March 26, 2017 – Genesis and John (Gospel and Revelation) – Invitations and Mercy

Invitations and Mercy

Genesis 28:10-22 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. ¹¹ When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. ¹² He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. ¹³ There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. ¹⁴ Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. ¹⁵ I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

¹⁶ When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” ¹⁷ He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”

¹⁸ Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. ¹⁹ He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz.

²⁰ Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear ²¹ so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord will be my God ²² and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”

Where was Jacob going (verse 10)?

What did he put under his head when he laid down to sleep (verse 11)?

What did he dream (verse 12)?

In your opinion, why did the Lord identify Himself as the “God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac” (verse 13)?

What land did the Lord promise to give Jacob and his descendants (verse 13)?

Who will be blessed through Jacob and his offspring (verse 14)?

Where is the Lord going to bring Jacob (verse 15)?

What did Jacob think when he woke up (verse 16)?

In your opinion, why was Jacob afraid (verse 17)?

How did Jacob treat the stone he slept on (verse 18)?

What did Jacob call the place (verse 19)?

What vow did Jacob make (verses 20, 21 and 22)?

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

John 1:43-51 - New International Version (NIV)

⁴³ The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”

⁴⁴ Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. ⁴⁵ Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

⁴⁶ “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.

“Come and see,” said Philip.

⁴⁷ When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”

⁴⁸ “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”

⁴⁹ Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”

⁵⁰ Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” ⁵¹ He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.”

Who did Jesus tell “follow me” (verse 43)?

Where were Philip, Andrew and Peter from (verse 44)?

What did Philip tell Nathanael (verse 45)?

How did Nathanael react to what Philip said (verse 46)?

In your opinion, why is Philip’s invitation to “come and see” a great response to Nathanael’s doubts (verse 46)?

How did Jesus describe Nathanael (verse 47)?

What did Nathanael want to know (verse 48)?

When did Jesus see Nathanael under the fig tree (verse 48)?

Now that Nathanael has met Jesus, what does he think about Him (verse 49)?

What does Jesus say that Nathanael will see (verse 50)?

Who will Nathanael see “the angels of God ascending and descending on” (verse 51)?

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

In your opinion, how are God’s message that He gave to Jacob in a vision from Genesis 28:10-22 and what Jesus tells Nathanael he will see in John 1:43-51 connected?

Romans 9:6-16 - New International Version (NIV)

⁶ It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. ⁷ Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” ⁸ In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring. ⁹ For this was how the promise was stated: “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”

¹⁰ Not only that, but Rebekah’s children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac. ¹¹ Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: ¹² not by works but by him who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” ¹³ Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

¹⁴ What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! ¹⁵ For he says to Moses,

“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
    and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”

¹⁶ It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says “not all who are descended from Israel are Israel” (verse 6)?

Through which of Abraham’s children will his “offspring be reckoned” (verse 7)?

Who is reckoned as Abraham’s offspring (verse 8)?

What was the promise (verse 9)?

Whose children were “conceived at the same time” (verse 10)?

In your opinion, why is it important that God made the decision that the younger would be severed by the older before they had been born or done anything important (verses 11 and 12)?

Who was it written that God loved (verse 13)?

Who was it written that God hated (verse 13)?

Does that make God unjust (verse 14)?

Who will God have mercy on (verse 15)?

What does it depend on (verse 16)?

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

In your opinion, what does Nathanael’s reaction to Jesus in John 1:43-51 help us to understand about the “children of the promise” that Paul talks about in Romans 9:6-16?

In your opinion, how is the dream of the stairway to heaven with angels ascending and descending in Genesis 28:10-22 a gift of God’s mercy that Paul talks about in Romans 9:6-16?

Revelation 19:6-10 – New International Version (NIV)

⁶ Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:

“Hallelujah!
    For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
⁷ Let us rejoice and be glad
    and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
    and his bride has made herself ready.
⁸ Fine linen, bright and clean,
    was given her to wear.”

(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)

⁹ Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”

¹⁰ At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.”

What did the great multitude that John heard sound like (verse 6)?

Why did the great multitude shout “hallelujah” (verse 6)?

In your opinion, why does the wedding of the Lamb mean that the great multitude should “rejoice and be glad” (verse 7)?

What is the bride given to wear (verse 8)?

What does fine linen stand for (verse 8)?

Who is blessed (verse 9)?

Who is John supposed to worship (verse 10)?

Who bears testimony to Jesus (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, how does Paul’s discussion about God’s mercy in Romans 9:6-16 prepare us to understand those who have been blessed with an invitation to the “wedding supper of the Lamb” in Revelation 19:6-10?

In your opinion, how is work of the Spirit of prophecy bearing the testimony to Jesus as promised to John in Revelation 19:6-10 demonstrated by Philip’s invitation to Nathanael in John 1:43-51?

In your opinion, why or why is not the vision of John in Revelation 19:6-16 greater than the vision of Jacob in Genesis 28:10-22?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Genesis, John, Romans and Revelation help us understand about the blessing that all peoples on earth are to receive through Jacob and his offspring?

In your opinion, how do these passages help us understand how people like us can be recipients of an invitation to the “wedding supper of the Lamb”?                                                                                    

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

March 19, 2017 – Genesis and John (Gospel and Revelation) – Birthrights and Grace

Birthrights and Grace

Genesis 25:27-34 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁷ The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents. ²⁸ Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

²⁹ Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. ³⁰ He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.)

³¹ Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.”

³² “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?”

³³ But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.

³⁴ Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left.

So Esau despised his birthright.

Who became a “skillful hunter, a man of the open country” (verse 27)?

What did Isaac have a taste for (verse 28)?

Where did Esau come in from (verse 29)?

What did Esau say to Jacob (verse 30)?

In your opinion, why did Jacob want Esau’s birthright (verse 31)?

How did Esau feel about his birthright (verse 32)?

What did Esau do (verse 33)?

In your opinion, how does Esau’s behavior support the statement “so Esau despised his birthright” (verse 34)?

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

John 17:6-19 - New International Version (NIV)

⁶ “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. ⁷ Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. ⁸ For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. ⁹ I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. ¹⁰ All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. ¹¹ I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. ¹² While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

¹³ “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. ¹⁴ I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. ¹⁵ My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. ¹⁷ Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸ As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

Who has Jesus revealed the Father to (verse 6)?

What do they know (verse 7)?

How did they respond to Jesus giving them the Father’s words (verse 8)?

Who is Jesus not praying for (verse 9)?

What has come to Jesus through the ones He was praying for (verse 10)?

In your opinion, what does Jesus mean when He asks the Father to “protect them by the power of your name” (verse 11)?

Who has been lost (verse 12)?

Why is Jesus saying these things (verse 13)?

Why has the world hated them (verse 14)?

What does Jesus pray for instead of asking for them to be taken out of the world (verse 15)?

Are the disciples “of the world” (verse 16)?

What does Jesus ask for the disciples (verse 17)?

Where has Jesus sent them (verse 18)?

Why does Jesus sanctify himself (verse 19)?

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

In your opinion, what is the difference between Esau, who despised his birthright in Genesis 25:27-34, and Jesus, who protected His disciples and is praying for the Father to continue to protect them in John 17:6-19?

In your opinion, what is the difference between Jacob, who coveted Esau’s birthright in Genesis 25:27-34, and Jesus, who is willing to sanctify Himself for His disciples in John 17:6-19?

Hebrews 12:14-17 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. ¹⁵ See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. ¹⁶ See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. ¹⁷ Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.

What are we to “make every effort” to live with everyone in (verse 14)?

What can bitter roots grow up and do (verse 15)?

How did Esau prove he was godless (verse 16)?

What happened when he “wanted to inherit this blessing” (verse 17)?

In your opinion, why could seeking the blessing with tears “not change what he had done” (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, how does the sanctification that Jesus says He is doing for Himself so that his followers may be sanctified in John 17:6-19 related to the holiness and the grace of God that Paul talks about in Hebrews 12:14-17?

In your opinion, how does the discussion of Esau despising his birthright in Genesis 25:27-34 help us to understand Paul’s instructions to us in Hebrews 12:14-17?

Revelation 15:1-4 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues—last, because with them God’s wrath is completed. ² And I saw what looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name. They held harps given them by God ³ and sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb:

“Great and marvelous are your deeds,
    Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are your ways,
    King of the nations.
⁴ Who will not fear you, Lord,
    and bring glory to your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
    and worship before you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

Why are the seven angels with the seven plagues the last (verse 1)?

Who was standing beside the sea of glass (verse 2)?

What were they singing (verse 3)?

Whose deeds are “great and marvelous” (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why is God alone holy (verse 4)?

What has been revealed (verse 4)?

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

In your opinion, how does Paul’s warnings and instructions in Hebrews 12:14-17 help us to understand how those standing by the sea of glass in Revelation 15:1-4 were “victorious over the beast and its image”?

In your opinion, how is the prayer of Jesus in John 17:6-19 for the Father to “protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one ” shown to be fulfilled by the Father in Revelation 15:1-14?

In your opinion, how dramatic is the transformation that will have to happen to move from a world where the norm is to be like Esau, who despised his birthright in Genesis 25:27-34, to a world where “all nations will come and worship before you” as portrayed in Revelation 15:1-14?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Genesis, John, Hebrews and Revelation help us understand about our birthright in the world and our sanctification by Christ to a victory over the world?

In your opinion, how do these passages help us to understand what it means to us today that Jesus prayed “not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one”?                                  

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

March 12, 2017 – Genesis and John (Gospel and Revelation) – Custody under the Law or Victory in Christ

Custody under the Law or Victory in Christ

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

¹ Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. ² Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. ³ Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. ⁴ When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. ⁵ Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

⁶ Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” ⁷ And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

Who was gracious to Sarah and did what He had promised (verse 1)?

What did Sarah do (verse 2)?

Who named Isaac (verse 3)?

What happened to Isaac when he was eight days old (verse 4)?

How old was Abraham when Isaac was born (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why did Sarah say “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me” (verse 6)?

In your opinion, who would say to Abraham that “Sarah would nurse children” (verse 7)?

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

John 7:14-24 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ Not until halfway through the festival did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. ¹⁵ The Jews there were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having been taught?”

¹⁶ Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. ¹⁷ Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. ¹⁸ Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. ¹⁹ Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?”

²⁰ “You are demon-possessed,” the crowd answered. “Who is trying to kill you?”

²¹ Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle, and you are all amazed. ²² Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath. ²³ Now if a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing a man’s whole body on the Sabbath? ²⁴ Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.”

When did Jesus go to the temple courts to teach (verse 14)?

Why were the Jews there amazed (verse 15)?

Where did Jesus’ teaching come from (verse 16)?

Who will find out if Jesus’ teaching is from God or on His own (verse 17)?

In your opinion, why does the person who speaks on their own do so “to gain personal glory” (verse 18)?

Who does not keep the law (verse 19)?

What does the crowd say about Jesus (verse 20)?

Why were the Jews amazed (verse 21)?

What do the Jews do on the Sabbath (verse 22)?

Why were the Jews angry with Jesus (verse 23)?

In your opinion, what is the difference between “judging by mere appearances” and judging correctly (verse 24)?

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

In your opinion, how does reading about Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 21:1-7 help you see why the Jews of John 7:14-24 would believe that they should circumcise their sons, even on the Sabbath when they were not supposed to be working?

Galatians 3:19-29 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁹ Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator. ²⁰ A mediator, however, implies more than one party; but God is one.

²¹ Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. ²² But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.

²³ Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. ²⁴ So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵ Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

²⁶ So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, ²⁷ for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. ²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

What was “added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come” (verse 19)?

In your opinion, why does a mediator imply more than one party (verse 20)?

Is the law opposed to the promises of God (verse 21)?

What would have had to happen for righteousness to come by the law (verse 21)?

How is “what was promised” given (verse 22)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to be “held in custody under the law” and “locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed” (verse 23)?

What could happen when Christ came (verse 24)?

Why are we (Christians) no longer under a guardian (verse 25)?

How are we children of God in Christ Jesus (verse 26)?

Who has clothed themselves with Christ (verse 27)?

What are all Jews, Gentiles, slave, free, male and female in Christ Jesus (verse 28)?

Who are we if we belong to Christ (verse 29)?

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

In your opinion, how does Paul in Galatians 3:19-29 help us more correctly understand the law that Jesus said the Jews in the temple court were using to judge by appearances instead of correctly in John 7:14-24?

In your opinion, how is it possible that Isaac, through whom God gave laughter to Sarah in Genesis 21:1-7, and we, who belong to Christ, are related according to Paul in Galatians 3:19-29?

Revelation 3:7-13 – New International Version (NIV)

⁷ “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:

These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. ⁸ I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. ⁹ I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. ¹⁰ Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.

¹¹ I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. ¹² The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. ¹³ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Who are these “words of him who is holy and true” written to (verse 7)?

What is placed before the people of the church in Philadelphia (verse 8)?

What have the people of the church in Philadelphia done in spite of having “little strength” (verse 8)?

Who do “those of the synagogue of Satan” claim to be (verse 9)?

In your opinion, what is meant by the “hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth” (verse 10)?

Why are the people of the church of Philadelphia supposed to “hold on to what you have” (verse 11)?

In your opinion, who is the “one who is victorious” (verse 12)?

Who is supposed to “hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (verse 13)?

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

In your opinion, how does Paul’s discussion in Galatians 3:19-29 about the law and faith help us to understand what we have to do to be one of the “victorious” that Jesus is talking about in Revelation 3:7-13?

In your opinion, what do those in the temple who Jesus said judged by appearances instead of correctly in John 7:14-24 have in common with those “who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not” in Revelation 3:7-13?

In your opinion, how can the circumcision of Isaac in Genesis 21:1-7 be similar to the “hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth” in Revelation 3:7-13?

In your opinion, how do these passages from Genesis, John, Galatians and Revelation help us understand the importance of having faith in Christ and not in our works?

In your opinion, how do these passages encourage us to keep Jesus’ word and not deny His name?            

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)