The Gospel of John Week 12
Scripture: John 7:53 – 8:58.

Pastor begins today’s class with the story found in John 7:53-8:11, which is a controversial piece of the Bible because not all manuscripts have these verses. Pastor shares that whether originally there or whether they were added later, there’s much to learn from these verses about who Jesus is.

As this text opens we see that the Jewish religious leaders continue to struggle with unbelief in who Jesus is and work to discredit Him using religious traps. Their desire is to come up with reasons to show Jesus needs to be punished – put to death – so they continue working at setting Him up hoping for a major blunder that they can accuse Him of. But Jesus is too brilliant! This is a story with some wonderful truths about Jesus. We see the following behaviors of Jesus:
    ⁃    Total Comprehension of all that is going on
    ⁃    He shares a Full Disclosure
    ⁃    He has Holy Compassion for the woman that is at the center of this story
    ⁃    Gives True Forgiveness
    ⁃    Offers a New Beginning

As we continue at verse 12 of chapter 8 we read the story of the “dispute over Jesus’ testimony.” He says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  

Pastor shares that when Jesus says that He’s the Light of the World, He is in the Temple Courts in Jerusalem for the festival, the Feast of Tabernacles. Tabernacles is the most joyous of the major Jewish festivals. During this festival four extremely large golden menorahs were set up in the Temple court. Each was 75 feet high with a huge golden bowl. Each of the four bowls for the four stands was filled with oil and during the festival the menorahs were lit every evening at sundown burning through to midnight. From rabbinic writings we read how these bowls of lights could be seen from all over the city and people sang and danced while they were lit. This is then that Jesus cries out, “I am the Light of the World!” 

Jesus is claiming to be Deity! But the religious leaders respond with a challenge to His testimony and Jesus responds with several truths and is very direct with them.

Then He goes on to say, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”  To the religious leaders Jesus goes on to say they do not know Him because they do not know God. And the dispute over who He is continues. Many people in the courts listening, believed, but the religious leaders continued in disbelief and their anger toward Jesus continued to escalate.

In chapter 8 verses 31-47 we read the dispute over whose children Jesus’ opponents are. Are they God the Father’s or are they the devil’s? Jesus confronts them with a description of the devil and that the devil is the father of lies. Jesus tells the religious leaders that they belong to the devil because they cannot see the truth of what He continues to tell them about who He is.

In verses 48-58 the conversation continues with Jesus going on to make several more claims of who He is. Jesus closes with, “Very truly I tell you, before Abraham was born, I am!”   Again Jesus claims deity so they become so angry they pick up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself and slipped away from the temple grounds.

Next week we will read of Jesus healing a blind man. We will study the story of this physical healing but also explore spiritual blindness and how this story has much to teach us still today.

Our website – https://www.awakeusnow.com

Watch the video from our website! https://www.awakeusnow.com/2-year-study-of-the-gospels-upper

Watch the video from our YouTube Channel!! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTaaqrC3dMOzMkhPyiNWwlJRpV6Bwpu01

    ⁃    The Gospel of John study is part five of five of our Two Year Study of the Gospels. 
    ⁃    The Gospel of John may be one of the most powerful books ever written. Many people have come to faith after reading only this book of the Bible.  Scholarly and archeological discoveries in recent decades give us new insight on details in the Gospel of John. We can now understand it as the most Jewish rather than the most “Gentile/Greek” of the Gospels, and when we do that we see many things that we missed before.

Our 2 year study of the gospels is great for large group, small group or home group study and can be started at any time!

Check out this episode!

Scripture:  1 Kings 3:1, 1 Kings 3:4ff, 1 Kings 3:16ff, 1 Kings 6, 1 Kings 8, 2 Chronicles 5-7, 2 Chronicles 3:1, Genesis 22, 1 Kings 9, 2 Chronicles 7:14, 1 Kings 9:4-5

This study helps us dig deeper into Solomon: Wise Leader
    ⁃    Pharaoh’s Daughter – 1 Kings 3:1 – Solomon secures a peace treaty with Egypt and a strategic marriage to one of the Pharaoh’s daughter’s.
    ⁃    Sacrifices at Gibeon – 1 Kings 3:4ff – shortly after taking the throne we see Him following his father David’s advice. We see Solomon going to Gibeon to offer sacrifices to God and commits his life to God. The Lord appears to Solomon in a dream saying “ask for whatever you want.”  Solomon replies in humility, and asks to be given a discerning heart to distinguish between right and wrong so that he can govern the nation justly and well. He sought God’s wisdom and guidance so that he could bless and nurture the children of Israel. The Lord was pleased with Solomon’s reply and gave him what he asked for, plus God told him He would give him even more than what he had asked for: wealth and honor. 
    ⁃    2 Prostitutes – 1 Kings 3:16ff – Two prostitutes come to Solomon. Both have birthed boys but one had rolled over on her son and the child died. But they each claimed the living son as their own. Solomon says, “bring me a sword and cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.” But at that point the real mother says, “oh please don’t do that.” And the other woman says, “yes, do it.” Solomon then gives the living child to the one who had asked for the child to be spared because she was the real mother. King Solomon was admired greatly by his people for his wisdom from God in administering justice.  He is recognized as very wise.

Solomon: Builder
    ⁃    Temple Construction – 1 Kings 6 – in the 4th year of his reign Solomon begins building the Temple of the Lord. ca. 966 BC. It will take 7 years to build this incredible temple. Temple was only for priests, but people would gather in the courtyards around the temple. The temple has 3 sections: The Porch, The Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies. The interior was covered in gold. The Ark of the Covenant was placed in the Holy of Holies where the High Priest went once per year on the Day of Atonement – Yom Kippur. A place of shed blood pointing to the One who is the Lamb of God/The Mercy Seat/The Messiah/Jesus our Savior. In 2 Chronicles 3:1 we read that the Temple was build on Mount Moriah. The place of the story where Abraham had taken his only son Isaac. Pastor shares prophetic likeness to Jesus in this story of Genesis 22. (This will also be the location of the Second Temple).
    ⁃    Temple Dedication – 1 Kings 8 & 2 Chronicles 5-7. When the Ark of the Covenant was brought into the Holy of Holies, the glory of the Lord filled the temple!  Solomon shares a sermonette and a powerful prayer. Solomon’s heart is to win people to the Living God – that they walk in faith and obedience to God. And when he finished praying a fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnet offering and the sacrifices and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. The people began shouting praises and thanks to God. And a multiple sacrifices were given to God.
    ⁃    God appears to Solomon a second time – 1 Kings 9 & 2 Chronicles 7:14 – God speaks to Solomon and tells him that He wants to bring blessing saying, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 
This too is our prayer  –  it is a prayer for us still today – a prayer for our nations, that we would seek God, turn from our wickedness, because He will hear from heaven and heal our land.

God closes His time with Solomon with these words: (1 Kings 9:4-5) “As for you, if you walk before me faithfully with integrity of heart and uprightness….and do all I command …. I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David…”. 

God calls Solomon to Himself and God calls each one of us to Himself!

Now What? Learn about God at https://www.awakeusnow.com EVERYTHING we offer is FREE.

View live or on demand: https://www.awakeusnow.com/tuesday-bible-class

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Check out this episode!

Scripture: 2 Samuel 13-19.

Father Wounds – are wounds brought into our lives through family members. Deep wounds with lasting consequences. 

Father’s wounds – are wounds to parents by their children. It is grieving because their children turned their backs on the things they were taught from the time they were little. 

Both are deep and painful wounds.

How to deal with the pain and how to go beyond it.

Our study covers:
Amnon rapes Tamar (2 Sam 13)
Absalom hates Amnon (2 Sam 13)
Absalom murders Amnon (2 Sam 13)
Absalom flees to thalami (2 Sam 13)
Absalom conspires against David (2 Sam 15)
Absalom revolts against David (2 Sam 15-17)
Joab executes Absalom (2 Sam 18)

In our study we see that wounds eliminate the spiritual strength of King David. We also see wounds that bring about rebellion and hatred, anger and murder. We see wounds experienced by a father who feels he has failed his son.

A tragic horrible story. Yet God desires to speak to us through it. This story is in the Bible for a reason and purpose. The purpose is not just to inform but to transform. God desires to bring healing, hope and strength and to reverse the painful trajectory of what we have experienced.

Divine Prescriptions

    ⁃    Sow and Reap – Galatians 6:7-8 Consequences of our behavior can be negative or positive. “Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” Also, as seen in David’s story, God forgives, but the consequences of sin are still there.
    ⁃    Nurture or Anger – Ephesians 6:4  encourages fathers to teach their children to live uprightly and faithfully before God and for fathers to model an upright life to their children.
    ⁃    Truth and Love – Ephesians 4:15 We are to speak truth to our kids but speak that with love.
    ⁃    Forgive and Release – Whether we have father wounds or father’s wounds we are to forgive and letting go. Colossians 3:13 We are to forgive as the Lord forgives us – even those who have disappointed us, hurt us deeply, and in that forgiveness and releasing there is healing and there is hope.
    ⁃    Father and Son – 1 John 2:1-2 Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for our sin and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. God loves us and His love goes beyond the love of any father. Our Heavenly Father offers each of us healing, hope and life-transforming power.

If you have been the victim of a father wound or if you are experiencing a father’s wounds, you need to know there is a Father who loves you more than you could imagine. Who understands the wounds because those wounds were placed in the very body of His Son and He offers to us forgiveness, eternal life, and the ability to start all over.

Now What? Learn about God at https://www.awakeusnow.com EVERYTHING we offer is FREE.

Check out this video series from our website: https://www.awakeusnow.com/david-and-gods-heart

Join us Sundays 
https://www.awakeusnow.com/sunday-service

Watch via our app. Text HELLO to 888-364-4483 to download our app.

Check out this episode!

The Gospel of John Week 11
Scripture: John 7:22-59.

Pastor opens by sharing details of the Feast of Tabernacles and the scriptures of the Living Water that were read during this 8 day festival. Festival readings included: Ezekiel 47:1-12, Zechariah 14:8 and Jeremiah 17:13b. 

As our story opens, it is the Feast of Tabernacles and these scriptures would have been read. Pastor goes on to share that there has been much learned over the last 100 years and especially in the last 15 or so that helps to bring this text and the story alive. As we look at what we know about the time of Jesus and what we are discovering, they are changing our understanding of the Bible, bringing a new sense of significance and even urgency as what we are discovering is a testimony that says, “This is real!”

Some recent archeological work has found what is believed to be the City of David – but not at all where it was thought to be, and the discovery of the Hezekiah Tunnel, and more recently the Pool of Siloam show us a different location than originally thought for the Pool and also that it was a very large pool, not a small one. Also that it was filled with fresh water by the Han Spring flowing through the Hezekiah Tunnel into the Pool. The Pool of Siloam was the only fresh – or living water in the city of Jerusalem.

Pastor shares the events of Tabernacles and the pouring out of water into the Temple by the priests carrying it from the Pool of Siloam for the first 7 days of the festival.  On the 7th Day they carried and poured water 7 times in the Temple. 

So as our story continues, it’s either Day 7 (7 times the priests poured water in the Temple) or it’s Day 8 (the day of rejoicing, and celebration) when we read verse 37-38, “On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

He is essentially telling them that what you’ve been doing for the last week with the pouring of water, point to Me and it’s what the prophets said would happen when Messiah comes, that living water would pour out of the Temple. And then it goes on in verse 39, “By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.and that the Living Water is the Holy Spirit.”  Jesus is saying that He is the fulfillment of what the prophets have declared and that everyone who believes on Him will receive the Holy Spirit.  Jesus is calling us to a new day – the fulfillment of what the prophets have said – Messiah-  is here!  And He, the Messiah, gives the Holy Spirit. Jesus is claiming to be God.

At this some called Him prophet, others called Him Messiah and others were in disbelief and angry. The crowd became divided with many wanting to seize Jesus.  The temple guard go and report back to the chief priests.

The chief priests were Sadducees and they united with the Pharisees, a group that they did not get along with but they did unite together over their desire to do away with Jesus.  The very ones who should have embraced Jesus as the Messiah, instead say, “Let’s kill Him.”

Pastor concludes by saying in 6 months from this event  of Tabernacles, the Passover will be celebrated and we will see Jesus dead, and raised during another important festival and how this festival too, finds its fulfillment in Jesus.
    

Our website – https://www.awakeusnow.com

Watch the video from our website! https://www.awakeusnow.com/2-year-study-of-the-gospels-upper

Watch the video from our YouTube Channel!! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTaaqrC3dMOzMkhPyiNWwlJRpV6Bwpu01

    ⁃    The Gospel of John study is part five of five of our Two Year Study of the Gospels. 
    ⁃    The Gospel of John may be one of the most powerful books ever written. Many people have come to faith after reading only this book of the Bible.  Scholarly and archeological discoveries in recent decades give us new insight on details in the Gospel of John. We can now understand it as the most Jewish rather than the most “Gentile/Greek” of the Gospels, and when we do that we see many things that we missed before.

Our 2 year study of the gospels is great for large group, small group or home group study and can be started at any time!

Check out this episode!

Scripture: 1 Kings 1-11, 1 Chronicles 28-29, 2 Chronicles 1-9, 2 Samuel12:24-25, 1 kings 1, 1 Kings 2:2-3, 1 Kings 2:13ff.

This study will take us on an adventure through a period of approximately 400 years, a highly significant time when God was moving in a mighty way among His people, Israel. It will cover from around 970 BC when Solomon took the throne until 586 BC when Solomon’s Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians. It is a time filled with incredible stories, amazing truths, especially applicable truths and lessons for us in our lives today. There is an amazing cast of characters, people like you and me, sinners, all, but individuals whom God used in a wide variety of ways. And it all ultimately points to the Hope of the world, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Messiah, and King of Kings.

Background:
Moses & Exodus – ca. 1446 BC
Joshua’s Conquest – ca. 1406 BC
Judges rule – ca. 1390-1050 BC
King Saul – ca. 1050-1010 BC
King David – ca. 1010-970 BC

We begin our study with Pastor encouraging us to read about the reign of Solomon from around 970 – 931 BC in the following books of the Bible: 
1 Kings 1-11
1 Chronicles 28-29
2 Chronicles 1-9

Solomon is believed to be the author of:
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Songs

David and Solomon each reigned for 40 years and their combined 80 year reign ushered in Israel’s Golden Age.

David known for being a warrior, a worshiper of God, musician and writer, he was also devout – while not perfect, he did follow the Lord. A man who followed God’s heart.

Solomon was known as a man of peace, a man wisdom – authoring hundreds of proverbs, a man with literary gifts, but Solomon was divided – starting well but not finishing well.

Solomon: Early Years
    ⁃    Birth – 2 Samuel 12:24-25 – the son of David and Bathsheba.  
    ⁃    Adonijah’s Conspiracy – 1 Kings 1 – Adonijah’s the oldest living son of David and attempts to take the throne so that Solomon could not. 
    ⁃    Solomon’s Coronation – 1 Kings 1 – Solomon is anointed while Adonijah’s party is going on. Solomon was crowned king while David is still alive.
    ⁃    David’s Words – 1 Kings 2:2-3 – David encourages his son, Solomon, to be strong, observe the commands and decrees of the Lord, and the laws and regulations as written in the Law of Moses.
    ⁃    Adonijah’s Appeal – 1 Kings 2:13ff – works to undermine Solomon’s throne.but Solomon ordered Adonijah’s execution thereby preserving his throne and reign.

Israel grew in size under David so Solomon receives a very powerful, large kingdom.

Next week we will take a look Solomon as a Wise Leader.

Now What? Learn about God at https://www.awakeusnow.com EVERYTHING we offer is FREE.

View live or on demand: https://www.awakeusnow.com/tuesday-bible-class

Join us Sundays 
https://www.awakeusnow.com/sunday-service

Watch via our app. Text HELLO to 888-364-4483 to download our app.

Check out this episode!

Scripture: 2 Samuel 11-12, 1 Corinthians 10:12, Psalm 51, Matthew 21:9.

This message deals with the difficult topic of moral collapse, specifically in David’s life. Painful as it is, it can teach us much about the importance of walking faithfully before the Lord and resisting temptation.

David fell into temptation after seeing Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam (a trusted soldier) and the wife of Uriah (one of David’s elite soldiers). David had her brought to the palace and he slept with her resulting in her pregnancy.

Instead of coming clean, David goes deeper into a dark place with more plans. After trying multiple times to cover his actions, David arranges for Uriah’s death and has him killed.

2 Samuel 11:27 tells us that what David had done displeased the Lord. What does the Lord do? 2 Samuel 12:1, God sends Nathan to David. Nathan, in great wisdom, tells David a story and when David hears the story he was incensed saying that the man must die. At this point, Nathan looks at David and confronts him eye to eye, and says, “YOU are the man!”

David is confronted with the horror of what he has done. He had committed a huge moral failure, but David was also a man who understood the heart of God. His response to Nathan is, “I have sinned against the Lord.”

Here’s what we can learn from David. 

LESSONS
    ⁃    Awareness – recognizing that we are all vulnerable and we are all sinners. Be aware of the temptations.
    ⁃    Consequences – come when we go against God’s purpose and plan in our lives. Consequences can be horrific. There are consequence to disobedience.
    ⁃    Repentance –  after his sin was exposed David freely admitted he had sinned, he did not try to make excuses, he repented. Repentance brings about a change of direction, a turning away. David understood he had fallen. We all sin, but God calls His people to repentance, to not only admit our sin, but to turn away from it and begin anew all over again.
    ⁃    Forgiveness – The Lord takes away our sin through the death of His Son and we see how good and gracious God really is. He loves us and offered up His own son for us all.  **Pastor shares divinely given wisdom around the loss of David’s son, be sure to listen to this message so you don’t miss out on some profound revelation.**
    ⁃    Restoration – comes from our Father who restores us to relationship with Him through His Son. God restores to us the joy of our salvation and sustains us with the Holy Spirit.

David is described as a man after God’s own heart, yet he made some horrible decisions in his life. David’s story compels us to take seriously the danger of going against God’s plan and purposes for our lives. But this story also shows us the grace and mercy of God. These truths powerfully impact and transform us all.

Now What? Learn about God at https://www.awakeusnow.com EVERYTHING we offer is FREE.

Check out this video series from our website: https://www.awakeusnow.com/david-and-gods-heart

Join us Sundays 
https://www.awakeusnow.com/sunday-service

Watch via our app. Text HELLO to 888-364-4483 to download our app.

Check out this episode!

The Gospel of John Week 10
Scripture: John 6:22-7:24.

Our teaching today starts with Jesus saying He is the Bread of Life.  He is teaching from the synagogue at Capernaum. Jesus is the rabbi that is teaching. In a service in the synagogue in the first century, people talk back and forth asking questions and engaging with the rabbi.  It can get heated – and what Jesus says is causing things to become heated.  He continues to say many things in this dialogue:
    ⁃    I am the Bread of Life
    ⁃    Believe in Me and you will not hunger or thirst
    ⁃    You’ve seen Me yet you still do not believe
    ⁃    Whoever comes to Me I will not drive away
    ⁃    I have come down from heaven to do the Father’s will
    ⁃    I will raise them on the last day
    ⁃    My Father’s will is that everyone look to the Son and believe in Me 
    ⁃    In Me is eternal life

Pastor talks about a current day synagogue built on the first century synagogue there in Capernaum in Jesus’ day and shares pictures. This current day synagogue is built on the foundation of the synagogue of Jesus’ day.The foundation of black basalt from the first century is still visible. On this basalt foundation is built the several other synagogues with the newest synagogue built over these others. But the basalt rock shows us just where Jesus was as He gave the teaching we are studying today.  

Pastor also shares what the inside of a synagogue in Jesus’ day would have looked like in order to help us visualize today’s story

As our story continues, John 6:53-57 “Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.  Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.”  

Pastor helps us understand this:
    ⁃    Jesus is Jewish
    ⁃    The crowd He’s talking to is Jewish
    ⁃    Hearing what Jesus is saying – the listeners would have processed what Jesus was saying through a Jewish perspective – their thought would have gone to temple sacrifices where they brought their sacrifices to the Temple
    ⁃    The blood was drained from the animal and sprinkled on the altar because without the shedding of bleed there is no forgiveness
    ⁃    We have sinned against a Holy God and that requires blood to be shed
    ⁃    Jesus is saying here that He is the real sacrifice
    ⁃    “I am the One who offers up My flesh and blood for the life of the world”
    ⁃    “If you do not realize who I am, that I am the One the Father has promised, then you don’t have life”The scriptures all along have said that God Himself would pay the price for our sin.

Old Testament offerings were offered up day after day, year after year, but Jesus is the offering made once for all.  Jesus is saying that He is the “Once for all sacrifice” and many of the people following Jesus turned away from Him after He said this. 

Jesus then turns to His disciples and asks if they want to leave Him too, but Peter answers: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

Note Peter says, “we have come to believe” and then he says, “and to know that You are the holy One of God.”This is highly significant as we human beings think that we know in order to believe. Pastor shares a personal story of an interaction from a friend who brought this truth to light that “I do not know in order o believer, instead, I believer in order to know God.” 

So many time we say, “if you prove this to me (once I know it)  then I’ll believe.” But what Jesus calls us to do is to believe FIRST and then we will know Him. When we trust and follow Him – He reveals himself to us.

Pastor comes with a look at three Jewish festivals – and how each has its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus.
    

Our website – https://www.awakeusnow.com

Watch the video from our website! https://www.awakeusnow.com/2-year-study-of-the-gospels-upper

Watch the video from our YouTube Channel!! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTaaqrC3dMOzMkhPyiNWwlJRpV6Bwpu01

    ⁃    The Gospel of John study is part five of five of our Two Year Study of the Gospels. 
    ⁃    The Gospel of John may be one of the most powerful books ever written. Many people have come to faith after reading only this book of the Bible.  Scholarly and archeological discoveries in recent decades give us new insight on details in the Gospel of John. We can now understand it as the most Jewish rather than the most “Gentile/Greek” of the Gospels, and when we do that we see many things that we missed before.

Our 2 year study of the gospels is great for large group, small group or home group study and can be started at any time!

Check out this episode!

The Gospel of John Week 9
Scripture: John 5:41- 6:22.

The feeding of the 5,000 (this is 5,000 men plus all the women and children there).  Speculation is that there were close to 10,000 people there and from five loaves of barley bread and two fish, Jesus multiplies the food and feeds all 10,000.  And not just a small portion, but as much as they wanted!

Can you picture it? What is everyone thinking? What are they whispering to each other about this amazing miracle?  Then Jesus has the leftovers gathered filling twelve baskets.

This feeding of the 5,000 happened during Passover – a time the Jewish people remember God delivering His people from captivity, feeding them manna and leading them out of captivity by tribes.  12 tribes feed manna by God and now we have twelve baskets and the people fed fish and loaves by Jesus. Jesus is providing for them just as the Heavenly Father did in the wilderness. With this being Passover – this likeness had to be obvious to them, because we read that they began to recognize that Jesus is the One Moses predicted.  John 6:14 “After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” In Deuteronomy we read “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.”  Deuteronomy 18:15) They thought when Messiah came He would bring them back to the glories of the time of King David and so Jesus withdraws to a mountain by Himself.  “Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.” John 6:15

Pastor speculates on which mountain this may have been and shares pictures.

Later that evening the disciples went to their boat and set off into the Sea of Galilee.

Pastor then shares the discovery of a Sea of Galilee boat found in the summer of 1985.  There was a drought and the Sea of Galilee had sunk to a new low and a couple brothers, amateur archeologist, went searching for items of antiquity and they found a 2,000 year old fishing boat from Jesus’ day!

Our story continues with the disciples struggling against a storm and they see someone walking toward them. They do not recognize it is Jesus until He says, “I Am, don’t be afraid.” This is the same name God gave Moses, “I Am.”  Jesus is saying He is the God of the Old Testament who appeared to Moses.

When we are going through the storms of life – the person we want in the boat with us is Jesus!

The story continues with “Then immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.” What was that like!!??

The author, John, continues to emphasize who Jesus is – Jesus is the One that Moses predicted – He is the Living God who took on human flesh, gave Himself for all, and shows us all the attributes of the Divine in His life, ministry and work.

And His disciples are coming to the realization that Jesus is the One that Moses predicted! He is the only One who can deliver His people and He does only what God can do.

These stories are
Real people in
Real situations, in a
Real boat, encountering the
Real Savior!
And that changes their lives forever – May it also change the lives of everyone of us!
    

Our website – https://www.awakeusnow.com

Watch the video from our website! https://www.awakeusnow.com/2-year-study-of-the-gospels-upper

Watch the video from our YouTube Channel!! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTaaqrC3dMOzMkhPyiNWwlJRpV6Bwpu01

    ⁃    The Gospel of John study is part five of five of our Two Year Study of the Gospels. 
    ⁃    The Gospel of John may be one of the most powerful books ever written. Many people have come to faith after reading only this book of the Bible.  Scholarly and archeological discoveries in recent decades give us new insight on details in the Gospel of John. We can now understand it as the most Jewish rather than the most “Gentile/Greek” of the Gospels, and when we do that we see many things that we missed before.

Our 2 year study of the gospels is great for large group, small group or home group study and can be started at any time!

Check out this episode!

Scripture:  2 Samuel 6, Psalm 30:4-5, Hebrews 9:5, Romans 3:25.

Today’s story of David is one that is an oft time ignored account from David’s life, but we will see ways it dramatically impacts and applies to our lives.

We open with 2 Samuel 6:2 “David and all his men went to Baalah in Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim on the ark.” 

Pastor shares the history of the Ark from the Book of Exodus during the time of Moses, its description, and rules and regulations from God to the Israelites about the Ark. Pastor also goes into the annual Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, and what the practice was with the Ark.  But by the time of David the Ark was mostly forgotten. 

The Ark has a fascinating history and Pastor shares a chronology based on what we know from the Bible:
ARK OF THE COVENANT
    ⁃    Mount Sinai – 1445 BC
    ⁃    Promised Land 1406 BC
    ⁃    Shiloh – ca. 1399-1075 BC
    ⁃    Kiribati Jearim – ca. 1074-1003 BC
    ⁃    Jerusalem – ca. 1003-586 BC 
And then the Ark disappears.  While we do not know where or what happened to the Ark, we do know that during the time of David, he sought to restore bring the Ark back and to bring worship of God in Israel.

2 Samuel 6:3-5 “They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart with the ark of God on it, and Ahio was walking in front of it. David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with castanets,[d] harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals.” 

However, we see that they are not doing this as the Torah instructed. It was to be moved only by priests, and by holding onto the Ark’s handles with the ark completely covered from view. Ahia and Uzzah were priests but were not moving the Ark as God had instructed. On the walk, Uzzah reaches out and touches the Ark because the oxen stumbled and God’s anger burned against Uzzah for his irreverent act and God struck him down and he died beside the Ark of God.

God desires to be taken seriously.  Their intentions were good but the directions in the scripture were clear and straightforward and they had ignored them. Next we read that David ask the Lord, “how can the Ark of the Lord ever come to me?”

God is capricious. God is holy and He’s not to be trifled with. We are not to ignore what He says.  

Today, many live in fear of God. But what He desires to communicate to us today is that He is holy. But He’s more than that, we will find He is merciful AND He is Salvation!

David wouldn’t take the Ark into his city, after Uzzah died, instead he left it with Obed-Edom to see what would happen to him. And over the next three months Obed-Edom and his entire household were blessed, so David then moves the Ark the City of David with great rejoicing. They understood that God is merciful, that He is a generous and forgiving God.

This time they follow what God has prescribed. The priests carry it, it’s covered and no cart is used.

David wrote Psalm 30 during this time and it expresses what he learned:
Psalm 30:4-5 “Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people; praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.”

It was an incredible celebration, a joyous time, because David and the rest understood that God is good, that God is merciful and that God can be trusted. They placed the Ark in the Tent that David had prepared and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord.

David organized the ongoing care of the Ark which we can read in 1 Chronicles 23 – 26 setting it up so that the priests would do what they were supposed to do. It also helped the children of Israel worship God the way they were supposed to. David wanted to ensure things were done God’s way, just as God had directed in the Book of Exodus to Moses.

Pastor closes today with, “God is Salvation.” God desires all to be saved. He is calling His children back to Himself. Pastor shares great insight to the “Mercy Seat” using Romans 3:25 “God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith.”

Sacrifice of atonement or sometimes stated as “propitiation” are English translations of the Greek word for “mercy seat.”  What this verse literally means is that God presented Christ as a mercy seat through the shedding of his blood to be received by faith.

David and people of the Old Testament era had their sins removed once a year on the Day of Atonement, which finds its ultimate fulfillment once and for all, not once a year, but once forever in the shed blood of Jesus Christ. He is the mercy seat of God. It’s His blood that covers our sin. And so what we have seen in 2 Samuel 6 gets its fulfillment in the One who is the Son of God. 
God is holy. 
God is merciful. 
GOD IS SALVATION.

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The Gospel of John Week 8
Scripture: John 5:19-40, Revelation 20.

As we pick up our story, the religious authorities continue to question Jesus about who He says He is and about His actions and miracles. Jesus not only claims to be the Messiah, but also the God of the universe come in human flesh.

Chiastic Structure is used as a teaching method by Jesus in John 5:19-30 – a speaking structure that repeats over and again certain fundamental truths. It’s a way of speaking what’s spoken first and then speaking it last. It’s speaking what is spoken second and repeating it second to the last and what’s spoken third, speaking it again as the 3rd to the last item. A diagram of this type of speaking looks like this:

A1 verse 19
    B1 Verses 20-21
        C1 verses 22-23
                D1 verse 24
                D2 verse 25
        C2 verses 26-27
    B2 verses 28-29
A2 verse 30

Chiastic Structure is a complex speaking structure that Jesus uses to emphasize the seriousness of these life-changing truths.

Other items Pastor discusses:
    Spiritually dead vs alive in Christ

    The 4 views of the millennium – Revelation 20
        Historic Premillennialism
        Postmillennialism
        Amillennialism
        Dispensational Premillennialism
    Pastor focuses on the commonalities of the 4 views rather than what they don’t agree on. Their commonalities are: missionary age, great tribulation, rapture, millennium, physical return of Jesus to earth, dead will be raised, new heaven and a new earth.

Pastor also explains first resurrection is when we become believers. The Bible says we go from death (not knowing God) to life (knowing God) through faith in Jesus Christ. The second resurrection is when Jesus returns and the dead are raised.

The first death is unbelief. The second death is hell itself on judgement day for those who do not repent and believe on the Son.

This teaching closes with the testimonies of Christ’s identity and with an emphasis on knowing Jesus, believing in Him and having a relationship with Him.
    

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    ⁃    The Gospel of John study is part five of five of our Two Year Study of the Gospels. 
    ⁃    The Gospel of John may be one of the most powerful books ever written. Many people have come to faith after reading only this book of the Bible.  Scholarly and archeological discoveries in recent decades give us new insight on details in the Gospel of John. We can now understand it as the most Jewish rather than the most “Gentile/Greek” of the Gospels, and when we do that we see many things that we missed before.

Our 2 year study of the gospels is great for large group, small group or home group study and can be started at any time!

Check out this episode!