January 8, 2023 – John’s Writings – Victory in Small and All Things

Victory in Small and All Things

Zechariah 4:1-14 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Then the angel who talked with me returned and woke me up, like someone awakened from sleep. ² He asked me, “What do you see?”

I answered, “I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it, with seven channels to the lamps. ³ Also there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.”

⁴ I asked the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?”

⁵ He answered, “Do you not know what these are?”

“No, my lord,” I replied.

⁶ So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.

⁷ “What are you, mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of ‘God bless it! God bless it!’”

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to me: ⁹ “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands will also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.

¹⁰ “Who dares despise the day of small things, since the seven eyes of the Lord that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone in the hand of Zerubbabel?”

¹¹ Then I asked the angel, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?”

¹² Again I asked him, “What are these two olive branches beside the two gold pipes that pour out golden oil?”

¹³ He replied, “Do you not know what these are?”

“No, my lord,” I said.

¹⁴ So he said, “These are the two who are anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth.”

Who returned and woke Zechariah up (verse 1)?

What did Zechariah see (verse 2)?

Where were the two olive trees (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why did Zechariah ask “what are these” (verse 4)?

What is the word of the Lord Almighty to Zerubbabel (verse 6)?

What will happen to the “mighty mountain” before Zerubbabel (verse 7)?

Whose hands will complete the temple (verse 9)?

In your opinion, what does the question “who dares despise the day of small things” mean (verse 10)?

What is Zachariah asking about in verse 11?

What is Zachariah asking about in verse 12?

What are the two olive branches (verse 14)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about how followers of God have victory even when confronted by the world?

John 7:25-34 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁵ At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? ²⁶ Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Messiah? ²⁷ But we know where this man is from; when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.”

²⁸ Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, ²⁹ but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.”

³⁰ At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. ³¹ Still, many in the crowd believed in him. They said, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man?”

³² The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.

³³ Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I am going to the one who sent me. ³⁴ You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”

What did some of the people of Jerusalem begin to ask (verse 25)?

How did the people think the authorities dealing were with Jesus (verse 26)?

Why did some of the people in Jerusalem conclude that Jesus was not the Messiah (verse 27)?

In your opinion, why does Jesus say that “I am not here on my own authority” (verse 28)?

Why does Jesus know the One who sent Him (verse 29)?

What “had not yet come” (verse 30)?

Who said “when the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man” (verse 31)?

What did the chief priests and the Pharisees do (verse 32)?

How long will Jesus be with them (verse 33)?

What will happen when they look for Jesus (verse 34)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about how followers of God have victory even when confronted by the world?

In your opinion, how is the obstruction by the enemies of Israel to the completion of the temple in Zechariah 4:1-14 similar to the obstruction that Jesus faced from those who did not believe He was the Messiah in John 7:25-36?

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.

How should Christians react to “spirits” (verse 1)?

What have “many false prophets” done (verse 1)?

How can you “recognize the Spirit of God” (verse 2)?

Who is not from God (verse 3)?

Where is the “spirit of the antichrist” (verse 3)?

How have Christians overcome the false prophets (verse 4)?

Why does the world listen to false prophets (verse 5)?

Who listens to John and others from God (verse 6)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about how followers of God have victory even when confronted by the world?

In your opinion, how is the prophecy of Zechariah that Zerubbabel would complete the temple in Zechariah 4:1-14 similar to John’s reassurance to the Christians that they “are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world”?

In your opinion, is there anything we can learn about the actions of the antichrists we are warned about in 1 John 4:1-6 from the reactions of those who did not believe Jesus was the Messiah in John 7:25-36?

Revelation 11:1-10 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, with its worshipers. ² But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months. ³ And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” ⁴ They are “the two olive trees” and the two lampstands, and “they stand before the Lord of the earth.” ⁵ If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. ⁶ They have power to shut up the heavens so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.

⁷ Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. ⁸ Their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city—which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where also their Lord was crucified. ⁹ For three and a half days some from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. ¹⁰ The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.

What was John to do with the reed (verse 1)?

Why was John to “exclude the outer court” (verse 2)?

What will happen to the “holy city” for 42 months (verse 2)?

Who will “prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth” (verse 3)?

Where do the two olive trees stand (verse 4)?

What happens when people try to harm them (verse 5)?

How long will the two witnesses have the power to “shut up the heavens so that it will not rain” (verse 6)?

What will the two witnesses have the power to do to the waters (verse 6)?

Who will attack and kill the two witnesses (verse 7)?

In your opinion, where will all this happen (verse 8)?

How long will “some from every people, tribe, language and nation” refuse to allow the witnesses to be buried (verse 9)?

What will the “inhabitants of the earth” do (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about how followers of God have victory even when confronted by the world?

In your opinion, how are the purposes of the two olive trees of Zechariah 4:1-14 similar to the purposes of the two olive trees of Revelation 11:1-10?

In your opinion, how is the desire of people to kill Jesus in John 7:25-36 similar to desire of the nations to kill the two witnesses in Revelation 11:1-10? 

In your opinion, what part of the temple that John is measuring in Revelation 11:1-10 would the people who 1 John 4:1-6 says “are from God and have overcome” be in?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Zechariah, John, 1 John and Revelation teach us about who has the ultimate power over today, tomorrow, and eternity?

In your opinion, as Christians what is our responsibility in the conflict between the world and God?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

January 1, 2023 – John’s Writings – Filled with the Word

Filled with the Word

Ezekiel 3:1-9 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ And he said to me, “Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel.” ² So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.

³ Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.

⁴ He then said to me: “Son of man, go now to the people of Israel and speak my words to them. ⁵ You are not being sent to a people of obscure speech and strange language, but to the people of Israel— ⁶ not to many peoples of obscure speech and strange language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you. ⁷ But the people of Israel are not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for all the Israelites are hardened and obstinate. ⁸ But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are. ⁹ I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.”

What is Ezekiel to do before he goes to “speak to the people of Israel” (verse 1)?

What did Ezekiel open (verse 2)?

How did the scroll taste (verse 3)?

Who was Ezekiel to “speak my words to” (verse 4)?

In your opinion, what does God mean by “a people of obscure speech and strange language” (verses 5 and 6)?

Why will the people of Israel not listen to Ezekiel (verse 7)?

How will God change Ezekiel (verse 8)?

Who is Ezekiel not be afraid of or “terrified by” (verse 9)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about how those who have the Word of God are to react to people hardened by the world?

John 14:8-21 - New International Version (NIV)

⁸ Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

⁹ Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. ¹¹ Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. ¹² Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³ And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

¹⁵ “If you love me, keep my commands. ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— ¹⁷ the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. ¹⁸ I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. ¹⁹ Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. ²⁰ On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. ²¹ Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

What did Philip say would be enough (verse 8)?

Who has seen the Father (verse 9)?

Where is the Father living (verse 10)?

What does Jesus ask Philip to believe (verse 11)?

Who will do greater works than Jesus (verse 12)?

Why will Jesus do what is ask in His name (verse 13)?

What are those who love Jesus to do (verse 15)?

What is Jesus going to ask the Father for (verse 16)?

Why can’t the world accept the Spirit of truth (verse 17)?

What will Jesus not do (verse 18)?

Why will Christians live (verse 19)?

What will Christians realize (verse 20)?

Who will Jesus show Himself to (verse 21)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about how those who have the Word of God are to react to people hardened by the world?

In your opinion, how is Philip in John 14:8-21 like the hardened and obstinate Israelites of Ezekiel 3:1-9?  How is he different from them?

1 John 3:13-24 – New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. ¹⁴ We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. ¹⁵ Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.

¹⁶ This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? ¹⁸ Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

¹⁹ This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: ²⁰ If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. ²¹ Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God ²² and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. ²³ And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. ²⁴ The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

What should the “brothers and sisters” that John is writing to not be surprised by (verse 13)?

How do we know that we have “passed from death to life” (verse 14)?

Who is a murderer (verse 15)?

How do we know what love is (verse 16)?

In your opinion, why does the “love of God” allow Christians to feel pity for others (verse 17)?

How are we to love (verse 18)?

Who is greater than our hearts (verse 20)?

When do we “have confidence before God” (verse 21)?

What is God’s command (verse 23)?

How do we “know that he lives in us” (verse 24)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about how those who have the Word of God are to react to people hardened by the world?

In your opinion, what does 1 John 3:13-24 show that God has done to allow the transformation of those He said in Ezekiel 3:1-9 were “hardened and obstinate”?

In your opinion, how does reading Jesus promise in John 14:8-21 that “on that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you” effect your view of the message of 1 John 3:13-24?

Revelation 10:1-11 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars. ² He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, ³ and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke. ⁴ And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.”

⁵ Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. ⁶ And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, “There will be no more delay! ⁷ But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.”

⁸ Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.”

⁹ So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but ‘in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.’” ¹⁰ I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. ¹¹ Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.”

Who was “robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars” (verse 1)?

What was he holding (verse 2)?

When did the “voices of the seven thunders” speak (verse 3)?

Why did John not write down what the seven thunders said (verse 4)?

Who did the angel “standing on the sea and on the land” swear by (verses 5 and 6)?

What did the angel say (verse 6)?

In your opinion, what is the “mystery of God” that will be accomplished (verse 7)? (I am hoping for thought and discussion, not necessarily a confidently accurate answer.)

What did the voice from heaven tell John (verse 8)?

What will the scroll do to John’s stomach (verse 9)?

How will the scroll taste (verse 9)?

What happened when John ate the scroll (verse 10)?

Who is John to prophesy about (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about how those who have the Word of God are to react to people hardened by the world?

In your opinion, how is the scroll given to Ezekiel in Ezekiel 3:1-9 similar to the scroll given to John in Revelation 10:1-11?

In your opinion, how is Jesus’ message in John 14:8-21 related to the message that John is commanded to prophesy about “many peoples, nations, languages and kings” in Revelation 10:1-11? 

In your opinion, does the message of the angel in Revelation 10:1-11 that there “will be no more delay” alter the message of 1 John 3:13-24 that “Jesus Christ laid down his life for us”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Ezekiel, John, 1 John and Revelation teach us about how those who have accepted Jesus are different from those who have not accepted Jesus?

In your opinion, if there is no more delay then what are we, who know that “Jesus Christ laid down his life for us” and are one with Jesus and the Father, to do now?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

December 25, 2022 – Song of Salvation

Song of Salvation

Isaiah 52:7-10 - New International Version (NIV)

⁷ How beautiful on the mountains
    are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
    who bring good tidings,
    who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
    “Your God reigns!”
⁸ Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices;
    together they shout for joy.
When the Lord returns to Zion,
    they will see it with their own eyes.
⁹ Burst into songs of joy together,
    you ruins of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted his people,
    he has redeemed Jerusalem.
¹⁰ The Lord will lay bare his holy arm
    in the sight of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth will see
    the salvation of our God.

Whose feet are “beautiful on the mountains” (verse 7)?

What do they “say to Zion” (verse 7)?

What do the watchmen shout for (verse 8)?

What will they see “with their own eyes” (verse 8)?

What will the “ruins of Jerusalem” do (verse 9)?

Who has “comforted his people” (verse 9)?

What will the Lord do “in the sight of all the nations” (verse 10)?

Where will the “salvation of our God” be seen (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, where do you see Jesus the Messiah in this passage?

Psalm 98 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Sing to the Lord a new song,
    for he has done marvelous things;
his right hand and his holy arm
    have worked salvation for him.
² The Lord has made his salvation known
    and revealed his righteousness to the nations.
³ He has remembered his love
    and his faithfulness to Israel;
all the ends of the earth have seen
    the salvation of our God.

⁴ Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth,
    burst into jubilant song with music;
⁵ make music to the Lord with the harp,
    with the harp and the sound of singing,
⁶ with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—
    shout for joy before the Lord, the King.

⁷ Let the sea resound, and everything in it,
    the world, and all who live in it.
⁸ Let the rivers clap their hands,
    let the mountains sing together for joy;
⁹ let them sing before the Lord,
    for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
    and the peoples with equity.

Why will “a new song” be sung to the Lord (verse 1)?

What has the Lord made known (verse 2)?

Where has the “salvation of our God” been seen (verse 3)?

Who is the earth to “shout for joy” to (verse 4)?

How should music be made to the Lord (verses 5 and 6)?

What should resound (verse 7)?

How should the rivers and mountains respond (verse 8)?

What does the Lord come to do (verse 9)?

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

In your opinion, where do you see Jesus the Messiah in this passage?

In your opinion, how are Isaiah 52:7-10 and Psalm 98 similar in their responses to redemption and salvation?

Hebrews 1:1-4 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, ² but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. ³ The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. ⁴ So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

Who did God speak to “in the past” (verse 1)?

How did He speak to them (verse 1)?

How has God spoken “in these last days” (verse 2)?

Who is the “heir of all things” (verse 2)?

What is the Son (verse 3)?

How does the Son sustain all things (verse 3)?

When did the Son sit “down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” (verse 3)?

Who did the Son become superior to (verse 4)?

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

In your opinion, where do you see Jesus the Messiah in this passage?

In your opinion, what does Hebrews 1:1-4 reveal about how God provides the redemption and comfort that Isaiah predicted in Isaiah 52:7-10?

In your opinion, why are the things that Hebrews 1:1-4 reveals that God has done the reasons for the “new song” of Psalm 98?

John 1:1-14 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

⁶ There was a man sent from God whose name was John. ⁷ He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. ⁸ He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

⁹ The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. ¹¹ He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. ¹² Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— ¹³ children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

¹⁴ The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

When was the Word (verse 1)?

Who was the Word with (verse 1)?

Who was the Word (verse 1)?

What was made through Him (verse 3)?

Where was life (verse 4)?

What was “that life” (verse 4)?

What has the darkness not overcome (verse 5)?

Who was the man “sent from God” (verse 6)?

Why did he come “as a witness to testify concerning that light” (verse 7)?

What was coming “into the world” (verse 9)?

In your opinion, why did the world not recognize the one who “was in the world” and through whom the world was made (verse 10)?

What did “his own” not do (verse 11)?

What did “those who believed in his name” receive (verse 12)?

How were those “children” born (verse 13)?

Where did the Word make His dwelling (verse 14)?

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

In your opinion, where do you see Jesus the Messiah in this passage?

In your opinion, how are the redemption and salvation that the beautiful feet on the mountains bring in Isaiah 52:7-10 described in John 1:1-14?

In your opinion, why does Psalm 98 begin with salvation and end with judgment but John 1:1-14 reverses that by beginning with people not receiving the “true light” while others received and believed? 

In your opinion, how does John 1:1-14’s description of Jesus as the light grow richer as we read about Jesus’ radiance in Hebrews 1:1-4?

In your opinion, how do these passages from Isaiah, Psalms, Hebrews and John help us more fully see Jesus the Messiah?

In your opinion, as those who have received and believed in Jesus, what song do we need sing to have beautiful feet today?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)