Seeking and Testing
2
Chronicles 15:1-9 - New
International Version (NIV)
1 The Spirit
of God came on Azariah son of Oded. 2 He went out to
meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin.
The Lord is with
you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by
you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. 3 For a
long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach and
without the law. 4 But in their distress they turned to
the Lord, the God of Israel,
and sought him, and he was found by them. 5 In those
days it was not safe to travel about, for all the inhabitants of the lands
were in great turmoil. 6 One nation was being crushed by
another and one city by another, because God was troubling them with every
kind of distress. 7 But as for you, be strong and do
not give up, for your work will be rewarded.”
8 When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son
of Oded the prophet, he took courage. He removed the detestable
idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he had
captured in the hills of Ephraim. He repaired the altar of the Lord that was in front of the
portico of the Lord’s temple.
9 Then he assembled all Judah and Benjamin and the people from
Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who had settled among them, for large
numbers had come over to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.
Who “came on Azariah son of Oded” (verse
1)?
Who will the Lord be found by (verse 2)?
Who will the Lord forsake (verse 2)?
Where did Israel turn “in their distress” (verse
4)?
Why was it not safe to travel (verse 5)?
Why were nations and cities “being crushed”
(verse 6)?
What will happen if Asa, Judah and Benjamin are
“strong and do not give up” (verse 7)?
When did Asa take “courage” (verse 8)?
What did Asa do after he “took courage”
(verse 8)?
Why had people from Ephraim, Manasseh and
Simeon settled among Judah and Benjamins (verse 9)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
Mark 13:1-8 - New
International Version (NIV)
1 As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him,
“Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!”
2 “Do you see all these great buildings?” replied
Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be
thrown down.”
3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the
temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, 4 “Tell
us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all
about to be fulfilled?”
5 Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives
you. 6 Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and
will deceive many. 7 When you hear of wars and rumors of
wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to
come. 8 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom
against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines.
These are the beginning of birth pains.
What did the disciple tell Jesus about
the temple (verse 1)?
What did Jesus say would happen (verse 2)?
Where was Jesus sitting when Peter,
James, John and Andrew privately ask Him the question (verse 3)?
In your opinion, were Peter, James, John
and Andrew asking about when the temple would be destroyed, or were they asking
about the end of times (verse 4)?
What were they to “watch out” for
(verse 5)?
In your opinion, why would many claim “I
am he” (verse 6)?
What are we not to do when we hear of “wars
and rumors of wars” (verse 7)?
What does Jesus say that nation rising
against nation, earthquakes, and famines are (verse 8)?
In your opinion, what is the basic
message of this passage?
In your opinion, how are the time of distress
in 2 Chronicles 15:1-9 and the “beginning of the birth pains” in Mark
13:1-8 similar?
Acts
5:20-26 –
New International Version (NIV)
20 “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people
all about this new life.”
21 At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told,
and began to teach the people.
When the high priest and his
associates arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin—the full assembly
of the elders of Israel—and sent to the jail for the apostles. 22 But
on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they
went back and reported, 23 “We found the jail securely
locked, with the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we
found no one inside.” 24 On hearing this report, the
captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were at a loss,
wondering what this might lead to.
25 Then someone came and said, “Look! The men you put in jail are
standing in the temple courts teaching the people.” 26 At
that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles. They did not
use force, because they feared that the people would stone them.
What are the apostles to do “in the temple courts” (verse 20)?
When did the apostles enter “the temple courts”
(verse 21)?
Who did the Sanhedrin send for (verse 21)?
What
did the officers report (verses 22 and 23)?
Who
was “wondering what this might lead to” (verse 24)?
Where
were the men they had “put in jail” (verse 25)?
What
did the captain and his officers do (verse 26)?
Why
did they “not use force” (verse 26)?
In
your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, how are the apostles telling people “all
about this new life” in Acts 5:20-26 similar to Asa, in 2 Chronicles 15:1-9
when he removed the idols and repaired the alter “in front of the portico of
the Lord’s temple”? How is the
telling different from the removing and repairing?
In your opinion, what does the fact that the care takers of
the “magnificent buildings” that made up the temple that Jesus referred
to in Mark 13:1-8 were against the message of the apostles in Acts 5:20-26
teach us about Jesus’ warning to Peter, James, John and Andrew to “watch out
that no one deceives you” in Mark 13:1-8?
1 John 4:1-6 – New International Version (NIV)
1 Dear
friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see
whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the
world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God:
Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is
from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge
Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you
have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome
them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in
the world. 5 They are from the world and therefore
speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We
are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God
does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of
truth and the spirit of falsehood.
What should we “test the spirits” to
determine (verse 1)?
Who has “gone out into the world” (verse 1)?
How can we “recognize the Spirit of God” (verse
2)?
What is the “spirit of the antichrist” (verse 3)?
Where is the “spirit of the antichrist” (verse
3)?
How have Christians overcome the antichrists (verse 4)?
Why does the world listen to antichrists (verse
5)?
What do people of God do (verse 6)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this
passage?
In your opinion, how
does Azariah’s message to Asa about seeking and forsaking in 2 Chronicles
15:1-9 demonstrate why the test of the spirits that 1 John 4:1-6 requires is needed
today?
In your opinion, how much of John’s
command that we test the spirits in 1 John 4:1-6 came as a result of what he
learned from Jesus in Mark 13:1-8?
In your opinion, who,
if you apply the test of the spirits that John commands in 1 John 4:1-6, would
be the false prophets in Acts 5:20-26?
In your
opinion, what do these passages from 2 Chronicles, Mark, Acts and 1 John teach
us about how we should respond to the “birth pains” of today?
In your
opinion, what importance does testing the spirits have in seeking God today?
(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)
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