April 8, 2018 – Kingdom Planting – Devotion and Grace

Devotion and Grace

Joshua 7:1-13 - New International Version (NIV)                

¹ But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel.

² Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, “Go up and spy out the region.” So the men went up and spied out Ai.

³ When they returned to Joshua, they said, “Not all the army will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary the whole army, for only a few people live there.” ⁴ So about three thousand went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai, ⁵ who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted in fear and became like water.

⁶ Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the Lord, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads. ⁷ And Joshua said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! ⁸ Pardon your servant, Lord. What can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? ⁹ The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?”

¹⁰ The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? ¹¹ Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. ¹² That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.

¹³ “Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There are devoted things among you, Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them.

How did the Lord react to Achan son of Karmi taking some of the devoted things (verse 1)?

In your opinion, what were the devoted things (verse 1)?

Where were men to go to “spy out the region” (verse 2)?

Why were only “two or three thousand men” needed (verse 3)?

What happened to the three thousand men that went up (verse 4)?

In your opinion, why did the rout of the Israelites cause the hearts of the people to melt in fear and become like water (verse 5)?

How did Joshua and the elders of Israel react to the rout (verse 6)?

Who did Joshua think had delivered the Israelites “into the hands of the Amorites” (verse 7)?

In your opinion, why did Joshua say “pardon your servant, Lord” (verse 8)?

What will the Canaanites and other people do when they hear about the rout (verse 9)?

Who told Joshua to “stand up” (verse 10)?

What had Israel done (verse 11)?

What did Israel need to do before the Lord could be with them (verse 12)?

Who was to be consecrated (verse 13)?

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

Mark 2:13-17 - New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. ¹⁴ As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.

¹⁵ While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. ¹⁶ When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

¹⁷ On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Where did Jesus go (verse 13)?

What did Jesus do when the large crowd came to him (verse 13)?

Where was Levi son of Alphaeus when Jesus said “follow me” (verse 14)?

In your opinion, why had the tax collectors and sinners gathered at Levi’s house to eat with Jesus (verse 15)?

Who ask Jesus’s disciples “why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners” (verse 16)?

Who did Jesus say needs a doctor (verse 17)?

Who did Jesus come to call (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, how might Achan son of Karmi from Joshua 7:1-13 and Levi son of Alphaeus from Mark 2:13-17 be similar?

Acts 5:1-12a – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. ² With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.

³ Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? ⁴ Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”

⁵ When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. ⁶ Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.

⁷ About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. ⁸ Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?”

“Yes,” she said, “that is the price.”

⁹ Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”

¹⁰ At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. ¹¹ Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.

¹² The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people.

What did Ananias and Sapphira do (verse 1)?

What did Ananias do with Sapphira’s “full knowledge” (verse 2)?

Who did Peter say Ananias had lied to (verse 3)?

In your opinion, what does Peter mean when he says “wasn’t the money at your disposal” (verse 4)?

How did Ananias react to Peter’s statement (verse 5)?

What did the young men do (verse 6)?

When did Sapphira come in (verse 7)?

How did Sapphira respond when Peter asked her “is this the price you and Ananias got for the land” (verse 8)?

What will the men who buried Ananias do (verse 9)?

What happened to Sapphira (verse 10)?

Who was seized by “great fear” (verse 11)?

Where were “signs and wonders” performed (verse 12)?

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

In your opinion, how is Achan’s action in Joshua 7:1-13 similar to the actions of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-12a?

In your opinion, how are Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-12a different from Levi and the tax collectors and sinners from Mark 2:13-17?

1 Corinthians 15:1-10 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. ² By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

³ For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. ⁶ After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, ⁸ and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

⁹ For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

What have the Corinthian Christians done with the gospel that Paul preached to them (verse 1)?

What does the gospel do (verse 2)?

What did Christ do (verse 3)?

When did Christ rise from being buried (verse 4)?

Who did Christ appear to (verses 5, 6, 7 and 8)?

Why does Paul say he does not “deserve to be called an apostle” (verse 9)?

Why is Paul what he is (verse 10)?

Who “worked harder than all of them” (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, what is the difference between the Corinthian Christians that Paul is talking to in 1 Corinthians 15:1-10 and Achan son of Karmi in Joshua 7:1-13?

In your opinion, what are the similarities between the Corinthian Christians that Paul is talking to in 1 Corinthians 15:1-10 and Levi, the tax collectors and the sinners who were dining with Jesus in Mark 2:13-17?

In your opinion, what do the actions and words of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-12a reveal about their attitude concerning what Paul told the Corinthian Christians in 1 Corinthians 15:1-10 was “of first importance”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Joshua, Mark, Acts, and 1 Corinthians teach us about who Jesus is calling?

How does our devotion change when we move from being sinners to being the recipients of God’s grace?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)