Good Question

John 1:45–46 ESV

Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

John 1:46 ESV

Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

emotionallyresilientliving.com

Did you know that your mind loves it when you ask questions?

The right questions can give you direction and have the ability to change your focus in an instant, transforming your state of mind from limiting to empowering, and opening doorways to new opportunities.

Sounds wonderful doesn’t it? Of course the critical factor here is your attitude, because no matter how powerful the intention or how good the question is, if your attitude going in is...... “this is a waste of time,” then the process is going to feel like trying to drive your car with one foot on the gas and one on the break.

Which means you’re sabotaging yourself before you ever even begin.

The Nature of Empowering Questions

While it may seem obvious, it’s nevertheless important to state that the kind of questions you ask yourself will trigger specific types of responses; but let’s consider a couple of examples to see how this can play out for better or worse.

What if you were to repeatedly ask yourself questions such as “Why am I always so unlucky?” or “Why didn’t I know better?” or “Why am I always the loser in these situations?” Such questions are self-defeating, and the answers you get with them will naturally be disempowering.

On the other hand, questions like “What can I learn from this experience?”… “How can I do this differently to come up with a better outcome?” or “What really matters most to me at this moment?” and (my personal favorite) “How can I make this happen?” are empowering and provoke you to think in terms of possibilities, immediately setting you on the path to a better, more resilient life.

Closed ended question

Any question which can be answered with a simple "yes" or "no", or with a specific piece of information.

Open-Ended Questions.

An open-ended question is designed to encourage a full, meaningful answer using the subject's own knowledge and/or feelings.

An open-ended question is designed to encourage a full, meaningful answer using the subject's own knowledge and/or feelings. It is the opposite of a closed-ended question, which encourages a short or single-word answer. Open-ended questions also tend to be more objective and less leading than closed-ended questions (see next page).

Verse 45

“We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

Just because you have read it doesn’t mean you have experienced it.

Nathanael read about it him but not had an experience with him.

Just because you have read it doesn’t mean you have experienced it.

but he had some type of experience with Nazareth.

Just because you have read it doesn’t mean you have experienced it.

Life experiences shape our attitude and our attitude affects our questions.

Verse 46

Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

Can anything good come out of Nazareth?

2 weeks ago we dealt with this question from a negative point of view.

Today we are going to deal with this question with a different attitude.

What type of question is this?

It’s more of a closed ended question. It can be answered with a yes or no!

But with the right answer it could turn out to be an empowering question.

The issue is not the good thing but the issue is Nazareth.

The reason why I have a question is not because I’m negative or have a bad attitude.

I just have had some real life situations that have shaped my attitude to ask some real life questions.

What has life brought your way? What happen to you in your Nazareth?

The reason why I have questions and trust issues with people is because I was really hurt by people.

See in my Nazareth, I was walked out on.

I was beat in my Nazareth.

Nazareth represents hurtful family situations.

Nazareth represents a terrible divorce

Nazareth has pain and hurt.

Nazareth has shame.

It’s hard to let go of real life situations.

We all need a Phillip in our lives!!! “Come and See”

come: to move toward, travel toward, or approach something or somebody.

to come v. — to move toward, travel toward, or approach something or somebody; whether physically or as an abstract location.

See: to perceive by sight.

I know you have trust issues.

I know you have pain and hurt.

Someone that will stretch us.

Someone that will push us.

≈

Someone that will challenge you.

to come v. — to move toward, travel toward, or approach something or somebody; whether physically or as an abstract location.

Encourage you!

Someone that know you!

You have a good question but your missing one thing.

Nathanael had a Good Question but he was missing one thing. His focus was on Nazareth but not the good thing!

It’s one thing to ask questions based on life situations.

- Nathanael had a Good Question but he was missing one thing. His focus was on Nazareth but not the good thing!

It’s another thing to ask questions based on Jesus in the situation.

When Jesus is in the situation the question always turns into an empowering situation.

Jesus asked over 135 questions:

Why do you worry about clothes? ()

Do you believe that I am able to do this? ()

Why are you so afraid? ()

Why did you doubt? ()

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? ()

The right questions can give you direction and have the ability to change your focus in an instant, transforming your state of mind from limiting to empowering, and opening doorways to new opportunities.

“If God is for us, who can be against us?” ()

Now when I look at my Nazareth my attitude changes!

My questions are empowering.

Jesus is in it!

Can anything good come out of this? Yes, Because I have the good in me!