Reuben

Q3. (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3) According to this passage, what warning can we expect to have prior to Christ’s return? What does it mean that he will “come like a thief”? This passage refers to a time where they shall say, "Peace and safety" KJV, and then sudden destruction, and we know it is before this destruction that Jesus will return. Paul states it clearly that nobody knows the time or the season ( although other scripture describes the season) but we know the signs, and as it unfolds we grow in our anticipation for His glorious return and reuniting with our Saviour. A thief comes when you least expect it, and what I find interesting is that if you relate to any thief, and he gives you clear clues as to when he will come and take your precious belongings, don't you think you will be sure to watch out for these clues, and then be prepared to catch him or prevent him from doing this? I think you would, yet we as Christians can be ignorant at times and not keep up our guard despite these "clues". We do not know the time , neither did Jesus, only the Father, and we must be on guard and keep watch because it will happen.

Q2. (1 Thessalonians 4:14) How will Christ bring with him those believers who have previously died? According to Matthew 25:31, who will also will accompany Christ when he returns? Jesus will bring with Him all the saints, believers that have died and gone to heaven on this day, and they will come down with Jesus and be changed in a twinkling of an eye. I read in the study the reference to people standing in graveyards looking at this happening after the resurrection, but the question I have is, if those coming down with him are also changed and those on the ground are changed and taken up then I wonder if anybody will be on the ground at this point? It will be an awesome sight with thousands and thousands of angels coming down with Him.

Q1. (1 Thessalonians 4:16; Daniel 7:13-14) In what ways does Daniel’s prophecy of the Son of Man outline Christ’s return? In light of this prophecy, why did Jesus use the title “Son of Man” rather than “Christ” or “Son of God”? Daniel sees the Son of Man being led into the presence of God and then God giving Him authority over everything and the Son of Man returning on the clouds of heaven. The Son of Man would indicate that Jesus is indeed God in the flesh that came first to sacrifice Himself for our sins, and then returning for His people to be with them in a renewed earth and everlasting kingdom.

Q4. (1 Thessalonians 4:6-8) Why do you think Paul mentions such severe punishments for sexual immorality? Are these punishments more severe than for other sins? What effect should these warnings have on Christians? It is obvious that it was a big problem at that time and people did not think much of it to go around and be sexually immoral. It is no surprise because they were not aware that they were doing "WRONG" in some respect because they had no idea of the standards God sets in the Bible regarding how we should live our lives. Today it is still a big problem, but most if not almost everybody today knows it is wrong because they would have that knowledge, and that knowledge is having the Bible as our moral compass. It is whether you believe it or reject it! Paul makes the point as harsh has he could to draw their focus on this area of sin that seems to be a big problem. No the punishment for sin is not graded in any degree, you fall short and you sin, and are not categorised according to your wrong doing. The punishment, or judgement is the same. It reminds us that we are in a daily struggle against this battle between the flesh and the spirit, and we need to reload ourselves daily with this spiritual ammunition to fight this battle with the Holy Spirit as the bullets in the magazine.

Q3. (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5) Are humans actually capable of controlling their sexual urges? If so, why are so many people seemingly out of control? Why is it important to control ourselves sexually within marriage? What happens when sexuality does not have any boundaries? What happens to marriages, to children, to our spirits, to our bodies? Yes they are able to control their desires, and it is a conflict between the spirit and the flesh that we are in control of. Paul mentioned this battle in Romans 7 where the struggle between the thing that you don't want to do, you do, and the thing you want to to you do not do! We are human and if we are carnal in our thinking that is what will control our decisions, but if we keep the relationship real and close with the Spirit we can choose through His power within to do what pleases God. So many are out of control because they remove themselves from any form of accountability and think that it is all about pleasing the self, no strings attached. This is also what happens when a world removing themselves from God will fall in the pit of immorality and think nothing of it. Marriage is a sacred bond and covenant between man and wife and to God. You honour somebody by keeping that covenant. By dishonouring it you are breaking the covenant, and you are causing a breakdown in relationship between you, your spouse and God. When you have no boundaries you are falling into darkness further and further and removing yourself from God and the peace and loving relationship you can experience when doing what is pleasing to God rather than only what pleases your desires. Marriages suffer a breakdown in love and trust , it affects the children with severe mental trauma seeing the ones they look up to hurting each other like this. It will also cause the spirit to feel empty , lost and hurt, even resenting, and this will require healing through repentance, and forgiveness and grace from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Q2. (1 Thessalonians 4:3-4) What does it mean to be “sanctified”? In what sense are we “holy” now? In what sense are we in the process of becoming “holy”? What does holiness have to do with our sexuality? To be sanctified means being cleansed and made pure, spotless as such. We are "holy" now through the blood of Jesus Christ that has washed our sins away, and through Him we are made righteous , and my sanctification has started when I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. We will always be in the process of becoming "holy" as we do our best to live our lives by Gods grace and being obedient to His will. Our sexuality needs to be practiced as the Bible commands us and not immorally, so that we are not defiling this sanctification process that is at work in us, and that we will not be guilty of rejecting God , and allowing the flesh to rule over us.

Q1. (1 Thessalonians 4:1-2) What is the difference between (1) conducting our lives by rules and (2) conducting our lives trying to please our God? Which is stronger? Rule-keeping or love? On whose authority does Paul bring these commands? LOVE! That is the difference. We want to stick to the rules out of love for God. Just having rules and no loving relationship with the one that makes the rules , will make it an unpleasant, almost impossible task to want to stick to the rules. Love is the stronger one, because you want to please, by obeying, and not just keeping rules because you were told to. Paul writes this by the authority of God and the stern reminders of the "how to live", clearly comes from the Holy Spirit putting these commands in Pauls heart.

Q4. (1 Thessalonians 3:10-11; Romans 1:11) What is the value of visits of special speakers to a congregation? What can they impart that your regular pastor can’t? Why is a ministry of itinerant preaching so difficult – and important? Special speakers are that breath of fresh air, that possible spiritual gift the speaker presents on that day that has that more effect on a congregation when they visit. I think special speakers can do what is referred to in Colossians 1:28"....admonishing, and teaching everyone with all wisdom...". The admonishing part is where guest speakers can be more effective than the regular pastor, he can reprimand and he will move on without having to deal with possible members having issues with sterner teachings. I am guessing here, but I would think itinerant teaching does not allow the preacher to always tap in to the need of the church at that time as far as teaching goes. It also leaves the teacher with little knowledge of the effect and continued outcome of the teaching on the congregation, and that would make it difficult. It is important for the reasons mention in the first paragraph, and thankfully there are teachers out there that love doing itinerary preaching.

Q3. (1 Thessalonians 3:3-5) In what ways does persecution discourage Christians from active, open service? In what ways does it mature them? In what ways does it reveal our underlying motives? Why do you think God allows the tempter the ability to tempt us? Why hasn’t he done away with Satan already? Fear of rejection, punishment, harm, isolation, and even death in some places makes Christians shy away from being active , and doing discipleship openly. By still confessing your faith and doing your work as a disciple of Christ despite these fears, makes you rise above these fears through courage and strength , and trust in God, and this further grows your relationship and maturity as a Christian. I suppose it reveals our underlying motives if we persist despite the challenges , for we are doing it to please Jesus, and not to impress others. God has given us the ability to choose freely in this life. Good or evil. He finds his children will choose good and they will be the ones that love Him and want to be with Him. He does not force anybody against their will to be or do what they do not want. Why would you have a child cry and kick and scream if you force it to do something that he DOES NOT WANT TO DO. You would love your house to be full of kids that want to do what pleases you and show their love every day by choosing the right options. Yes why has God not done away with Satan yet? Why do we need to choose between good and evil, why not choose between good and better? It is written how it will happen and we are here to trust Gods plan to the last minute.

Q2. (2 Thessalonians 3:2-3) Why is Timothy’s role to be a strengthener and encourager so important? In what ways was this a sensitive role. How did it help Timothy to be sent on this assignment? How does delegating ministry help the overall enterprise of the Kingdom? Timothy had to be sent, to this new church to give them guidance and confidence in what they are doing, assuring them that they are on the right path, and telling them to stand fast despite the hardships. We find it ourselves in life , when thing go tough, or if we are unsure about stuff, it makes such a difference if we are encouraged and guided by someone you respect in your life. It was a sensitive role because firstly he had to return to an area where he was not welcome, and secondly he was likely to get some criticism, if you may, by some of the fellow Christians there about the hanging accusations around Paul, and why they are having it as tough. So not only did Timothy have to go under the radar but I think he also served as a mediator for Paul despite the letter he wrote. I would be surprised if they read the letter and then just said, " o, ok that explains it all , thanks". Talk about being the messenger? It took courage!!!! These are the moments when you get to know yourself more, and grow as a person in character, and this is where you strengthen your faith, and trust in God to be by your side in this task. Delegation is important , as Jesus showed us from the beginning of his ministry. He commands us to go and be disciples, and by delegating we can be far more effective in reaching our goals, and also using those with special talents, to do things best suited for them, in helping to spread the Gospel. In this case Timothy had the ability to not stir up things too much and being sensitive to a situation that required a balanced approach.

Q1. (1 Thessalonians 2:19-20) How can we justify a desire for rewards for our labour in light of God’s free gift of salvation and our love for him? What does Christ reward? What doesn’t he reward? Why should showing accountability to our Master bring us pleasure? How does it motivate us? By answering this question I can use the analogy of a family , and the relationship of the father and the child. Being born again, I am now a child of God. God is the Father of the family and I am a child. As I was born I was lucky to be in a family, accepted and included automatically, but growing up I had pleasure in getting verbal, or material rewards from my parents when doing the right thing that pleased them by being obedient or doing that little extra effort. I did it because I knew it would please them to see the effort, and I would not have done it if I did not love them. We do our "works" as part of the love we have from God, and the love we have for Him. He does not reward effort , or works that are not pleasing to him, whether it is doing nothing at all or doing the wrong thing. It makes sense that good work are the one that a Holy God are looking for. Showing accountability brings us please because we know we are doing our part in attempting to walk the walk and not just talk the talk, and when we live out this responsibility as a Christian, we know it pleases God, and that gives us pleasure, like a child pleasing his parents. It motivates us to keep doing this , because of the promise in the Bible, each will receive his reward in heaven.

Q4. (1 Thessalonians 2:11-12) Why are “fatherly” roles so important to making disciples? How effectively do you think women can adopt these traits? Fatherly roles are just as important as motherly roles, but in a slightly different manner. Fatherly roles as stated here indicates a more sterner approach but still not losing the important aspect of love , care and sensitivity. I think the KJV gives me a feeling of a firmer approach to discipleship in this sense using word like "exhorted "combined with "comforted". Give strong words of comforting encouragement! And "charged" everyone of you, meaning to me as like urging but pointing out to each one their strong and weaker points. Woman lean more towards the sensitive and compassionate approach , I think, but they have have every ability to be firm, and more forceful when needed, and sometimes they are more effective than men.

Q3. (1 Thessalonians 2:6b-8) Why are “motherly” nurturing qualities so important to growing disciples? How effectively can male disciplers adopt some of these traits? Mothers and fathers may have the same love for their children, but mothers have an innate nature to be more protective, calming, sacrificial, sensitive, and caring towards their little ones. These qualities are very important for children to feel from their mother as it makes them feel, loved, appreciated, wanted, cared for, and gives them security. Children who have such a mother will be happy around her, and would like to be around her, and will learn from her how to treat their children when the time comes. It applies in the same way to growing disciples. When you have love for another you will not need to be trying to hard to apply these qualities, it will almost come naturally. Male disciples can adopt to these qualities by being more sensitive to the emotional needs of others and allowing that level of connection. Being a man I know we tend to think we are the stronger sex, " I am a man!" , and showing affection, or emotion makes us less of a man, but on the contrary. I believe this is what we all have inside us, is this emotional sensitivity, and that will make us connect to others on a sincere, honest level and be far more affective for discipleship.

2. (1 Thessalonians 2:3-6) Which of the character flaws mentioned in these verses is the greatest problem in the church? Why do you say that? How can you prevent one of these character flaws from overtaking you? I am of the opinion that all these flaws are a problem in some of todays churches, and that one church may be guilty of one or more and the next church could be the same or less. We see greed usually in bigger churches when more is needed to grow, grow, grow, and talk is all about money and the leaders get all too important. Big churches can also be guilty of deceit, teaching to please the ear. Then getting approval, from men? I have seen the best and worst of it over my Christian life, and you know when to walk away. These flaws are lurking in some way or another and when you have alternative motives, rather than being a humble servant of God, and growing His Kingdom, ( not yours) you should be steering clear of these flaws if you do a honest self assessment.

Q1. (1 Thessalonians 2:2) Why is personal courage such an important character trait for a disciple – and for a discipler? How does lack of courage prevent evangelism? How does lack of courage prevent a congregation from being healthy? What is God calling you to do that will require courage on your part? Without courage you will not stand up to defend someone. In this case it is standing up and defending your faith, and from that it means spreading the truth about your faith, and the Gospel to others. We have fears of rejection, conflict, ridicule, persecution, etc. We need Gods spirit off courage to help us stand up, and disciple. The lack off this would mean the Gospel will not be told to all nations as Jesus said. That means evangelism will be slow or not even exist. A lack of courage in a congregation would be unhealthy in various ways, but the church leader lacking boldness when preaching the word would lead a congregation with a "happy go lucky" approach, as he would not want to offend, or step on anybody's toes. Not healthy, and this would send a message to the congregation that all is fair and this is unhealthy. This congregation will also not be doing what Jesus ask us to do and that is be disciples out there. God is always at work in me to speak up when the time and opportunities arise, at work, with family and in my recreational times. I do not always do this and it is something I keep working on and praying about.

Q4. (1 Thessalonians 1:10) What does verse 10 teach us about the Christian faith? Which of these elements are most important? Which are less important? Which are underemphasized by the church in our day? Verse 10 teaches us that Jesus is the Son of God, and that he had died (for us), and has risen again to be the living God, that will protect us through faith in Him, when the final judgement comes. The teaching in this verse all have great value, but the fact that Jesus had risen from the dead makes us realise He has overcome death, and through Him alone we can do the same. Some churches will teach us all the things in that verse , but do not talk much about the wrath, and final judgement that awaits if we do not walk in Christ.

Q3. (1 Thessalonians 1:5b-6a) How important is imitation in the formation of a new Christian’s spiritual life? What kinds of ministry are most conducive to imitation? Why is the character of the mentor or leader so important to the health of the church? How well do people grow in Christ who aren’t part of a Christian community? In what way is your character important to your family and spiritual children? A new Christian forms ideas about being a Christian soon after taking the step to follow Christ, from those around him/her, as this is their immediate reference, before they grow in Christ and the Bible teaches them how to be as Christians. Ministries where the leaders in the church walk the walk and not just talk the talk, are most conductive, and where the community of the church is inclusive, loving and honest. The leader of the church is the one everybody looks up to as the standard. I have seen good and bad, and the bad examples just loose credibility, and causes members to think the grey areas are ok. Not good. The growth of people not in a church community will be different for each individual. Some people need that more than others , but it is to the benefit of everybody to grow in your Christian character when you are in a church with the right leaders and loving members. My character sets the example to my children, and as I am not perfect, just like the next person, we know Jesus has set the guidelines as to how we should live our lives and this is what we should strive for. My children will imitate some of my habits and actions when they grow up and if they do not see me have a relationship with God, or living a lawless life , that will form them in a negative way, and their spiritual wellbeing is just as , if not more important than their physical wellbeing.

Q2. (1 Thessalonians 1:4-5) Why is the Holy Spirit’s working so necessary to effective ministry? What happens when the main power behind our ministry is will-power? What is the role of miracles in Paul’s evangelism? What would happen if we saw miracles in evangelism in our day? What is hindering this? The Holy Spirit is what convicts us , and this is what makes us listen and then we have the free will to respond. The Holy Spirit is what makes the words from the teacher sound like music to the ears. You want to keep listening and absorbing and when you see people with that light and obvious influence of the Holy Spirit , you feel you want some of that yourself. Will power is relying on self. We know we have to be in partnership with God the Father, who makes the Holy Spirit our teacher and guide , so we have this rather than self. Paul says it himself, they saw the power of God, and the ones that are in doubt will have no uncertainty that there is a powerful Spiritual presence when seeing miracles. The ones that are certain of the faith will see this and they will only grow stronger, and tell others. That is what we do when something amazing happens, we tell others, we become witnesses and spread the Good News. The same would happen now as it did then, and it is happening. We see big and small miracles and we tell others as we should, and you will have some look and think and believe, ( not denying the power), and others that will try to rationalise. Faith in the truth of miracles still existing could be lacking, once again , having a form of Godliness, but denying the power of it. Self would always be an issue as well. By this I mean that we humans think we are so clever, smart, advanced, etc. etc. , and science is the absolute truth so there "seems" to be an explanation for everything, and if we don't have the answer, we theorise, rather than giving glory to Gods power.

Q1. (Acts 17:1-10) Why do you think there was so much strong opposition to Paul’s ministry in Thessalonica? Why do you think Paul keeps preaching the gospel, even though there is often a violent reaction against him? Does a violent reaction to our ministry necessarily mean we should stop? Paul went to the heart of the Jews and preached three sabbaths telling the religious leaders of the Truth, and as it has been proven over and over, most of them are set in their ways and don't have ears to listen, and get angry when they are told of their errors, like many people do regardless. The fact that some did listen and believe Paul made them more angry and loosing their " customers" is bad for business, so they got more angry. The fact that he keeps preaching the gospel is proof of his outmost conviction that what he is telling them is the absolute truth, and because he carries that love and concern towards other fellow human beings he keeps doing it. No we should not stop to tell people if we get that reaction, and it will keep happening. We may change our methods and be wiser in our approach as we gain experience, but we also know ask guidance through the Holy Spirit how we should speak the Truth.

Q4. (3 John 9-10) What character flaws does Diotrephes exhibit? Can a person be a strong pastoral leader without developing these traits? If you have tendencies in yourself towards pride and a controlling spirit, how can you fight against them? Diotrephes's biggest problem is pride. He develops all the other additional flaws from having too much pride, and this causes him to gossip, influence negatively, unloving, self-centred, and domineering, almost bullying. You can , and have to be a leader without these traits. Jesus is a great example of how you should act as a leader, loving, caring, wisdom, compassionate, but teaching with authority. You need to humble yourself first and foremost before God, and you need to pray to God to help you do this, and be aware of the Holy Spirit in you convicting you in your conscience when you are not doing this. Honesty to yourself , honesty to God , by admitting you have this character flaw, admitting to it , is the starting point. We all have this tendency to want to be first, or better, or more popular, but we know how we cant not afford to fall into the trap of exalting one self. Instead being humble and glory be to God.

Q3. (3 John 5-8) What are the reasons given in these verses for supporting Christian workers in their ministry? What reward comes with becoming a "co-worker," by assisting Christian workers? How effective can Christian workers be without those who support them? We help Christian workers with finance, accommodation, donations, and prayer, and by doing this we are actively doing what they are doing and that is helping to spread the Gospel by giving this support. The rewards by doing this is not materialistic but spiritual, and we will get them here and in heaven. It is also rewarding to know you are helping to do what should be done as Jesus expects us to do and that is to spread the Gospel. Missionaries will have it difficult and very challenging to do their work without fellow Christians supporting them, and will be far less effective in spreading the Good News.

Q2. (2 John 10-11) Why does the Apostle John tell his readers to refuse hospitality to the false teachers? What would refusing hospitality mean for a congregation (as opposed to an individual)? What is the border between tolerance and stupidity, when it comes to false teachers? Do the divisions of denominationalism find justification in this verse? Why or why not? The false teachers are to be refused because they are going to stain the white table cloth of the church. They will cause division and confusion within the church. Refusing hospitality would spare the congregation the task of having to discern and deal with someone that should never have been allowed to even get close to the congregation and influence them. It is stupidity to tolerate a false teacher. In some cases it does and some it does not. There are so many denominations it is scary. Most of them having the same beliefs as Christians, but just differing in church structures and how services are held. There are also those that are not anti Christ false teachers , and believe in Jesus in the flesh, God the Father and the Holy Ghost, BUT they are just as dangerous, because they teach a false salvation message.

Q1. (2 John 9) What is the danger of "running ahead" of Christ's teachings to "deeper truths"? What is the danger of "running ahead" of Christ's guidance for our lives? What does it mean to "abide" or "continue" in Christ and his teachings? Why is this so important? When we " run ahead", we transgress, we go off track, we get lost , and make up our own path and continue hoping we will get to our destination. This will remove us from the narrow path, and we are lost to follow the " road signs" on the correct path, and make up our own to stay ahead, still being lost and not following the correct guidance. To abide is to keep to the truth in the Bible and follow it as it is written. We need to abide as we studied previously, by reading the Bible, praying to God, fellowship, worship, listening to the Holy Spirit . This is the important to not run ahead, but keep on the right track, and it will give us discernment if we face those teachings that just don't sound and feel right.

Q4. (1 John 5:21) Why does John exhort his "children" to "keep yourselves from idols"? What idols distract us from the true God? What idols compete with God for attention in your life? John refers to the Christians as little children, and as new growing children do, they are easily distracted. We as adults, can stay on task much better , but we also fall victim to distractions. This is the same in our Christian lives. We are distracted from giving God the quality time he deserves to get from us. Worldly influences are plenty, from family, to work, to other interests, like sport etc. Anything that we deem more important that God the Father, would be an idol and should NOT rule our lives.

Q3. (1 John 5:14-15) What are the two conditions to answered prayer in 1 John? (See also 3:22) How do we determine God's will so that we can pray boldly, confidently? How often will our prayers be answered when our main motive is to achieve our will? Faith and Gods will are the two main conditions to answered prayer. My immediate question is does the unbeliever suddenly seeking God in prayer in a moment of crisis qualify as such? I think he does. Although he may not have lived a life walking with God in faith , it may be Gods will to answer that prayer? As we previously discussed , if you have a disobedient child will you as a parent give when they request from you. Maybe not, I know I will be less likely to give, unless the request would be something that could be instrumental in changing their behaviour, and our relationship for the better. We can pray according to His will by knowing the scriptures and leaving the worldly self glorifying requests out. This will be automatic if you know the Bible, you will be in line with His will. I have peace in knowing if I ask God to take care of an issue, be it choices, outcomes, relationships, etc, that it will turn out as it was meant to be if God was taking care of it. Our prayers will be answered if our will lines up with Gods will, and he has that path planned for us. Sometimes it can take years to see how your path , and requests in prayer not coming your way , turns out for the better in the end. My question is , if you pray to God regarding a subject, do we keep repeating the request in prayer, does God need to be asked repeatedly or if I pray once to Him, is that request in prayer heard, I should think with an Almighty Father. I do not always understand why we have to keep repeating the same request like nagging children? Lets say I pray for rain tonight, I know God heard my prayer, do I need to repeat that every night until it rains?