HeartQuest 101

My Sunday School class has just finished the book of First Peter, which has a lot of great teaching. While the major theme of the book is suffering (which I’ll get to in a moment), here is a sample of many significant verses:

1. A definite reference to the trinity (1 Peter 1:2)
2. Suffering is proof of your faith (1 Peter 1:6-7, 9, 4:12)
3. The prophets predicted the suffering of Christ (1 Peter 1:11)
4. We are called to be holy, fear God and love others (1 Peter 1:15, 17, 22, 4:8)
5. The Word of God abides forever (1 Peter 1:24-25)
6. We are to be hungry to understand God’s Word (1 Peter 2:2)
7. We are to be living stones (1 Peter 2:5)
8. Live with integrity while passing through this life (1 Peter 2:11)
9. We are to submit to the authorities (1 Peter 2:13-14, 18)
10. We find favor with God when we suffer for doing what is right (1 Peter 2:20, 3:14, 17, 4:14, 16, 19, 5:10)
11. Jesus is our example, we are to follow in His steps (1 Peter 2:21)
12. Lifestyle evangelism really is in the Bible (1 Peter 3:1)
13. God doesn’t hear your prayers if you don’t treat your wife right (1 Peter 3:7)
14. Always be ready to tell others why you are a believer (1 Peter 3:15)
15. Jesus preached to the spirits now in prison (1 Peter 3:19)
16. Just where is Jesus right now? (1 Peter 3:22)
17. Live for God, not the pleasures of today (1 Peter 4:2)
18. Exercise your spiritual gift (1 Peter 4:10)
19. Judgment begins with the household of God (1 Peter 4:17)
20. Pastors are to shepherd the flock of God (1 Peter 5:2)
21. Younger men need older mentors (1 Peter 5:5)
22. We are to humble ourselves before God does it for us (1 Peter 5:6)
23. We have a spiritual enemy ready to devour us (1 Peter 5:8)
24. We are told to greet each other with a kiss of love (1 Peter 5:14)

Back to the topic for today:

When we suffer in our lives, we often will think that we did something wrong to deserve the suffering, as if it were some sort of punishment; sort of a cause and effect relationship. While the law of sowing and reaping is very true (Galatians 6:7-8, 2 Corinthians 9:6) and God will at time discipline those whom He loves (Hebrews 12:6), the universe would be quite an unreliable place if God shot us a lightning bolt for every evil deed and triggered some pleasure sensor for doing good. Let’s consider the story of the man born blind in John 9:

“Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.” (John 9:2-3)

A common belief in Jewish culture was that bad happenings or suffering was the result of some great sin, but Jesus used this man’s suffering to teach about faith and the glory of God. We live in a fallen world where good behavior is not always rewarded and bad behavior is not always punished. Therefore, innocent people sometimes suffer. Jesus said the rain falls on the just and the unjust alike (Matthew 5:45).

On a larger scale, think about the reason that people follow God. Do they believe and follow God because of what they get out of it, or because He deserves our devotion and it’s the right thing to do? Think it over. Do you follow Christ because He promised heaven at the end of this life? Would you still follow Him even if you knew hell was your final destination? If God took suffering away whenever we asked, we would follow him for comfort and convenience, not out of love and devotion. Regardless of the reasons for our suffering, Jesus has the power to help us deal with it. We don’t go through this life alone.

So, when you suffer from a disease, tragedy, or disability, try not to ask, “Why did this happen to me?” or “What did I do wrong?” Instead, ask God to give you strength for the trial and a clearer perspective on what is happening. First Peter tells us that you will be blessed and rewarded.

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I’ve been leading a study through the book of First Peter, and we recently took a look at 1 Peter 3:1-7, some pretty interesting words for wives and husbands. Paul sums up pretty well in his letter to the Christians at Ephesus:

For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her. — Ephesians 5:25

Men, it looks like we have it easy. After all, our wives have to “submit” (Ephesians 5:22), whatever that means, but we just have to “love” them. What could be simpler? Flowers from time to time. Chocolates on special occasions. Perhaps even a power tool or two she can claim as her own even though we store it on our work bench. We might even manage to mumble “I love you” just to make it clear. Submission sounds hard. It involves yielding to someone else. That someone would be the husband. Does that mean what it seems like it means? We’re in charge? We call all the shots? We give the orders? Let me know how that goes for you.

The movie, My Big fat Greek Wedding, had an interesting analogy about who’s the head in the marriage or family. The bride’s mother says that the husband is the head, but the wife is the neck who is able to turn the head in any direction she chooses. I thought that was too funny.

Let’s go back to Ephesians 5:21. Wait a minute, there’s something here about “submit to one another.” Seems like that could be a problem. Ephesians 5:22 tells her to submit, and Ephesians 5:25 tells me to love.

Take a look at that little phrase “just as Christ loved the church.” It tells us that my examples of loving (in my paragraph above) don’t really apply. Jesus never sent flowers to the church. He never picked up a box of chocolates on the way home from the carpentry shop as a peace offering. He never mumbled “I love you” through a mouthful of hamburger. Jesus loved by dying. He loved by suffering, hurting, and sacrificing. His kind of love sounds hard–almost as hard as submitting. Maybe even harder.

Loving that way might just take everything we’ve got, but here’s the deal. I believe that one of the primary reasons our wives struggle with submission is that they often have little real confidence in our love. Genuine love paves the way for submission (not the other way around). Jesus died for the church before the church was around to submit.

Real dying love doesn’t come naturally for men, face it, we’re selfish. If you figure out how to love your wife, you probably won’t have to bring up the issue of submission.

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We all know that Bethlehem is the birthplace of Jesus, but what is the bigger significance of this little town? It is a city in the hill country of Judah that was originally called Ephrath (Genesis 35:16, 19; 48:7; Ruth 4:11), but was also called Bethlehem Ephratah (Micah 5:2), Bethlehem-Judah (1 Samuel 17:12), and “the city of David” (Luke 2:4).

1. It is first noticed in Scripture as the place where Jacob’s wife, Rachel, died and was buried “along the way,” directly to the north of the city (Genesis 35:19, 48:7).
2. Bethlehem appears in Judges 17:7-13 as the home of the Levite who became priest to Micah.
3. The valley to the east was the scene of the story of Ruth (Ruth 1:1-2, 19, 22; 2:4; 4:11).
4. Bethlehem was the birthplace of David and where he was anointed as king by Samuel (1 Samuel 16:4-13); and it was from the well of Bethlehem that three of David’s heroes brought water for him at the risk of their lives when he was in the cave of Adullam (2 Samuel 23:13-17).
5. But it was distinguished above every other city as the birthplace of the God promised Messiah (Matthew 2:6; compare this to Micah 5:2).

It is the relationship of Bethlehem to Christ that has insured its place in Christian history. Micah 5:2 was understood to indicate that the Messiah, like David, would be born in Bethlehem not Jerusalem. Matthew 2:1-12, Luke 2:4-20, and John 7:42 all report that Jesus was born in that humble village. Flash forward three centuries, during the reign of the first Christian emperor of the Roman Empire, Constantine, the Church of the Nativity was constructed (about AD 326). It was destroyed during the Samaritan revolt (around AD 529) and rebuilt by Justinian I (527-565). That ancient structure forms the basic unit that is still in use today although many modifications have occurred, especially during the Middle Ages. According to Christian legend during the Persian Conquest, AD 614, the church was preserved when the invaders saw the three Magi in a mosaic of the birth of Jesus and recognized their clothing as Persian.

After all this history, what do I see about Bethlehem that can bless your spirit this week?

1. Jacob’s beautiful wife, Rachel, died and was buried near there, and when Herod was tricked by the Magi, his rage brought the deaths of all male children age two and younger. He was paranoid that another king had been born and was eliminating the competition. Matthew 2:18 reveals the prophecy of Rachel weeping for her children (Jeremiah 31:15) and “she refused to be comforted because they were no more.” As we think about Bethlehem being a place of birth (David and Jesus) we cannot help but remember that death permeated the city. The prophet Jeremiah depicts the wailing of the Israelites during the time of the exile, (Jeremiah 31:15) and since Matthew is writing to a Jewish audience, they would see the parallel between that calamity and this new atrocity of Herod; both being part of the same larger picture.

2. We know that Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem, and He escaped death by his family fleeing to Egypt (Matthew 2:14-15). But we know that eventually He would be put to death. We often focus on the baby in the manger and fail to properly recognize the significance of his death on the cross. Jesus died so that we might have life (John 10:10). The Bible records the revelation of God to mankind so that we may know that we have everlasting life (1 John 5:13), and this life is in Jesus alone (1 John 5:11-12). My point is this; the manger must lead to the cross. The boards that held the infant Jesus in safety must become the beams to which our Lord and Master was nailed. We would have no salvation if it were not for the cross.

3. The Philistine had taken over Bethlehem (2 Samuel 23:14), and three mighty men of David risked their lives to cross over into enemy territory to retrieve a cup of water for their king. David was actually reminiscing of his childhood well more than giving an order to fetch him water (2 Samuel 23:15), but the men so loved David that they were willing to die in order to fulfill the king’s desire (2 Samuel 23:16). But notice that David would not drink it. He actually “poured it out to the Lord” and then tells them why (2 Samuel 23:17). I see here a selfless sacrifice, men taking the initiative to please their king. What is it that you can do to please God, for no other reason than you love Christ? As the water was poured out to the Lord, will we pour ourselves out to Him each and every day? Jesus gives to us living water (John 4:10) and those who believe in or have faith in Christ, living water will burst forth from our inner most being (John 7:38). We live in the camp of the enemy (Satan is the god of this world) but the living water Jesus offers is still as sweet and refreshing as always.

Live for Him because He died for you. We should not just be willing to die for Christ; we should be willing to live for Him. Have a blessed Christmas, and don’t forget to keep the Son in your eyes.

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The end of Absalom is getting closer… notice the correct advice of Ahithophel (2 Samuel 17:1-4), he urges Absalom to attack David’s troops immediately while David is still weary and weak. Then came the crafty advice of Hushai (2 Samuel 17:5-14, 23). He advises that the attack be delayed until a large number of soldiers throughout the land can be assembled, and then Absalom himself should lead them into battle (2 Samuel 17:11). Hushai’s plan is accepted, causing Ahithophel to go home and hang himself. This leads us to the main chapter for today.

1. Why did David want to go into battle? (2 Samuel 18:2, 5)
2. How has David benefitted from the delay in Absalom’s attack? (2 Samuel 18:1-2)
3. Why didn’t Joab and the people want him to go into battle? (2 Samuel 18:3)
4. What are David’s specific instructions to Joab? (2 Samuel 18:5)
5. What do you make of the reoccurring phrase, “the young man, Absalom?” (2 Samuel 18:5, 12, 29, 32), perhaps the youthful rebel could still be forgiven.
6. How do you think this sounded to Joab, Abishai, and Ittai? (2 Samuel 18:5)
7. With all the betrayal going on, why does David trust these three generals? (2 Samuel 18:5)
8. How did Absalom die? (2 Samuel 18:9, 14, 15)
9. What irony do you see in Absalom’s getting hung up? (2 Samuel 18:9, 14:24, 25)
10. How does the man reporting to Joab respond to Joab’s rebuke? (2 Samuel 18:11, 12, 13)
11. What do you make of Joab disobeying King David’s order? (2 Samuel 18:5, 12)
12. What does Joab’s treatment of Absalom reveal about him? (2 Samuel 18:14)
13. What do they do with Absalom’s body (2 Samuel 18:17, 18) Notice the irony; a heap of stones and a monument to himself (similar to 1 Samuel 15:12). His death as a traitor remains far more memorable than his self-absorbed life. (Deuteronomy 21:20, 21, Joshua 7:26, 8:29)
14. Why did Ahimaaz want to run back to David, and persist in his request? (2 Samuel 18:19, 22, 23)
15. What did Joab fear if the truth be known? (2 Samuel 18:21, 31, 32), perhaps killing the Cushite was better than killing one of his soldiers.
16. Why did Ahimaaz lie when he was in front of the king? (2 Samuel 18:29, 20, 29)
17. What did David have on his mind when the got the word that they had won the war? (2 Samuel 18:24, 25, 26)
18. Why is David so preoccupied with Absalom’s safety more than his own? (2 Samuel 18:29)
19. Why did Ahimaaz waffle in his answer after being so eager about running to tell the king? (2 Samuel 18:28, 29)
20. Why didn’t the Cushite just say, “Absalom is dead”? (2 Samuel 18:31, 32)
21. How did David celebrate the victory? (2 Samuel 18:33) But David should have cried these tears long ago, intervening after the rape of his daughter.
22. This section sends a chill up the spine of any parent. Death would be easier than a life without our children.
23. How does David feel after Joab’s rebuke? (2 Samuel 19:5, 6, 7) Was Joab right in doing so?

Here are a few life application questions:

1. Why do you believe that our King is worth ten thousand of us? (2 Samuel 18:3)
2. These men were pawns in the hands of King David, what will you do tangibly to demonstrate your belief that Jesus is absolutely worthy of our sacrifice?
3. What news or information or sin are you hiding from the King? What will bring this hidden truth into the light?
4. From what enemies has God delivered you? Like David, what has preoccupied your mind from the reality of your current situation? What role does your faith and this small group play in your victory?
5. Think back over this long story. How could David have avoided this eventuality?
6. What regrets do you think David had at this point?
7. What is the lesson of this story for our lives? What break in relationship is happening in your family right now? Act quickly to make reconciliation, before it all spirals out of control.

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