Joe_Applegarth

In what way can judging people get in the way of saving them? John 7:24 Jesus tells us to judge “righteous judgment” but even so, there are times when we sit in judgement of others when we absolutely should not. In truth, Jesus didn’t make a pronouncement against passing judgment, only against hypocritical judgement. The “hypocritical” judgment that Jesus refers to is when the one judging has sin in his/her life greater than the sin in the life of the one being judged. The problem that we humans have is that when we sit in judgment of others, there’s ALWAYS some degree of disconnect between the way things are and our (human) need to have things exactly the way we want them to be. The latter always seems to be the fundamental impediment to righteous judgement so we need to be very careful to keep our own humanity out of the equation. When we do judge, that judgement should always be strictly defined by scripture, if it’s not we’re inappropriately basing it on our own feelings and/or opinions rather than God’s. Our humanity always gets in the way of saving so righteous judgement should always be, first and foremost, determined by the Word of God and we should ALWAYS earnestly seek the truth through prayer. Jesus told us in Matthew 7:2 “ For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” No, Jesus didn’t say that we shouldn’t judge, on the contrary, what he is saying is that when we do, we need to be very, very careful or it could lead the person down the wrong path and, if that should come to pass it will most certainly come back to us in the end. How did Jesus deal with this in his own ministry? Although Jesus said in this text that He did not come to judge, taken in context He’s is simply deferring His judgement until the appropriate time when on that last day, He will sit in judgement of us all. Jesus expects us to live by His words and to judge ourselves each and every day to prepare ourselves for the Day of Judgment. In order to be “agents of salvation” we must follow the guidelines that the Lord has set down for us. As Christians we are all children of God so in order to lose that “stiffness” we must first sit in judgment of ourselves. A true Christian belongs to God and as a child of God if we refuse to judge and improve ourselves God will take it upon Himself to do the judging for us. In Matthew 7:4-5, Jesus says, "How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” To lose our “stiffness”, a good judge must first “remove the plank” from his own eye and judge himself before he/she sits in judgement of others. ​

In what way can judging people get in the way of saving them? John 7:24 Jesus tells us to judge “righteous judgment” but even so, there are times when we sit in judgement of others when we absolutely should not. In truth, Jesus didn’t make a pronouncement against passing judgment, only against hypocritical judgement. The “hypocritical” judgment that Jesus refers to is when the one judging has sin in his/her life greater than the sin in the life of the one being judged. The problem that we humans have is that when we sit in judgment of others, there’s ALWAYS some degree of disconnect between the way things are and our (human) need to have things exactly the way we want them to be. The latter of always seems to be the fundamental impediment to righteous judgement so we need to be very careful to keep our own humanity out of the equation. When we do judge, that judgement should always be strictly defined by scripture, if it’s not we’re inappropriately basing it on our own feelings and/or opinions rather than God’s. Our humanity always gets in the way of saving so righteous judgement should always be, first and foremost, determined by the Word of God and we should ALWAYS earnestly seek the truth through prayer. Jesus told us in Matthew 7:2 “ For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” No, Jesus didn’t say that we shouldn’t judge, on the contrary, what he is saying is that when we do, we need to be very, very careful or it could lead the person down the wrong path and, if that should come to pass it will most certainly come back to us in the end. How did Jesus deal with this in his own ministry? Although Jesus said in this text that He did not come to judge, taken in context He’s is simply deferring His judgement until the appropriate time and on that last day, He will sit in judgement of us all. Jesus expects us to live by His words and to judge ourselves each and every day to prepare ourselves for the Day of Judgment. In order to be “agents of salvation” we must follow the guidelines that the Lord has set down for us. As Christians we are all children of God so in order to lose that “stiffness” we must first sit in judgment of ourselves. A true Christian belongs to God and as a child of God if we refuse to judge and improve ourselves God will take it upon Himself to do the judging for us. In Matthew 7:4-5, Jesus says, "How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” To lose our “stiffness”, a good judge must first “remove the plank” from his own eye and judge himself before he/she sits in judgement of others. ​

… what does this say about our priorities? About discipleship? We should always take great pleasure in the joy of knowing God's love by sharing that love with others. By sharing Christ Jesus with others, your service has eternal meaning. Jesus said that the most important command is to love and what better way to show someone that you love them than introducing them to Jesus. As a disciple of Christ, the most important mission that He left us with is winning souls for Him, that should be our number-one priority and if we’re not doing that, our priorities need a major realignment. What was the effect of his denial on Peter’s life? Even though by the grace of God Peter was forgiven, I’m sure he still felt shame and regret over his public denial of Jesus. His personal failings served to reinforce his understanding of the work Jesus had in store for him. Because of God’s grace, he was able to transcend his personal weaknesses and rise above his shame and regret to “strengthen his brothers” just as Jesus had instructed to do in Luke 22:32. ​

How does declaring truth to resistant people harden them further? In the misguided belief that is we who are in control, we (humanity) are generally inclined to hold fast to the opinions and interactions to which we’ve committed ourselves. No matter how irrational they may be, we hold these things close regardless of how inappropriate they may be. We harden ourselves simply because the prejudices inherent to our humanity lead us to hold fast to the things that we believe to be true. A hardened heart will always resist anything contradictory to our predilections and when pressed to yield to the will of God, they will always try to strengthen themselves against it. How can a person (or a Pharisee) see a miracle and become even more determined to resist Jesus? In the eyes of the Pharisees, Jesus’ miracles were a direct contradiction, and a very serious threat, to their lifestyles and everything they believed to be true so they hardened themselves against it. Today, this same scenario comes into play when people are required to set aside their personal preferences and yield to the Lord’s will. When confronted with a choice between the world and the Lord, we tend to cling to, and hide behind, our own personal inclinations by denying the truth of His infinite wisdom. How do you understand this paradox? When our own will conflicts with God’s and we feel pressed to give it up, we meet the truth head-on so we tend to excuse and/or defend our sins or even deny that what we’re doing is actually sinning. When that happens, we offer apologies to God that He will never receive and in doing so we delude ourselves. To be a Christian, one must renounce sin and earthly idols and so many of us seem to believe that to be too great a sacrifice. These people are not ready or are simply unwilling to renounce their sin and their idols so they resign themselves to hardening their hearts and strengthening themselves in uncertainty and doubt. We attempt to strengthen our misguided perceptions by trying to justify all of the excuses that we’ve made in an effort to strengthen our position. By doing so, we are putting self ahead of God and are hardening our hearts. This was exactly what the Jews did when Christ preached.

What does Jesus mean when he talks about being "lifted up." This particular passage refers to the son of man being lifted up on the cross to die. But, He said, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." “Lifted up from the earth could also be referring His being lifted up from the earth (the grave) and it could also be referring to the final glorification of himself (His ascension). Jesus was now going to heaven and he would draw men's hearts to him where he will sit as our judge at the right-hand of God. Do you think Jesus means being "lifted up" literally or figuratively or both? Both How does this phrase relate to Isaiah 52:13? How does it relate to Philippians 2:8-9? Isaiah accurately prophesied Jesus’ death as the surrogate sacrifice for sin and the physical suffering leading up to and including the Crucifixion. He also accurately describes the resurrection, ascension into heaven and Jesus ultimately sitting at the right hand of the Father. Isaiah also correctly foretold the reverence for Christ Jesus that would come to pass after His ascension; “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name.” [Philippians 2:9] ​

In what way is verse 25 the essence of what it means to be a disciple? In v. 25 Jesus said, “Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. “Anyone who loves their life will lose it...“ Being a disciple of Jesus is a serious life-changer. It means that you must be willing to give yourself over to Him and make major changes your life. When you give yourself over to Him, you have Him with you every minute of every day and then you’ll begin to know Him intimately, obeying Him without question and doing His will. Leaving your old life to follow Jesus is a very serious commitment. You are putting Him first and foremost in your life and that commitment could mean leaving family and friends to follow Him. “…anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” A true disciple of Christ will hate his earthly life. He/she must undergo a spiritual death in order to rid themselves of the old, sinful self. Discipleship is spiritual growth through this re-birth and, as a disciple, you‘re so spiritually committed to Jesus that that you put ego and worldly things away to follow Him. What does it mean to "love" your life? Those who love their earthly lives are never satisfied. Always thirsting for worldly gratification and personal gain, they lose sight of Christ and put themselves in danger of losing their spiritual life. When faced with a choice those who love their lives opt for the comforts of life over eternal life with Christ Jesus. What does it mean to "hate" your life? Those who hate their lives give themselves to Christ while rejecting worldly things and embracing His teaching, gaining back their spiritual life. How did Jesus live this out in the Garden of Gethsemane? In accordance with the will of His Father, as He entered the garden He knew that He was nearing His appointed time to die and His holiness would not interfere with His rendezvous with the cross. Jesus came to the garden "being found in fashion as a man," and He endured the obligation to His Father is if He were entirely human. He began His prayers in the garden with the words "if it is possible" signifying a spirit of dutiful submission to His Father’s will. That very same spirit is echoed in His closing words, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” As He awaited His fate in the garden, He embraced the very same mental, moral, physical, and spiritual suffering that we too experience during times of intense personal anguish. His faithful submission to the Father’s will was nothing new and His prayers in the garden were a clear expression of His humanity and the purpose of his entire life was about to be fulfilled as he prepared to set his earthly life aside.

How can God's glory be revealed even in death? “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6) How does the seed illustrate this? Jesus said that the seed has to be planted and die before it can germinate and grow and, like the seed there would be no harvest without His death. Jesus submitted everything to His Father’s at the expense of his own (earthly) life but, in the end his death secured the harvest. How does us dying to our old life illustrate this? We too have to submit our all to The Father, even our very lives if it were required. Just like in the seed illustration, water baptism (immersion) symbolizes our death to a sinful past and a new birth to a completely different future as a part of Christ’s own harvest.

Worship is to honor with extravagant love and extreme submission (Webster's Dictionary). True worship is defined by the priority that we place on God and the role He plays in our daily lives. True worship originates in the heart culminating in the loving act of true reverence. John 4:23 teaches that, “true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.” True worship must, first and foremost, be from the heart, established in truth and honesty and it must be sincere. Yesterday, today and tomorrow, the Lord must be the number one priority in our lives. All through the gospel of John obedience to is emphasized again and again. In fact, total obedience is required just as Jesus Himself teaches in John 14:15, "If you love me, you will obey what I command." So you see, if you aspire to be a true disciple of Christ Jesus, obedience is not an option! Why? Well that's because it’s impossible to have an intimate relationship with Him if you're only paying lip-service to Him by continuing to pay no heed his words. Being obedient means actually living His Word and being filled with the love of Jesus every single day of your life. ​

What about the people's praise show they believed Jesus to be the Messiah? He was welcomed into the city by the spreading of cloaks and palm branches and their shouts of “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” and “Blessed is the king of Israel” Why doesn't Jesus shun this open declaration that he is the Messiah? His purpose in riding into Jerusalem was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy and to declare publicly that He is indeed the promised Messiah. ​

What is the prophetic significance of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey? This was not only one of the most significant events in our Christian history, it was also a very significant event in the history of the world and now, finally we see Jesus receiving the worship and praise of the people that he deserves. Jesus’ is now proclaiming publicly that He is indeed the Messiah, the King of Israel and He’s no longer telling His disciples to be quiet about who He is. Now, He’s fulfilling Old Testament prophecy and now his followers are openly worshiping and singing His praises. Why did he do it? His entrance into the city was the fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9, “your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey…” What was the effect on the crowds? They were exuberant. He was being welcomed by the spreading of cloaks which was an act of reverence reserved for royalty. Here we see Jesus openly declaring to the people of Israel that He and He alone was the King and the Messiah that they’d been waiting for. Unfortunately, the adoration and praise that they were pouring out on Him wasn’t because they were welcoming their Savior from sin, they were welcoming Him because they believed Him to be the liberator who would rise up and lead them in a revolt against Rome.

Why did Judas object to Mary's extravagant act of devotion? Judas’ reaction was motivated strictly on the basis of money. John intimates that his “real” motive was theft but Jesus’ only addressed his stated objection i.e., the money could have been given to the poor. Jesus’ rebuke was harsh and straight to the point, He told Judas to “Let her alone!” Why did Jesus defend her? Why did Mary do this? She wasn’t doing it for show, she was doing it out of love and devotion to Jesus. He approved of the worship that she lavished on him because she, more than anyone else in attendance, understood that He is truly worthy of all the love and devotion that we can give Him. Jesus knew her heart and her motives and knew full-well that she was demonstrating “true” worship; she was not only sitting (at his feet) listening attentively to His preaching, she also demonstrated her total devotion to Him when she anointed him with the Nard. What does this teach us about worship? One of the many things one should glean from John’s account of these events that that, just as Mary denied herself by her extravagant act of devotion for Jesus’ sake, true worship means that we must put Him first and foremost in our lives. Total devotion to regular prayer, study of His word and, of course total devotion to Him brings with it a reward that can never be taken away from us. Does your worship tend to be cheap or extravagant? I’ve had to do a lot of soul-searching over how to answer this question and, not to use it as a cop-out, I guess I’d have to say that like a great many Christians, I’m probably somewhere in between. For you, what would be extravagant worship? Extravagant worship must include financial support for the church. Jesus paid the price for us with his precious blood so I guess the question that we all need to answer for ourselves is this; in my own worship, do I place more value on Jesus than I do on earthly things? Mary’s “gift”, and her unabashed worship were clear signs of her devotion to Christ Jesus. Putting things into perspective, Mary, in one night, gave much more than most of us contribute to the Lord’s work in a year (or more). It also means that, giving no consideration to what others might think, we have to let our pride and our egos go. One thing that we should all take away from this story is this; even though Mary’s actions made the apostles feel uncomfortable, what she did was right in the eyes of the Lord. There’s also a personal cost attached to our devotion to Christ because, more often than not, when we give ourselves completely to Christ, most people tend to view us as some kind of religious fanatic. Well, maybe so, people are fanatical about a lot of divergent things, I for one am fanatical about Jesus! Of course, the bottom line is that the only thing that really matters is what Christ Jesus thinks about our worship. Extravagant or not, the only thing that’s important is whether or not the Lord is satisfied?” The way to make sure of that is to live our lives (every day) making every effort to please Him and to be sure that our worship is out of love and devotion to Him and not merely tied to some earthly want or need.

Why did Judas object to Mary's extravagant act of devotion? Judas’ reaction was motivated strictly on the basis of money. John intimates that his “real” motive was theft but Jesus’ only addressed his stated objection i.e., the money could have been given to the poor. Jesus’ rebuke was harsh and straight to the point, He told Judas to “Let her alone!” Why did Jesus defend her? Why did Mary do this? She wasn’t doing it for show, she was doing it out of love and devotion to Jesus. He approved of the worship that she lavished on him because she, more than anyone else in attendance, understood that He is truly worthy of all the love and devotion that we can give Him. Jesus knew her heart and her motives and knew full-well that she was demonstrating “true” worship; she was not only sitting (at his feet) listening attentively to His preaching, she also demonstrated her total devotion to Him when she anointed him with the Nard. What does this teach us about worship? One of the many things one should glean from John’s account of these events that that, just as Mary denied herself by her extravagant act of devotion for Jesus’ sake, true worship means that we must put Him first and foremost in our lives. Total devotion to regular prayer, study of His word and, of course total devotion to Him brings with it a reward that can never be taken away from us. Does your worship tend to be cheap or extravagant? I’ve had to do a lot of soul-searching over how to answer this question and, not to use it as a cop-out, I guess I’d have to say that like a great many Christians, I’m probably somewhere in between. For you, what would be extravagant worship? Extravagant worship must include financial support for the church. Jesus paid the price for us with his precious blood so I guess the question that we all need to answer for ourselves is this; in my own worship, do I place more value on Jesus than I do on earthly things? Mary’s “gift”, and her unabashed worship were clear signs of her devotion to Christ Jesus. Putting things into perspective, Mary, in one night, gave much more than most of us contribute to the Lord’s work in a year (or more). It also means that, giving no consideration to what others might think, we have to let our pride and our egos go. One thing that we should all take away from this story is this; even though Mary’s actions made the apostles feel uncomfortable, what she did was right in the eyes of the Lord. There’s also a personal cost attached to our devotion to Christ because, more often than not, when we give ourselves completely to Christ, most people tend to view us as some kind of religious fanatic. Well, maybe so, people are fanatical about a lot of divergent things, I for one am fanatical about Jesus! Of course, the bottom line is that the only thing that really matters is what Christ Jesus thinks about our worship. Extravagant or not, the only thing that’s important is whether or not the Lord is satisfied?” The way to make sure of that is to live our lives (every day) making every effort to please Him and to be sure that our worship is out of love and devotion to Him and not merely tied to some earthly want or need.

Why did Jesus withdraw to Ephraim? The Jewish leadership had determined to kill him. Does this show fear? What does this teach us about strategic retreat? No, it wasn’t fear, it wasn’t His time yet. He knew the Jewish leaders were intent on killing him so he retreated to Ephraim and didn’t appear in public again until his time for crucifixion was at hand. Obviously, His strategy was to stay out of the reach of His enemies until the appointed hour for his death. Until then, He couldn’t continue to safely travel about the country preaching as had become his custom. During this “retreat”, Jesus most likely would spend a lot of time in solitary communion with His Father renewing Himself and preparing for what was to come. He would also be using the time that He had left with His disciples teaching them and preparing them for their endeavors after He was no longer (physically) with them.

Caiaphas was not overly concerned with justice. The temple was a profitable enterprise and its loss would have meant his financial ruin. His intent was to convince the Sanhedrin to sacrifice Jesus in order pacify the Romans and to save the nation. His words however revealed his true intent which was to save himself from political and financial ruin. In reality, by linking the death of Jesus not only to the Jews, but to other nations his plan to sacrifice Jesus “for the good of all” actually articulated God's plan of salvation for all men through Jesus’ death.

Why was Jesus "deeply moved"? Although I believe that they were correct in interpreting Jesus’ sorrow as evidence that He loved Lazarus (He did love him), they were wrong in their belief that His tears signified the same grief that they were feeling over his death. I interpret this passage as, rather than being mournful over Lazarus’ death, Jesus was agitated or disturbed with the mourners who were wailing, weeping and generally acting like faithless hypocrites. Jesus understands that sin is the fundamental cause of suffering & death and His heart was filled with sorrow and remorse not only for their actions but by the sinful state of the world (then and now). Why did he weep? He wasn’t weeping out of His love for Lazarus at all. Jesus was 100% human as well as being 100% God. As a man, He had exactly the same human feelings and emotions that we all have but as God, He has 100% mastery over His emotions. He already knew that it was His Father’s will that He should raise Lazarus from his “sleep” so mourning and/or weeping over him would have been counter-productive. Jesus was weeping because of the sorrow that He felt for all mankind over our sin, self-indulgence and lack of faith in Him. I believe His tears were shed because, in his humanity, He could sense the despair they we feel because of our sinful natures and lack of faith. Rather than mourning Lazarus (whom He would raise), He was weeping for those who are dead to Him because of our sinful nature.

What is Martha's reputation compared to that of her sister Mary? Martha appeared to be rather prickly and somewhat un-trusting. Mary put her faith in God and worshipped at Jesus' feet. What is so amazing about Martha's confession? In the face of a lot of doubt surrounding Jesus at that time, her confession clearly affirmed that she (absolutely) believed everything that He said about Himself and those who believe in Him. This was her personal affirmation that Jesus was the promised Messiah, the Son of God and a clear acknowledgment that this man was the Son of God, God in the flesh, equal to and having the same persona as his Father. Which of the sisters seems more spiritual on this day? Martha

Q2. (John 11:25-26) In what sense does Jesus embody resurrection? In what sense does he embody life? What is the great promise that he offers us in verses 25 and 26? In what sense does Jesus embody resurrection? Through the crucifixion and ultimate resurrection of Christ Jesus God revealed to all mankind that His awesome power can indeed triumph over death. He proved just that when Jesus left His tomb alive and well. Jesus’ resurrection proved beyond doubt that God's righteousness, judgement and His absolute goodness would be preserved for eternity. In what sense does he embody life? The certainty of Christ's resurrection from the dead is the basis of our hope. Jesus is “the way, the truth and the life” and in John 14:19 He tells us that “because He lives, we will live also.” What is the great promise that he offers us in verses 25 and 26? I believe for most of us, the most disagreeable thing we face in our lives is of course, death. In Vv. 25 & 26 Jesus tells us that He is “the resurrection and the life” and promises that, if we will only believe in Him, we can live with Him forever. Jesus doesn’t just talk the talk though, He also walked the walk by giving the gift of life when He raised Lazarus from the dead. His eternal promise to all of us is that if we truly believe that He is the resurrection and the life and we live our lives accordingly, we too will see the glory of God.

I don’t believe the character of Thomas, or any of the apostles (other than Judas Iscariot) for that matter, could possibly be called into question. These men all had their own strengths and weaknesses and those strengths and weaknesses were why they were hand-picked by Christ Jesus to spread His gospel after His crucifixion. Except for John, all of Jesus’ disciples had their doubts or they wouldn’t have deserted Him at the cross but I believe Thomas was unfairly singled out because he voiced his doubt. Verse 16 shows his true character as both a man of great faith and courage.

Q4. (John 10:27-30) In the world of shepherds, who would try to "snatch" a sheep? Who would try to "snatch" a Christian if he could? What promise of absolute security are we given? How does that assure you? A wolf. Satan. Jesus said, “I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.” Jesus’ use of the double negative, ou mē emphasizes the impossibility of the devil being able to snatch us away from Him.

Q3. (John 10:11-15) How does a "good shepherd" differ from what a hired shepherd would do in time of danger? In what way did Jesus the Good Shepherd "lay down his life for the sheep"? Christ Jesus is the Good Shepherd, He knows His flock and is sure of them; conversely, His flock also knows Him they know who it is in whom they place their trust. The hired shepherd doesn’t identify himself with the flock, he considers himself rather than the flock in his care and when danger comes he flees from it leaving the flock unattended. He gave His life on the cross for the sins of His flock.

A good shepherd cares for and makes the sheep his own. He leads them to good pastureland and will never sacrifice them to his own selfish ends. A good shepherd always looks after his flock kindly, zealously protecting both their life and their pasture. When we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior we receive a new life and a fullness of being in Him through Christian baptism. One of the elements of this "new life" is of course, "abundance." An abundance of life far exceeding anything we could even dream of! Just as our physical lives have a quantifiable beginning, when we are born again (baptized) in Christ Jesus, our lives take on a brand new meaning and the promise of a much brighter future (i.e. an “abundant” life). Scientifically, we know that life spawns new life. Spiritually, our new lives in Christ bring with it His promise of an abundant life. A life that includes an appreciation for the beauty of His creation and a spiritual strength that is a direct response to the continuing growth in our faith. The abundance that Jesus is talking about is a resistance to eternal death through His promise of eternal life. In his second letter to Timothy (3:12), Paul wrote; “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted”. Paul didn’t say that we "might be persecuted", he very clearly says that we “will be persecuted”, and it will be because of our Christian ideals and our Christian values. In reality, Paul wasn’t wrong back then and he isn’t wrong today! Today, there are more Christians who spend every single day in fear for their lives than at any time in modern history. Religious persecution is so prolific these days that there’s a very real possibility that Christianity could be facing total annihilation in the Middle East, our core Christian values are under attack here at home and the persecution of Christians is on a very fast track in Asia and Africa. But... as modern-day disciples of Christ Jesus, we all need to recognize and understand that there is intrinsic value in persecution. I’m not saying that we should particularly enjoy persecution, nor do we need to revel in it but, it does provide an opportunity for all of us to share in a collective fellowship with our Lord and Savior. James tells us quite clearly (James 1:2-4) that trials will test our faith and produce steadfastness (determination) in our lives. He concludes this passage in verse 4 with… “And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” The phrase, "Perfect and complete, lacking in nothing" clearly indicates an “abundant” life. Without Christ in their lives, unbelievers are totally alone and have to deal with all of the trials and tribulations that this world has to offer without an advocate to help them through it. The world today, just as it was in the time of Jesus, it’s filled with misplaced pride, personal materialism, sexual depravity and totally given over to pursuits of all sorts of earthly pleasures, the pursuit of wealth and blind ambition. We Christians have the power of the Lord, His son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit to guide and encourage us while non-believers have to face all of the turmoil that this world brings to the table on their own. Personally, that’s not something that I’d like to be facing alone.

What does it mean that Jesus' sheep "know his voice"? Jesus is telling us all that, as Christians, we should know Him intimately and when we do, we must listen for his voice and obey His teachings and commands. When you hear Him and “know his voice”, you hear him speak to you in your heart and, denying our own will, we must do His will instead. How can you discern his voice from your own thoughts and the expectations of others? When there is confusion in our lives, obviously we should pray passionately, but if the confusion remains, all we have to do to hear His true voice is to see what the inspired Word of God, the Bible, has to say. Those of “His flock” know His voice (through the gospels) and we know full-well that He will never, ever lie or lead us counter to what He’s taught in His Holy Word (Titus 1:2).

Q4. (John 9:39-41) Were the Pharisees responsible for their hard hearts and spiritual blindness? According to 2 Corinthians 4:4, what causes spiritual blindness? Was Pharaoh responsible for his hardness of heart? (see Exodus 8:15, 32; 9:34; 10:3; 13:15; 1 Samuel 6:6). Yes, we are all totally responsible for our own spiritual blindness and hardness of heart. Refusal to believe. Absolutely, He saw that there was relief but he’d hardened his heart and didn’t heed the warnings.

Jesus sought him out because he heard that the Pharisees had excommunicated him from the temple because he had been totally open and confident in his proclamations about Jesus Christ. Although his formal knowledge was probably limited, his “common sense” told him that the man who’d healed his blindness was in-fact a true man of god. At this point all he needed was confirmation that his assertions were correct and when Jesus gave that to him he believed and worshiped Him.

Why do you think Jesus healed in different ways? Laying on of hands, command, mud on eyes, fingers in ears, etc. Jesus didn’t need to use physical acts to heal! He knows that we all have different physical and spiritual needs and He recognized the “spiritual” needs surrounding every miracle He performed in order to fulfill those needs. Sometimes that did call for a physical action, such as the spitting used to heal the blind man, laying on of hands, et al, but those physical actions were used only to focus their faith on Him. In this case, the people of that time believed that saliva had healing properties and Jesus’ use of saliva was in keeping with the local culture (and traditions) of His time. In actuality, we all know that Jesus didn’t have to say or do anything at all to heal this man. He merely used used it to emphasize His intention to heal just as He used the laying on of hands and placing his fingers in a deaf man’s ears. How much do you think was at his Father's direction? Jesus ALWAYS did His Father’s will and followed His guidance in every instance. It wasn’t the physical method that He chose to use that did the healing, the healing came directly from the power of God. Why is it important to seek God's guidance in how we should minister to a person? It’s absolutely imperative because if you make the wrong decision or say the wrong things it could lead the person to whom you’re ministering down the wrong path. If that happens, you will not only lose the faith and trust of that person but it will certainly bring harsh judgment upon you in the end. The primary tool for ministering to others is your own heart and in order to get your heart right, rather than relying on your own limited competencies, you must commit yourself to the Lord and trust in Him completely. He is the beginning and the end of all things and it’s only through Him that you can ever hope to minister to another person and have something good come of it.