|
|||||||
|
Welcome To The Learner II
|
The True Vine Evangelism Program Chapter TEN: Evangelism Program Chapter Ten:
The Good News of God's Care
With all the events that are being witnessed in the world today, many are asking questions like: Why would a loving God allow that to happen or Where is God at when you need him to help? The good news is God is watching over the righteous, he has promised to never leave us or forsake us, and he always keeps his promises.
What he teaches us to do in times of crisis is to turn to him. It is sad to say and very unfortunate that it takes crisis situations to get people to turn to God. I know a song that goes something like this: Oh what needless pains we bear all because we don’t carry everything to God in prayer.
Our problem as a society, as a world is that we refuse to seek God, so many times events happen to get our attention.
Now it isn’t always the case that God will allow events such as this, many times is is nothing but the devil! God allows some suffering in order to glorify his name by a miraculous healing and sometime he allows suffering to draw attention to something that is being neglected, all too often though suffering is the reward of our sins.
The Bible tells us “The wages of sin is death” that means that even though we experience suffering God still has held back from us what we deserve. That is just one example of how God truly cares for us, he doesn’t give us what we deserve, instead of this, his gift to us is eternal life. In this chapter we will take a look at God’s care for us.
Read Psalm 91:1-16 - Safety of Abiding in the Presence of God
1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. It is not hard for the Lord to turn night into day. He that sends the clouds can as easily clear the skies. Let us be of good cheer. It is better farther on. Let us sing Hallelujah by anticipation. - Charles Haddon Spurgeon
2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”
3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence.
4 He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you.
8Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
10 No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
11 For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways.
12 In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.
14 “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.”
What questions do you have after reading this? _________________________________________ _________________________________________
Answer the following questions: Who is the Most High? _________________________________________ _________________________________________
Will any evil plague come to those in God’s care? _________________________________________ _________________________________________
If you set your love on Jesus what promises is found in this scripture? _________________________________________ _________________________________________
Is God concerned for his children? _________________________________________ _________________________________________
Faith is a living and unshakable confidence. a belief in God so assured that a man would die a thousand deaths for its sake. - Martin Luther
Read Psalm 104:1-27 Praise to the Sovereign LORD for His Creation and Providence
1 Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty,
2 Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment, Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain.
3 He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters, Who makes the clouds His chariot, Who walks on the wings of the wind,
4 Who makes His angels spirits, His ministers a flame of fire.
5 You who laid the foundations of the earth, So that it should not be moved forever,
6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment; The waters stood above the mountains.
7 At Your rebuke they fled; At the voice of Your thunder they hastened away.
8 They went up over the mountains; They went down into the valleys, To the place which You founded for them.
9 You have set a boundary that they may not pass over, That they may not return to cover the earth. 10 He sends the springs into the valleys; They flow among the hills.
11 They give drink to every beast of the field; The wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 By them the birds of the heavens have their home; They sing among the branches.
13 He waters the hills from His upper chambers; The earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works.
14 He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, And vegetation for the service of man, That he may bring forth food from the earth,
15 And wine that makes glad the heart of man, Oil to make his face shine, And bread which strengthens man’s heart.
16 The trees of the LORD are full of sap, The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,
17 Where the birds make their nests; The stork has her home in the fir trees.
18 The high hills are for the wild goats; The cliffs are a refuge for the rock badgers.
19 He appointed the moon for seasons; The sun knows its going down.
20 You make darkness, and it is night, In which all the beasts of the forest creep about.
21 The young lions roar after their prey, And seek their food from God.
22 When the sun rises, they gather together And lie down in their dens.
23 Man goes out to his work And to his labor until the evening.
24 O LORD, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all. The earth is full of Your possessions—
25 This great and wide sea, In which are innumerable teeming things, Living things both small and great.
26 There the ships sail about; There is that Leviathan Which You have made to play there.
27 These all wait for You, That You may give them their food in due season.
What questions do you have after reading this? ________________________________________ _________________________________________
Answer the following questions: Can the child of God face life without having to fear? _________________________________________ _________________________________________
How does God show us that he is in control? _________________________________________ _________________________________________
If God is the creator of all things can we count on him to care for the things he has created? _________________________________________ _________________________________________
How do we know he will care for us? _________________________________________ _________________________________________
Read Psalm 105:1-15 The Eternal Faithfulness of the LORD
1 Oh, give thanks to the LORD! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples!
2 Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; Talk of all His wondrous works!
3 Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the LORD!
4 Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face evermore!
5 Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth,
6 O seed of Abraham His servant, You children of Jacob, His chosen ones!
7 He is the LORD our God; His judgments are in all the earth.
8 He remembers His covenant forever, The word which He commanded, for a thousand generations,
9 The covenant which He made with Abraham, And His oath to Isaac,
10 And confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, To Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11 Saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan As the allotment of your inheritance,”
12 When they were few in number, Indeed very few, and strangers in it.
13 When they went from one nation to another, From one kingdom to another people,
14 He permitted no one to do them wrong; Yes, He rebuked kings for their sakes,
15 Saying, “Do not touch My anointed ones, And do My prophets no harm.” "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord forever: for in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:" Isaiah 26:3,4
The whole world is calling out for peace! With all the trouble that we have these days where is peace? That state of quiet and calm so longed for, where is it? Who can create peace? God is the only one that creates true peace.
Isaiah 57:19 reads, "I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord; I will heal him." Jesus gives us peace!
Ephesians 2:17 tells us, "And came and preached peace to you which were far off, and to them that were nigh."
The source of our peace is found in Jesus and what he has created. Many have utilized nature to bring them peace, the waters flowing from a waterfall in the back yard, a garden trail with the birds singing and the beauty of flowers present, and the quiet calm of communing with God in prayer at the prayer place of our choosing.
Jesus often went apart from the crowds and communed with God the Father. It has all been provided for us as a way to draw near to peace. Peace is here now, and is found in these times and places where Jesus is. Jesus created the waterfall that flows, the garden trail with the birds singing and flowers arrayed in glory, and the quiet place where you and I can commune with him.
Where is peace? Peace is here in the time spent with Jesus. Trying to create peace when peace is here already is a work that is always on-going, but never achieved. Creating our own peace is like creating our own Jesus! Peace is already created and available to us all through Jesus.
Jesus is peace, he is that peace that cannot be reproduced. He quiets our heart and erases our fears. Set your mind on Jesus and you will have perfect peace.
"These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." John 16:33
In Jesus is perfect peace!
What questions do you have after reading this? _________________________________________ _________________________________________
Answer the following questions: What are we to seek and who are we to call upon? _________________________________________ _________________________________________
Does God remember his promises? _________________________________________ _________________________________________
Does God suffer others to do his children wrong? _________________________________________ _________________________________________
Read Isaiah 41:10 10 Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
Read Isaiah 54:17 17 "No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the LORD.
What do these two verses have in common? _________________________________________ _________________________________________
What is God’s promise? _________________________________________ _________________________________________
Read Jeremiah 17:7-14 7 “ Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD.
8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
10 I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.
11 “ As a partridge that broods but does not hatch, So is he who gets riches, but not by right; It will leave him in the midst of his days, And at his end he will be a fool.”
12 A glorious high throne from the beginning Is the place of our sanctuary.
13 O LORD, the hope of Israel, All who forsake You shall be ashamed. “Those who depart from Me Shall be written in the earth, Because they have forsaken the LORD, The fountain of living waters.” Jeremiah Prays for Deliverance
14 Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; Save me, and I shall be saved, For You are my praise. What questions do you have after reading this? _________________________________________ _________________________________________
Answer the following questions: What is the promise for those that trust in the Lord? _________________________________________ _________________________________________
Does the Lord search the heart? Explain:__________________________________ _________________________________________
What does God do when you cry out for a healing or for salvation? _________________________________________ _________________________________________
Read Lamentations 3:18-32 18 And I said, “My strength and my hope Have perished from the LORD.”
19 Remember my affliction and roaming, The wormwood and the gall.
20 My soul still remembers And sinks within me.
21 This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope.
22 Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
24 “ The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “ Therefore I hope in Him!”
25 The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him.
26 It is good that one should hope and wait quietly For the salvation of the LORD.
27 It is good for a man to bear The yoke in his youth.
28 Let him sit alone and keep silent, Because God has laid it on him;
29 Let him put his mouth in the dust— There may yet be hope.
30 Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes him, And be full of reproach.
31 For the Lord will not cast off forever.
32 Though He causes grief, Yet He will show compassion According to the multitude of His mercies.
What questions do you have after reading this? _________________________________________ _________________________________________
Answer the following questions: Is it good for a person to quietly wait and hope in the Lord? _________________________________________ _________________________________________
Does God have compassion? _________________________________________ _________________________________________
Faith is to believe what you do not yet see; the reward for this faith is to see what you believe. - Saint Augustine Our souls should hope in who? _________________________________________ _________________________________________
What is the difference between faith and hope? _________________________________________ _________________________________________
How do hard times affect hope? _________________________________________ _________________________________________