Week 11 Day 1

The Daily Take 10

The Gospel of John

Week 11 Day 1

Introduction…have you ever noticed how people in power try to keep a finger on the pulse of soceity by using forms of espionage to search out those that disagree with their philosophy? Dissenters and pockets of non traditional people are viewed as sources of competition that may upset or overturn their position of power and prestige. At the same time God is at work in our world fulfilling prophecy while doing His plan and purposes. If not careful or discerning those in power may be fighting God’s will and purposes on the earth…against God Himself…not good!

Read John 1:19-28 “This is the witness of John when the Jews sent priests and Levites to him from Jerusalem to ask him: ‘who are you?’ He quite definitely affirmed and stated: ‘I am not the Messiah.’ So they asked him: ‘what then are we to think? Are you Elijah?’ He said: ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the promised prophet?’ He answered, ‘no’. So they said to him, ‘who are you? Tell us so we can give an answer to those that sent us. What claim do you make for yourself?’ He said, ‘I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make the Lord’s road straight as Isaiah the prophet said.’ Now they had been sent by the Pharisees. So they asked him and said to him, ‘if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the promised prophet, why then do you baptize?’ John answered, ‘I baptize with water, but there is one standing among you, who you do not know, I mean the one who is coming after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to unloose.’ These things happened at Bethany on the far side of Jordan where John was baptizing.

Bible Study

• The disciple of Jesus and writer of this Gospel, John, established the fact that Jesus is the Mind, Reason and Word of God come into this world in human form to reveal to us God, His purposes and ultimately to provide access to God by His sacrifice on the Cross.
• Now in these verses we see the day preceding the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry. It starts as was prophesied in Isaiah 40:3 with John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus the Messiah, giving testimony of what was about to happen. In essence, John’s message was “get yourself ready because God is stepping into our world on planet earth through Jesus. Hope and the fulfillment of His promises and purposes is going to happen.”
• The 4 Gospels tell the life story of Jesus, God’s love, and Jesus’ invitation, but it equally tells the story of mankind’s sin, refusal and rejection of God’s offer of love.  However, the dismissal of God’s love came with a warning.
• In this passage of Scripture, the Jewish priests and leaders came as emissaries to search out, question and determine who this popular person and powerful preacher, John the Baptist was and what was his message.
• John’s testimony does not focused on his pedigree or accomplishments, but on the purposes of God and the coming Christ who he was tasked to prepare the way for.
  • John clearly said., “I am not the Messiah, but if you only knew, the Messiah is here.” The Jews looked for a Messiah that would free from Roman rule and bring peace, not a Savior that would free from sin.
  • John dismissed the notion he may be Elijah. Malachi 4:5 suggests that Elijah the prophet will come back to earth before the Messiah comes and I believe that will in fact happen before the Second return of Jesus to earth.
  • The prophetic mission of John the Baptist to be a voice and point the way to the King was declared 800 years before and is found in Isaiah 40:3-5, “the voice of him that cries in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight a highway for our God…and the glory of the Lord will be revealed and all will see it…”
  • God reveals Himself and can be known if we truly want Him and seek His truth. Proverbs 25:2 says, “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the honor of kings to search out a matter.”

Application

• The Jewish leaders in the time of Jesus rejected Him and Jesus’ disciples who preached until put to death. Gameliel, one of those leaders said in Acts 5:38 “for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nothing, but if it be of God, you cannot overthrow it, or you may find yourself fighting against God.”

• God will have the last word. We may fight the truth all our lives, but we cannot change the truth. Psalms 2:1-5 “Why do the nations rage and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands apart and cast away their cords from us. He who sits in the heavens will laugh…Then He will speak unto them in His wrath and vex them in His great displeasure. Yet I, says the Lord, have set my king upon my holy hill…

I will declare the decree: the Lord has said, You are my Son, this day I have begotten you…kings, be wise now and judges of the earth, be instructed. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, or if He becomes angry and you perish…blessed are all of those who put their trust in Him.”

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Week 11 Day 2

The Daily Take 10

The Gospel of John

Week 11 Day 2

Introduction…During the time when Moses and the Jews were in the process of being freed from slavery in Egypt, there was a pivotal point in God’s dealing with Pharaoh to convince and finally persuade him to, ‘let my people go’. It was the last plague where the death angel of God was coming to kill the first born of every family that did not have the blood of a lamb on the door posts of their home. This provision and instruction of God to place the blood of the lamb over the door protected the Jews from death and secured their freedom from slavery. As only God could, He was providing a real life story that would be remembered for generations that would point to His ultimate plan of salvation through His Son. The blood of the lamb was symbolic and pointed to God’s provision to secure our salvation from death and bondage to sin through the Lamb of God…enter Jesus!

Read John 1:29-31 “On the next day, John saw Jesus as he was coming towards him and said, “see the Lamb of God who is taking away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said to you, there is a man who is coming after me who has been advanced before me, because he was before me. Even I did not know him. All the same, the reason that I came baptizing with water is that he might be shown forth to Israel.”

Bible Study

• With Jesus coming to John to be baptized in water to fulfill all righteousness and the plan of God, John realized that his work was completed and his calling fulfilled in preparing the way for the Messiah.

• Jesus was called The Lamb of God to reveal God’s purposes to redeem mankind and reason Jesus came.
  • Jesus, the Lamb of God was pictured in the first passover in Egypt as the Jews, killed a lamb, put the blood over their door, ate the passover together and were spared and saved from death. See Exodus 12:11-13.
  • John the Baptist was declaring Jesus as the one true sacrifice, the Passover Lamb who forgives and covers our sin and judgment of death.
  • Paul the Apostle in 1 Corinthians 5:7 noted Jesus as the Passover Lamb, who conquered and delivered us from sin, death and hell.
  • Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist was a Priest of Israel, thus giving John the respected credentials to be a priest. So John was familiar with the daily sacrifice of a lamb in the morning and evening in the Temple for the sins of the people. In seeing Jesus come from God, John rightly saw Jesus as the Lamb sent from God to truly forgive sin bringing hope to the world.
• The prophets of old saw the vital picture of a lamb of God that would be provided eventually and ultimately for the forgiveness of sin.
  • Jeremiah 11:19 prophesied of Jesus, the Lamb of God, that would come, “but I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter.”
  • Isaiah 53:7 saw the vision of Jesus, the Messiah, who would come and suffer meekly and lovingly as our sacrifice “like a lamb to the slaughter.”
• Although John the Baptist was Jesus’ cousin, he says he did not know him in honor of the Son of God being with and from God since the beginning.

Application

• What could wash away our sin? What could ever make us whole again?
• Nothing but the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God.
• Revel today in the amazing plan and love of God for you.
• Now live free and full today and everyday. Thank Him and give Him praise.

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Week 11 Day 3

The Daily Take 10

The Gospel of John

Week 11 Day 3

Introduction…The Trinity has been involved through the ages and noted to be working together at significant occasions. God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit who were all involved in Creation saying, “let us make man in our image” (Genesis 1:26) and in the virgin birth of Jesus, God the Son, that was conceived by the Holy Spirit as Mary was overshadowed by the Almighty Father (Luke 1:35). Now at the Baptism of Jesus in water, the Holy Spirit descending upon Him like a dove and a voice from heaven came saying “this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” See Matthew 3:16-17

Read John 1: 32-34 “So John bore his witness. ‘With my own eyes,’ he said, I saw the Spirit coming down from heaven, as it might have been a dove and the Spirit remained upon him. And I did not know him. But it was he who sent me to baptize with water who said to me, ‘the one on whom you see the Spirit coming down and remaining is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I saw it happen and my witness stands that this is the Son of God.”

Bible Study

• John the Baptist had a miraculous birth, supernatural purpose and calling of God upon his life, which he fulfilled. See Luke 1:5-80.
  • John was called the Baptist because he baptized followers in water. The purpose was symbolic of the cleansing from sin that took place when believers repented before God, opened themselves to Him and dedicated their lives to serving Him. Baptism in water was and is God ordained. See Matthew 3
  • The witness of John, that Jesus was the Son of God was a result of what happened at the baptism of Jesus. John knew His purpose to be the forerunner of the Messiah. He identified the Messiah when he saw, heard and experienced the confirmation by God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
• Holy Spirit descended like a dove upon Jesus.
  • The dove was considered sacred in Israel.
  • In Genesis 1:2 we see the Holy Spirit hovering over the deep and moving upon the face of the waters.
  • The Hebrew word for spirit is “ruach” meaning wind and there are 3 basic ideas surrounding the nature of the Spirit. The Spirit is:
    • Power…like a mighty rushing wind.
    • Life…when man was created, God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and he became a living soul. The Spirit brings life.
    • God…the Holy Spirit inspired the prophets. When the Spirit came upon the prophets the truth of God was revealed, power to recognize truth prevailed and the Spirit enabled the preaching.
    • Micah 3:8 says, “I am filled with power with the Spirit of the Lord…”
    • Isaiah 59:21 says, “My Spirit is upon you and my words have I put in your mouth.”
    • Isaiah 61:1 says, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news…”
    • Ezekiel 36:26-27 says, “A new heart I will give you and a new spirit I will put within…I will put my Spirit within you.”
• Baptism with Holy Spirit is the work of Jesus
  • In the Old Testament times the Holy Spirit came upon special people for special occasions. The Spirit came upon prophets as they spoke for God to the people.
  • In the New Testament and in these last days, the Holy Spirit was poured out upon all people. See Acts 2:38-39
  • Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He prayed the Father to send the always present Holy Spirit to come, another Comforter, like Jesus, that is called alongside to help us. See John 14:16-17
  • Upon salvation the Holy Spirit indwells us as believers and seals us. Ephesians 1:13-14 makes this clear, “after you believed you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance…”

Application

• We as disciples of Jesus Christ are the temples of the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 6:19 reminds us, “Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, that you have from God and you are not your own.” He lives within and seals us unto redemption. We should endeavor not to grieve the person of the Holy Spirit that lives within us as it says in Ephesians 4:30, “and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you are sealed unto the day of redemption.”

Tags: Take 10

Week 11 Day 4

The Daily Take 10

The Gospel of John

Week 11 Day 4

Introduction…Within the ranks of leadership today, a common trait of a leader is that of a prideful, power hungry, and self serving individual.  This speaks of the character of the fallen world we live in, where looking out for #1 is the norm, but not so in the Kingdom of God. True believers who live as disciples of Christ, follow the Servant Leadership Model of Jesus Christ and as Servant Leaders and find great purpose in life serving others first, encouraging and recognizing the great value of others. They work as unto the Lord to please Him and do not fear man or seek to please people, but God is first.

Read John 1:35-39 On the next day John was again standing with two of his disciples. John looked at Jesus as he walked. “See!” he said, “The Lamb of God!” And the two disciples heard him speaking and followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following him. “What are you looking for?”  he said to them. “Rabbi” (the word means teacher),  they said to him, “where are you staying?” He said to them, “come and see!” They came and saw where he was staying and remained with him throughout the day. And it was about 4 o’clock in the afternoon.

Bible Study

• John the Baptist, thought humbly and soberly of himself. He had his focus on God and not his own purposes. He sought to please God and not himself.
• Christian leaders speak and act like John. They point people to Christ, not to themselves, since He is the Savior. In life Christian leaders know it is not about us…it is all about Him.
• In the passage of Scripture we are studying, we also see Jesus living out Servant Leadership as he turns and speaks invitingly to John’s disciples making them feel included and drawing them to himself.
• Jesus, Son of God, manifested the nature of God. He tells a parable, an earthly story with heavenly meaning, of a son who left his father to live riotously only to become broke, wasted and decided to come home. The father looked everyday longingly for his son to come home and when he did, the father ran to meet him. The father in this story, is God, our Father! Teaching us that when we get tired of this world and its ways and want God, He finds and runs to us! What a Father!
• Jesus asks the 2 disciples one of the great questions of life… “What are you looking for?”
  • The disciples responded in calling Jesus, “Rabbi”, meaning great one and teacher, a title of great respect.
  • Jesus’ response was come and see…he was inviting them to get to know him. Once they did, their lives would change forever!

Application

• Be a God pleaser and not a man pleaser. Be a God chaser and not a man chaser.  Live for an audience of one – His.
• It is such a difficult situation to take second place when once you were first. John the Baptist handled his step back well. He said to his disciples about Jesus, “He/Jesus must increase and I must decrease.” See John 3:30
• A great and freeing Scripture to live by is found in 1 Peter 5:6-7. It says, “humble yourself before the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time. Casting all your cares upon Him for He cares for you.”

Tags: Take 10

Week 11 Day 5

The Daily Take 10

The Gospel of John

Week 11 Day 5

Introduction…Messiah is the Hebrew word and Christ is the Greek equivalent. The word means anointed. Kings were anointed with oil at their coronation. Relating to Jesus the Messiah or Christ, the title refers to and means, “God’s Anointed King.”

Read John 1:40-42 “Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother was one of the two who had heard John speaking about Jesus and who had followed him. First thing in the morning he went and found his own brother Simon. “We have found the Messiah,” he said to him. (the word Messiah means the same as the word Christ) He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked intently at him. ‘You are Simon, Jona’s son, you will be called Cephas.’ Cephas is the same name as Peter and means, a rock.”

Bible Study

• Andrew was searching for God in his life and that heightened awareness for God attracted him to the truthful message of John the Baptist, a man God anointed for his time to awaken people to God. John’s preaching was causing a great stir in the hearts of many people. Andrew was one of those ‘awakened’ ones.
• When Jesus, the true Messiah came on the scene, John rightly pointed those searching for God to God’s answer…Jesus. Andrew’s journey to God brought him face to face with Jesus, the way, the truth and the life.
• Once again we encounter a humble person, a disciple of Jesus, Andrew. Someone who will share the glory with someone else. Andrew willingly submits himself to Christ and even takes second place to his brother Simon Peter.
• When we find Christ in our lives and see the great good He does of forgiving, loving, counseling and changing us into His glory…what else can we do, but tell others about Him, especially those we love. We become His witnesses!
• Three times in the Gospel of John is Andrew mentioned and each time he is bringing or introducing someone to Jesus. It is obvious that his greatest joy was to be in the presence of Jesus and bring others to that source of joy.
• When Jesus met Simon for the first time, Jesus looked intently at him with discernment and determined he should be called Cephas or Peter (Greek and Hebrew of the same name) meaning a rock.
• In the Word of God often there was a name change denoting a new relationship with God. For example, Abram became Abraham and Jacob became Israel when they entered a new relationship with God, as if life starts fresh and all over as a new name is written down in glory.

Application

• When God sees us, He is not concerned who we were or are, but with God all things are possible and He sees us for what we can become, our potential.
• A story about Michelangelo is told that one day Michelangelo was beginning to sculpt a large piece of marble. When asked what he was doing with the chisel and hammer, Michelangelo responded, “I am releasing the angel imprisoned in this marble.”
• This is a great example of what Jesus does to us. He sees great potential and value in us. It is He that frees us to be what God intends us to be. We are something great in His eyes and His plans for us are so good. See Jeremiah 29:11.

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