Jesus states he is eternal
John 8:48-59
Jesus speaks about God's true children
John 8:32-47
Series: Our Struggle “Engaging in Spiritual
Warfare”
We are in a battle. Not a battle of politics
or militaries or nations. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood; it is
against the powers of darkness that confront us daily. You don’t need to feel
defeated or discouraged. God has made a way to redeem your struggle and give
you victory!
Title: “The Evil One” (John 8:31-47)
Bookmark: Click Here
Opening Thoughts: Our
struggle is often a battle between truth and lies. Satan, known in scripture as
the father of lies, employs and arsenal of lies, deception and falsehoods
against us. But victory is found in the Truth that sets us free.
v What do you picture or think about when you
think about the devil?
o Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,
but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this
dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
o 1 Peter 5:8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a
roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
v Is it possible we are losing because we don’t
know we are in a fight?
===============================================================
Text: John 8:31-47
31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus
said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then
you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s
descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall
be set free?”
34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you,
everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no
permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So
if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know
that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me,
because you have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you
what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have
heard from your father.”
39 “Abraham is our father,” they answered.
“We are not
illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God
himself.”
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your
Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my
own; God sent me. 43 Why is my language not clear to you?
Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to
your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was
a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth
in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the
father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not
believe me! 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am
telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Whoever
belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do
not belong to God.”
===============================================================
Summarize
the main story: Describe the events of the story in your own words.
v Review and
retell the story.
Reflections
for applications:
v
If you know
Jesus, you know TRUTH
v
John 1:14;
John 14:6; John 18:38 “What is truth?”
v
“Our fight
with the devil is first and foremost a fight to take back control of our minds
from their captivity to lies, and liberate them with the weapon of truth.” John Mark Comer
v Three Realities:
o
DEVIL = The evil
one is real
o
DEATH = The
devil’s end goal is destruction
o
DECEPTION = The
devil uses lies
v Jesus said:
o
“You have no room
for my word.”
o
“You are unable
to hear what I say.”
o
“You don’t
believe me.”
v
What lies is
the evil one telling you?
o
It doesn’t matter
what I believe
o
I’m better than
other people
o
I need other
people’s approval
o
If I don't do it
right I will lose my salvation
o
I am defined by
my past struggles
o
Short-term
pleasure is worth it
o
I've tried and
I've tried I'm just not good enough
o
There would be no
suffering in this world if God were real
o
Nobody cares
o
All paths lead to
God
o
That person
doesn't deserve to be forgiven I don't deserve to be forgiven
o
The Bible is
outdated and not relevant for my life
o
Everything has to
be perfect
o
I am only as good
as I am successful
o
I am defined by what
I do or what I have or what others think of me
o
Everyone and
everything exists for my happiness
o
It's not sinful
Behavior if I was born this way
o
These people
don't care
v Truth will
defend you against Satan’s lies
==============================
Digging
Questions:
·
How will you
respond to God’s “In Our Struggle”? What transformative move needs to be made?
·
What do
these biblical texts tell you about God and His nature?
·
What is
God calling us (me and you individually) to do?
Take
Away Challenges
·
What has the Holy Spirit revealed to you in this passage?
How will you apply it to your life this week?
·
Whom do you know who needs to hear this?
·
What is
God bringing to your attention in this discussion? What beliefs, thoughts or
actions need to be addressed or changed?
Hashtags #Struggle#Truth#Devil
Sunday sermon link https://youtu.be/NDNVkQeD4S0
Kevin’s
Blog Link to more resources: Click here
for Kevin’s Blog Notes
Comments
and resources with some more resources:
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+8%3A31-47&version=NIV
Jesus warns of coming judgment
John 8:21-30
Jesus is the light of the world
John 8:12-20
Jesus forgives an adulterous woman
John 7:53-8:11
Some sinners the religious people wanted to write them off. Jesus wanted to write sinners into his story.
You see, religion places lost people on the outside and we build walls. Relationships place lost people on the inside. We are called to build bridges.
Self-righteous people are seldom aware of their judgmental spirit. I saw this some time ago. I think it says it maybe better than I can say it.
A man fell into a pit and he couldn't get himself out:
I would hope God is talking to your heart and two things are happening. First, I would hope that we who are Christ followers begin to see the big picture. That we value everyone as part of God's creation. He values everyone. Second, if you're not a person of faith and you don't have a relationship with God -- I hope that today as you're reading this, that you would feel valued. Because I want you to know, that God loves you so much that He gave his only son Jesus for you and me.
Religious leaders attempt to arrest Jesus
John 7:32-52
Jesus teaches openly at the Temple
John 7:10-31
Jesus' brothers ridicule him
John 7:1-9
Jesus tells the parable of the unforgiving debtor
Matthew 18:21-35
Series: True Story “Parables of
Jesus”
Stories are the language of the soul. We connect with stories and we
remember them. That is why Jesus used storytelling so often to illustrate
deeper truths. His stories, known as parables, were Jesus’ way to communicate
important Kingdom principles. Although the details of these stories were
imagined, the Kingdom principles are not. They are true and eternal.
Title: “Canceled Debt” (Unmerciful Servant)
Bookmark: Click Here
Opening
Thoughts: There is an undeniable link between God's forgiveness of you and
your forgiveness of others. What does it look like to truly forgive—to cancel
the debt and let someone go?
v “Christianity has an image problem.”
===============================================================
Text: Matthew 18:21-35
The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
21 Then Peter came
to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister
who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus
answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
23 “Therefore, the
kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with
his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed
him ten thousand bags of
gold was brought to him. 25 Since
he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his
children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26 “At this the
servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged,
‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The
servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28 “But when that
servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred
silver coins.[c] He grabbed him and began to choke
him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
29 “His fellow
servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay
it back.’
30 “But he
refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could
pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had
happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had
happened.
32 “Then the
master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all
that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t
you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the
jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35 “This is how my heavenly Father will
treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
===============================================================
Summarize the main story: Describe the
events of the story in your own words.
v Review and
retell the story.
Reflections for applications:
v 10
Thousand Talents?
o
In approximate
modern equivalents, if a laborer earns $20 per hour, at 2,000 hours per year he
would earn $40,000 per year, and a talent would equal $800,000 (USD). Hence,
“ten thousand talents” hyperbolically represents an incalculable debt—in
today’s terms, about $8 billion!
v Hundred denarii ($16,000)
v What God Has Done for Us
o
Romans 5:6-8 You see, at just the right time, when we
were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone
die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly
dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were
still sinners, Christ died for us.
v We Need Saving
o
Galatians
1:4 NIV - who gave himself for our sins to
rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and
Father,
o
1 Peter 1:24 NIV - For, "All people are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the
flowers fall,
v Responsibility to Forgive
o
Matthew
6:12, 14-15 NIV
- 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. ... 14 For
if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father
will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your
Father will not forgive your sins.
o
Colossians
3:8-10 NIV - 8 But now
you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice,
slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since
you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new
self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
o
Colossians
3:12-14 NIV - 12
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves
with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each
other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone.
Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love,
which binds them all together in perfect unity.
v Truly Forgive?
o
2
Corinthians 5:18-19
NIV - 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and
gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world
to himself in Christ, not
counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the
message of reconciliation.
v
How
Joseph Forgave
o Genesis 50:15-21 NIV - 15 When Joseph's brothers saw that their
father was dead, they said, "What
if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did
to him?" 16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, "Your father
left these instructions before he died: 17 'This is what you are to say to
Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they
committed in treating you so badly.' Now please forgive the sins of the
servants of the God of your father." When their message came to him,
Joseph wept. 18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him.
"We are your slaves," they said. 19 But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in
the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for
good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So
then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he
reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
v
Reconciled
o We are reconciled to God when we are forgiven!
o Acts 2:38-39 NIV - 38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you,
in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your
children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will
call."
==============================
Digging Questions:
·
How will you
respond to God’s “True Story”? What transformative move needs to be made?
·
What do
these biblical texts tell you about God and His nature?
·
What is
God calling us (me and you individually) to do?
Take Away Challenges
·
What has the Holy Spirit revealed to you in this passage?
How will you apply it to your life this week?
·
Whom do you know who needs to hear this?
·
What is
God bringing to your attention in this discussion? What beliefs, thoughts or
actions need to be addressed or changed?
Hash tags #Parables #Sin #Forgiveness #Debt #Unmerciful
Sunday sermon link https://youtu.be/uCJl24a48U4
Kevin’s Blog Link to more resources: Click here for Kevin’s Blog Notes
Comments and resources with
some more resources:
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+18%3A21-35&version=NIV
