TEXT: ‘He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”’ (Matthew 16:15). Questionnaires are at epidemic levels! Everyone wants to know how they performed, whether delivering a parcel or delivering healthcare, ordering online or answering a query. The world seems obsessed with feedback. Of course, they use it to drive future sales or hone services according to whether the feedback is negative or positive. If I responded to every request to participate in feedback, a large amount of my time would be taken up with it every day. People had many questions for Jesus. Some were genuine, while others tried to catch Him out to discredit His ministry. Often Jesus responded to a question with one of His own. This usually caught off-guard those demanding an answer. Today’s Teaching studies some of the questions Jesus asked under three headings – Salvation, Healing and Persecution. In this first study we will consider personal salvation. Salvation – ‘Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?’ (John 3:10) Unfortunately, there are many church leaders who do not know the basics of salvation either. Consequently, many in their churches are in the dark too. They are blind leaders of the blind. 1. Valuation – ‘What do...
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TEXT: ‘Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows’ (James 1:17 NIV). It was on the second Sunday after my operation (11th June). I was unable to get to church and Jenny was out preaching. I decided to spend time with the Lord, praising and praying. As I listened to “Blessed Assurance”, the Holy Spirit quickened to me the line in the second verse, “Angels descending, bring from above, echoes of mercy, whispers of love.” Something from above, became the theme for Today’s Teaching. We will consider three main areas God can impart to us something from heaven. 1. Naturally Throughout the forty-year wilderness wanderings, God’s people survived because of the manna, which miraculously appeared every morning, on top of the dew (Numbers 11:6-9. It was called bread from heaven (See John 6:32). All the people had to do was collect it, they didn’t work for it or earn it. It was freely given from above. Once they arrived in the promised land, the manna ceased because they could easily live off the land. It was only given while it was needed. Jesus taught us to pray, ‘Give us this day our daily...
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TEXT: ‘Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you’ (1 Peter 5:6-7). I am recovering from major surgery on May 31st, which was successful. The events surrounding that experience and the road to recovery forms the theme for Today’s Teaching. There are three main points I want us to consider. 1. The Care – ‘Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you’. Right from the first investigation, to the surgery and after-care, I have nothing but praise for the way the NHS has handled everything. This was especially true after the operation, where the nursing staff’s main goal was to make me as comfortable as possible. They even asked permission to do certain tasks and were ready to respond to my requests for cups of tea, jelly and ice-cream during the night hours as I couldn’t sleep due to half-hourly observations. Nothing seemed to be too much trouble, even for nurses at the end of their shift. God is like that too. He can’t be anything less. He waits for us to ask, so He can respond. Jesus said, ‘And in that day you will ask Me...
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TEXT: ‘And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith’ (Genesis 15:6 NLT). In Part 1 we studied how a third party’s faith could help bring about healing in a needy person, when Jesus healed the paralytic. We now consider another instance when faith enabled the natural to be superseded by the supernatural and ended with a miracle. It’s about God’s dealings with childless Abram, who was later was named Abraham, which means “Father of a multitude” (See Genesis 17:5). 1. The Decision – ‘Blessed be God Most High, who has defeated your enemies for you.” Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the goods he had recovered’ (Genesis 14:20 NLT). The enemy had overrun the area and taken captives, including Lot, Abram’s nephew. On hearing the news Abram armed his trained servants and set off in pursuit. Routing the enemy, he recovered all the stolen property and captives. Unusually Abram declined to keep the spoils of war and returned everything to its rightful owner. Even when the King of Sodom only wanted his people back, Abram refused. His reasoning was, he didn’t want the king to say he had made Abram rich. Not only did Abram turn down the bounty, but as an...
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TEXT: ‘And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you”’ (Mark 2:4-5). Three of the gospel writers record the healing of the paralytic. In each account there is no mention of him having faith, rather it was the faith of those who brought him to Jesus. Sometimes sick people find it difficult to believe, especially when they have been in ill-health for a long time, and they focus on obstacles to healing rather than on God who can do the impossible. That fact alone doesn’t prevent them from ever being healed, as when believers are around who can bring them to Jesus, anything can happen! When word got around that Jesus was back in Capernaum, faith sprang up in the hearts of some men who knew this sick man and they immediately set in motion a plan to get him to Jesus. Reading Mark’s account of this miracle, I noticed “When” occurs three times and these are the basis for Today’s Teaching. 1. When they could not...
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TEXT: ‘And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever, the Spirit of Truth’ (John 14:16-17). Jesus promised not to leave His disciples like orphans, without anyone to take care of them. The Holy Spirit would assume the role vacated by Jesus and would show His disciples the things concerning Jesus. So far in these studies we have considered the Holy Spirit and Transition, Salvation, Instruction, Direction, Intercession and Compassion. In this final study we will look at four more ways the Holy Spirit helps us. 7. The Holy Spirit and Manifestation – ‘The manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all’ (1 Corinthians 12:7) Another translation of this verse says, ‘The Holy Spirit displays God’s power through each of us as a means of helping the entire church’ (TLB). 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 lists nine spiritual gifts and these can be divided into three groups of three for ease of understanding. Gifts of Revelation – Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Discerning of Spirits Gifts of Demonstration – Faith, Working of Miracles, Gifts of Healings Gifts of Edification – Prophecy, Different kinds of Tongues, Interpretation of Tongues For a more extensive study of...
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