April 9, 2023 – John’s Writings – God’s Power – On or In

 

God’s Power - On or In

Ezekiel 39:1-8 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Son of man, prophesy against Gog and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshek and Tubal. ² I will turn you around and drag you along. I will bring you from the far north and send you against the mountains of Israel. ³ Then I will strike your bow from your left hand and make your arrows drop from your right hand. ⁴ On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to all kinds of carrion birds and to the wild animals. ⁵ You will fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord. ⁶ I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in safety in the coastlands, and they will know that I am the Lord.

⁷ “‘I will make known my holy name among my people Israel. I will no longer let my holy name be profaned, and the nations will know that I the Lord am the Holy One in Israel. ⁸ It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign Lord. This is the day I have spoken of.

Who is against “Gog, chief prince of Meshek and Tubal” (verse 1)?

What will happen to Gog (verse 2)?

Where will Gog be sent (verse 2)?

In your opinion, what does it mean when God says “I will strike your bow from your left hand and make your arrows drop from your right hand” (verse 3)?

Where will Gog, the troops, and nations fall (verse 4)?

What will happen “in the open field” (verse 5)?

When will “they know that I am the Lord” (verse 6)?

What will God make known among the people of Israel (verse 7)?

Who declares that “it will surely take place” (verse 8)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about what God can do?

John 10:22-30 - New International Version (NIV)

²² Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, ²³ and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. ²⁴ The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

²⁵ Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, ²⁶ but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. ²⁷ My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.”

What came in the winter (verse 22)?

Where was Jesus walking (verse 23)?

What did the Jews want Jesus to plainly tell them (verse 24)?

How did they react to what Jesus told them (verse 25)?

What testified about Jesus (verse 25)?

Why don’t they believe (verse 26)?

Who listens to Jesus’s voice (verse 27)?

What does Jesus give to those who follow Him (verse 28)?

Who can snatch those who follow Jesus from the Father’s hand (verse 29)?

Who is one (verse 30)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about what God can do?

In your opinion, how does the power of the Sovereign Lord to lead and destroy Gog in Ezekiel 39:1-8 compare with the power of Jesus in John 10:22-30 to grant eternal life?

1 John 3:7-10 – New International Version (NIV)

⁷ Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. ⁸ The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. ⁹ No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. ¹⁰ This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.

What warning does John give his children of the faith (verse 7)?

Who is righteous (verse 7)?

Who is “of the devil” (verse 8)?

Why did the Son of God appear (verse 8)?

Who cannot “continue to sin” (verse 9)?

Who is “not God’s child” (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about what God can do?

In your opinion, what is the difference between doing what God wants you to, like Gog in Ezekiel 39:1-8, and doing what is right, as is commanded in 1 John 3:7-10?

In your opinion, how does Jesus in John 10:22-30 help us understand what 1 John 3:7-10 means when it says that “anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child”?

Revelation 16:12-16 – New International Version (NIV)

¹² The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. ¹³ Then I saw three impure spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. ¹⁴ They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.

¹⁵ “Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.”

¹⁶ Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.

Where did the sixth angel pour out his bowl (verse 12)?

Who did that prepare the way for (verse 12)?

Where did the “three impure spirits that looked like frogs” come from (verse 13)?

What did the “three impure spirits” do (verse 14)?

How does Jesus come (verse 15)?

Who is blessed (verse 15)?

Where were the kings gathered together (verse 16)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about what God can do?

In your opinion, how is God turning Gog around and dragging him to his destruction on the mountains and fields of Israel in Ezekiel 39:1-8 similar to what is happening in Revelation 16:12-16?  Do you think the final outcome will be different?

In your opinion, how is the promise of Jesus in John 10:22-30 that no one will be able to snatch away from Him those who follow Him reassure all who witness the demonic spirits performing signs and gathering kings in Revelation 16:12-16?

In your opinion, what does 1 John 3:7-10’s statement “the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” give comfort to those who are born of God as they witness the signs and powers and gathering of the kings at Armageddon in Revelation 16:12-16? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Ezekiel, John, 1 John and Revelation teach us about where true power resides?

In your opinion, how can we move from being people who feel the power of God, like Gog, to being people given life through the power of God?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)