Sunday
Morning Bible Study
February
13, 2011
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it speak to the broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk
– Meat – Manna Preach for a decision
Jesus is having His last evening with His men.
He’s getting them ready for when He has gone back to heaven.
16:25-30 Clear
Teaching
:25 “These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time
is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will
tell you plainly about the Father.
:25 figurative
language – paroimia (“alongside”
+ “to think”) – any dark saying which shadows forth some truth as an allegory
When Jesus talked about being the
Good Shepherd (John 10:6)
and the believers being the sheep that hear His voice, John called the story an
“illustration” (paroimia).
When Peter talks about people who
have walked away from the Lord and gone back into their sin, he writes,
(2 Pe 2:22 NKJV) —22
But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having
washed, to her wallowing in the mire.”
When has Jesus been using “figurative language”?
Washing feet to
teach them to serve one another. (John
13)
Talking about heaven as “My Father’s house” (John 14)
The Vine and
the Branches, teaching about the need for relationship with Him. (John 15)
I think Jesus
is saying that He recognizes that they haven’t fully grasped all the things
that He’s been saying to them, but that things will get clearer.
:25 the time is coming
I think He’s hinting at the day of Pentecost.
:25 plainly
– parrhesia – openly, frankly,
without concealment, the opp. of “figurative”
:25 I will tell
– anaggello (“into the midst” +
“messenger”) – to announce, make known; to report
The word for “angel” or “messenger”
is a part of this word.
This is not a typical word used to describe speaking. The last time Jesus
used this word He was talking about the coming ministry of the Holy Spirit:
(Jn 16:14 NKJV) He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.
It’s the Holy
Spirit who will be the one clearly teaching the disciples.
:25 about the Father
The Spirit will teach them plainly about the Father.
Wiersbe: “The purpose of Bible study is not simply to understand
profound truths, but to get to know the Father better.”
If you’re study of the Bible is not helping you to know God better,
then you’re on the wrong track.
Moses had been learning a lot about God on Mount Sinai, but he still
felt like he didn’t know enough about God. He craved to know more about God.
(Ex 34:5–9 NLT) —5 Then the Lord came down in a cloud and stood
there with him; and he called out his own name, Yahweh.6 The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling
out, “Yahweh! The Lord! The God
of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and
faithfulness. 7 I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive
iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty. I lay the sins of
the parents upon their children and grandchildren; the entire family is
affected— even children in the third and fourth generations.” 8 Moses
immediately threw himself to the ground and worshiped.9 And he said, “O Lord,
if it is true that I have found favor with you, then please travel with us.
Yes, this is a stubborn and rebellious people, but please forgive our iniquity
and our sins. Claim us as your own special possession.”
:26 In that day
you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father
for you;
:26 you will ask – aiteo
– to ask, beg, call for, crave, desire, require
:26 I shall pray – erotao
– to question; to ask; to request, entreat, beg, beseech
Jesus isn’t saying that He’s not going to pray for the disciples. He does
pray for us:
(Heb 7:25 NKJV)
Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God
through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
The point is that He isn’t relaying prayers to God for us because the
Father hears us Himself.
:27 for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have
believed that I came forth from God.
:27 loves
– phileo – to love; to like; to treat
affectionately or kindly, to kiss, to welcome, befriend
It’s a word that seems to have an emotional component. It’s a word about
“feeling good” about another person.
NLT: “loves you dearly”
Lesson
God really likes you
We often talk about the different Greek words that can be translated with
our one English word “love”.
We like to talk
most about “agape”, that special kind
of love that God has for us and that we ought to have for one another. It’s a
love not based on emotions, but on the will. It is a choice to put a value on
the other person.
We make the mistake of thinking that God only has “agape” for us.
We can get the idea that God’s love for us is cold and
unfeeling.
Here we see He
has “phileo” for us as well.
He likes us. He really likes us.
Some
of us grew up thinking of her as “Gidget” or the “Flying Nun”. Then she went on
to movies and was a pretty good actress. Some of you only know her as the
Boniva commercial lady. When Sally Field won her second Oscar in 1984 (“Places
in the Heart”), there was a special moment in her acceptance speech:
Play
“You like me” clip
Most
people don’t realize that Sally was quoting a line from her first Oscar (“Norma
Rae”). Instead this phrase of Sally’s has entered into our cultural vocabulary,
and usually we think of a “needy” person who can’t believe that people would
like them.
Frankly, I’m excited and can hardly believe that God would
like me. But He does. And if that makes me “needy”, then so be it.
In the Old Testament, God’s love
for His people is often compared to a groom’s love for his bride.
(Je 31:3–4 NLT) —3 Long ago the Lord said to Israel: “I have loved you,
my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to
myself. 4 I will rebuild you, my virgin Israel. You will again be happy and
dance merrily with your tambourines.
Jesus says that God likes us because we “like” Jesus.
:26 you will ask
:27 you have loved – phileo
– to love; to like.
Perfect tense. To have loved in the past and the results still continue
on to the present.
This verse is saying that the Father will listen to the prayers of the
disciples because He loves them because they have loved Jesus.
Lesson
Prayer Ingredients
Jesus gives us two important ingredients to answered prayer.
Asking in Jesus’ name
Identity theft
is getting pretty common. Someone uses your “name” to gain access to your
credit cards. They go out and buy all kinds of stuff using your “name”.
When
you haven’t given someone authority
to use your name, it’s a theft.
But Jesus has given us His authority.
We aren’t stealing anything. When
we come to God in prayer, we don’t come because we are good enough, we come
because Jesus is good enough and has shared His authority with us.
Loving Jesus
If you are fond of Jesus, then God is fond of you.
God pays attention to those who are fond of His Son.
When you are fond of a person, you aren’t out to hurt them, you want to
bless them.
Valentine’s Day
– what do you buy for a person you are “fond” of?
Fresh
flowers or dead
flowers? Do you remember the “Dog House”???
Play
“Dog
House Release” clip.
My
point is not about making up for your bad behavior with gifts.
My point is that if you are really fond of someone, you learn
to pick the right gift.
Can you tell by your life whether or not you are “fond” of
Jesus?
What would you give Jesus for “Valentine’s Day”?
God wants to hear from
you. He wants you to pray.
The Catholic Church gives the impression that you ought to pray to the
saints and have them pass on your prayer requests to God. The insinuation is
that God is more willing to listen to them than He is to listen to you.
The truth is that if you love Jesus, then God wants to hear from YOU.
:28 I came forth
from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go
to the Father.”
This is a concise summary of what Jesus did for us.
He came from heaven to take on human flesh.
He will die on
the cross to pay for our sins, rise from the dead, and return back to heaven.
Paul wrote,
(Php 2:5–11 NLT) —5 You must have the same attitude
that Christ Jesus had. 6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with
God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he
took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he
appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a
criminal’s death on a cross. 9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of
highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, 10 that at the name
of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father.
:29 His disciples
said to Him, “See, now You are speaking plainly, and using no figure of speech!
:30 Now we are sure that You know all things, and have no need that anyone
should question You. By this we believe that You came forth from God.”
:29 now You are
speaking plainly
It sounds to me like the disciples are saying, “Hey Jesus, we don’t have
any problem understanding a thing you say. What do you mean we don’t understand???”
And yet just a minute before …
(Jn 16:18 NKJV) They said therefore, “What is this that He says, ‘A little while’?
We do not know what He is saying.”
They may say that they understand, but I’m not convinced…
(Jn 16:30 The Message) —30 Now
we know that you know everything—it all comes together in you. You won’t have
to put up with our questions anymore. We’re convinced you came from God.”
16:31-33 Peace in
Trouble
:31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe?
:31 Do you now
believe?
:31 now – arti
– just now, this moment; now at this time, at this very time
There is just a hint of sarcasm in what Jesus is saying.
Jesus is challenging their confidence.
Lesson
Overconfident
Illustration
Blind Ambition
Charlie Boswell was blinded during
World War II while rescuing his friend from a tank that was under fire. He was
a great athlete before his accident and in a testimony to his talent and
determination he decided to try a brand new sport, a sport he never imagined
playing, even with his eyesight . . . golf!
Through determination and a deep
love for the game he became the National Blind Golf Champion! He won that honor
13 times. One of his heroes was the great golfer Ben Hogan, so it truly was an
honor for Charlie to win the Ben Hogan Award in 1958.
Upon meeting Ben Hogan, Charlie was
awestruck and stated that he had one wish and it was to have one round of golf
with the great Ben Hogan. Mr. Hogan agreed that playing a round together would
be an honor for him as well, as he had heard about all of Charlie’s
accomplishments and truly admired his skills. “Would you like to play for
money, Mr. Hogan?” blurted out Charlie. “I can’t play you for money, it
wouldn’t be fair!” said Mr. Hogan. “Aw, come on, Mr. Hogan...$1,000 per hole!”
“I can’t, what would people think of me, taking advantage of you and your
circumstance,” replied the sighted golfer. “Chicken, Mr. Hogan?” “Okay,”
blurted a frustrated Hogan, “but I am going to play my best!” “I wouldn’t
expect anything else,” said the confident Boswell. “You’re on Mr. Boswell, you
name the time and the place!” A very self-assured Boswell responded “10 o’clock
. . . tonight!”
By John Kanary; from A Cup of Chicken Soup
for the Soul; Copyright 1996 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen & Barry
Spilchuk
Even the best
sighted golfer, no matter how confident he was, might have a little trouble
golfing at night against Charlie. Charlie once shot an 81 on his hometown golf
course.
I see it in people who have started to follow Jesus, and begin to think
that they now have their life “together”.
No. You will find that you have lots to learn, just like we all do.
It’s not just new believers that have this problem.
If you are the oldest believer in the room, you are in HUGE danger of over
confidence.
Other people can come to you looking for answers, and you might be
convinced that you actually know all the answers.
(1 Co 10:12 The Message) Don’t be so naive and self-confident. You’re not
exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about
self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence.
:32 Indeed the hour
is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and
will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.
:32 the hour is
coming
We are on that last night of Jesus’ life. Within hours Judas will show up in the Garden of
Gethsemane with a crowd of people who will have Jesus arrested, tried, and
condemned to death.
When Jesus is arrested, all of His disciples will flee in terror.
:32 you will be scattered – skorpizo (“scorpion”) – to scatter; of those who, routed or terror
stricken or driven by some other impulses, fly in every direction
The same word is used in:
(Jn 10:12 NKJV)
But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep,
sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the
sheep and scatters them.
There will be a prophecy fulfilled when Jesus is arrested and the
disciples all run for the hills:
(Zec 13:7 NKJV)
—7 “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, Against the Man who is My Companion,”
Says the Lord of hosts. “Strike
the Shepherd, And the sheep will be scattered; Then I will turn My hand against
the little ones.
:32 the Father is
with Me
Yes, there will be a moment on the cross when the Father will turn His back
on Jesus as our sins are heaped upon Him, but for the most part, the Father was
with Jesus.
Lesson
Never alone
What do you do when everyone close to you turns their back? David wrote,
(Ps 27:10 NKJV)
When my father and my mother forsake me, Then the Lord will take care of me.
David wrote of the fact that God is always with us:
(Ps 139:7–10 NKJV) —7
Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I
ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are
there. 9 If I take
the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 Even
there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.
On Thursday
night we looked at how God encouraged Joshua. For forty years the entire nation
counted on Moses to lead them. But Moses was now dead, and it would be Joshua
who would be given the terrifying task of leading Israel into battles against
big cities and scary giants. God said this to Joshua:
(Jos 1:5 NKJV) No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your
life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.
Joshua could face the giants ahead of him because God
promised to be with him.
Some of the
biggest fears that some of you are facing have to do with finances. I know that
some of you are out of work. Some of you struggle with knowing how you are
going to pay the bills at the end of the month. And even when we have a decent
income, we always seem to want more…
(Heb 13:5–6 NKJV) —5
Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you
have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we may boldly say:
“The Lord is my helper; I will
not fear. What can man do to me?”
We can face anything when we know that God is with us.
(Mt 28:19–20 NKJV)
—19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to
observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always,
even to the end of the age.” Amen.
:33 These things
I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have
tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
:33 you may have
– subjunctive, it’s a possibility
Peace isn’t automatic for the Christian. We don’t always have peace, but
it’s possible.
:33 peace
– eirene – peace between people, the
tranquil state of the soul
of Christianity, the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation
through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly
lot, of whatsoever sort that is
George Morrison
defined peace as “the possession of adequate resources.”
When I have Jesus, I have adequate resources.
“You won’t find peace in the church. You won’t find peace in Christian
service. Peace is found in the person of Jesus Christ.” (J. Vernon McGee)
:33 tribulation
– thlipsis – pressure; oppression,
affliction, distress
:33 you have
tribulation – present indicative, tribulation is a sure thing
You “may” have peace, but you “will” have tribulation.
:33 be of good cheer – tharseo
– to be of good courage, be of good cheer; to have confidence
It has been defined as courage in the face of danger.
A paralyzed man was brought to Jesus by his friends. His friends were
probably just thinking about getting the guy healed. He was probably just
thinking about how much trouble his sins had gotten him into in his life. And
the friends are daring to bring him to a guy who seems to know everything about
everyone …
(Mt
9:2 NKJV) Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When
Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your
sins are forgiven you.”
To the woman who dared to grab the hem of His garment in the middle of
the crowd …
(Mt
9:22 NKJV) But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good
cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well
from that hour.
A blind man was making a lot of noise, trying to get Jesus’ attention,
but the crowd was trying to make the man be quiet and not cause a commotion.
(Mk
10:49 NKJV) So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they
called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling
you.”
What kind of danger are you facing today?
What kind of danger has the world dropped on your doorstep?
Be of good cheer.
:33 I have overcome
– nikao – to conquer; to carry off
the victory, come off victorious
You and I don’t have to be strong enough to conquer the world. Jesus has already
done it. I just need to tag along behind Him and trust Him. John wrote,
(1 Jn 5:4
NLT) For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve
this victory through our faith.
(1 Jn 4:4
NKJV)
—4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is
in you is greater than he who is in the world.
(Ro 8:37–39 NKJV)
—37 Yet in all these things we are more
than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that
neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things
present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created
thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ
Jesus our Lord.
Lesson
Prayer turns “may” into “will”
It’s peace that we’re after. We need peace in the middle of our “pressure”.
Jesus said we “may” have peace. Can we turn a possibility into a sure
thing?
(Php 4:6–7 NKJV) —6
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer
and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7
and the peace of God, which surpasses all
understanding, will guard your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus.
Did you notice in this passage that the promise is that peace “WILL” guard
your hearts? It’s not “may”, but “will”.
I wonder if part of the key to having God’s peace is learning to pray.
Franklin and Phileda Nelson went to Burma as missionaries in the
1940s. They served there eight and a half years before the government closed
the country to further missionary work. They returned to the United States
where Franklin served several churches in various pastoral roles.
While in Burma they worked among remote tribes,
and Franklin found his sense of gratitude for God’s providence rekindled. When
reflecting on his missions work, he said:
In the Burmese hill country, the only way to get to remote
villages was by “shank mare.” (That’s walking, in case you’ve never heard the
phrase.) It was not at all uncommon for me to walk twenty miles a day in the
dry season. When I got back to the States and worked as a pastor and church
leader, I rarely walked a mile a day; the telephone and car made walking
unnecessary.
In Burma, if one of us got sick, the
nearest hospital was ten days away. In the States, medical care is minutes
away. In Burma, we’d go months without bread. Once we asked our daughter Karen
to say grace before a meal, and she said, “Why do I have to pray for my daily
bread when I don’t ever get any?” I have often coveted that experience for our
youngest daughter who never had to wonder where her food came from. It’s hard
to have that sense of helplessness and humility so vital to prayer when you sit
down to your daily bread and don’t even think about how you got it.
I don’t in any way blame people here for
not knowing what God can do. We’re victims of our prosperity. But I sometimes
wish we had a few more hard times so people could experience firsthand how
wonderful it is to be totally dependent on God.
Terry Muck, "Thankful in a Thankless World," Deepening Your
Ministry Through Prayer and Personal Growth (Random House, 1996)
Illustration
[My friend Marge had an experience] aboard a plane bound for
Cleveland, waiting for takeoff. As she settled into her seat, Marge noticed a
strange phenomenon. On one
side of the airplane a sunset suffused the entire sky with glorious
color. But out of the window next to her seat, all Marge could see was a sky dark and threatening,
with no sign of the sunset.
As the plane's engines began to roar, a
gentle Voice spoke within her. You have
noticed the windows, He murmured beneath the roar and thrust of the takeoff.
Your life, too, will contain some happy, beautiful times, but also some dark
shadows. Here's a lesson I want to teach you to save you much heartache and
allow you to "abide in Me" with continual peace and joy. You see, it
doesn't matter which window you look through; this plane is still going to
Cleveland. So it is in your life. You have a choice. You can dwell on the
gloomy picture. Or you can focus on the bright things and leave the dark,
ominous situations to Me. I alone can handle them anyway.
And the final destination
is not influenced by what you see or feel along the way. Learn this, act on it
and you will be released, able to experience the "peace that passes
understanding."
Catherine Marshall in
Touching the Heart of God. Christianity Today, Vol. 39, no. 6.