March 17, 2019 – Looking Backward and Forward from Zechariah – From a Cave to Being a Dwelling for the Holy Spirit

 From a Cave to Being a Dwelling for the Holy Spirit

1 Kings 19:9-18 - New International Version (NIV)

⁹ There he went into a cave and spent the night.

And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

¹⁰ He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

¹¹ The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. ¹² After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. ¹³ When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

¹⁴ He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

¹⁵ The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. ¹⁶ Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. ¹⁷ Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. ¹⁸ Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”

Who ask Elijah “what are you doing here” (verse 9)?

Who had Elijah been zealous for (verse 10)?


What have the Israelites rejected (verse 10)?


Who was not in the powerful wind or in the earthquake (verse 11)?


In your opinion, what is the significance of the gentle whisper (verse 12)?


What did Elijah do when he heard the gentle whisper (verse 13)?


What had the Israelites done (verse 14)?


Who is trying to kill Elijah (verse 14)?


In your opinion, why is it important for Elijah to “go back the way you came” (verse 15)?


What was Elijah to anoint Jehu to be (verse 16)?


What was Elijah to anoint Elisha to do (verse 16)?


How many does the Lord have in reserve “whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him” (verse 18)?


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

Zechariah 10:1-12 - New International Version (NIV)         

¹ Ask the Lord for rain in the springtime;
    it is the Lord who sends the thunderstorms.
He gives showers of rain to all people,
    and plants of the field to everyone.
² The idols speak deceitfully,
    diviners see visions that lie;
they tell dreams that are false,
    they give comfort in vain.
Therefore the people wander like sheep
    oppressed for lack of a shepherd.

³ “My anger burns against the shepherds,
    and I will punish the leaders;
for the Lord Almighty will care
    for his flock, the people of Judah,
    and make them like a proud horse in battle.
⁴ From Judah will come the cornerstone,
    from him the tent peg,
from him the battle bow,
    from him every ruler.
⁵ Together they will be like warriors in battle
    trampling their enemy into the mud of the streets.
They will fight because the Lord is with them,
    and they will put the enemy horsemen to shame.

⁶ “I will strengthen Judah
    and save the tribes of Joseph.
I will restore them
    because I have compassion on them.
They will be as though
    I had not rejected them,
for I am the Lord their God
    and I will answer them.
⁷ The Ephraimites will become like warriors,
    and their hearts will be glad as with wine.
Their children will see it and be joyful;
    their hearts will rejoice in the Lord.
⁸ I will signal for them
    and gather them in.
Surely I will redeem them;
    they will be as numerous as before.
⁹ Though I scatter them among the peoples,
    yet in distant lands they will remember me.
They and their children will survive,
    and they will return.
¹⁰ I will bring them back from Egypt
    and gather them from Assyria.
I will bring them to Gilead and Lebanon,
    and there will not be room enough for them.
¹¹ They will pass through the sea of trouble;
    the surging sea will be subdued
    and all the depths of the Nile will dry up.
Assyria’s pride will be brought down
    and Egypt’s scepter will pass away.
¹² I will strengthen them in the Lord
    and in his name they will live securely,”
declares the Lord.

Who gives “showers of rain to all people” (verse 1)?

Why do “the people wander like sheep oppressed for lack of a shepherd” (verse 2)?


Who will “the Lord Almighty” care for (verse 3)?


What will come from Judah (verse 4)?


Why will the Lord restore the “tribes of Joseph” (verse 6)?


In your opinion, why is it significant that in this message the Lord uses the word “redeem” (verse 8)?


Where will the Lord be remembered (verse 9)?


What will the returning people pass through (verse 11)?


How will they be strengthened (verse 12)?


How will they live securely (verse 12)?


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


In your opinion, how are the circumstances of the remnant that the Lord tells Elijah has been reserved in 1 Kings 10:9-18 and the people who will remember the Lord in distant lands in Zechariah 10:1-12 similar?


John 1:29-34 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁹ The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ ³¹ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

³² Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. ³³ And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”

Who does John say is “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (verse 29)?

In your opinion, what does John mean when he says the “man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me” (verse 30)?

Why did John come “baptizing with water” (verse 31)?

What did John see (verse 32)?

Who will “baptize with the Holy Spirit” (verse 33)?

Who does John say that Jesus is (verse 34)?

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

In your opinion, how is the Lord passing by Elijah as the “gentle whisper” in 1 Kings 19:9-18 similar to Jesus being revealed to John the Baptist through the Spirit coming “down from heaven as a dove” in John 1:29-34?

In your opinion, how does Zechariah speaking of the Lord redeeming those who were wandering “like sheep oppressed for lack of a shepherd” in Zechariah 10:1-12 begin to help us understand why John the Baptist said that Jesus came as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” in John 1:29-34?


Ephesians 2:13-22 – New International Version (NIV)

¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

¹⁴ For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, ¹⁵ by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, ¹⁶ and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. ¹⁷ He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. ¹⁸ For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

¹⁹ Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. ²¹ In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. ²² And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Who has been “brought near by the blood of Christ” (verse 13)?

What has Jesus destroyed (verse 14)?


How has Jesus set aside “the law with its commands and regulations” (verse 15)?


How did Jesus “reconcile both of them to God” (verse 16)?


Who did Jesus preach peace to  (verse 17)?


How do we have “access to the Father by one Spirit” (verse 18)?


In your opinion, who are “no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household” (verse 19)?


Who is the “chief cornerstone” (verse 20)?


What “is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord” (verse 21)?


Who is “being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit” (verse 22)?


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


In your opinion, how does God address Elijah’s loneliness as His follower in 1 Kings 19:9-18 and a Christians feeling of isolation in Ephesians 2:13-22?


In your opinion, what promise does God fulfill in Ephesians 2:13-22 that was made to those who “wander like sheep oppressed for lack of a shepherd” in Zechariah 10:1-12?


your opinion, how does Ephesians 2:13-22 help us understand what Jesus had to do to be able to “baptize with the Holy Spirit” as promised by John the Baptist in John 1:29-34?


In your opinion, what do these passages from 1 Kings, Zechariah, John and Ephesians teach us about the provision of God?


In your opinion, how can we move from being isolated people to becoming part of the “holy temple in the Lord” and “a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit”?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

September 4, 2016 – Teachings from the Rock – Clever Stories or Eyewitnesses

Clever Stories or Eyewitnesses

1 Kings 19:8-18 – New International Version (NIV)

⁸ So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. ⁹ There he went into a cave and spent the night.

And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

¹⁰ He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

¹¹ The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. ¹² After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. ¹³ When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

¹⁴ He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

¹⁵ The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. ¹⁶ Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. ¹⁷ Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. ¹⁸ Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”

Where did Elijah travel to (verse 8)?

What came to Elijah as he spent the night in a cave (verse 9)?

How does Elijah contrast his behavior with the rest of the Israelites (verse 10)?

Why was Elijah to “go out and stand on the mountain” (verse 11)?

In your opinion, why was the Lord not in the powerful wind, or the earthquake, on in the fire, but in the gentle whisper (verses 11 and 12)?

What did Elijah do when he recognized the Lord in the gentle whisper (verse 13)?

What did the Lord ask Elijah (verse 13)?

In your opinion, why does Elijah answer God in exactly the same way in verses 10 and 14?

Who is Elijah supposed to anoint king over Aram (verse 15)?

Who is Elijah supposed to anoint king over Israel (verse 16)?

What position is Elisha to be anointed to (verse 16)?

What were these three people supposed to accomplish (verse 17)?

Why are the seven thousand special (verse 18)?

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

Mark 9:1-10 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.”

² After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. ³ His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. ⁴ And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.

⁵ Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” ⁶ (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)

⁷ Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”

⁸ Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.

⁹ As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. ¹⁰ They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what “rising from the dead” meant.

What will “some who are standing here” not taste before the “kingdom of God has come with power” (verse 1)?

Who went with Jesus up a high mountain (verse 2)?

What happened to Jesus there (verse 2)?

In your opinion, what does it mean that Jesus clothes “became dazzling white” (verse 3)?

Who else appeared and talked to Jesus (verse 4)?

What did Peter suggest to Jesus (verse 5)?

Why did Peter not know what to say (verse 6)?

What did the voice from the cloud say (verse 7)?

Then, who did they see when they looked around (verse 8)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus order them not to tell anyone what they had seen “until the Son of Man had risen from the dead” (verse 9)?

What did the disciples discuss (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, why did Elijah go to Horeb, the mountain of God, to meet with God in 1 Kings 19:8-18 and Jesus take Peter, James and John up on the mountain to meet Moses and Elijah and hear the voice of God in Mark 9:1-10?

2 Timothy 4:1-8 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: ² Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. ³ For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. ⁴ They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. ⁵ But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

⁶ For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸ Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

Who does Paul give Timothy a charge in the presence of (verse 1)?

What is Timothy to preach (verse 2)?

When was Timothy to be prepared (verse 2)?

What will people not put up with in a time to come (verse 3)?

In your opinion, what will their “itching ears” want to hear (verse 4)?

What was Timothy to do “in all situations” (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says he is “being poured out like a drink offering” (verse 6)?

What three things has Paul done (verse 7)?

Who will award Paul the crown of righteousness (verse 8)?

Who else will receive the crown of righteousness (verse 8)?

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

In your opinion, will the people in the time to come that Paul talked about in 2 Timothy 4:1-8 listen to the Father in Mark 9:1-10 who said “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”?

In your opinion, what is the difference between Paul and Elijah that lets Paul in 2 Timothy 4:1-8 appear to welcome “being poured out like a drink offering” and Elijah in 1 Kings 19:8-18 to be so upset that he is the only one left and they are trying to kill him too?

2 Peter 1:12-18 – New International Version (NIV)

¹² So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. ¹³ I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, ¹⁴ because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. ¹⁵ And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.

¹⁶ For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. ¹⁷ He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” ¹⁸ We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.

In your opinion, why would Peter “always remind you of these things” even though “you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have” (verse 12)?

How long does Peter think it is right to “refresh your memory” (verse 13)?

What will Peter soon do (verse 14)?

When does Peter expect his efforts to help the readers “remember these things” (verse 15)?

In your opinion, what is the difference between following “cleverly devised stories” and being “eyewitnesses of his majesty” in telling about the coming of Jesus Christ in power (verse 16)?

What did Jesus receive from God the Father (verse 17)?

What did the voice from the Majestic Glory say (verse 17)?

Where were they when they heard the voice (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, why would the people that Paul says in 2 Timothy 4:1-8 “will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear” prefer the “cleverly devised stories” instead of eyewitness accounts that Peter talked about in 2 Peter 1:12-18?

In your opinion, what does Peter understand about Jesus being transfigured on the mountain when he writes the passage in 2 Peter 1:12-18 that he did not understand when he, James and John witnessed the transfiguration in Mark 9:1-10?

In your opinion, how does Elijah in 1 Kings 19:8-18 hearing God in the gentle whisper, but not the mighty wind, the earthquake or the fire and Peter hearing the voice of God saying “this is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” when Jesus was transfigured help us to understand today to be firmly established in the truth about God today?

In your opinion, what do these passages from 1 Kings, Mark, 2 Timothy, and 2 Peter tell us about the truth about people and God?

In your opinion, what do these passages show us about ourselves today?

August 30, 2015 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Wise and Wicked / Special and Common

Matthew 28:18-20 – New International Version (NIV) – The Great Commission

¹⁸ “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Wise and Wicked / Special and Common

Matthew 24:45-51 – New International Version (NIV)

⁴⁵ “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? ⁴⁶ It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. ⁴⁷ Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁸ But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ ⁴⁹ and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. ⁵⁰ The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. ⁵¹ He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

What has the master put the wise servant in charge of (verse 45)?

When will it be “good for that servant” (verse 46)?

How will that servant be rewarded (verse 47)?

What does the wicked servant say to himself (verse 48)?

In your opinion, why would the wicked servant “beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards” (verse 49)?

When will the master come home (verse 50)?

How will the wicked servant be treated (verse 51)?

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

1 Kings 19:9-18 - New International Version (NIV)

⁹ “There he went into a cave and spent the night.

And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

¹⁰ He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

¹¹ The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. ¹² After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. ¹³ When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

¹⁴ He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

¹⁵ The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. ¹⁶ Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. ¹⁷ Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. ¹⁸ Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”

Where was Elijah when the “word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah”” (verse 9)?

How has Elijah been “for the Lord God Almighty” (verse 10)?

What have the Israelites done (verse 10)?

In your opinion, why does Elijah feel that he is “the only one left” (verse 10)?

Where is Elijah to go (verse 11)?

Was the Lord in the “great and powerful wind” (verse 11)?

Was the Lord in the earthquake (verse 11)?

Was the Lord in the fire (verse 12)?

In your opinion, what can we learn from the fact that the Lord was in the “gentle whisper” and not the powerful wind, the earthquake or the fire (verse 12)?

How did Elijah respond to the gentle whisper (verse 13)?

In your opinion, why does the Lord ask the same question, and Elijah give the same response (verse 14)?

In your opinion, why did God instruct Elijah to anoint the three different people to the three different positions (verses 15, 16 and 17)?

How did God reassure Elijah that he was not “the only one left” (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, what does the statement of Elijah “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” in 1 Kings 19:9-18 show us about what the faithful servant of Matthew 24:45-51 (or faithful servants of today) might feel?

James 4:4-10 - New International Version (NIV)

⁴ “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. ⁵ Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? ⁶ But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

“God opposes the proud
    but shows favor to the humble.”

⁷ Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

What does friendship with the world mean (verse 4)?

Who becomes an enemy of God (verse 4)?

How does God long for the spirit He has caused to dwell in us (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what does James want us to learn from the quote “God opposes the proud, but shows favor to the humble” (verse 6)?

How should we respond to God (verse 7)?

How should we respond to the devil (verse 7)?

What happens if we “come near to God” (verse 8)?

In your opinion, what does James mean when he says “wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (verse 8)?

What should laughter be changed to (verse 9)?

How will God treat us if we humble ourselves before Him (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, how does Elijah’s situation in 1 Kings 19:9-18 illustrate the enmity between God and the world that James wrote about in James 4:4-10?

In your opinion, how do the actions of the two servants that Jesus talked about in Matthew 24:45-51 provide an illustration for the James’s discussion proud and the humble in James 4:4-10?

2 Timothy 2:20-26 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁰ “In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. ²¹ Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.

²² Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. ²³ Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. ²⁴ And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. ²⁵ Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, ²⁶ and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.”

What kind of articles are there in a large house (verse 20)?

How are the purposes of the articles different (verse 20)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says “those who cleanse themselves from the latter” (verse 21)?

What will those who “cleanse themselves from the latter” and are “instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master” be prepared to do (verse 21)?

How should we react to the “evil desires of youth” (verse 22)?

What should we pursue “along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart” (verse 22)?

Why shouldn’t we have anything to do with “foolish and stupid arguments” (verse 23)?

In your opinion, why should the “Lord’s servant” not be quarrelsome but “be kind to everyone” (verse 24)?

Why should opponents be “gently instructed” (verse 25)?

What does Paul tell Timothy that opponents need to “come to their senses and escape” from (verse 26)?

In your opinion, why does Paul tell Timothy that opponents have been taken “captive to do his will” (verse 26)?

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

In your opinion, how can both James and Paul be right when James says that “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble” in James 4:4-10 while Paul in 2 Timothy 2:20-26 says that those who cleanse themselves from “common use” will be instruments of gold and silver used for special purposes?

In your opinion, what can the seven thousand in 1 Kings 19:9-18 that God had in reserve in Israel “whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him” show us about fleeing “the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart” as Paul instructs Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:20-26?

In your opinion, what can the wise servant and the wicked servant that Jesus talks about in Matthew 24:45-51 help us to understand about the “articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use” of 2 Timothy 2:20-26?

In your opinion, what do these passages, from Matthew, 1 Kings, James and 2 Timothy show us about the Great Commission?

Next, back to Matthew 25:1 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)