Saturday, August 8, 2015

August 23, 2015 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – The Day of the Lord


  
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.”

The Day of the Lord

Matthew 24:36-44 – New International Version (NIV)
36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

Who knows the day or hour (verse 36)?

How will it be “at the coming of the Son of Man” (verse 37)?

What were people doing “up to the day Noah entered the ark” (verse 38)?

In your opinion, how could the people know “nothing about what would happen until the flood came” when the ark was being built in the midst of them (verse 39)?

At the coming of the Son of Man what will happen to the two men in the field (verse 40)?

At the coming of the Son of Man what will happen to the two women grinding with a hand mill (verse 41)?

Why should we keep watch (verse 42)?

What would the owner of the house have done if he knew what time of night the thief was coming (verse 43)?

When will the Son of Man come (verse 44)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

Amos 5:18-24 - New International Version (NIV)
18 “Woe to you who long
    for the day of the Lord!
Why do you long for the day of the Lord?
    That day will be darkness, not light.
19 It will be as though a man fled from a lion
    only to meet a bear,
as though he entered his house
    and rested his hand on the wall
    only to have a snake bite him.
20 Will not the day of the Lord be darkness, not light—
    pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?
21 “I hate, I despise your religious festivals;
    your assemblies are a stench to me.
22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,
    I will not accept them.
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
    I will have no regard for them.
23 Away with the noise of your songs!
    I will not listen to the music of your harps.
24 But let justice roll on like a river,
    righteousness like a never-failing stream!”

Who does Amos “woe” (verse 18)?
What does Amos say about that day (verse 18)?
In your opinion, how would you feel if you fled from a lion and met a bear (verse 19)?
In your opinion, what is distressing about the man who entered his house and rested his hand on the wall “only to have a snake bite him” (verse 19)?
How is the darkness of the “day of the Lord” described (verse 20)?
How does God feel about the religious festivals of the Israelites that Amos is writing to (verse 21)?
How will God respond if the Israelites bring “choice fellowship offerings” (verse 22)?
How will God respond to the music of the Israelites harps (verse 23)?
What should justice do (verse 24)?
What should righteousness be like (verse 24)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, how does Amos warning to the Israelites that their comfort in their religion brings “woe” to them in Amos 5:18-24 change our understanding of the warning of Jesus in Matthew 24:36-44 that “as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man”?

2 Peter 2:4-11 - New International Version (NIV)
“For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. 10 This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority.
Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings; 11 yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not heap abuse on such beings when bringing judgment on them from the Lord. 12 But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish.”
Who did God not spare when they sinned (verse 4)?
Who did God bring the flood on in “the ancient world” (verse 5)?
What did God do for Noah, “a preacher of righteousness, and seven others” (verse 5)?
How did God condemn “the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah” (verse 6)?
How is Lot described (verse 7)?
In your opinion, why did Lot live in a place where he was “tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard” (verse 8)?
Who does the Lord know how to rescue (verse 9)?
What will the unrighteous be held for (verse 9)?
In your opinion, why is it wrong to “heap abuse on celestial beings” (verse 10)?
How are angels described (verse 11)?
In what matters do the unrighteous blaspheme (verse 12)?
How are the unrighteous like unreasoning animals (verse 12)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, how does Peter’s statement that these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand” in 2 Peter 2:4-11 help us understand why the people who God refuses to accept anything from in Amos 5:18-24 could “long for the day of the Lord”?
In your opinion, how does Peter’s discussion of the protection of Noah and the rescue of Lot in 2 Peter 2:4-11 help us understand what Jesus meant when He said that “one will be taken and the other left” in Matthew 24:36-44?

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 – New International Version (NIV)
1 “Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”

Who is Paul writing to (verse 1)?
Why does Paul say he does not need to write about the “times and dates” (verses 1 and 2)?
When will destruction come (verse 3)?
In your opinion, why does Paul use the illustration of “as labor pains on a pregnant woman” (verse 3)?
Why should the brothers and sisters not be surprised (verse 4)?
What are the brothers and sisters children of (verse 5)?
In your opinion, what does it mean to be “asleep” (verse 6)?
In your opinion, what does it mean to be “awake and sober” (verse 6)?
When do those who sleep, sleep, and those who get drunk, get drunk, (verse 7)?
What do we who are sober put on (verse 8)?
Who did not appoint us “to suffer wrath” (verse 9)?
How are we to “receive salvation” (verse 9)?
Why did Jesus die for us (verse 10)?
What are we to do (verse 11)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, how does Peter talking about the protection of Noah and the rescue of Lot in 2 Peter 2:4-11 help us understand the way that God can carry through on the promise of Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 when he says “God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ?
In your opinion, how does the promise of Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 that God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” bring us comfort as we read the statement of God in Amos 5:18-24, Woe to you who long for the day of the Lord!”?

In your opinion, how does Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 with his instruction to encourage one another and build each other up” help us understand how Jesus wants us as the community of believers to “be ready” in Matthew 24:36-44?
In your opinion, what do these passages, from Matthew, Amos, 2 Peter and 1 Thessalonians show us about the Great Commission?


Next, back to Matthew 24:45 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

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