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brianthedisciple
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Posts posted by brianthedisciple
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On 8/7/2014 at 11:38 AM, Pastor Ralph said:
Q3. (John 2:6-10)
Why do you think alcoholics are quick to point out this miracle?
- I don't know. I've never heard anyone who was a problem drinker point out this in relationship to their using of alcohol
Which is wrong: drinking wine or drunkenness?
- Rhetorical question
How can we avoid excesses and still enjoy God’s good gifts?
- My wife drinks wine; I drink non-alcoholic wine. We simply enjoy what it as a gift and blessing from God
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On 8/7/2014 at 11:37 AM, Pastor Ralph said:
Q2. (John 2:3-5)
Why do you think Mary pushes Jesus to solve the wedding host’s problem?
- In the context of the culture, great embarrassment would have happened if the host ran out of wine, and Mary wanted to prevent that if she could
- Mary understood something of Christ's divinity, and had strong faith that he could do something about it
Are her words to Jesus appropriate?
- Yes. I don't think she would have done anything harmful or disrespectful
Would you categorize Jesus’ reply as a rebuke?
- Don't know, because we don't understand the cultural context
If so, why does he go ahead with the miracle?
- We don't know if the Father had willed this to be so
- God still works in ways that we don't and can't understand
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On 5/15/2020 at 9:21 AM, Pastor Ralph said:
Day 1 Meditation (Revelation 4; 5:6).
Why is everyone around the throne worshipping?
- Jesus, as the Lamb, made the perfect sacrifice for all of mankind by giving his life, and is now the conquering Lord, deserving of all of our worship and praise
Why are they chanting and singing?
- It is the least they can do, and because He is worthy of my singing, thoughts, chants, meditations, etc.
Why do you think that we get bored with worship after a few minutes?
- They have a limited perspective of who Jesus is, and fail to see and remember Him as the Lamb who took away all their sins
What does that indicate about our hearts?
- If I can't worship, it is growing dull
What can we do to change this?
- Ask God to keep a fresh perspective of the Lamb before my eyes on a consistent basis
- Have an active study in His word, sing, worship, never forget what He's done for me
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On 8/7/2014 at 11:35 AM, Pastor Ralph said:
Q5. (John 1:50-51)
Which aspects of Daniel’s prophecy in Daniel 7:13-14 does Jesus apply to his title as Son of Man?
- The authority and rule of the coming Messiah
When will the Son of Man complete his ministry?
- When He comes back in the future and receives an eternal Kingdom from His Father
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On 8/7/2014 at 11:34 AM, Pastor Ralph said:
Q4. (John 1:45-50) How does Jesus deal with Nathanael’s skepticism?
- He said something to him via a word of knowledge that only Nathanael would know, concerning some incident that happened under a fig tree
What was the nature of the miracle?
- a word of knowledge
Upon coming to faith, what title does Nathanael bestow upon Jesus?
- king of Israel, a title that related to the Messiah
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Q3. (John 1:40-42)
What role does Andrew play in Simon Peter’s conversion?
- after Andrew spent an unknown period of time with Jesus, the assumption is that there were many things that Jesus shared with him
- after this time of sharing, he immediately went and got his brother Peter. Another assumption, I believe truth, was the anticipation and expectation of the Messiah by the Jewish people, to include Peter and Andrew, and when Andrew reported, this is that Messiah that we've been expecting, Andrew was able to bring his brother to meet Jesus
Today, why do so many Christians substitute bringing a person to Jesus with bringing them to church?
- the expectation is that simply by the person being in God's presence, and hearing the preaching, that is how their friend will get saved
What might be the similarities?
- Jesus is being proclaimed (hopefully), and the word of God being preached is powerful and can bring salvation
What might be the differences?
- Andrew had a personal encounter himself, and brought his brother to experience that same encounter
- simply coming to a church service might take away some of the personal touch that a person needs to encounter the risen Christ
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Q2. (John 1:38-39)
Why doesn’t Jesus tell his inquirers where he is staying?
- The journey to where He was staying was equally important the place where he was staying
- Jesus apparently gave opportunity to have a conversation along the way as well as where he was staying
Why was it important for disciples to “be with” Jesus?
- Jesus was the long awaited messiah, so people had been looking for and anticipating his arrival for centuries
- they wanted to learn from him
- possibly the believed he was the one to deliver them from bondage under Rome, so they wanted to be a part of that
What does “being with” Jesus mean today?
- asking Him to join me on my everyday walk
- constantly having a desire to learn from Him and about Him
- Trusting His lordship in my daily life circumstances
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Q1. (John 1:35-37)
Upon whose recommendation did Andrew and another person start following Jesus?
- John the baptist
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In the previous verses, the day before they followed Jesus, vs.29, is a discourse from John about "the lamb of God"
- His rank above John,
- He existed before John,
- and the purpose of his baptizing (that He might be revealed to Israel)
- He testified (to everyone, including these disciples, possibly) that he saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove and rested on Him
- The Father instructed John on what to look for in the person who would baptize with the Holy Spirit, vs. 33
- He testified (to everyone, including these disciples), that this was the Son of God
After all this, the next day, vs. 35, no wonder they followed Jesus
What did this recommendation cost the recommender in this case?
- He lost at least 2 disciples
- But, the was the purpose of his coming, to introduce Israel to the Messiah, so in essence, nothing was lost
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Q5. (John 1:33)
How does John the Baptist’s baptism differ from the baptism that Jesus brings?
- John's baptism was a singular event: a person came to him to repent of and be forgiven of their sins, and that's it
- Jesus baptism was multi-dimensional. As a pentecostal believer, the emphasis that I learned was on the speaking in tongues. What I appreciate about this lesson is that it highlights the multi-dimensions of the Holy Spirit
- I experienced, and continue to experience these "dimensions" of the Holy Spirit, but I never saw Him in this way before:
- "Born of the Spirit" (3:6, 8), "born from above/again" (3:6).
- Worship "in Spirit and in truth" (4:24).
- "Rivers of living water" flowing out of one's heart (7:38-39), offered to "whoever believes in me."
- "The Spirit of truth," who is with you and will be in you (14:16-17) -- another Counselor (Greek Paraklētos), the indwelling Spirit.
- The Spirit (Paraklētos) who will teach and remind believers of what Jesus said (14:26).
- The Spirit (Paraklētos) who testifies of Jesus (15:26).
- The Spirit (Paraklētos) who will guide us into all truth (16:13-15), and who will convict the world of sin (16:8-11).
- The Spirit Whom Jesus breathed upon his disciples -- "Receive the Holy Spirit" (20:22).
Baptism is a word that means “immerse, plunge under water.” What does a “baptism of the Holy Spirit” imply about this event?
- As I think about it, the baptism in water is an mere earthly "symbol" of the heavenly "symbol", the baptism in the Holy Spirit, to be totally immersed in, and plunged into the presence of God. In Acts 2, the apostles appeared drunk after receiving the Holy Spirit, ie, totally immersed in and plunged into God's Spirit.
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Q4. (John 1:29)
What does the title “Lamb of God” tell us about Jesus’ ministry?
- he came into the world with a specific mission and purpose, to be sacrificed as a lamb, sent by God to do this
According to 1:29, whose sins did he come to take away?
- the people who have existed on this planet, both past, present, and future
In what ways did Jesus fulfill Isaiah 53?
- he did not open his mouth to defend himself
- he wasn't impressive looking that anyone would desire him
- Abba laid on him the iniquities of all mankind
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Q3. (John 1:19-27)
How does John the Baptist show humility?
- he denies he is one of the great prophets of the old testament, though he was very popular
How can a person see himself as the fulfillment of a passage from Isaiah and still be humble about it?
- he understands his calling and maintains a close relationship with God
How does John see himself in relation to the coming Messiah?
- he didn't see himself as worthy of the most menial task that a slave would perform, tying his shoes
How can a person be such a strong revivalist preacher and still remain humble?
- close communion with His God
Can humility and powerful, confident speech co-exist?
- of course it can
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Q2. (John 1:26-27)
Why did John baptize?
- He was sent to prepare the hearts of the people and get them ready to receive the coming messiah
What is the meaning of the baptism he was performing?
- When a person was baptized, they showed a desire to repent of their sins and receive forgiveness from God
What do you think baptism represents to those John baptized?
- They thought he was doing this because he was one of the 3 great men that were expected to come in the last days: Messiah, Moses, or Elijah
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Q1. (John 1:19-23)
Why do you think John the Baptist was being hassled by the religious leaders from Jerusalem?
- Possibly because he was drawing large crowds and the people were gravitating to him instead of them
- John was calling the religious leaders out because of their sins and hypocrisy
What were they afraid of?
Losing power
How did John understand his own mission?
His job was to prepare the people to receive the soon coming messiah
How much conflict do you think could be expected from John’s mission?
Anytime people are threatened, they are capable of doing just about anything to maintain their power and position.
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Q5. (John 1:18) What does it mean that Jesus is the “Only God” or the “Only Begotten God”?
He is unique and one of a kind.
Does the Apostle John seem to make a distinction between God the Father and God the Son?
- "who is Himself God"
- "is at the Fathers side"
What does all this mean for our understanding of the Trinity?
- not that I totally understand it or ever will, but, it is clear that all parts of the Trinity are clearly God, but, in each, there is distinctions from the others
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Q3 (John 1:12-13) What does it mean to "receive" Jesus?
I believe it means to accept His authority in my life.
What does it imply to "believe in" Jesus?
Actively putting my trust in the person of Jesus.
What is the spiritual relationship to God of those who receive and believe in Jesus?
I am adopted into the family of God. I am a son in the same way that Jesus is a son.
Of those who do not?
They are ******* children, not legitimately belonging to God as Abba, Father, or Christ, as a son or co-heir.
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Q4. (John 1:14) Why is the idea of God “becoming flesh” so important to the basis of the Christian faith?
If He didn't become flesh, or walk in and experience, everything a human could ever experience, He could not identify with humanity, he could not be in the place of dying for our sins. Consequently, I would still be held accountable for all my sins, past, present, and future. There is no hope for me.
What would Christ’s life, crucifixion, and resurrection mean if he were only pretending to “become flesh”?
Simple. Nothing.
In what ways have you personally experienced his grace?
Salvation. After that, forgiveness from the many things I have done, both in ignorance and with knowledge.
In what ways has his truth changed your life from what it was?
I know that Abba, Father, loves me. That because of Jesus, He looks on me with a smile on His face, and not with a disappointed, angry look.
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Q2. (John 1:7-8) What did it mean that John was sent to “testify” to the light?
- Because it was a legal term, a credible person was needed to testify of the validity of someone's person, story, character, etc
- John gave legal witness to the ministry of Jesus
In what sense are you put here with the purpose of “testifying” to the light?
- Jesus light shined into the darkness of my life and gave me freedom from the power of the enemy
- As a believer today, my life continues to be a witness as I let the light of Christ's life live in and through me
- Every time I do something/anything that glorifies Him, I am testifying about His light in my life
How are you doing in this regard?
- The best "witnesses" to that are the people who know me: my wife, children, friends, etc.
- I believe they would testify that I have lived my life faithfully unto God
What happened to John the Baptist?
- He was beheaded from his stance on telling the truth without any fear
What might happen to you if you testify clearly?
- I risk persecution from a world that lives in darkness
What might happen to the people to whom you testify?
- My hope is that they will see the light of Christ in me, repent, and turn to Christ and become His disciple
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His ministry:
God has multiple thoughts about man, sin, marriage, healing, etc. During Jesus earthly ministry, He spoke and lived to display Gods thoughts on these and many other subjects pertaining to mankind.
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Jesus is the thoughts of God expressed. When God thought about the world, Jesus spoke those thoughts, and the world came into existence. When God thought about what mankind would be and look like, act like, be like, etc., Jesus spoke those thoughts and man and woman came into existence.
Q4. Quiet Miracle
in 4. Changing the Water into Wine (John 2:1-12)
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