Friday, February 16, 2018

February 25, 2018 – Kingdom Planting – Testifying Witnesses


-            The

Testifying Witnesses


Joshua 1:1-9 - New International Version (NIV)

1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.

“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

When did the Lord speak to Joshua (verse 1)?

What are Joshua “and all these people” to do (verse 2)?

Who had God made a promise about the land to (verse 3)?

What are the boundaries that are established (verse 4)?

In your opinion, why does God tell Joshua “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (verse 5)?

Why is Joshua to “be strong and courageous” (verse 6)?

What is Joshua to “be careful to obey” (verse 7)?

What does Joshua have to do to be “prosperous and successful” (verse 8)?

Why does Joshua not need to be afraid or discouraged (verse 9)?

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

Mark 1:9-11 - New International Version (NIV)

At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

Where did Jesus come from (verse 9)?

Where did John baptize Jesus (verse 9)?

What did Jesus see as he was coming up out of the water (verse 10)?

In your opinion, what does “heaven being torn open” mean (verse 10)?

Where did the voice come from (verse 11)?

What did the voice say (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, why is Joshua told to “obey all the law my servant Moses gave you” in Joshua 1:1-9 and Jesus is told “with you I am well pleased” in Mark 1:9-11?

Acts 1:6-11 – New International Version (NIV)

Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

What did the disciples ask Jesus (verse 6)?

Who has set the “times or dates” that Jesus says the disciples are not to know (verse 7)?

When will the disciples “be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (verse 8)?



What happened to Jesus “before their very eyes” (verse 9)?



Who appeared beside the disciples (verse 10)?



What promise is made about Jesus (verse 11)?



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



In your opinion, how does the Voice heard in Mark 1:9-11 help us understand where Jesus is going in Acts 1:6-11?



In your opinion, what do Joshua 1:1-9 and Acts 1:6-11 show us about the differences between the country of Israel and the Kingdom of God?



Revelation 3:14-22 – New International Version (NIV)

14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

21 To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

How is Jesus described (verse 14)?

What does Jesus wish for the Laodiceans (verse 15)?

What is Jesus about to do with the Laodiceans (verse 16)?

How do the Laodiceans feel about themselves (verse 17)?

In your opinion, why don’t the Laodiceans know that they are “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked” (verse 17)?

Why should the Laodiceans buy “gold refined in the fire” from Jesus (verse 18)?

Who does Jesus “rebuke and discipline” (verse 19)?

Where is Jesus (verse 20)?

How does someone get Jesus to come in and eat with them (verse 20)?

Who will Jesus “give the right to sit with me on my throne” (verse 21)?

What is everyone with ears to listen to (verse 22)?

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

In your opinion, how does Jesus statement about standing at the door and knocking in Revelation 3:14-22 show us the importance of the task of the witnesses of Acts 1:6-11?

In your opinion, how is Jesus as He is described in Mark 1:9-11 different from the description of Jesus in Revelation 3:14-22?

In your opinion, what has changed between the time Joshua is told to “be careful to do everything written” in the Book of the Law in order to be “prosperous and successful” in Joshua 1:1-9 and the time that Jesus says in Revelation 3:14-22 that He will come in and eat with everyone who “hears my voice and opens the door”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Joshua, Mark, Acts, and Revelation help us understand about the differences between the Israelite Kingdom and the Kingdom of God?

In your opinion, what do we learn from Jesus’s statements to the lukewarm church about being witnesses for Jesus today?



(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

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