Class Lesson October 7, 2012

Hey Gang,

This week we begin a 4 week series on the question: How do I find life after failure? When we hear the words success and failure, we usually think of economic and financial issues, but there are also successes and failures in the moral and spiritual realms. Now, none of us want the word failure attached to any aspect of our lives, but the reality is that we all fail at one time or another. Our failure may be in something big, like business, morals, or marriage. Or it may appear as something less obvious to others like an ethics violation or a betrayal. Failure can defeat us so much that we refuse to move forward, or we can dismiss its importance. Our series wants us to try a redemptive path instead: do the right thing for the right reason. God will show you how, and He will give you the power.

Failures in your past don’t mean your story stops there. Follow Jesus for the path forward.

We’ll spend the next four weeks considering biblical characters who failed God at one point in their lives. Their examples will help us discover how God wants to guide us beyond failure. 

Jim Marshall

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Last week we heard Billy Graham mention a NFL player that ran a fumbled ball 66 yards the wrong way: Jim Marshall.

Minnesota Viking great Jim Marshall infamously returned a fumble 66 yards the wrong way in a 1964 game against the 49ers. Marshall didn’t let that stop him. He went on to a successful football career and became known as “The NFL’s Greatest Iron Man” and “Old Indestructible.” He retired in 1979, holding NFL records for playing 282 consecutive games and 20 consecutive seasons without missing a game.

Jesus passed through Samaria on His way from Judea to Galilee. While His disciples went for food, Jesus rested at Jacob's well. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus surprised her by asking for a drink. Jesus aroused her interest by telling her that He could give her living water. Thinking of physical water, the woman asked for it. Jesus showed her that He knew all about her life. In response to the woman's claim to be waiting for the Messiah, Jesus told her He was the Messiah.

I. RECOGNIZE YOUR NEED – JOHN 4:7-14

7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. “Give Me a drink,” Jesus said to her, 8 for His disciples had gone into town to buy food. 9 “How is it that You, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” she asked Him. For Jews do not associate with Samaritans. 10 Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God, and who is saying to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would ask Him, and He would give you living water.” 11 “Sir,” said the woman, “You don’t even have a bucket, and the well is deep. So where do You get this ‘living water’? 12 You aren’t greater than our father Jacob, are You? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and livestock.” 13 Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again. 14 But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again—ever! In fact, the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up within him for eternal life.”


Why was it so radical for Jesus to talk to a woman of Samaria?

• She was a Samaritan and the Jews hated the Samaritans.
• She was an immoral woman.
• She was a woman.

 

Why was there so much animosity between the Jews and the Samaritans?

 

• Samaria became the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel when it split from Judah. In 722 BC Assyria deported most of Israel and resettled the region with pagan people who intermarried with the few remaining Hebrews. The result was a mixed race called Samaritans.

 
 




What can we learn from this encounter about how to recognize our own needs?

• There was nothing unusual about this day and setting. On any ordinary, when we’re doing any ordinary task, Jesus can speak into our lives. We need to be willing to converse with Him about that and do what He says.
• Jesus loved this woman. Through Him she could move from failure to salvation. He did not allow her defensiveness to push Him away or to begin arguing about theology. He related to her in a respectful, kind manner that freed her to discuss spiritual matters.
• Jesus did not let fatigue keep Him from witnessing.
• Jesus broke through barriers that separate people.
• Jesus took advantage of contacts with people who needed Him.
• Only Jesus can offer a truly spiritual thirst-quencher-the Holy Spirit living inside a person.

Many people, like the woman Jesus met, are broken and disillusioned. We need to be sensitive to people who are looking for answers and hope. Some of these contacts are one-time; and some are ongoing acquaintances or relations. The contacts may be planned or unplanned. Witnesses need to be alert to opportunities that come their way, and those that are there on a ongoing basis. The unplanned contacts may seem like coincidences to us, but they are often providential. Whether planned or unplanned, seek to find out the person's spiritual condition. Begin with people where they are and go from there. Jesus met the woman at a well, so He used His thirst as an opening to talk about something she knew and which she was interested.



The Bible says, “You must warn them so they may live. If you don’t speak out to warn the wicked to stop their evil ways, they will die in their sin. But I will hold you responsible for their death.” Ezekiel 3:18 (NCV) 

II. CONFRONT YOUR FAILURE – JOHN 4:15-18

15 “Sir,” the woman said to Him, “give me this water so I won’t get thirsty and come here to draw water.” 16 “Go call your husband,” He told her, “and come back here.” 17 “I don’t have a husband,” she answered. “You have correctly said, ‘I don’t have a husband,’” Jesus said. 18 “For you’ve had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.”


How can you tell Jesus was starting to draw this woman in? Why did Jesus ask her to call her husband? Why would voicing her marital situation help her confront her failure? How?

• Living water sounded good since it would significantly cut down on her daily workload.
• She went to the well when no one else was there. Probably ashamed of her lifestyle among the other woman. Jesus worked to move this woman from failure to salvation.
• Jesus wasn’t rubbing her failure in her face; He helped her see that all her attempts to satisfy her thirst had failed.
• For this woman to receive living water she was going to have to deal with the moral failure of her life because it was a symptom of her deeper failure – she was separated from God.

Jesus has the right to go directly to our sore spots, but how are we to follow His example?

• Jesus continued treating her with respect, commending her for her honesty.
• We should not write off people when we see destructive choices. See thirst. Nor should we assume we know all God knows.

What are wells people drink from in efforts to satisfy their thirst? Why do those efforts fail? Why must we confront our failure if we’re going to move beyond failure to salvation?

• We should seek to communicate the gospel by using terminology and concepts with which the person is familiar.
• We need to draw spiritual truths from everyday life.
• We should be patient with people who are slow to grasp the truths of the gospel.
• People need to acknowledge to God that they are sinners.
• In witnessing, listen to what people say, answer their questions, and deal briefly with their excuses.

In order for the woman to receive the living water, she would have to deal with the tragic nature of her sinful life.

 

• Sinful lifestyles today - how would this apply?
• Jesus knew something that the people of Sychar did not know. He knew that this woman was sick unto death of the mess she had made of her life. She yearned to be clean and to be able to begin anew. She was too proud to admit to others how miserable she was. She put on a brave front, but Jesus knew that she yearned to be something other than the person she had become. Jesus knew the yearning of her heart.

III. ACTUALLY LIVE A NEW LIFE – JOHN 4:25-26, 39

25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will explain everything to us.” 26 “I am He,” Jesus told her, “the One speaking to you.”

………………………………………………………

39 Now many Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of what the woman said when she testified, “He told me everything I ever did.”


This woman was surely snubbed and whispered about in town; why did people take her seriously? How does this woman challenge us today, when we have rebelled against God or simply ignored Him?

• Be more interested in winning people to faith in Christ than winning arguments.
• Don’t become involved in long religious arguments. Keep bringing the conversation back to the person’s need for Jesus and His salvation.
• Don’t be surprised by efforts to divert the conversation from Jesus. Witnesses need to be able to distinguish between diversions and genuine questions, and know how to handle both.
• Bring the lost person to recognize the urgency of deciding to receive Christ as Lord and Savior.
• Warn against the dangers of delay.
• As people see the change Christ makes in us, they become curious. We should use these opportunities to introduce them to Christ.

 

 

 

Prayer of Commitment

Lord, help me to be a true believer and an effective witness for You. Amen.

Be in prayer this week as we begin this new series on how we can rise above the failures in our life through the redemptive power of Jesus Christ. Failures in our past do not mean we cannot change. We can trust Christ to save us from our sins.

Hope to see you this Sunday!

In His Love,

David & Susan

Class Lesson September 30, 2012

Hey Gang,


We come to a close this week in our series on "What it Means to Follow Jesus." Jesus has been saying that there are people who profess to follow Him but live their lives no different from the unbeliever. He says that others follow Him just for comfort and satisfaction, but not to be transformed and obedient. He says you can't follow Me on the outside without following Me on the inside. This week Jesus says that you must decide what you are going to do - you do have a choice - what road will you take, what tree will you become, what house will you build?

Is this what you thought it was going to be? 

 

 Choose to build your life on Jesus and His teachings.

Billy Graham - Choices 1981 

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I. LIFE OR DESTRUCTION? – MATTHEW 7:13-14

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. 14 How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.  

1. Jesus begins with two gates: One is narrow and easily overlooked; one is wide and easy to find.

2. These gates lead to two roads: One is difficult and one is easy.

3. There are two destinations: One is life and the other is destruction.

4. There are two groups of travelers: One group that heeds Jesus’ call to follow and another that chooses their own way.



In what ways do “narrow” and “difficult” describe what it’s like to follow Jesus? Why, when many say they want life, do only a few find it?

• How have previous lessons in the Sermon on the Mount described why following Jesus is “difficult?”
• Many religions preach self-sacrifice. How is following Jesus different than religion?
• Contrast difficulties with blessing that come. Cite difficulties that are even worse for those who don’t follow Jesus.

On a daily basis, what does the narrow road look like? What do we see daily on the road to “destruction?” why is it deceivingly comforting to be on the road traveled by many others?

• Insist on many different pictures of the choices people make each day on the narrow road. Think about how we respond to our kids when they say, “everybody else is doing it.” When does this still tempt us as adults?
• Following many on the easy road may not head us in the right direction. We will find suffering that we alone bear.
• Why is narrow-minded seen as restricted or wrong?
• How have you experienced obedience to be freeing, and sin to be limiting?
• We are all travelers through life. Where shall we go? With whom shall we travel? Which way shall we take? What can we expect along the way? Like a reliable travel agent, Jesus was completely candid as He gave both information and counsel. We can choose what seems a better way, but those ways are counterfeits.

Can a person be on both of these roads at the same time?



What choice does Jesus offer, and what results from the decision one makes?

• All people have an opportunity to decide how they will respond to Jesus, to His invitation to enter the kingdom, and to the demands of discipleship.
• Although the demands of discipleship might appear to be constricting, in truth they set us free and lead to life.
• The journey with Jesus may be rigorous, but it is worth the cost.
• One must choose to follow the commandments of God or the commandments of men. One way is easy, the other way is hard. The boundaries are clearly distinguished. One gate leads to destruction, the other gate lead to eternal life. Revealed truths compel obedience to God’s way. To enter the "narrow gate," one must leave "self" behind; on the other hand, to enter the "roomy way," there is no limit to the baggage—self-righteousness, pride, hatred, envy, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, discord, and so on. The "narrow gate" is the very opposite of these works of the flesh.
• The objective of our Lord in this "Sermon on the Mount" is to bring people to an understanding of their nature, their character, and their practice of the two great commandments—love God and love one another. One must realize that kingdom behavior is set forth in the beatitudes. This kind of conduct is the narrow road and the narrow gate that Jesus addresses in His Sermon. The realm of the New Jerusalem is a dominion of light. This kingdom consists of those who allow their good works to be seen by men in order that God may be praised.

Jesus speaks of ethical behavior that is in harmony with the will of God as that which God desires in His children. It is an inward righteousness that God is delighted in, not external righteousness. Following the beatitudes, Jesus addresses the praiseworthy performance that is pleasing to the Father and the unworthy conduct that is not acceptable to the Father. He explains that the quality of one’s actions that pleases God is practice that is in harmony with the intent of God’s law. 

 

 

 

 

 

II. GENUINE OR COUNTERFEIT? – MATTHEW 7:15-23

15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 

Why is it difficult to recognize someone who teaches or preaches what is false, or leads in destructive ways? What are tale-tell signs of a false prophet? What makes them hard to spot? Do false prophets have insidious goals or are they simply misguided? What makes them look like believers?

• Discipleship is not to be equated with saying religious words or doing religious things. Discipleship is being in right relationship with Jesus and doing the will of the Father.
• Refer to Galatians 5:19-23 to compare works of the flesh with fruit of the Spirit.
• Jesus showed what followers look like and how righteousness extends beyond mere actions.
• “What you see is what you get.” Don’t we wish that were true of everyone we meet? Actually, what we see is often what people project for us to see. Religious fakery is not new. Both the Old and New Testaments speak of false prophets, and Jesus warned us to beware of them. How can we tell whether a preacher, teacher, or layperson is genuine or counterfeit?
• The pretend to be part of God’s flock. They use all the right words. They might be influential leaders or even perform miracles that amaze. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they have God’s approval. God’s punishment for these people is severe: He throws them out of His presence eternally.
• Jesus said to look at their fruit. Do you see strife, jealousy, angry outbursts, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and envy? Or do you see love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and self-control?
• Is their teaching in line with Jesus Christ?

What does Jesus mean by fruit in these verses? What fruit shows one to be a follower of Jesus? What bad fruit would indicate danger? In what ways do the lessons of the Sermon on the Mount (5:1-7:12) help us recognize phoniness in others and ourselves?

• Jesus says we can recognize them by their fruit. What fruit are we to examine? Their false teachings, their actions and attitudes. Anyone can talk a religious game.
• Do you see loving actions even when they are weary or offended?
• Do you notice patience in their life even during tense times?
• Do they treat every person with kindness and respect?
• Do they sow peace or cultivate conflict?
• Does the leader answer questions truthfully or become defensive or evasive?
• Are they more concerned with status or with serving the Lord?
• How do they make and use their money?
• When they are out of the spotlight, are they kind and considerate or irritable and rude?
• What do people who have known these people for a long time say about their moral and ethical practices?
• Do they match Christ?
• Do people that are influenced by this person become more godlier or more worldly?
• Do they seek to do God’s will or their own?
• A day of judgment is coming in which counterfeit disciples will be held accountable and denied the opportunity to be in Jesus’ presence.
• Disciples need to be on guard against those who would deceive them in an effort to destroy them.
• Authentic teachers and true disciples can be recognized by the fruit of their lives.

III. ROCK OR SAND? – MATTHEW 7:24-29

24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. 28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: 29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 

So Jesus is asking you and me – what are we building our life on – rock or sand?



What collapses have you see or experienced in your lifetime? What do these collapses reveal?

• Samples: Stock market crashes; collapse of levies in New Orleans; collapse of the Berlin Wall; collapse of major companies. In many cases, crashes and collapses reveal weaknesses that were there all along but were overlooked or ignored. Other times neglect causes collapse to build over time. Collapses can come from pressures bigger than the structure was built to withstand. There are many who attend and even serve in church, but ignore Jesus’ warnings about building their lives on the rock.

Jesus describes two men:

1. A wise man. Builds a foundation or a life in obedience to God’s Word.

2. A foolish man. Builds a foundation that leads to collapse. He spent all that time building, engineering, and adding to his home. He had good intentions. He may have had a good reputation. Things looked good on the outside, maybe as good as his neighbors. But listen to the crescendo of Jesus’ words and imagine the silence that followed: “The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed.



What was the difference between the wise and foolish men in the story Jesus told?

• Those who hear and obey Jesus’ words build their lives on a solid foundation.

What do Jesus’ words make you wonder about your own life? How well do you like what you see?



What made Jesus’ teaching distinctive from all other teachers?

• Jesus speaks with true authority – His authority.

Prayer of Commitment

Father, I have a decision to make. Without hesitancy, I choose You. Amen 

Be in prayer this week as we draw this series to a close - what will your decision be? 

See you on Sunday! 

In His Love, 

David & Susan