Lesson 9 - January 31, 2016
Focus Text: Mark 5:1-15, 19, 20
Central Truth: Christ has power to deliver those bound by Satan.
Objective: By the end of this lesson my students should be able to list at least one sinful habit from which God has delivered them or from which He will deliver them.
Lesson Outline:
"Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him." (John 9:3)
In "Biblical Perspective" Gayle Woods writes:
Jesus opened their eyes to a thought which they never would have considered. There was no connection between infirmity and sin in this situation. The infirmity could not be blamed on the parents or the son. In spite of the bad situation, God would gain glory through their lives. God is often able to use us to the greatest extent when we are at the end of our resources. He takes that which is low, insignificant, and undesirable and uses it for His glory.
Discussion: Even today, many atttribute various diseases and calamities in life to people's sin. Why do we try to make this link?
Discussion: What if our link between the hardship people experience and their sin is inaccurate? What are the implications?
Source: Miracles of Jesus: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 47.
In "Word Focus" William Sillings writes:
The clay (pelos) that Jesus made was made by putting spittle, or saliva (ptusma), on the ground and mixing the saliva with the dirt. The ancients held a high regard for the curative value of saliva. And while we may frown on the gauche nature of such an idea today, there is little doubt that even the saliva of Jesus had healing virtue.
But Jesus was going to get into trouble for this act of making clay of dirt and saliva. Why? It was the Sabbath (v. 14). The Jewish traditional law forbade kneading on the Sabbath, and mixing any liquid with a solid in order to form anything of a dough-like or clay-like consistency was considered kneading. What Jesus did here, then, was not only to heal a man on the Sabbath, but also, in the minds of the Pharisees, to desecrate the Sabbath by working.
Discussion: The Pharisees thought Jesus was a sinner. Why don't we?
Source: Miracles of Jesus: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 46.
"When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee." (Mark 2:5)
In "Biblical Perspective", Dr. Gayle Woods writes:
Jesus and the crowd in the room heard the noise above them as the roof was dismantled. It was not long until sand and bits of mortar fell into the room. A cloudy haze filled the room as they watched in wonder. A hole appeared, revealing the sky above. The opening grew larger and larger until they saw the four men feverishly destroying the roof. Then the cot with the paralyzed man was lowered carefully into the room. Somehow people bunched closer together to allow for its intrusion into their midst. Jesus was impressed. It was the collective faith of the friends that impressed Jesus. They brought their friend for physical healing, but Jesus offered him much more. Jesus spoke to the need of his heart. Using a Greek term that was used affectionately, Jesus said, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
Discussion: What one step can you take today to demonstrate a greater faith in Jesus?
Source: Miracles of Jesus: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 35.
Read James 5:15-20
“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (v. 16).
Throughout Scripture, men have turned to God in prayer when plagued with physical illness. The prayer for healing is both private and shared with the Church. But James suggests that sickness MAY be related to conduct — a discipline from God for disobedience. The translation “faults” is misleading as to seriousness, for the Greek word translated “fault” is the word for “sin” (see James 1:15). It will be necessary to confess to God (and man as it applies) the offending action. It is then that the prayer of faith imploring God’s will for healing may be presented.
Confession is not pleasant, but it is necessary. “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper” (Prov. 28:13). Confession brings humility, and it is the humble man that finds help from God. The clear instruction of this passage is that sickness can be related to disobedience. Equally clear is that confession accompanied with prayer brings healing. Certainly confession brings healing to the soul. Practicing these divine directives can and will bring health and renewed usefulness to the kingdom of God. Perhaps the words of J. Edwin Orr would be appropriate for us to pray today. (William Snider)
Search me O God,
And know my heart today.
Try me, O Savior;
Know my thoughts, I pray
See if there be some wicked way in me;
Cleanse me from every sin, and set me free.
Turn to God for healing.
This devotional is the Sunday, January 10, 2016 entry of Opening the Word.
Read Numbers 5:1-4
“Both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camps, in the midst whereof I dwell” (v. 3).
Cosmo, our beautiful Bouvier Des Flandres dog, got too close to the kitty cat with a beautiful white stripe down its tail. The kitty, not quite as happy about playing, raised that fluffy tail and unleashed a spray, covering poor Cosmo. The odor of burnt coffee, rotten eggs, and burning rubber seeped from every part of him. My mother firmly refused to allow him inside the house. If she could have put him outside the “camp,” I know she would have. Why? She did not want her carpet, clothes, sofa, or even the porch to take on Cosmo’s odor.
In Bible days, God directed the Children of Israel to place the defiled outside the camp. While my mother was concerned about the odor, God was concerned about walking in His holiness in the midst of defilement. Even for His special people, the Israelites, if they touched a corpse, contracted leprosy, or hemorrhaged, God wanted them out of the camp. He wanted to ensure they would not contaminate others.
Today, the blood can deliver us from the defilement of sin. “Its saving virtues ever are the same. It cleanseth still, and always will” (Phoebe Palmer). Are we spraying bad attitudes, ungodly speech, and sinful be- haviors in the camp? Cleanse yourself in the blood of Jesus! (Pamela Kuhn)
A rotten stench does not stop with its source; it permeates the atmosphere of anything in his circle of influence.
This devotional is the Monday, December 28, 2015 entry of Opening the Word.
Read Acts 16:16-18
“And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour” (v. 18).
I cannot imagine what the girl in today’s scripture was going through. An evil spirit possessed and controlled her. If that was not bad enough, some money-minded people had enslaved her for their profit. How tragically sad, indeed, that people would take advantage of someone mired down in sin.
Still today people are trapped in sins. Try as they might, they cannot free themselves. Others take advantage of their bondage, and they are helpless to do anything about it.
The gospel brings good news. Regardless of the depths of your sins, and regardless of who has contributed to your slavery, God has power to free from sins. The Apostle Paul emphasized, “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” Despite there being too much sin in the world, God’s grace over super-abounds in saving from sins. When we can do nothing about our sins, God can. When sin has us trapped, God can release us from sin’s death grip, giving us hope and eternal life.
A young lady was freed from sin in Acts 16:18. Just like her, you can be set free, and “if the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” (MDA)
What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
— Robert Lowry
There is power in Jesus’ name!
Sunday, December 27
"And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses." (Colossians 2:13)
In "Word Focus" William Sillings writes,
Colossians 2:13 says two things about our sins. One, being dead (nekrous ontas) uses the present participle “being” to describe our deadness as a continual state of existence. We not only died by sinning once, but we were in a state of deadness brought on by continual sinning and by the nature of sin in our lives. The second thing Paul said is that he quickened [us] together with him. Quickened (sunezoopoiesen — aorist active indicative) means “He made us alive together with Him.” We were dead, but now we are alive.
Discussion: What is the significance of being "made ... alive together with Him"?
Source: Miracles of Jesus: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 10.
Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross. (Colossians 2:14)
In "Biblical Perspective", Dr. Gayle Woods writes:
Paul was comparing the practice of one who forgives a large debt by wiping his ledger sheet clean with what God does for us. ...The ordinances (God’s law) had been broken many times by each of us. Each time we broke His law, another mark was put on our ledger sheet. Jesus came to this world to provide salvation, full and free. ...Jesus not only erased all the transgressions that had been listed against us on our ledger of life, but He then nailed the blank document to His cross as a public testimony that we were totally forgiven of all our actions against Him and His law.
Discussion: Since we are totally forgiven by Christ, how should we feel? How should we think? How should we act?
Source: Miracles of Jesus: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 12.