9.6.16 Bible Study: Kingdom Living
Mark 4:14 (KJV) The sower soweth the word.Matthew 6:33 (KJV)But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.Matthew 13:11 (KJV) He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
INTRODUCTION
The Gospel of the Kingdom is an invitation for man to return to the realm of life God originally intended, but God does not set up a standard of morality and declare that when you have achieved it you can enter the Kingdom. There is one requirement for entry: Repenting from sin and spiritual rebirth. Through repenting and accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are born into the Kingdom and become a Kingdom resident. Residency in the Kingdom of God requires a new lifestyle governed by laws of the Kingdom. Life in the spiritual Kingdom affects the quality of life in the visible world. The lifestyle of the Kingdom is exactly opposite of the lifestyle of the kingdoms of the world. It is different in both structure and principle. When you enter the Kingdom of God it is like immigrating to a new country. You must learn a new culture. In the natural world, “culture” is the behavior patterns which govern life in a given society. In this lesson you will learn about the culture of the Kingdom of God.
I. The believer is first of all to seek after the kingdom of God and his righteousness.
A. Worry/anxiety is not to be a part of the kingdom living.
B. Kingdom is a mystery.
C. The Kingdom has come inside of us. (Luke 17:20-21)
D. The Kingdom of God is supernatural. It will provide healing when there is no medical cure and peace in the midst of chaos, love where others would hate, and deliverance when all natural hope is gone.
E. The Kingdom is a place of phenomenal wealth. It can produce prosperity. (Mark 4:26-29)
II. The Kingdom allows your spirit to produce what you need.
A. The sower soweth the word. (Mark 4:14)
B. The seed is the word of God. (Luke 8:11)
C. Once planted, produces after his own kind. (Genesis 1:11)
D. Its planted in your heart by speaking the Word. (Romans 10:8)
E. You sow what is needed by speaking. (Mark 11:23)
F. The heart of man is designed to produce things desired. (Luke 12:32 & Luke 22:29)
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3.29.16 Bible Study
The Post Resurrection Appearances of Christ
Introduction
Easter isn’t complete just because we’re through Jesus’ Passion story. It will be 40 more days before He leaves earth, and even then He’ll appear in visions to a few through the New Testament. Let’s take a chronological overview tonight and then a couple more services to highlight more of the particular appearances He made before His ascension.Here’s the story, a little confusing, with people running here and there, scurrying about as you could imagine, trying to make sense of everything: Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene and then some other women with her at the tomb; they had planned to try to anoint His body, and wondered on the way who would roll the stone away from the door of if they would be allowed to see His body.This indicates they were not expecting Him to be alive. Indeed, they arrived and found the tomb already open, with no body inside, and Mary Magdalene ran to tell Peter and John that someone had taken His body. Meanwhile, back at the tomb, the other women see two angels who explain to them that He rose like He said He would! They instruct these women to go tell the others.Now Mary has Peter and John running toward the tomb as she tries to keep up, the other women are heading in another direction to look for any of the disciples and give them the news. John makes a point of telling us that he outran Peter. But John stops at the entrance to the tomb, looking in from there, he sees the linen clothes lying empty. Peter catches up and barges straight in, as was his style. John believes Jesus was risen, Peter was still scratching his head. Both of them leave for home, but Mary Magdalene stays at the tomb.
Appearances
1. FIRST APPEARANCE: Mary supposes Jesus to be the gardner–>> John 20:16
2. SECOND APPEARANCE: He sent them to the Apostles with the news –>>Matthew 28:9 3. THIRD APPEARANCE: Two disciples on their way to Emma’s –>> Luke 24:13-31
The eleven disbelieved Mark 16:13
We will resume with the forth appearance next week.
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3.8.16 Bible Study
Subject: Knowing Him for Yourself
Philippians 3:10-11 (NKJV) that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
John 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
Introduction
God always has a fresh and deeper truth He wants us to learn about Him. So one He has taught us one thing, get ready for the next marvelous truth God will soon introduce.
God desires that we grasp the fullness of His character as a father and a protector of His creation or His children. The essence of eternal life- is for us to personally know God the Father and Jesus Christ, His Son. Knowing God does not come through a program, a study, or a method. It is the result of a vibrant, growing, one-on-one relationship with God. Within this intimate connection, God will reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways so we can know Him in deeper and profound dimensions.
That is why the atmosphere must always be conducive to allowing Him to introduce Himself to someone next to you or even you in a manner in which we haven’t known. When we experience God in these ways and obey what God tells us, He then can accomplish in us things only He can do; also, as the Lord works in and through our life, we will come to know Him even more closely.
I. Experience God’s Protection
A. Ps. 41:2 The Lord will protect him and keep him alive; he shall be called blessed in the land; and You will
not deliver him to the will of his enemies. Ps 121:7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; He will keep your life.
B. Experience His Divine safeguarding
There is a world of difference between knowing something to be true in your head and experiencing the reality
in your life.
C. Scripture is filled with descriptions of God’s character.
1. God does not merely want you to read about Him; He wants you to know Him.
2. Greeks have to know by concept.
3. Hebrews have to know by experience.
4. Jesus said eternal life is knowing God. He was speaking as a Hebrew. He did not mean that eternal life is
knowing about God.
II. Knowing God through His names
A. In biblical days, a Hebrew person’s name represented his character or described their nature.
B. Write down what your name represents in character or nature
C. God’s revelation of Himself to people
1. The Lord will provide (Yahweh Jireh)
a. Genesis 22:13-17 (AMP) 13 Then Abraham looked up and glanced around, and behold, behind him was
a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up for a burnt offering and an ascending sacrifice instead of his son!14 So Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide. And it is said to this day, On the mount of the Lord it will be provided.15 The Angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 And said, I have sworn by Myself, says the Lord, that since you have done this and have not withheld [from Me] or begrudged [giving Me] your son, your only son, 17 In blessing I will bless you and in multiplying I will multiply your descendants like the stars of the heavens and like the sand on the seashore. And your Seed (Heir) will possess the gate of His enemies, [Heb. 6:13, 14; 11:12.]
b. God’s perfected provision
Phil 4:13 (AMP) I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything
and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s
sufficiency].
III. Knowing Him in relationship and not just a name
A. Whenever God reveals His nature in a new way, it is always for a purpose. He created you for a love relationship with Him. When He encounters you, He is allowing you to know Him by experience.
Ps. 89:15-18 Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are the people who know the joyful sound [who
understand and appreciate the spiritual blessings symbolized by the feasts]; they walk, O Lord, in the light and favor of Your countenance! 16 In Your name they rejoice all the day, and in Your righteousness they are exalted.17 For You are the glory of their strength [their proud adornment], and by Your favor our horn is exalted and we walk with uplifted faces! 18 For our shield belongs to the Lord, and our king to the Holy One of Israel.
IV. Conclusion: Someone has wisely pointed out, “One of the most dangerous forms of human error is forgetting what one is trying to achieve.” That is especially true in the Christian life. It’s easy to get sidetracked. We need to be clear and focused at all times on what it is we’re after.
What is the goal of the Christian life? It we forget it, we’re not likely to achieve it. It can be stated in several forms, but in our Philippians text, the Apostle Paul nicely sums up what we’re supposed to be aiming for:
The goal of the Christian life is to know Christ and to be like Him.
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3.1.16 Bible Study
Subject: The Ingredients for Love
Romans 12:9-16 (MSG)
9-10Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.
11-13Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.
14-16Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down. Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody.
Introduction
How should the believer relate to other believers? How should he treat believers and behave towards them? The subject is of vital concern to Christ. If we are full of God’s love, it will overflow to others. Life is much better with God as the center ingredient: problems turn into solutions; fear turns into hope; and anger turns to love.
1. Love must be sincere.
a. “let love be genuine” (v. 9a. GW)
b. Genuine literally means without hypocrisy.
2. Love must be discerning.
3. Love must display tender affection
4. Love must honor others.
5. Love must be enthusiastic.
6. Love must be patient.
7. Love must be generous.
8. Love must pursue hospitality.
9. Love must be kind.
10. Love must show sympathy.
11. Love must live in harmony.
12. Love must show humility.
13. Conclusion:
As we come to an end of this study, I can only comment that our churches would be happier if you took this passage to heart and stir in these ingredients into our life.
What do we do when it seems that love is not working? Increase the dosage.
Pray and ask the Lord to bring specific people to your ind that you may mix these ingredients and improve the quality in your life.
It is easy (and spiritually dangerous) to be non-specific when it comes to love. If we are to grow in this area, our
love must reach out to specific people we meet this week. They may come to us through an email or a phone
call or at a meeting or when we are in a big hurry and on our way to do something really important and we don’
t have time to be bothered and when we would be glad to hem them later but they need help now. What will we d
o them?
That’s the real test of love. Or the test may come in dealing with the same old grumpy people you life with or work with or go to school with every single day. Grumpy people need love, and who will do it if not you?
MIX THE INGREDIENTS FOR LOVE AND BUILD A COMMUNITY OF LOVE.
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