16. Nine Questions to Ask

Announcements

Camp Workday

This Saturday (June 20th), 9am

Random Question

If you could delete one daily chore from existence forever, which one would it be?

Lesson

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1. Is there an example for me to follow?

A large part of the Bible is written about people, and that’s not by accident. I don’t know about you, but when I hear a good story about someone, I’m locked in. Stories have a special power to grab our attention and keep us engaged. There are plenty of people’s real life stories written out in the Bible, and we want to learn what we can from these stories. But the challenge for us is…we won’t face the same things many of the Bible characters faced!

Everybody turn to Genesis 18…

Abraham & Sarah pitched their tents in Mamre

3 angels visit them

Announce that they’ll have a child

Make their way toward Sodom and Gommorah, Abraham follows…

Abraham’s Intercession

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Genesis 18:20–21 NKJV

20 And the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, 21 I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.”

God says “I will go down now and see” Sodom and Gomorrah, what is He obviously implying here? (He’s going to destroy the city)

Abraham knows that, so he proceeds to pray for Sodom, that the Lord would not destroy it because his nephew Lot and his family lived there.

Have any of you been in this kind of circumstance?

God reveals to you that He’s going to destroy Halifax for their wickedness…

- You come to me…

“Pastor Ben! God told me He’s going to destroy Halifax, we need to pray for them!”

We’ve never been in this circumstance, and I strongly doubt we ever will be. So, how do we apply this story to our lives? (Look at Abraham’s example!)

When the story doesn’t seem easily applicable to daily life, take a look at the people in the story…

Do they respond in faith?

Do they respond in unbelief?

How can learn from their example?

When Abraham learned that God was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, his heart melted in compassion for the people he loved.

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Genesis 18:25 NKJV

25 Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

Do you see any good examples in this verse we can follow? (Compassion, earnest prayer)

Abraham asks the Lord this following request multiple times, “What if there are 50 righteous people, would you still destroy the city?”

45 people

40 people

30 people

20 people

10 people

All throughout this prayer, Abraham is nudging, knocking at God’s door, yet he’s being very humble about all of it.

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Genesis 18:27 NKJV

27 Then Abraham answered and said, “Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord:

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Genesis 18:30 NKJV

30 Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?” So He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

So, when you can’t necessarily apply the situation to your life, look to the people in the story, and take a close look at how they handled their situation.

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2. Is there a sin to avoid?

Last week we talked about how the Bible is a sharp, two-edged sword, it’s like a scalpel that can expose us for our sin. Do you ever get convicted when reading the Bible?

We’ve got to be ready for this to happen! And when it does convict us, allow the Holy Spirit to work on us. This takes humility!

Trashy marriage…

- Read Ephesians 5:28 and realize how bad you are!

Ephesians 5:28 NKJV

28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.

Galatians 5:19–21 NKJV

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Ouch! Let’s have our eyes open to see our sin, and let’s be humble enough to confess it to the Lord!

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3. Is there a promise to claim?

God’s Word is full with promises. These are passages that we should highlight, and keep handy for times that we are struggling.

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Fear: Isaiah 41:10; Isaiah 26:3

Prayer: Matthew 7:7-11; 1 John 5:14

Strength: Matthew 11:28-29; Isaiah 40:31

Forgiveness: 1 John 1:9; 2 Chronicles 7:14

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4. Is there a prayer to repeat?

Genesis 18 (Abraham)

Psalm 51 (David’s repentance)

1 Samuel 2:1-10 (Hannah’s thanksgiving)

Repeating prayers in the Bible is very helpful and can be very deep…

But can you see any dangers in repeating a prayer that is written down? (Vain repetition)

The Lord’s prayer…

Matthew 6:5–15 NKJV

5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

What’s Jesus warning us of here? (Don’t pray with vain repetitions; the idea that the more words I say, the more God will be impressed with me)

Praying the rosary…

Right after Jesus gives this warning, what does He teach the disciples? (The Lord’s prayer, probably the most vainly repeated prayer in the history of all prayers!)

Matthew 6:5–15 NKJV

8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. 9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. 14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

So, look at prayers, let them guide yours, but keep your heart into it, don’t let the words come out of your mouth for no reason!

5. Is there a command to obey?

Do you ever wonder what God’s will is for your life?

Living by the Book: The Art and Science of Reading the Bible 5. Is There a Command to Obey?

“95 percent of the will of God is revealed in the commands of Scripture. If you spend your time attending to those, you won’t have much trouble working out the other 5 percent.”

There are certain times the Bible will flat out say, “this is the will of God for your life.” Pay attention to these!

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 NKJV

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thessalonians 4:3–5 NKJV

3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5 not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God;

1 Peter 2:15 NKJV

15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men—

Romans 12:1–2 NKJV

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

6. Is there a condition to meet?

We often make promises with conditions…

Parents: “I’ll bring you to Dairy Queen if you clean your room and do the dishes.”

What part of that sentence do we like to hear? (I’ll take you out to DQ)

But that won’t happen if we didn’t listen to the condition!

John 15:7 NKJV

7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

What part of this promise do we want to hear? (Ask what you desire and it will be done for you)

But what’s the condition? (Abide in me, let My Words abide in you; be in the Word, walk in the Spirit, and then God will give you what you ask)

7. Is there a verse to memorize?

Every Bible verse can be memorized, but there are some in particular that speak volumes to us. These are the ones we should memorize…

8. Is there an error to mark?

An error with ourselves!

Are there any errors in the Bible? (NONE)

The Bible exposes errors in our own thinking. Sometimes we might think something is wrong, but the Bible shows us that we were the ones who were wrong.

9. Is there a challenge to face?

An area of sin has been exposed in my life… what must I do in response?

Relationship to heal

Bad habit to kick

apology to be made

Good habit to build

Application

When we’re applying God’s Word, we will find that we really are growing in knowledge but also in Christlikeness.