March 16, 2005

• BIBLE STUDY!!!!

  
  

  At last we did not get snowed out for the Tuesday Bible Study and Pastor Don taught it. Two blessings.

  
  

  Topic, John 9, Jesus healing the blind man

  
  

  Starting back at John 8:48

  
  

  Pastor Don explained how the Samaritans came to be, how they were a remnant left in Jerusalem when the Jews were dispersed throughout the world. How they only had the Pentauch to work with and they formed their own way to worship God, picked their own mountain, etc. When the Israelites returned to their country, they saw that the Samaritans were not perfectly lined up with the practices and worship of God. This led to them being ostracized, that the Israelites had to divorce Samaritan wives, and they were looked down on by the Israelites as being lesser people. Yet Jesus also spoke with the Samaritans and pointed out that at times they showed more of God’s values than the Israelites did.

  
  

  Pastor Don then went on to talk about something that really applied to what I was dealing with, and that is the question Why. How often when things happen in our lives we want to know Why, the reason, an explaination. And sometimes God seems very quiet in our lives. It is frustrating not to have the answer revealed when you want it, but sometimes God will not reveal an answer until you are ready to handle it. It may not be the season for you to know the answer. (I can see the truth in that, but boy is it hard to swallow, and I do still have unanswered questions).

  
  

  In John 8:48-end of chapter, the Israelites are asking Jesus if he is greater than Abraham? and were questioning his statement about never tasting death if they keep His Word. They were asking the wrong questions. We often ask the wrong questions or untimely questions.

  
  

  A history of Abraham followed, pointing out that when Abraham had to sacrifice Isaac, he gained a rhema picture of the Messiah, so acted in faith to know that God would provide the sacrifice. And God did both in Abraham’s time with the ram and in our time with Jesus.

  
  

  He pointed out an interesting thing that I hadn’t thought about. Isaac was an adult when he was taken to the mountain for the sacrifice, he could have resisted Abraham who was rather old at the time, but he went willingly. Most probably every birthday celebration of Isaac the miracle of his birth was spoken of, and the story of Abraham’s hosting the angels was talked about. So Isaac had his faith fed often with the stories, and that faith feeding is so crucial for us. We must really remember the good that God has done for us, remember the miracles that have occurred in our lives, so that when we are faced with new situations, that we are strengthened by the faith experiences of our past.

  
  

  John Chapter 9,

  
  

  In this Jesus is asked who sinned, the blind man or his parents. And Jesus answered something so important for us to realize. That neither the man or his parents sinned.

  
  

  Pastor Don had people with different versions of the Bible come up and read John 9:3 outloud, putting in the punctuation marks.  The NIV tends to make it seem like the man was born blind so that Jesus could show off his healing (the way most people read this verse). But the King James version and NKJ version show that the man and the parents had not sinned, BUT (very important word), that Jesus would now heal the man. That when Jesus is brought into the situation healing occurs.

  
  

  Pastor Don said that with Word of Faith churches it is often assumed that if a person has a sickness, a problem, birth defect it is due to a lack of faith, a sin or something that the person did or didn’t do, but that is not always the case. Sometimes sickness, disease and death are just that, part of what happens on this earth without any other cause than satan in charge of the earth. When we blame the person or their faith for being sick, we abuse the teaching and make people feel guilty.

  
  

  When bad things happen, God comes in to make it better.

  
  

  Acts 10, wherever oppression, the work of the devil, is found, Jesus is come to rescue it.

  
  

  John 9:6 Jesus using clay to put on the blind man’s eyes, showed two kinds of work on the sabbath, 1. healing the man’s eyes, and 2. making clay with dirt and spittal.

  
  

  He was showing that even in his spit was healing, as the prophets foretold. And by using clay it reminds us that we were formed of the dust of the ground. The Pool of Siloam was far from where the Blind man was and he had to make his way to the pool to wash the clay off. This was an act of faith, to go and wash, so the man linked his faith with Jesus’ to obtain his healing.

  
  

  By healing on the sabbath, Jesus was pointing out that he was Lord over the Sabbath (I AM),

  
  

  We then read the questioning of the blind man by the scribes and Pharisees and how they excommunicated him. In those days that would have been a major stigma, for it meant that you would have had no way to sacrifice to God to remove your sins, you would not be allowed in the temple, etc. It would have been awful for the person. The scribes and Pharisees did not like the answers that this man gave. They chose not to see the miracle for what it was and condemned the blind man as being a sinner.

  
  

  One other point that Pastor Don said was that when people do not agree with how you are thinking, often they label you a sinner. When the truth is that you are just not agreeing with them.

  
  

  God is the God who can do something for you that no one else can do. This blind man was very teacheable and he was able to recognize and believe that Christ was the Messiah, and that was another level of healing.

  
  

  These were the notes I took last night. Please know that if there are any errors it is my mistake, I am certain it is not Pastor Don’s teaching.

  
  

  Regarding what I wrote yesterday, I just wanted to point out to people that if someone is having a hard time dealing with God in the way that another person has succeeded in accepting God, it may be because there are things that God still has to heal in the person. We are all works in process. And thank you for your care and concern. Perhaps I will continue on in that discussion, but was so excited to have a Bible study to share with you.

  
  

  From Sunday morning until Thursday afternoon, I am taking my Girl Scout troop to Washington DC. It looks to be an exciting trip for the girls, and we plan to do lots of wonderful things, from the zoo to visiting the Holocaust Museum. The girls want to see IMAX and the Smithsonian, and Arlington Cemetary and Chinatown. Please pray for travelling mercies, good weather, and that the girls have a lot of fun. But if you do not hear from me in those days, do not worry.

  
  

  Oh, my daughter Katherine turns 13 tomorrow.

  
  

  Heather

  • 8:23 am
  • 12 Comments