June 22, 2014 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Hiding and Revealing

June 22, 2014 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Hiding and Revealing

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.”

Hiding and Revealing

Matthew 11:25-30 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁵ “At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. ²⁶ Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.

²⁷ “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Who did Jesus praise (verse 25)?

In your opinion, why would something be hidden from “the wise and learned” and yet be revealed to “little children” (verse 25)?

What has been committed to Jesus by the Father (verse 27)?

Who knows the Son (verse 27)?

Who knows the Father (verse 27)?

Where are the weary and burdened to go to receive rest (verse 28)?

In your opinion, why does Jesus talk about finding rest in one sentence and taking His yoke in the next sentence (verses 28 and 29)?

How does Jesus describe Himself (verse 29)?

What will the weary and burdened find in Jesus (verse 29)?

In your opinion, how will the yoke of Jesus be easy and the burden of Jesus be light (verse 30)?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Matthew 11:25-30 show us about the Great Commission?

Psalm 135:13-21 – New International Version (NIV)

¹³ “Your name, Lord, endures forever,
    your renown, Lord, through all generations.
¹⁴ For the Lord will vindicate his people
    and have compassion on his servants.

¹⁵ The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
    made by human hands.
¹⁶ They have mouths, but cannot speak,
    eyes, but cannot see.
¹⁷ They have ears, but cannot hear,
    nor is there breath in their mouths.
¹⁸ Those who make them will be like them,
    and so will all who trust in them.

¹⁹ All you Israelites, praise the Lord;
    house of Aaron, praise the Lord;
²⁰ house of Levi, praise the Lord;
    you who fear him, praise the Lord.
²¹ Praise be to the Lord from Zion,
    to him who dwells in Jerusalem.

Praise the Lord.”

Whose name “endures forever” (verse 13)?

What will the Lord have “on his servants” (verse 14)?

In your opinion, why do people worship idols that other people, “human hands”, make (verse 15)?

Why do the idols of the nations have mouths but can’t speak and have eyes but can’t see (verse 16)?

What does it mean to say “nor is there breath in their mouths” (verse 17)?

In your opinion, why will those who make them and those who trust in them “be like them” (verse 18)?

How are the Israelites, those of the house of Aaron, and those of the house of Levi to respond to the Lord (verses 19 and 20)?

How are those who fear the Lord to respond to the Lord (verse 20)?

In your opinion, why does this Psalm that deals with idols and their ineffectiveness end with the simple statement to “Praise the Lord” (verse 21)?

In your opinion, how does Psalm 135 that says that all who make or trust in idols will become like them help us understand why the Lord of heaven and earth has “hidden these things from the wise and learned” in Matthew 11:25-30?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Psalms show us about the Great Commission?    

1 Corinthians 2:6-16 – New International Version (NIV)

⁶ “We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. ⁷ No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. ⁸ None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. ⁹ However, as it is written:

“What no eye has seen,
    what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”—
    the things God has prepared for those who love him—

¹⁰ these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. ¹¹ For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ¹² What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. ¹³ This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. ¹⁴ The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. ¹⁵ The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, ¹⁶ for,

“Who has known the mind of the Lord
    so as to instruct him?”

But we have the mind of Christ.”

What kind of message does Paul say is being spoken (verse 6)?

In your opinion, why does God destine a mystery that has been hidden for our glory (verse 7)?

How many rulers of the time that Paul lived understood the mystery (verse 8)?

Has any human mind conceived the things that God has prepared for those who love Him (verse 9)?

In your opinion, how can the Spirit of God reveal things that the mind can not conceive (verse 10)?

Who knows the thoughts of God (verse 11)?

Why do we receive the Spirit of God (verse 12)?

How are spiritual realities explained (verse 13)?

Who considers the things that come from the Spirit of God as foolishness (verse 14)?

What does the person with the Spirit make about all things (verse 15)?

What do we, as Christians, have (verse 16)?

In your opinion, what does 1 Corinthians 2:6-16 help us to understand about the people of Psalm 135 who become like the idols they worship?

In your opinion, what does this passage from 1 Corinthians help us to understand about the Jesus said in Matthew 11:25-30 who the Son would reveal the Father to?

In your opinion, what does this passage from 1 Corinthians show us about the Great Commission?

Galatian 5:1 & 13-18 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

¹³ You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. ¹⁴ For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁵ If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

¹⁶ So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”

Why does Christ set us free (verse 1)?

How do we avoid letting ourselves “be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (verse 1)?

What were we called to be (verse 13)?

What should we avoid using our freedom for (verse 13)?

How should we serve each other (verse 13)?

What command fulfills the entire law (verse 14)?

In your opinion, how does biting and devouring each other get us closer to destroying each other (verse 15)?

Where should we walk (verse 16)?

How are the flesh and the Spirit related (verse 17)?

Where are we in the law if we are led by the Spirit (verse 18)?

In your opinion, how does comparing Paul’s discussion of being led by the Spirit in Galatians 5 and his discussion about revelation in 1 Corinthians 2 help us understand both being led and revelation?

In your opinion, what does the conflict between the flesh and the Spirit in Galatians 5 help us to understand about the difference between the idols and God in Psalm 135?

In your opinion, what does Paul’s instructions about freedom in Galatians 5 help us to understand about the yoke and burden that Jesus talked about in Matthew 11:25-30?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Galatians show us about the Great Commission?

Next, back to Matthew 12 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

June 15, 2014 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Hardening or Loving

June 15, 2014 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Hardening or Loving

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.”

Hardening or Loving

Matthew 11:16-24 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ “To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:

¹⁷ “‘We played the pipe for you,
    and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
    and you did not mourn.’

¹⁸ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ ¹⁹ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”

²⁰ Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. ²¹ “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. ²² But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. ²³ And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades. For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. ²⁴ But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

Who is Jesus talking about (verse 16)?

In your opinion, what would “children sitting in the marketplaces” be like (verse 16)?

What did the “others” not do when the pipe was played (verse 17)?

What did the “others” not do when the dirge was sung (verse 17)?

In your opinion, why did “they say” that John had a demon (verse 18)?

In your opinion, why would “they say” that “the Son of Man” was “a glutton and a drunkard” (verse 19)?

Why did Jesus begin to denounce “the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed” (verse 20)?

What did Jesus say that Tyre and Sidon, despised gentile cities, would have done if the miracles performed in Chorazin and Bethsaida had been performed there (verse 21)?

When will it be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon than for Chorazin and Bethsaida (verse 22)?

Where will Capernaum go (verse 23)?

In your opinion, why would Sodom have “remained to this day” if the miracles performed in Capernaum had been performed there (verse 23)?

When will it be more bearable for Sodom than Capernaum (verse 24)?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Matthew 11:16-24 show us about the Great Commission?

Numbers 20:1-13 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.

² Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. ³ They quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord! ⁴ Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this wilderness, that we and our livestock should die here? ⁵ Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!”

⁶ Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. ⁷ The Lord said to Moses, ⁸ “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”

⁹ So Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence, just as he commanded him. ¹⁰ He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” ¹¹ Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

¹² But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”

¹³ These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the Lord and where he was proved holy among them.”

Who arrived at the Desert of Zin (verse 1)?

What was missing at Zin (verse 2)?

How did the people respond to the shortage (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why is the comparison of Zin and Egypt taking place (verses 3, 4 and 5)?

Where did Moses and Aaron go (verse 6)?

What appeared to them (verse 6)?

How did God instruct Moses to get water from the rock (verse 8)?

How did Moses get water from the rock (verses 9, 10 and 11)?

In your opinion, how did Moses and Aaron demonstrate they “did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites” (verse 12)?

What were the consequences to Moses and Aaron (verse 12)?

What was proved at the waters of Meribah (verse 13)?

In your opinion, how do the Israelites at Meribah in Numbers 20:1-13 seem to be like the Israelites that Jesus is talking about in Matthew 11:16-24?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Numbers show us about the Great Commission? 

  

Psalm 95 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
    let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
² Let us come before him with thanksgiving
    and extol him with music and song.

³ For the Lord is the great God,
    the great King above all gods.
⁴ In his hand are the depths of the earth,
    and the mountain peaks belong to him.
⁵ The sea is his, for he made it,
    and his hands formed the dry land.

⁶ Come, let us bow down in worship,
    let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
⁷ for he is our God
    and we are the people of his pasture,
    the flock under his care.

Today, if only you would hear his voice,
⁸ “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah,
    as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness,
⁹ where your ancestors tested me;
    they tried me, though they had seen what I did.
¹⁰ For forty years I was angry with that generation;
    I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,
    and they have not known my ways.’
¹¹ So I declared on oath in my anger,
    ‘They shall never enter my rest.’”

Who is to be sung to for joy (verse 1)?

Who is to be shouted aloud to (verse 1)?

How are we to come before Him (verse 2)?

What is the Lord (verse 3)?

In your opinion, how are the depths of the earth in His hand (verse 4)?

Why is the sea His (verse 5)?

How are we to respond to the Lord our Maker (verse 6)?

What are we to God (verse 7)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to “harden your hearts” (verse 8)?

What did the “ancestors” do at Meribah and Massah (verse 9)?

How did God perceive the people at Meribah and Massah (verse 10)?

Where would the people of Meribah and Massah not go (verse 11)?

In your opinion, what does Psalm 95 help us to understand about the Israelite people at Meribah in Numbers 20:1-13?

In your opinion, what do the people of Meribah and Massah from Psalm 95 have in common with the people of Chorazin and Bethsaida of Matthew 11:16-24?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Psalms show us about the Great Commission?

1 John 4:7-21 – New International Version (NIV)

⁷ “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

¹³ This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴ And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. ¹⁵ If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. ¹⁶ And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. ¹⁷ This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

¹⁹ We love because he first loved us. ²⁰ Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. ²¹ And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.”

Where does love come from (verse 7)?

What can be said about “everyone who loves” (verse 7)?

Why can we say that “whoever does not love does not know God” (verse 8)?

How did God show His love among us (verse 9)?

In your opinion, why is it love, “not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (verse 10)?

Why are we to love (verse 11)?

How is God’s love made complete in us (verse 12)?

Who has God given us that is in us (verse 13)?

Where does anyone who acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God live (verses 15 and 16)?

When love is made complete among us, what will we have on the “day of judgment” (verse 17)?

In your opinion, why does “perfect love drives out fear” (verse 18)?

How is it possible that we love (verse 19)?

What does our hating a brother or sister in Christ show us about our love for God (verse 20)?

How are we to feel about our brother or sister in Christ (verse 21)?

In your opinion, how does in the discussion in 1 John 4:7-21 about loving God help us to avoid the hardening of our hearts in the way that the Israelites did that was explained in Psalm 95?

In your opinion, how does John’s teaching about the way we react to a “brother or sister” help us to understand the way the people of Israel reacted to Moses and Aaron (and to God) in Numbers 20:1-13?

In your opinion, how does John’s instructions on how to “have confidence on the day of judgment” help us to understand and avoid the mistakes of Chorazin and Bethsaida from Matthew 11:16-24?

In your opinion, what does this passage from 1 John show us about the Great Commission?

Next, back to Matthew 11:25 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

June 8, 2014 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Hearing and Refining

June 8, 2014 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Hearing and Refining

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.”

Hearing and Refining

Matthew 11:1-15 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee.

² When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples ³ to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

⁴ Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: ⁵ The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. ⁶ Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

⁷ As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? ⁸ If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. ⁹ Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ¹⁰ This is the one about whom it is written:

“‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
    who will prepare your way before you.’

¹¹ Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹² From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it. ¹³ For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. ¹⁴ And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. ¹⁵ Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

Where did Jesus go to teach and preach after he finished instructing his twelve disciples (verse 1)?

Where was John the Baptist at this time (verse 2)?

What did John send his disciples to ask Jesus (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why did John ask this question (verse 3)?

What were John’s disciples to report to John (verses 4 & 5)?

Who is blessed (verse 6)?

When did Jesus begin to speak about John (verse 7)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus begin his discussion about John with questions (verses 7 & 8 & 9)?

What did Jesus say that John was (verse 9)?

Who does the prophecy that Jesus quoted say that John is (verse 10)?

Even though no one born of women “has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist” how does he compare with those in the kingdom of heaven (verse 11)?

How long has the kingdom of heaven been subjected to violence (verse 12)?

What did “all the Prophets and the Law” do “until John” (verse 13)?

In your opinion, why does Jesus say “if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come” (verse 14)?

Who is supposed to hear (verse 15)?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Matthew 11:1-15 show us about the Great Commission?

Isaiah 29:17-24 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ “In a very short time, will not Lebanon be turned into a fertile field
    and the fertile field seem like a forest?
¹⁸ In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll,
    and out of gloom and darkness
    the eyes of the blind will see.
¹⁹ Once more the humble will rejoice in the Lord;
    the needy will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
²⁰ The ruthless will vanish,
    the mockers will disappear,
    and all who have an eye for evil will be cut down—
²¹ those who with a word make someone out to be guilty,
    who ensnare the defender in court
    and with false testimony deprive the innocent of justice.

²² Therefore this is what the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, says to the descendants of Jacob:

“No longer will Jacob be ashamed;
    no longer will their faces grow pale.
²³ When they see among them their children,
    the work of my hands,
they will keep my name holy;
    they will acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob,
    and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
²⁴ Those who are wayward in spirit will gain understanding;
    those who complain will accept instruction.”

What is the fertile field that Lebanon will be turned into seem like (verse 17)?

Who will hear the words of the scroll (verse 18)?

Who will see out of the gloom and darkness (verse 18)?

In your opinion, why will the humble rejoice in the Lord (verse 19)?

In your opinion, why will the needy rejoice in the Holy One of Israel (verse 19)?

What will the ruthless do (verse 20)?

Who will be cut down (verses 20 & 21)?

In your opinion, what is the significance of identifying the Lord as the one who “redeemed Abraham” (verse 22)?

What three things will “Jacob” do when “they see among them their children, the work of my hands” (verse 23)?

            1)

            2)

            3)

Who will gain understanding (verse 24)?

Who will accept instruction (verse 24)?

In your opinion, since this passage from Isaiah 29:17-24 seems to be referenced by Jesus in His response to John the Baptist in Matthew 11:1-15 what message may Jesus be sending to John the Baptist?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Isaiah show us about the Great Commission?

Malachi 3:1-5 – New International Version (NIV)

¹“I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty.

² But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. ³ He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, ⁴ and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years.

⁵ “So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty.”

Who will be sent (verse 1)?

What will the Lord do (verse 1)?

In your opinion, why will it be hard to “endure the day of his coming” (verse 2)?

Who will the Lord purify (verse 3)?

What will the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem be (verse 4)?

Who will be put on trial (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why does the list of those who God will testify against end in “but do not fear me” (verse 5)?

In your opinion, how do we reconcile the Lord, who in Isaiah 29:17-24 seems to give a message of hope with the Lord, who in Malachi 3:1-5 seems to be giving a message of refining and trail?

In your opinion, what message is Jesus giving to those who were listening to Him in Matthew 11:1-15 when He quotes from Malachi 3:1-5?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Malachi show us about the Great Commission?  

  

Revelation 3:14-22 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. ¹⁵ I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! ¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. ¹⁷ You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. ¹⁸ I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

¹⁹ Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. ²⁰ Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

²¹ To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. ²² Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Whose words are sent to the church in Laodicea (verse 14)?

In your opinion, why would God say “I wish you were either one or the other” about the deeds of the people in Laodicea (verse 15)?

What will happen because the people of Laodicea are “lukewarm – neither hot nor cold” (verse 16)?

In your opinion, why would people who are “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked” say “I am rich” (verse 17)?

In your opinion, what should the people of Laodicea use to “buy from be gold refined in the fire” (verse 18)?

How does God treat those who are loved (verse 19)?

Where is God (verse 20)?

Who will have a right to “sit with me on my throne” (verse 21)?

Who is supposed to hear (verse 22)?

In your opinion, how does John’s teaching about buying “gold refined in the fire” in Revelation 3:14-22 help us understand Malachi’s message “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver” in Malachi 3:1-5?

In your opinion, how does John’s teaching “So be earnest and repent” help us to understand Isaiah’s “Those who are wayward in spirit will gain understanding” in Isaiah 29:17-24?

In your opinion, what does this command in Revelation to “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches” help us to understand about Jesus command to “Whoever has ears, let them hear” from Matthew 11:1-15?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Revelation show us about the Great Commission?

Next, back to Matthew 11:16 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)