Saturday, December 13, 2014

December 14, 2014 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Children and Hope

December 14, 2014 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Children and Hope


Matthew 28:18-20 – New International Version (NIV) – The Great Commission
18 “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Children and Hope

Matthew 18:1-5 – New International Version (NIV)
1 “At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”

Who came to Jesus (verse 1)?

In your opinion, why did they ask “Who then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (verse 1)?

Who did Jesus call and place before the disciples (verse 2)?

What did Jesus tell the disciples they must do to enter the kingdom of heaven (verse 3)?

Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven (verse 4)?

In your opinion, how do you welcome a child in the name of Jesus (verse 5)?
In your opinion, what does this passage from Matthew 18:1-5 show us about the Great Commission?

Deuteronomy 17:14-20 - New International Version (NIV)
14 “When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,” 15 be sure to appoint over you a king the Lord your God chooses. He must be from among your fellow Israelites. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not an Israelite. 16 The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the Lord has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.” 17 He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.
18 When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. 19 It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees 20 and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.”

Where are the people of Israel entering (verse 14)?
In your opinion, what can we understand about the people of Israel that they will say “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us” (verse 14)?
Who should the people appoint as king (verse 15)?
In your opinion, why should the king “not acquire a great number of horses for himself” (verse 16)?
Why must the king not make the people return to Egypt for more horses (verse 16)?
What will happen to the king if he takes many wives (verse 17)?
In your opinion, why must the king “not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold” (verse 17)?
Who is supposed to write “on a scroll a copy of this law” (verse 18)?
Why is the copy of the law to be read “all the days of his life” (verse 19)?
What will happen if the king does “not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left” (verse 20)?
In your opinion, what are the similarities between the instruction of Jesus in Matthew 18:1-5 that whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” and the instruction of Moses that the king “not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left” in Deuteronomy 17:14-20?
In your opinion, what does this passage from Deuteronomy show us about the Great Commission?

Philippians 4:4-9 New International Version (NIV)
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

Who are we to rejoice in (verse 4)?
What should “be evident to all” (verse 5)?
How should we present our requests to God (verse 6)?
What will the “peace of God, which transcends all understanding” guard (verse 7)?
In your opinion, why should we think about “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable” (verse 8)?
What should we put into practice (verse 9)?
In your opinion, why would Moses in Deuteronomy 17:14-20 say that the king is to read the scroll all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees” and Paul say in Philippians 4:4-9 that “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things”?
In your opinion, how does Paul’s instructions in Philippians 4:4-9 to “rejoice in the Lord always . . . let your gentleness be evident to all . . . do not be anxious about anything . . . present your requests to God” help us to follow the instruction of Jesus in Matthew 18:1-5 to “become like little children”?
In your opinion, what does this passage from Philippians show us about the Great Commission?
    
1 Timothy 6:6-21 – New International Version (NIV)
“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14 to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.
17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
20 Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, 21 which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith.
Grace be with you all.”
What is “great gain” (verse 6)?
What do we bring into and take from the world (verse 7)?
How will Paul and Timothy be if they have “food and clothing” (verse 8)?
Who falls “into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction” (verse 9)?
In your opinion, what kinds of evil is the love of money a root of (verse 10)?
Who should pursue “righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness” (verse 11)?
What should Timothy “take hold” of (verse 12)?
Who “gives life to everything” (verse 13)?
When will “the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ” occur (verse 15)?
In your opinion, why should those “who are rich in this present world” not to “put their hope in wealth” (verse 17)?
How should those “who are rich in this present world” behave (verse18)?
What will doing good and being rich in good deeds lay up (verse 19)?
In your opinion, why should Timothy “turn away from godless chatter” (verse 20)?
How does Paul bless Timothy (verse 21)?
In your opinion, what is the relationship between the “peace of God, which transcends all understanding” in Philippians 4:4-9 and the “godliness with contentment” in 1 Timothy 6:6-21?
In your opinion, how is the command of Moses that the king must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold” in Deuteronomy 17:14-20 similar to and different from the command of Paul that Timothy is to relay that “those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth” in 1 Timothy 6:6-21?
In your opinion, how does the command of Jesus to change and become like little children” compare to the instruction of Paul to Timothy to “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment” in 1 Timothy 6:6-21?
In your opinion, what does this passage from 1 Timothy show us about the Great Commission?


Next, back to Matthew 18:6 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

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