August 4, 2024 – Isaiah in the New Testament – Victory in Jesus

Victory in Jesus

Isaiah 66:17-24 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ “Those who consecrate and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one who is among those who eat the flesh of pigs, rats and other unclean things—they will meet their end together with the one they follow,” declares the Lord.

¹⁸ “And I, because of what they have planned and done, am about to come and gather the people of all nations and languages, and they will come and see my glory.

¹⁹ “I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations. ²⁰ And they will bring all your people, from all the nations, to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord—on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,” says the Lord. “They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to the temple of the Lord in ceremonially clean vessels. ²¹ And I will select some of them also to be priests and Levites,” says the Lord.

²² “As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me,” declares the Lord, “so will your name and descendants endure. ²³ From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me,” says the Lord. ²⁴ “And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; the worms that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.”

Who do those “who consecrate and purify themselves” follow (verse 17)?

 

What will happen to them (verse 17)?

Who is the Lord “about to come and gather” (verse 18)?

What will those the Lord sends “proclaim” (verse 19)?

What will those who are sent bring “to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord” (verse 20)?

Who will the Lord select “to be priests and Levites” (verse 21)?

What will “endure” before the Lord (verse 22)?

Who will “come and bow down before” the Lord (verse 23)?

What will the worms that do not die eat (verse 24)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about being victorious?

Mark 9:42-50 – New International Version (NIV)

⁴² “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea. ⁴³ If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.  ⁴⁵ And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell.  ⁴⁷ And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, ⁴⁸ where

“‘the worms that eat them do not die,
    and the fire is not quenched.’

⁴⁹ Everyone will be salted with fire.

⁵⁰ “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”

Who are “these little ones” (verse 42)?

What is better than “with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out” (verse 43)?

What is better than “to have two feet and be thrown into hell” (verse 45)?

What should you do “if your eye causes you to stumble” (verse 47)?

Where is the fire “not quenched” (verse 48)?

What will everyone “be salted with” (verse 49)?

What should believers have (verse 50)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about being victorious?

In your opinion, how does Jesus in Mark 9:42-50 magnify the warning given in Isaiah 66:17-24?

1 Corinthians 6:7-11 - New International Version (NIV)

⁷ The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? ⁸ Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers and sisters. ⁹ Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men ¹⁰ nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

What proved that Corinthian Christians were “completely defeated already” (verse 7)?

Who cheated and did wrong (verse 8)?

Who did they cheat and do wrong to (verse 8)?

What will “wrongdoers” not inherit (verse 9)?

What will “the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers” not do (verses 9 and 10)?

What had changed for the Corinthian Christians, who were these things (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about being victorious?

In your opinion, how is the sign that Isaiah 66:17-24 said would be set identified in 1 Corinthians 6:7-11?

In your opinion, how are the vivid examples of what it is better to do than be thrown into hell in Mark 9:42-50 replaced with what is actually necessary for people to “inherit the kingdom of God” in 1 Corinthians 6:7-11? 

Revelation 21:1-8 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

⁵ He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

⁶ He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. ⁷ Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. ⁸ But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

What did John see (verse 1)?

Where was “the Holy City, the new Jerusalem” coming from (verse 2)?

What declared “God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them” (verse 3)?

Why will there be “no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain” (verse 4)?

Who said “I am making everything new” (verse 5)?

What will be the cost for the thirsty to receive water “from the spring of the water of life” (verse 6)?

Who will “inherit all this” (verse 7)?

What is “the second death” (verse 8)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about being victorious?

In your opinion, how is the concept of “the new heavens and the new earth” introduced in Isaiah 66:17-24 fleshed out in Revelation 21:1-8?

In your opinion, what is the difference between being “salted with fire” that Jesus mentions in Mark 9:42-50 and being “consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur” of Revelation 21:1-8?

In your opinion, what does 1 Corinthians 6:7-11 teach us about who will suffer the “second death” of Revelation 21:1-8?  And what must happen to have the “water of life” instead?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Mark, 1 Corinthians and Revelation teach us about the choices we need to make to inherit the “new heavens and the new earth”?

In your opinion, what does it mean to be victorious today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

July 28, 2024 – Isaiah in the New Testament – Building God’s House

Building God’s House

Isaiah 66:1-6 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ This is what the Lord says:

“Heaven is my throne,
    and the earth is my footstool.
Where is the house you will build for me?
    Where will my resting place be?
² Has not my hand made all these things,
    and so they came into being?”
declares the Lord.

“These are the ones I look on with favor:
    those who are humble and contrite in spirit,
    and who tremble at my word.
³ But whoever sacrifices a bull
    is like one who kills a person,
and whoever offers a lamb
    is like one who breaks a dog’s neck;
whoever makes a grain offering
    is like one who presents pig’s blood,
and whoever burns memorial incense
    is like one who worships an idol.
They have chosen their own ways,
    and they delight in their abominations;
⁴ so I also will choose harsh treatment for them
    and will bring on them what they dread.
For when I called, no one answered,
    when I spoke, no one listened.
They did evil in my sight
    and chose what displeases me.”

⁵ Hear the word of the Lord,
    you who tremble at his word:
“Your own people who hate you,
    and exclude you because of my name, have said,
‘Let the Lord be glorified,
    that we may see your joy!’
    Yet they will be put to shame.
⁶ Hear that uproar from the city,
    hear that noise from the temple!
It is the sound of the Lord
    repaying his enemies all they deserve.

 

Where is the Lord’s throne (verse 1)?

 

What is the earth to the Lord (verse 1)?

What has “made all these things” (verse 2)?

Who does the Lord “look on with favor” (verse 2)?

What have people “chosen” (verse 3)?

Who answered when the Lord called (verse 4)?

Why are the people who “tremble at” the Lord’s word excluded (verse 5)?

What is “that uproar from the city” and “that noise from the temple” (verse 6)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about God’s house?

Luke 11:24-28 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁴ “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ ²⁵ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. ²⁶ Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.”

²⁷ As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.”

²⁸ He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

What does “an impure spirit” do after leaving a person when it does not find a place to rest (verse 24)?

What does it find “when it arrives” (verse 25)?

Why is the “final condition of that person” worse than the first (verse 26)?

Who did the “woman in the crowd” call out as blessed (verse 27)?

Who did Jesus say is blessed (verse 28)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about God’s house?

In your opinion, how would Jesus’s answer to the woman in Luke 11:24-28 been appropriate for all those who Isaiah 66:1-6 was addressed to?

Acts 7:44-60 - New International Version (NIV)

⁴⁴ “Our ancestors had the tabernacle of the covenant law with them in the wilderness. It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen. ⁴⁵ After receiving the tabernacle, our ancestors under Joshua brought it with them when they took the land from the nations God drove out before them. It remained in the land until the time of David, ⁴⁶ who enjoyed God’s favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. ⁴⁷ But it was Solomon who built a house for him.

⁴⁸ “However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says:

⁴⁹ “‘Heaven is my throne,
    and the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house will you build for me?
says the Lord.
    Or where will my resting place be?
⁵⁰ Has not my hand made all these things?’

⁵¹ “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! ⁵² Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— ⁵³ you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”

⁵⁴ When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. ⁵⁵ But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ⁵⁶ “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

⁵⁷ At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, ⁵⁸ dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.

⁵⁹ While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰ Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

What did “our ancestors” have in the wilderness (verse 44)?

Who “drove out” the nations before the ancestors (verse 45)?

Who “asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob” (verse 46)?

Where does “the Most High” not live (verse 48)?

What is heaven (verse 49)?

How are the people Stephen is talking to “just like” their ancestors (verse 51)?

What did they do to the “Righteous One” (verse 52)?

How was the law they received given (verse 53)?

Who was “furious and gnashed their teeth at him” (verse 54)?

How was Stephen filled (verse 55)?

What did Stephen see (verse 56)?

Who covered their ears (verse 57)?

Where did the witnesses lay their coats (verse 58)?

What did Stephen pray (verse 59)?

When did Stephen fall asleep (verse 60)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about God’s house?

In your opinion, how was the conflict between the religious leaders and Stephen in Acts 4:44-59 anticipated in Isaiah 6:1-6?

In your opinion, what does Jesus’s lesson in Luke 11:24-28 help us understand about the leaders of the house of God in Acts 7:44-59? 

1 Corinthians 3:9-17 – New International Version (NIV)

⁹ For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.

¹⁰ By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. ¹¹ For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹² If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, ¹³ their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. ¹⁴ If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.

¹⁶ Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? ¹⁷ If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.

What does Paul say we (the Christian readers) are (verse 9)?

How was Paul able to lay the foundation (verse 10)?

Who is the foundation that is “already laid” (verse 11)?

How will everyone’s work “be shown for what it is” (verse 12 and 13)?

When will the builder “receive a reward” (verse 14)?

What will happen if the builder’s work is destroyed (verse 15)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to be “only as one escaping through the flames” (verse 15)?

Who is “God’s temple” (verse 16)?

What are Christians “together” (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about God’s house?

In your opinion, how does 1 Corinthians 3:9-17 help answer God’s question in Isaiah 66:1-6 “Where is the house you will build for me?”?

In your opinion, what does reading Luke 11:24-28 and 1 Corinthians 3:9-17 help us understand about how we live our choices today?

In your opinion, how does Stephen’s statement that “the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands” followed by Isaiah’s question “What kind of house will you build for me?” in Acts 7:44-59 provide a basis for understanding 1 Corinthians 3:9-17?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Luke, Acts and Hebrews teach us about who builds the house of God?

In your opinion, how do we build God’s house today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

July 21, 2024 – Isaiah in the New Testament – Growing in Grace

Growing in Grace

Isaiah 65:1-9 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ “I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me;
    I was found by those who did not seek me.
To a nation that did not call on my name,
    I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’
² All day long I have held out my hands
    to an obstinate people,
who walk in ways not good,
    pursuing their own imaginations—
³ a people who continually provoke me
    to my very face,
offering sacrifices in gardens
    and burning incense on altars of brick;
⁴ who sit among the graves
    and spend their nights keeping secret vigil;
who eat the flesh of pigs,
    and whose pots hold broth of impure meat;
⁵ who say, ‘Keep away; don’t come near me,
    for I am too sacred for you!’
Such people are smoke in my nostrils,
    a fire that keeps burning all day.

⁶ “See, it stands written before me:
    I will not keep silent but will pay back in full;
    I will pay it back into their laps—
⁷ both your sins and the sins of your ancestors,”
    says the Lord.
“Because they burned sacrifices on the mountains
    and defied me on the hills,
I will measure into their laps
    the full payment for their former deeds.”

⁸ This is what the Lord says:

“As when juice is still found in a cluster of grapes
    and people say, ‘Don’t destroy it,
    there is still a blessing in it,’
so will I do in behalf of my servants;
    I will not destroy them all.
⁹ I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,
    and from Judah those who will possess my mountains;
my chosen people will inherit them,
    and there will my servants live.

 

Who did the Lord reveal Himself to (verse 1)?

 

What has the Lord done “all day long” (verse 2)?

What do the people continually do (verse 3)?

Where do the people sit (verse 4)?

Why do the people warn others to “keep away” (verse 5)?

How will the Lord pay back (verse 6)?

Where will the “full payment” be measured (verse 7)?

Why will the Lord “not destroy them all” (verse 8)?

Who “will inherit” (verse 9)?

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

In your opinion, where do we see God’s grace in this passage?

Luke 20:9-19 – New International Version (NIV)

⁹ He went on to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time. ¹⁰ At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ¹¹ He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. ¹² He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out.

¹³ “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.’

¹⁴ “But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ ¹⁵ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

“What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? ¹⁶ He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”

When the people heard this, they said, “God forbid!”

¹⁷ Jesus looked directly at them and asked, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written:

“‘The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone’?

¹⁸ Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”

¹⁹ The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.

What did the man who planted the vineyard do (verse 9)?

When did he send a servant to the tenants (verse 10)?

How did the tenants treat the second servant (verse 11)?

Who did the tenants wound and throw out (verse 12)?

How did the owner think the tenants might respond to his son (verse 13)?

Why did the tenants decide to kill the son (verse 14)?

“What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them” (verses 15 and 16)?

How did the people respond (verse 16)?

What has become the cornerstone (verse 17)?

Who will be “broken to pieces” (verse 18)?

Why did “teachers of the law and the chief priests” not arrest Jesus (verse 19)?

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

In your opinion, where do we see God’s grace in this passage?

In your opinion, who, in Luke 20:9-19, are the people that God says in Isaiah 65:1-12 are the “obstinate people” and who are the ones who ”found” the Lord?

Romans 10:19-11:7 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” ¹⁷ Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. ¹⁸ But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did:

“Their voice has gone out into all the earth,
    their words to the ends of the world.”

¹⁹ Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? First, Moses says,

“I will make you envious by those who are not a nation;
    I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding.”

²⁰ And Isaiah boldly says,

“I was found by those who did not seek me;
    I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.”

²¹ But concerning Israel he says,

“All day long I have held out my hands
    to a disobedient and obstinate people.”

11 ¹ I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. ² God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: ³ “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”? ⁴ And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” ⁵ So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. ⁶ And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.

⁷ What then? What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain. The elect among them did, but the others were hardened, 

What did “all the Israelites” not do (verse 16)?

Where does faith come from (verse 17)?

“Did they not hear” (verse 18)?

Who did Moses say “I will make you envious” by (verse 19)?

Who did Isaiah say the Lord would be “found by” (verse 20)?

What did Isaiah say about Israel (verse 21)?

How does Paul answer the question “did God reject his people” (verse 1)?

Who “appealed to God against Israel” (verse 2)?

How did the Lord answer the appeal “I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me” (verses 3 and 4)?

How is the remnant of the present time chosen (verse 5)?

Who obtained what they sought (verse 7)?

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

In your opinion, where do we see God’s grace in this passage?

In your opinion, how does Paul in Romans 10:19-11:7 provide hope for all those, in Isaiah 65:1-12 and in the world, who live among “an obstinate people”?

In your opinion, what does Romans 10:19-11:7 help us understand about the people who will receive the vineyard in Luke 20:9-19? 

2 Peter 3:13-18 – New International Version (NIV)

¹³ But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

¹⁴ So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. ¹⁵ Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. ¹⁶ He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

¹⁷ Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. ¹⁸ But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

Where will righteousness dwell (verse 13)?

How should Christians “make every effort to be found” (verse 14)?

What “means salvation” (verse 15)?

Who distorts Paul’s letters and “the other Scriptures, to their own destruction” (verse 16)?

What does Peter instruct Christians be on guard against (verse 17)?

How are Christians to grow (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, where do we see God’s grace in this passage?

In your opinion, how does Peter in 2 Peter 3:13-18 help those who are blessed to be the ones who the Lord in Isaiah 65:1-12 calls “my chosen people” understand what they should “make every effort” to be?

In your opinion, what does 2 Peter 3:13-18 help us understand about the tenants who will lose the vineyard and the tenants who will receive the vineyard in Luke 20:9-19?

In your opinion, what does 2 Peter 3:13-18 help those that Romans 10:19-11:7 calls a “remnant chosen by grace” understand about the source of their salvation?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Luke, Romans and 2 Peter teach us about the attitudes that lead to rejecting God’s grace?

In your opinion, how can we continue to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)