April 23, 2023 – John’s Writings – Finding Jesus in the Babel

Finding Jesus in the Babel

 Going Up or Down? - YouTube   - This is a sermon that has the following scriptures as its basis.

Genesis 11:1-9 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. ² As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.

³ They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. ⁴ Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

⁵ But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. ⁶ The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. ⁷ Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”

⁸ So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. ⁹ That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

How many languages did the world have (verse 1)?

Where did the people settle (verse 2)?

What did they use instead of stone and mortar (verse 3)?

Why were they building a city “with a tower that reaches to the heavens” (verse 4)?

Who came to see the city and the tower (verse 5)?

In your opinion what is meant by “if as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them?” (verse 6)?

How was the Lord going to change things (verse 7)?

Where did the Lord scatter the people (verse 8)?

Why is the place called Babel (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about finding what we are seeking?

John 10:31-42 - New International Version (NIV)

³¹ Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, ³² but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”

³³ “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”

³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”’? ³⁵ If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside— ³⁶ what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? ³⁷ Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. ³⁸ But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” ³⁹ Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.

⁴⁰ Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed, ⁴¹ and many people came to him. They said, “Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true.” ⁴² And in that place many believed in Jesus.

What did Jesus’s Jewish opponents do (verse 31)?

How did Jesus respond (verse 32)?

Why did the Jewish opponents say they were going to stone Jesus (verse 33)?

What did Jesus say was “written in your Law” (verse 34)?

In your opinion, who was Jesus suggesting that those who were picking up the stones were (verses 35 and 36)?

When were they to believe Jesus (verse 37)?

What were they to believe in even if they did not believe Jesus (verse 38)?

How did they react to Jesus’s words (verse 39)?

Where did Jesus go next (verse 40)?

What did the people who came to Jesus say (verse 41)?

How did they react to Jesus (verse 42)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about finding what we are seeking?

In your opinion, which of the groups of people who react to Jesus in John 10:31-48 were like the people of Genesis 11:1-9?

1 John 3:19-24 – New International Version (NIV)

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.

How do we know that we “belong to the truth” (verses 19 and 21)?

Who is greater than our hearts (verse 20)?

What does God know (verse 20)?

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

In your opinion, what does it mean to “keep his commands and do what pleases him” (verse 22)?

What is His command (verse 23)?

Who “lives in him” (verse 24)?

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 finding what we are seeking?

In your opinion, how does the motive of those who were building the tower in Genesis 11:1-9 contrast with the instructions of 1 John 3:19-24?

In your opinion, which group of people from John 10:31-42 would be more likely to follow the instructions of 1 John 3:19-24?  Why?

Revelation 17:1-6 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters. ² With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.”

³ Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. ⁴ The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. ⁵ The name written on her forehead was a mystery:

babylon the great

the mother of prostitutes

and of the abominations of the earth.

⁶ I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus.

Who came to John (verse 1)?

What did he want to show John (verse 1)?

Who was “intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries” (verse 2)?

Where did the angel carry John (verse 3)?

What was the woman sitting on (verse 3)?

In your opinion, what does Revelation 12:3 or Revelation 13:1 help us understand more about the beast the woman was sitting on (verse 3)?

How was the woman dressed (verse 4)?

What was she holding (verse 4)?

Where is the name “Babylon the Great – The Mother of Prostitutes – And of the Abominations of the Earth” written (verse 5)?

What was the woman drunk on (verse 6)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about finding what we are seeking?

In your opinion, what is the relationship between the tower of Genesis 11:1-9 and the woman of Revelation 17:1-6?

In your opinion, who, in John 10:31-42, is “intoxicated with the wine of” the woman on the scarlet beast in Revelation 17:1-6?  Do you think they would view their action in this way?

In your opinion, how can the simple command to “believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us” help us navigate the challenges of the intoxicating wine the woman in Revelation 17:1-6 offers? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Genesis, John, 1 John and Revelation help us recognize about following the One who loved and died to rise again or seeking to make a name for ourselves?

In your opinion, how do we find rest for our hearts in a world which “Babels” about the greatness of Babylon?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

January 13, 2019 – Looking Backward and Forward from Zechariah – Making a Name or Patiently Enduring

-            The

Making a Name or Patiently Enduring

 Genesis 11:1-9 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. ² As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.

³ They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. ⁴ Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

⁵ But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. ⁶ The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. ⁷ Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”

⁸ So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. ⁹ That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

What did the “whole world” have (verse 1)?

Where did people settle (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why did they say “let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly” (verse 3)?

Why did the people want “a tower that reaches to the heavens” (verse 4)?

Who came “to see the city and the tower the people were building” (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why would it be bad for the world to have one people for whom “nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them” (verse 6)?

How did the Lord propose to keep the world from being one people for whom “nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them” (verse 7)?

Where did the Lord scatter the people (verse 8)?

Why was the city called Babel (verse 9)?

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

Zechariah 5:5-11 - New International Version (NIV)           

⁵ Then the angel who was speaking to me came forward and said to me, “Look up and see what is appearing.”

⁶ I asked, “What is it?”

He replied, “It is a basket.” And he added, “This is the iniquity of the people throughout the land.”

⁷ Then the cover of lead was raised, and there in the basket sat a woman! ⁸ He said, “This is wickedness,” and he pushed her back into the basket and pushed its lead cover down on it.

⁹ Then I looked up—and there before me were two women, with the wind in their wings! They had wings like those of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between heaven and earth.

¹⁰ “Where are they taking the basket?” I asked the angel who was speaking to me.

¹¹ He replied, “To the country of Babylonia to build a house for it. When the house is ready, the basket will be set there in its place.”

Who told Zechariah to “look up and see what is appearing” (verse 5)?

What is the basket (verse 6)?

Who was in the basket (verse 7)?

About whom did the angel say “this is wickedness” (verse 8)?

What did the two women with wings “like those of a stork” do (verse 9)?

What did Zechariah ask the angel (verse 10)?

In your opinion, why is the woman being taken to “the country of Babylonia” (verse 11)?

When will the basket be set “there in its place” (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, is there a connection between the city of Babel of Genesis 11:1-9 and the country of Babylonia of Zechariah 5:5-11, and if so what is the connection?

John 12:20-29 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁰ Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. ²¹ They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” ²² Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

²³ Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴ Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. ²⁵ Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶ Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

²⁷ “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. ²⁸ Father, glorify your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” ²⁹ The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.

Who “went up to worship at the festival” (verse 20)?

What did they request of Philip (verse 21)?

In your opinion, what does Jesus mean when He says “the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (verse 23)?

What must happen for a single seed to produce many seeds (verse 24)?

Who will keep their life in the world “for eternal life” (verse 25)?

What must the one who serves Jesus do (verse 26)?

In your opinion, why had Jesus come (verse 27)?

Whose name did Jesus ask the Father to glorify (verse 28)?

Where did the voice come from that said “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again” (verse 28)?

What did the crowd say they heard (verse 29)?

What did the others hear (verse 29)?

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

In your opinion, what is the difference between the motivation of the people who plan to build and tower in Genesis 11:1-9 and Jesus in John 12:20-29?

In your opinion, why wasn’t taking wickedness to Babylonia in Zechariah 5:5-11 effective in removing all wickedness and how might the hour in which the Son of Man is glorfiedin John 12:20-29 lead to a different outcome?

Revelation 14:6-13 – New International Version (NIV)

⁶ Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. ⁷ He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

⁸ A second angel followed and said, “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,’ which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”

⁹ A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, ¹⁰ they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. ¹¹ And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” ¹² This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.

¹³ Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”

“Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”

What did the angel have to proclaim “to every nation, tribe, language and people” (verse 6)?

Who does the angel say is to be worshiped (verse 7)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to say that Babylon the Great “made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries” (verse 8)?

What will anyone who “worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on the forehead or on their hand” drink (verses 9 and 10)?

How long will the “smoke of their torment” rise (verse 11)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to have “patient endurance” (verse 12)?

Who does the voice from heaven say is blessed (verse 13)?

Why does the Spirit say they “will rest from their labor” (verse 13)?

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

In your opinion, what does Babylon the Great’s “maddening wine of her adulteries” that is discussed in Revelation 14:6-13 have in common with the desire to “make a name for ourselves” that the people from Babel had in Genesis 11:1-9?

In your opinion, what is the significance that in Zechariah 5:5-11 we see “wickedness” being taken to the country of Babylonia where a house will be built for it and in that Revelation 14:6-13 we are told that “Babylon the Great” who had made the nations drink the “maddening wine of her adulteries” has fallen?

In your opinion, how is hour that Jesus came for, the hour in which the Son of Man was “to be glorified”, in John 12:20-29, related to the “eternal gospel” the angel was proclaiming to all who live on the earth in Revelation 14:6-13?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Genesis, Zechariah, John and Revelation teach us about the conflict that each of us have between making “a name for ourselves” and remaining faithful to Jesus?

In your opinion, how can we live in “patient endurance” today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

January 22, 2017 – Genesis and John (Gospel and Revelation) – Taking Hold of Eternal Life (Or Not)

Taking Hold of Eternal Life (Or Not)

Genesis 11:1-9 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. ² As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.

³ They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. ⁴ Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

⁵ But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. ⁶ The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. ⁷ Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”

⁸ So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. ⁹ That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

What did the “whole world” have (verse 1)?

Where did the people settle (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why did they use brick instead of stone (verse 3)?

Why were they going to make a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens (verse 4)?

What did the Lord do to see the city and the tower the people were building (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what does God mean when He says “nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them” (verse 6)?

How did the Lord interrupt the people’s plan (verse 7)?

When did they stop building the city (verse 8)?

Why was the city called Babel (verse 9)?

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

John 12:42-45 - New International Version (NIV)

⁴² Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; ⁴³ for they loved human praise more than praise from God.

⁴⁴ Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. ⁴⁵ The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. ⁴⁶ I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

Who believed in Jesus (verse 42)?

Why did they not “openly acknowledge their faith” (verse 42)?

What did they love more than “praise from God” (verse 43)?

In your opinion, what does Jesus mean when He says “whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me” (verse 44)?

Who does the one who looks at Jesus see (verse 45)?

Why did Jesus come into the world (verse 46)?

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

In your opinion, what do the people who wanted a name for themselves in Genesis 11:1-9 have in common with the people who were afraid to acknowledge Jesus because the thought the Pharisees might put them out of the synagogue in John 12:42-45?

1 Timothy 6:6-16 - New International Version (NIV)

⁶ But godliness with contentment is great gain. ⁷ For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. ⁸ But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. ⁹ Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

¹¹ But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. ¹² Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. ¹³ In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you ¹⁴ to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵ which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, ¹⁶ who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.

What is great gain (verse 6)?

What will we take from the world (verse 7)?

How will Paul respond to having food and clothing (verse 8)?

Who falls “into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires” (verse 9)?

What is the “love of money” (verse 10)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says that who have wandered from the faith have “pierced themselves with many griefs” (verse 10)?

What did Paul instruct Timothy to pursue (verse 11)?

What was Timothy called to (verse 12)?

Who gives life to everything (verse 13)?

How long was Timothy to keep the command (verse 14)?

When will Jesus appear (verse 15)?

Who is immortal and lives in unapproachable light (verses 15 and 16)?

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

In your opinion, what is the difference between the choice that the leaders who don’t openly acknowledge Jesus have in John 12:42-45 and the choice between loving money or pursuing godliness that Paul is discussing with Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:6-16?

In your opinion, what can Paul’s discussion in 1 Timothy 6:6-16 help us to understand about the decision to build a city and temple in Genesis 11:1-9?

Revelation 18:9-20 – New International Version (NIV)

⁹ “When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her. ¹⁰ Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry:

“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city,
    you mighty city of Babylon!
In one hour your doom has come!’

¹¹ “The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes anymore— ¹² cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; ¹³ cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and human beings sold as slaves.

¹⁴ “They will say, ‘The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your luxury and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered.’ ¹⁵ The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand far off, terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn ¹⁶ and cry out:

“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city,
    dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet,
    and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls!
¹⁷ In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!’

“Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off. ¹⁸ When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, ‘Was there ever a city like this great city?’ ¹⁹ They will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and mourning cry out:

“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city,
    where all who had ships on the sea
    became rich through her wealth!
In one hour she has been brought to ruin!’

²⁰ “Rejoice over her, you heavens!
    Rejoice, you people of God!
    Rejoice, apostles and prophets!
For God has judged her
    with the judgment she imposed on you.”

How will the kings of the earth “who committed adultery with her” respond to the smoke of her burning (verse 9)?

How fast has Babylon’s doom come (verse 10)?

Why will the merchants of the earth “weep and morn over her” (verse 11)?

How would you sum up the cargos that are listed (verses 12 and 13)?

In your opinion, what do the merchants mean when they say “the fruit you longed for is gone from you” (verse 14)?

What terrifies the merchants who gained their wealth from Babylon (verse 15)?

How do the merchants describe the great city (verse 16)?

Where will the sea captains and all who earn their living from the sea stand (verse 17)?

What will they exclaim (verse 18)?

How did the city benefit “all who had ships on the sea” (verse 19)?

Who is to rejoice (verse 20)?

Why are they to rejoice (verse 20)?

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

In your opinion, what does Paul’s discussion in 1 Timothy 6:6-16 show us about the motivation of all those who are crying “Woe!” in Revelation 18:9-20?

In your opinion, how are the choices people made prior to the destruction of Babylon in Revelation 18:9-20 that lead them to cry “Woe!” or the choices people made prior to the destruction of Babylon that led them to be commanded to rejoice similar to the choice that the people of John 12:42-45 were making?

In your opinion, what is the significance of the people who were building the city and tower on the plain of Shinar to “make a name for” themselves being scattered over the face of the earth in Genesis 11:1-9 and that the people who shared the luxury or sold precious things to, or who transported the goods to Babylon (which is also on the plain of Shinar) standing far off when the cry “Woe” in Revelation 18:9-20?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Genesis, John, 1 Timothy and Revelation help us understand about choices and consequences?

In your opinion, how do these passages help us pursue godliness?                                                                 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)