Overcoming Through Faith
2 Chronicles 20:20-30 - New International Version (NIV)
20 Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they
set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of
Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord
your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be
successful.” 21 After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat
appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness
as they went out at the head of the army, saying:
“Give thanks to the Lord,
for his love endures forever.”
for his love endures forever.”
22 As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and
Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. 23 The
Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and
annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they
helped to destroy one another.
24 When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert
and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground;
no one had escaped. 25 So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry
off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and
clothing and also articles of value—more than they could take away.
There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it. 26 On
the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berakah, where they praised the Lord. This is why it is called the
Valley of Berakah to this day.
27 Then, led by Jehoshaphat, all the men of Judah and Jerusalem
returned joyfully to Jerusalem, for the Lord
had given them cause to rejoice over their enemies. 28 They
entered Jerusalem and went to the temple of the Lord
with harps and lyres and trumpets.
29 The fear of God came on all the surrounding kingdoms when they
heard how the Lord had fought
against the enemies of Israel. 30 And the kingdom of
Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.
Who did King
Jehoshaphat say the people of Judah and Jerusalem should have faith in (verse 20)?
What were the
men at the head of the army to do (verse 21)?
How were the
Ammonites, Moabites and men from Mount Seir destroyed (verses 22 and 23)?
What did
Judah’s army see when they got to the desert
(verse 24)?
How long did
it take to gather up the plunder (verse 25)?
Who led the
joyful return to Jerusalem (verse 27)?
In your
opinion, why did they go to the “temple of the Lord with harps and lyres and
trumpets” (verse 28)?
When did the “fear
of God” come upon all the surrounding kingdoms (verse 29)?
Why was the
kingdom of Jehoshaphat at peace (verse 30)?
In your
opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
Mark 5:21-43 - New
International Version (NIV)
21 When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the
lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. 22 Then
one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he
fell at his feet. 23 He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little
daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be
healed and live.” 24 So Jesus went with him.
A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25 And
a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She
had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she
had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she
heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because
she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately
her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her
suffering.
30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned
around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered,
“and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”
32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then
the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and,
trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to
her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your
suffering.”
35 While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of
Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother
the teacher anymore?”
36 Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be
afraid; just believe.”
37 He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the
brother of James. 38 When they came to the home of the
synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly.
39 He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and
wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” 40 But they laughed
at him.
After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother
and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41 He
took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little
girl, I say to you, get up!”). 42 Immediately the girl stood up
and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were
completely astonished. 43 He gave strict orders not to let
anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.
Who was Jairus
(verse 22)?
Why did Jairus
plead with Jesus to “please come and put your hands on her” (verse 23)?
How long had
the woman in the crowd been bleeding (verse 25)?
Why did she
touch Jesus’s cloak (verses 27 and 28)?
What
immediately happened (verse 29)?
What did Jesus
do when He realized that “power had gone out from him” (verse 30)?
In your
opinion, why was the woman “trembling with fear” when she told Jesus “the
whole truth” (verse 33)?
What did Jesus
tell the woman (verse 34)?
When did the
people tell Jairus “your daughter is dead” (verse 35)?
In your
opinion, why did Jesus tell Jairus “don’t be afraid; just believe”
(verse 36)?
Who did Jesus
let follow Him (verse 37)?
How did the
people respond when Jesus said “the child is not dead but asleep” (verses
39 and 40)?
What did Jesus
say after “He took her by the hand” (verse 41)?
When did the
girl stand up and begin to walk around (verse 42)?
Who was to
know about this (verse 43)?
In your opinion, what role did faith play in
dealing with the challenge of the invading kingdoms in 2 Chronicles 20:20-30
and also in dealing with the twelve years of bleeding that doctor’s care had
not helped in Mark 5:21-43?
36 In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is
Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor. 37 About
that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an
upstairs room. 38 Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples
heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please
come at once!”
39 Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to
the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and
other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.
40 Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees
and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She
opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. 41 He took her by
the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called for the believers,
especially the widows, and presented her to them alive. 42 This
became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. 43 Peter
stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon.
What was Tabitha always
doing (verse 36)?
Where was her body (verse
37)?
In your opinion, why did the disciples urge Peter to “come
at once” (verse 38)?
What did the widows do when Peter arrived (verse 39)?
When did Peter get down on his knees and pray (verse 40)?
What happened when Peter said “Tabitha, get up” (verse
40)?
Who did Peter present Tabitha to (verse 41)?
How did many of the people in Joppa react (verse 42)?
Where did Peter stay (verse 43)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, how are having the people leading the army
in 2 Chronicles 20:20-30 singing and praising the Lord and the kneeling and
praying of Peter in Acts 9:36-43 different?
How are they similar?
In your opinion, what can we learn from Jairus coming to
Jesus and pleading with Him for help in Mark 5:21-43 and the people of Joppa
sending for Peter when Tabitha dies in Acts 9:36-43?
1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and
everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving
God and carrying out his commands. 3 In
fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not
burdensome, 4 for
everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome
the world, even our faith. 5 Who
is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son
of God.
Who is “born
of God” (verse 1)?
Who “loves
his child” (verse 1)?
In your
opinion, why is “loving God and carrying out his commands” proof that we
love the children of God (verse 2)?
What is “love
for God” (verse 3)?
Who “overcomes
the world” (verse 4)?
What is the “victory
that has overcome the world” (verse 4)?
“Who is it
that overcomes the world” (verse 5)?
In your
opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, how is the faith of the woman who was
bleeding in Mark 5:21-43 and our faith in Jesus being able to call us from
death in sin to being “born of God” as John described in 1 John 5:1-5
similar?
In your
opinion, how is the amazing miracle of God through Peter restoring Tabitha to life
in Acts 9:36-43 dwarfed by the amazing miracle of God calling for us to
overcome the world by believing that “Jesus is the Son of God” as
declared 1 John 5:1-5?
In your
opinion, what do these passages from 2 Chronicles, Mark, Acts and 1 John teach
us about overcoming through faith?
In your
opinion, how should we who have “overcome the world” through our faith
that “Jesus is the Christ” respond to the challenges
of the world today?
(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)
