active ingredient in a medicine or toothpaste)
3. Is an extremely sharp two-edged sword! (see also Eph. 6:17)
• It is a weapon of battle — soldiers could pierce armor with a sharp, pointy, 2-edged sword. The Holy Spirit uses the word of God to battle falsehood, deception, pride, sin, spiritual uncleanness, etc.
• It is so sharp that it can open up any part of our flesh or spirit and expose what is there.
4. Reveals — all the hidden inner things — God’s word gets into our business! He knows the REAL reason we do things. And His word holds a mirror up to our souls for us to see what our motivations are. We need to live as those who KNOW we must one day give an account for how we lived our lives.
5. Is a person (Heb. 4:13; John 1:1,14)
6. Is eternal (Luke 21:33)
7. Gives spiritual wisdom & “light” to our understanding (Psalm 19:7-8)
8. Directs our steps (Psalm 119:133)
9. Is life to us! (Deut. 8:3) Ex. Earth’s “sweetspot” in orbit — narrow path of life
10. Teaches us what to believe* (doctrine) — God’s word reveals what is right and true
11. Teaches us what NOT to believe (reproof) — God’s word reveals error, falsehood, demonic deception
12. Teaches us what NOT to do (correction)
13. Teaches us what should be done — (instruction in righteousness) which equips us for EVERY good work
(* 10-13 Source from The Believer’s Study Bible, pg. 1727 footnote)
Core Lesson:
The Bible, like no other divine communication channel, gives us the clearest and most abundant source of God’s word for our lives.
For more study on your own:
1 Corinthians 10:1-11
God’s written word teaches us through examples of those who came before us.
• Vs1-4: These difficult verses basically tell us that all those O.T. (true) stories, were all a apart of God’s grand story, pointing to the fulfillment of Christ, of which we ourselves have a place in.
• Vs5-10: Things we learn NOT to do by their bad example.
• Vs11: These were all written down for our instruction!
The Bible: is the most sure, reliable, safe way we can know God’s voice. All other “communication channels” need to be tested against God’s word of truth.
Hebrews 4:12-13 (NKJV)
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NKJV)
God’s Word:
1. Is living! (a living plant vs a rock — Bible vs any other book)
2. Is powerful! (God’s word has energy in it — it is active! — like an active ingredient in a medicine or toothpaste)
3. Is an extremely sharp two-edged sword! (see also Eph. 6:17)
• It is a weapon of battle — soldiers could pierce armor with a sharp, pointy, 2-edged sword. The Holy Spirit uses the word of God to battle falsehood, deception, pride, sin, spiritual uncleanness, etc.
• It is so sharp that it can open up any part of our flesh or spirit and expose what is there.
4. Reveals — all the hidden inner things — God’s word gets into our business! He knows the REAL reason we do things. And His word holds a mirror up to our souls for us to see what our motivations are. We need to live as those who KNOW we must one day give an account for how we lived our lives.
5. Is a person (Heb. 4:13; John 1:1,14)
6. Is eternal (Luke 21:33)
7. Gives spiritual wisdom & “light” to our understanding (Psalm 19:7-8)
8. Directs our steps (Psalm 119:133)
9. Is life to us! (Deut. 8:3) Ex. Earth’s “sweetspot” in orbit — narrow path of life
10. Teaches us what to believe* (doctrine) — God’s word reveals what is right and true
11. Teaches us what NOT to believe (reproof) — God’s word reveals error, falsehood, demonic deception
12. Teaches us what NOT to do (correction)
13. Teaches us what should be done — (instruction in righteousness) which equips us for EVERY good work
(* 10-13 Source from The Believer’s Study Bible, pg. 1727 footnote)
Core Lesson:
The Bible, like no other divine communication channel, gives us the clearest and most abundant source of God’s word for our lives.
For more study on your own:
1 Corinthians 10:1-11
God’s written word teaches us through examples of those who came before us.
• Vs1-4: These difficult verses basically tell us that all those O.T. (true) stories, were all a apart of God’s grand story, pointing to the fulfillment of Christ, of which we ourselves have a place in.
• Vs5-10: Things we learn NOT to do by their bad example.
• Vs11: These were all written down for our instruction!
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