Jean's Bible Study Topics of the New Testament

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Mat 14-1,2

· (18e) Sin Ø False Judgment lacks evidence Ø Presumptuous speculation

· (177k) Works of the devil Ø The religion of witchcraft Ø Presumption Ø Presuming the will of God Ø Man’s knowledge of God is based on presumption

Mat 14-3,4

· (134j) Temple Ø Your body is the temple of God Ø Sins of the body Ø Immorality Ø Physical adultery

Mat 14-5 -- No Entries

Mat 14,6-12

· (85k) Thy kingdom come Ø Words of your mouth Ø Better not to say anything Ø Words will make you obligated 

· (183b) Works of the devil Ø The origin of lawlessness Ø Spirit of error Ø Witchcraft Ø Sin is the incubator of witchcraft Ø Through satanic influence  -- King Herod did not have anything personal against John the Baptist, the king had him beheaded because Herod opened his big mouth and promised a pretty girl anything she wanted. He offered her up to half his kingdom in terms of marriage and the position of queen, but the girl who danced for Herod had a mother with a heart of stone, who chose spite over greed, because she hated John the Baptist's message being the witch that she was. She was a type of Jezebel, who was against the gospel because it opposed her spirit more than it opposed her deeds.

Mat 14,13-21

· (143j) Witness Ø Validity of Jesus Christ Ø Witnesses of Jesus Ø Jesus is popular because of His works

Mat 14-14

· (145c) Witness Ø Validity of Jesus Christ Ø Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself Ø Healing Ø Jesus healed them all -- This verse goes with verses 35&36

Mat 14,15-32

· (147c) Witness Ø Validity of Jesus Christ Ø Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself Ø God exercises authority over His creation – Although Jesus stripped Himself of all His glory from the Father, He still retained in full His authority over the creation. He simply chose not to use it in most cases. For example, He let the world pull His hair out and whip Him unmercifully. They spit in His face, though He could have called twelve legions of angels to come bail Him out. It was not the will of the Father that He should do that, and for that reason He didn’t. It will always be a miracle whenever God does something to His creation; we will forever be awed by it because we will never comprehend how he does it.

Mat 14,15-20

· (227i) Kingdom of God Ø God’s kingdom is a living organism Ø God working in you Ø Dependence on Jesus Ø Depending on Jesus to impart His gifts into us Ø To give us what we give to the world

Mat 14-23

· (7k) Responsible to use time wisely Ø Get ready Ø Make time to pray

· (82g) Thy kingdom come Ø Three elements of prayer Ø Where to pray – I don’t know about you, but where I pray is highly significant. It can mean the difference between breaking though to spiritual revelations or spending a boring session with God and getting nowhere. Jesus had special places where He enjoyed praying, and all those places were outdoors in a beautiful setting, such as in the mountains or in a flower garden. He preferred surrounding Himself with natural beauty, perhaps to remind Him of whence He came, and if it is good enough for Jesus, it is good enough for me. One of my favorites places is next to a river. It is good to have a handful of favorite places and switch from one to another. The idea is to maintain a balance between a moderate stimulation of interest but not so much as to distract your attention from your prayers.

Mat 14,24-33

· (164f) Works of the devil Ø Manifestations of the devil Ø The world system Ø Satan’s system of authority Ø He is the prince of the power of the air -- Yes, it was just a storm, or was it? Perhaps it was Satan attempting to destroy Jesus' chosen men whom He had already invested much time, effort and patience. 

Mat 14-24,25

· (215a) Sovereignty Ø God controls time Ø God’s timing Ø God Has Good Timing Ø God is always right on time -- Do you think if the disciples could have chosen when Jesus arrived on the scene that they would have voted for an earlier time than when He finally came? What about now, when the world is in turmoil like the storm the disciple had to face; we expect Jesus to come any time, but according to this verse, we could be waiting a lot longer for His return. Why, because He is always late? No, His timing is perfect. Than why does He wait so long to show up when He is needed? He is pulling as much faith out of us as He possibly can, since faith is the substance of God, and Jesus wants us to be like Him. 

Mat 14,25-31

· (122l) Thy kingdom come Ø Manifestations of faith Ø Boldness to rebuke the church for unbelief -- After Peter was so bold and jumped out of the boat after Jesus, at first glance it appears that all He got for his faith was reproved for sinking. However, maybe he received something out there on the water that no one knows about, since he was the only one out there with the Lord, and maybe it was something indescribable, so Peter could not simply tell us about his experience with the wind and the waves with Jesus. None of us will ever know, unless we follow peter out of the boat, and experience God for ourselves. 

Mat 14,26-33

· (206i) Salvation Ø God makes promises on His terms Ø Conditions to promises Ø Conditions to doing the works of Jesus -- It was a great thing Peter did, leaving the false security of the boat believing that it was safer with Jesus at the time than with the failing boat, though He offered no vessel of security except faith itself. Faith made a better boat than that old wooden bucket, but when Peter's faith failed it wasn't any better than his boat that failed them. Although it was noble of Peter to go out to Jesus during a terrible storm, spiritual principles cannot be broken, not even for nobility. God operates through faith -- period. You quit believing God, you sink. His spiritual principles are like the laws of gravity; don't transgress them. But Peter had something greater than his faith in Jesus; he had Jesus Himself to rely on, and so do we when we realize that what we believe is actually true!

Mat 14,26-32

· (232e) Kingdom of God Ø Pursuing the kingdom Ø Seeking the kingdom Ø Count the cost Ø Assess your property before you sell it -- Peter counted the cost and assessed the boat he was standing in was not as safe as standing next to Jesus, so he abandoned ship and found his way to Jesus. Although he may have tripped on the way there, who wouldn't have? I have heard lots of criticism about Peter's lack of faith, but we need to cut him a break. How many of us would have gotten out of the boat? How many of the disciples at the time got out of the boat? Peter alone had the courage to venture from the flailing craft, and yet he got nothing but flack for it ever since. I think it was his greatest triumph, that empowered him to triumph in so many other ways after that day. 

Mat 14,26-28

· (70c) Authority Ø Church conveys Jesus’ authority Ø Discernment Ø Test the spirits -- Up to this point the disciples had seen many strange things while walking with Jesus, and although Peter was probably confident that it was Him, he wasn't interested in jumping out of the boat and then realizing that they had seen an aberration. Then he would have been alone on the sea. 

Mat 14-27

· (23l) Sin Ø Poverty (Oppression) Ø Fear of the unknown Ø Fear of miracles

Mat 14,28-33

· (107a) Thy kingdom come Ø Truth Ø Word creates faith Ø Getting a rhema from God -- Peter did it right; he didn't just jump out of the boat, he first asked permission and affirmed the will of God before he jumped. In so doing he also confirmed that it was the Lord. The power of this story is in the fact that when Jesus permitted Peter to come after Him, Peter immediately knew he was safe, whether he walked or sank. It was ok because Jesus was here now and we are all saved; at that point Peter just wanted to play in the water before they reached land. But before they saw Jesus they doubted whether they would ever feel the ground under their feet again.  

Mat 14,28-31

· (68f) Authority Ø We have been given authority to be the children of God

· (96e) Thy kingdom come Ø Attitude Ø Positive attitude toward God Ø Good attitude toward Jesus

· (114g) Thy kingdom come Ø Working the grace of God Ø Obeying the Holy Spirit Ø Implementing the revelation of the Holy Spirit -- It is one thing to get a revelation from heaven, but it is quite another thing to implement that revelation, because it always does battle against the natural elements of the world, whether those forces be of men or of the sea. Until our revelation is allowed to materialize it is not complete, but when it is completed, it has the power to complete us! First we must dream the right dreams, and let those dreams be fulfilled. In this way we will grow as a person and as a people in our hearts and then we will dare to dream greater dreams as Peter did. 

· (121h) Thy kingdom come Ø Manifestations of faith Ø Hope Ø Expectation Ø Expecting good things based on God’s character Ø Expecting good things because He is God -- Peter learned to expect nothing but good things from Jesus; regardless of the circumstances he would be safe, so long as Jesus was there. Peter could even get out of the boat during a storm that threatened their lives, and it would somehow be ok. Peter believed in Jesus' proven character, that He was both big enough and good enough to never let him down. 

Mat 14-28,29

· (70j) Authority Ø Believer’s authority Ø We have been given authority over all creation

· (29d) Gift of God Ø God is our advocate Ø Delivered from adversity

· (198i) Frustrating The Grace Of God (Key verse)

· (198j) Denying Christ Ø Man exercises his will against God Ø Frustrating the grace of God Ø Frustrating Jesus through unbelief -- Jesus takes our unbelief very seriously. It is like telling God He is incompetent, worse, it demonstrates our distance from God, and how little we know about Him. This is a direct insult to Him of which there no excuse, except that we are weak, fleshly creatures and faint at the slightest test of our faith. The comparison is in that God is made of faith, while we are made of dust; nevertheless, though He understands that we will fail to believe in Him at times, it is still frustrating to Him when it happens. 

· (227j) Kingdom of God Ø God’s kingdom is a living organism Ø God working in you Ø Depending on Jesus to fulfill His purpose in us -- God calls us to do and to be certain things with a purpose and then ultimately does most of the work for us to complete His assignment. God calls us to be Spiritual creatures and to live our lives accordingly,  yet we know nothing about God's Spirit realm except that it opposes our carnal natures. Look at Peter in this example, God called Peter to believe in Jesus, yet it was Jesus who did most of the work to keep Peter from drowning. Did Peter do something wrong? He doubted, but otherwise no, Peter did his part, he got out of the boat, and then it was up to God to do all the rest. (After all, how could God ask Peter to walk on water?) God does not expect a lot out of us; He just expects us to believe in Him enough to climb out of the boat. To us that sounds like a lot. 

Mat 14-30

· (171l) Works of the devil Ø Manifestations of the devil Ø Outward appearance of circumstances -- You can draw an interesting analogy from this story to symbolize how the dark side of the spirit realm works against the church in an attempt to destroy it. Each element represents something in this way: The sea is the world, the boat is religion trying to get to the other shore (heaven) without Jesus, the people in the boat are the church, the wind is the devil, and the waves are the people of the world the devil stirs up against the church to sink it. Just as Peter had to break away from the boat and make a dash for Jesus, so we too must abandon many of the common beliefs about God in whatever denomination we may be affiliated with and make a run for Christ (who is the pure form of the truth) to save us from the sinking ship of our religious beliefs. 

· (20f) Doubt (the beginning stages of unbelief) (Key verse)

· (20g) Sin Ø Doubt is the consequence of the fear of death

· (203b) Denying Christ Ø Dishonor God Ø Dishonor God by your unbelief 

Mat 14-33

· (252d) Trinity Ø You shall put no other gods before Me Ø Worship Jesus (Because He is equal with God) Ø Worship Jesus for what He does through the Father -- Jesus reproved His disciples every time they got out of line (see page 178j); He never held back from correcting them because they needed to know the truth (who else was going to tell them?). However, whenever His disciples fell down and worshiped Him, He did not rebuke them or tell then in any way that they were making another mistake; why? Because they did not mistake Jesus for God Himself in the flesh! Neither does God allow us to worship angles 196c. 

Mat 14-34 -- No Entries

Mat 14-35,36

· (145c) Witness Ø Validity of Jesus Christ Ø Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself Ø Healing Ø Jesus healed them all -- These verses go with verse 14

Mat 15,1-9

· (79l) Thy kingdom come Ø Know the word as a sword in spiritual warfare Ø To defend yourself from religion

· (177d) Works of the devil Ø The religion of witchcraft Ø False doctrine Ø Doctrines of the precepts of men -- I hope you will realize that every false doctrine contrived or believed is invented or recognized through an alternative motive. In other words, people invent false doctrines and other people believe in them because they stand to gain from doing so. For the inventors, the rewards are usually monastery (excuse me, I meant "monetary"), while the believers of such doctrines of demons is easy access to heaven without having to give your heart to Jesus, as though that was so hard to do. For some, it is impossible, that's why they choose to believe the many ear tickling false religions. 

Mat 15-2,3

· (173c) Works of the devil Ø The religion of witchcraft Ø Catholicism Ø Scripture that contradicts the catholic faith Ø Catholic doctrine versus the Bible -- These verses go with verses 7-9. The Catholic religion believes exactly what Jesus condemned the Pharisees for requiring of His disciples, to wash their hands before eating. If Jesus expressed His disapproval of this particular Catholic doctrine, doesn't it make you wonder what else the Catholic faith believes that Jesus disapproves? Do you think that Jesus condemned the Pharisees for washing their hands before eating? No, in fact I think it is a good idea for reasons of personal hygiene; and your doctor will agree with the Pharisees that it is a good habit to continue. Where your doctor and the Pharisees part ways is in the conviction that it is a means of finding favor with God to do so. This is what Jesus was addressing as a blasphemous teaching, because it has nothing to do with the state of your heart. Don't you think you could wash your hands and hate your brother at the same time? Then what good is this man-made doctrine, and all the fabricated doctrines that allow you to hate your brother, and ignore God's true will for you?

Mat 15,3-9

· (9k) Responsibility to strengthen one another Ø Tend to the widows – As usual, Jesus would not answer the Pharisees question, but asked them a question instead, which they could not answer. The Pharisees taught the people to give their money to the church, money they could have (and should have) used to help their parents, including their mothers who have lost their husbands. Of course the motive for the Pharisees’ teaching was so they could pilfer the treasury.

· (179b) Works of the devil Ø The religion of witchcraft Ø Hypocrisy Ø Jesus rebukes the Pharisees Ø Rebuked for loving money -- What could be more evil than tampering with religious doctrine to direct the flow of unrighteous mammon toward you? How could this level of hypocrisy not be witchcraft, manipulating church mandates and proclaiming they are from God and believe it yourself? What hope did the Pharisees have of entering the kingdom of heaven? They were the true form of the reprobate, someone who cannot be saved, because they could not know the truth, because of God Himself!

Mat 15-5

· (166a) Works of the devil Ø Manifestations of the devil Ø Wisdom of the world Ø Man’s wisdom excuses his sinful nature Ø Man’s wisdom rationalizes his sin

Mat 15,7-20

· (96l) Thy kingdom come Ø Having a negative attitude about sin Ø Having an attitude of unbelief

Mat 15,7-9

· (74d) Thy kingdom come Ø The heart is the location of all truth

· (173c) Works of the devil Ø The religion of witchcraft Ø Catholicism Ø Scripture that contradicts the catholic faith Ø Catholic doctrine versus the Bible -- These verses go with verses 2&3. The worship of Mary and of other idols within the church, Purgatory, the Sacrament, the Eucharist, and the implications of Baptism (to be baptized is one and the same with being saved, such as the error of infant baptism ensuring the salvation of the child's life through adulthood) are only some of the tenants of the Catholic church that are simply made-up doctrines. You cannot find support for any of them in the Holy Scriptures. That is why the Catholic faith is the religion of witchcraft. 

Mat 15,10-20

· (74j) Thy kingdom come Ø Heart of man is sinful Ø Sin is conceived in the heart

Mat 15,13-20

· (128n) Thy kingdom come Ø Manifestations of faith Ø Bearing fruit Ø Evidence of your fruit Ø Bad fruit is proof that God is not working in you

Mat 15-13,14

· (47h) God Judges the world Ø Prison of the bottomless pit

· (169c) Works of the devil Ø Manifestations of the devil Ø The world is blind to God Ø Blinded by Satan’s thoughts Ø Blinded by a false sense of sight -- Jesus instructed His disciples to "let them go," (the religious leaders of their day along with those who listen to them). These are those without hope of ever listening to anyone about the gospel, but have made up their minds as to what is truth without consulting God or anyone who knows Him. Be sure to pick your audience who have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.  

Mat 15-19

· (250j) Priorities Ø God’s prerequisites Ø Lists Ø List of traits that can be found in man Ø List of traits of the heart

Mat 15,21-28

· (82d) Thy kingdom come Ø Three elements of prayer Ø Our approach Ø How to pray

Mat 15,22-28

· (3i) Responsibility to the Family Ø God addresses both genders Ø Women leaders

· (146f) Witness Ø Validity of Jesus Christ Ø Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself Ø Deliverance from demon possession Ø Casting out violent demons

Mat 15-28

· (226k) Kingdom of God Ø Illustrating the kingdom Ø Rewards of heaven Ø God rewards us for obeying Him Ø Rewarded for believing in God

Mat 15,29-31

· (145c) Witness Ø Validity of Jesus Christ Ø Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself Ø Healing Ø Jesus healed them all

Mat 15,32-39

· (147c) Witness Ø Validity of Jesus Christ Ø Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself Ø God exercises authority over His creation

Mat 15-32

· (123c) Thy kingdom come Ø Manifestations of faith Ø Love Ø Spiritual affection Ø Compassion Ø Compassion is the emotion of the Spirit

Mat 16,1-4

· (20f) Sin Ø Nature of sin Ø Seeking a sign -- After all the miracles, signs and wonders Jesus performed in their presence prior to meeting these Pharisees who were now asking Him to show them one more sign from heaven made especially for them so they may finally believe; in reality they were feeding Jesus just one more false promise. They were trying to tie a string on Jesus and make Him dance at their command, the first step in establishing control and harnessing this great power for the purpose of destroying it. Jesus didn't budge an inch, but followed the principle of miracles being a sign to the believer, not the unbeliever, to answer their question. 

· (70g) Authority Ø Familiar with the truth-enemy of discernment Ø With Jesus in the flesh -- What you are able to discern (and unable to discern) says a lot about you. For example, if you are able to discern the truth, unlike the Pharisees, it means you have some truth in you, but if you are only able to discern faults in other people, it means those same faults are also within you, which is probably the cause of your inability to discern the truth. You can only discern the things that are within you, for how can you discern what you have not experienced? The Pharisees could not discern the signs of the times because there was no basis of truth laid beforehand to understand such things. This is why forgiveness is so important; if you don't forgive, those same sins will become a part of your life of whom you are judging. 

· (178l) Works of the devil Ø The religion of witchcraft Ø Hypocrisy Ø Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for having no love for God 

Mat 16-1

· (180a) Works of the devil Ø Practicing witchcraft Ø Wolves lead people into a cult Ø Leading people for sordid gain -- This verse goes with verse 6

Mat 16-2,3

· (169d) Works of the devil Ø Manifestations of the devil Ø The world is blind to God Ø Blinded by Satan’s thoughts Ø Blinded by false judgments -- The Pharisees could not judge the signs of the times because they were busy judging other things, such as the evil within themselves that they observe in other people, implying that they are being led by the spirit of error, who is the god of this world. This is not a good thing. 

Mat 16,5-12

· (178j) Works of the devil Ø The religion of witchcraft Ø Hypocrisy of the church is rebuked Ø Jesus rebukes His disciples -- These verses go with verses 22&23. We can scoff at the disciples' slowness of heart, but in what condition is the church today of whom we are in charge? They were dense, and it concerned the Lord that the foundation of their spiritual maturity seemed incomplete if not absent, though they had already spent years walking with the Master. Be afraid if you can stand in the presence of truth and not know it, be very afraid. Jesus did often speak in riddles, but not so much that anyone with a remnant of the Spirit could not understand what He was saying. He spoke in riddles so that the Spirit of God was required for translation, so the kingdom of God would remain closed to the stubbornness of man's unbelief. They should have known what He was saying since He had already proven just a couple days earlier that there is no need to worry about bread while they are with Jesus, because He would always take care of their needs. 

Mat 16,6-12

· (175l) Works of the devil Ø The religion of witchcraft Ø Ignorance Ø Lack of knowledge

· (182f) Works of the devil Ø The origin of lawlessness Ø Deception Ø Three causes of interpreting Scripture falsely Ø Because they do not understand the Scriptures -- There is no excuse for the disciples acting like such blockheads about taking into account all the things Jesus said in their hearing over a full three-year period to assist them in interpreting what He is presently saying to them, unless understanding the Scriptures is a more difficult undertaking than what it appears on the surface. Comprehending the word of God is not a simple matter of reading the Bible once, and then declaring that you now know all the mysteries of the Kingdom. The disciples believed that Jesus was here to stay and that what He was saying didn't matter that much because He was in control of the situation anyway and that they were merely along for the ride. They didn't know He would leave them with the full responsibility of establishing the church in the world through the aid of the Holy Spirit. (What flaws are in our understanding of the Scriptures?) In order to have a working knowledge of the Scriptures, you must devote your life to it. The Bible is not like any other kind of knowledge; Bible truth is "heart knowledge" as opposed to "head knowledge," and the difference between them is vast as the gulf between the rich man and Lazarus.  

Mat 16-6

· (180a) Works of the devil Ø Practicing witchcraft Ø Wolves lead people into a cult Ø Leading people for sordid gain -- This verse goes with verse 12

Mat 16,8-12

· (147a) Witness Ø Validity of Jesus Christ Ø Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself Ø Remember Jesus’ miracles -- It shouldn't have been that hard to remember the miracles Jesus performed, feeding the masses with only a handful of bread and fish, since after each meal the disciples personally went through the crowd picking up scraps and filled many baskets with more food than they started with. This is also a great lesson in being responsible with God's blessings, not to waste His resources. Also, remember the manna of the Old Testament that God supplied the children of Israel; they were not allowed to waste it. They were instructed to collect the manna each morning, only what they needed for the day. If they tried to store it, the manna would rot. Jesus rebuked His disciples because He was trying to make them understand that when He is with them, it is a sin to worry, since He promised their needs met from day to day. 

Mat 16-8

· (20h) Sin Ø Doubt replaces faith

Mat 16-12

· (180a) Works of the devil Ø Practicing witchcraft Ø Wolves lead people into a cult Ø Leading people for sordid gain -- This verse goes with verse 1

Mat 16,13-19

· (108h) Thy kingdom come Ø Revelations of God Ø Revelation of Jesus Christ Ø Spiritual revelation -- These verses prove that people can have a mere factual knowledge of Christ, or they can receive wisdom from God about Jesus. Those with the mere facts about God may or may not be saved, but those who have a revelation of Jesus Christ are definitely saved. Which one are you, one who still questions your salvation in spite of your knowledge, or one who is care-free about your eternal destiny, since you can sense your master living within you? If you have a spiritual revelation of Jesus Christ, He calls you blessed. 

Mat 16,13-17

· (150f) Witness Ø Validity of Jesus Christ Ø Works of the church bear witness of Jesus Ø Confessing Jesus as the son of God

Mat 16-17

· (144f) Witness Ø Validity of Jesus Christ Ø Witnesses of Jesus Ø The Church Bears Witness of Jesus Ø It bears witness of the Holy Spirit -- Jesus testified of Peter that he had a working knowledge of Israel's Messiah by a revelation of the Holy Spirit, thus inadvertently bearing witness of the Spirit, which is the goal of faith. Peter finally struck gold! To bear witness of the Spirit is to bear witness of the Father, because God is Spirit. The Father is the origin of all things, including our faith, which we use to bear witness of Christ. 

Mat 16-18

· (46k) Judgment Ø Spiritual warfare Ø Demons are subject to the church through Christ -- Throughout the centuries the church has been hit by every known attack but never sunk. Jesus is in her ship; it may fill with water but it will remain on top of the sea of humanity who works with the devil to conspire against the church. If the devil ever destroyed the church, the world would die soon after in a mournful whimper of human depravity, which is what the Bible prophesies for the last days, except that a remnant of the church will remain true to the Lord. 

· (137b) Temple Ø Building the temple (with hands) Ø Jesus is the foundation Ø Jesus is the rock of the church’s foundation

· (140g) Temple Ø Temple made without hands Ø Christ builds the temple from the bricks of the church -- The Bible does not mean that the church is built upon the foundation of Peter, the screw-up. The name "Peter" means "Rock," of whom Peter is a microcosm of the church (an exemplary member of the body of Christ), and the church is built on what he proclaimed, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. To understand that by the Holy Spirit is the rock of truth to which Jesus was referring and God's hope that His church would walk in such faith. 

Mat 16-19

· (116d) Thy kingdom come Ø Working the grace of God Ø Through worship Ø Through His authority -- This is the keys of the kingdom: believing in God through the words of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. If you don't believe God in this way, heaven is bound and gagged, but if you do, there are some things that you can say and do that will open the windows of heaven, and you will see the hand of God moving in your life, along with others who are among you. 

Mat 16-20,21 -- No Entries

Mat 16-22,23

· (178j) Works of the devil Ø The religion of witchcraft Ø Hypocrisy of the church is rebuked Ø Jesus rebukes His disciples -- These verses go with verses 5-12

· (79b) Thy kingdom come Ø Renewing your mind Ø Satan will control your mind if you don’t

· (94p) Thy kingdom come Ø Perspective Ø False perspective in the church -- Although the disciples were wild about Jesus, they still didn't have a clue about what He came here to do. They all had visions of Him taking over the religious institutions of their time, and ultimately the Roman Empire and becoming King of the nations as the prophesied Messiah, of which Israel would be the center, and all the nations would come and worship Him. In return, all good things would emanate through Him to the rest of the world, and everyone would live in peace and prosperity for ever. Where would that put the disciples who were closest to Christ? Right up at the top, wouldn't it? Know we know why it was so fun and easy to believe that whole scenario; they were looking at being top governors of a new, world empire. No wonder the disciples never understood Jesus' plan until after the resurrection; they didn't want to let go of the dream, until Jesus gave them a better one, the real one. Although they had to suffer (many of them died as martyrs), it was still a better dream than being top ranking officials of a world empire! Why? Because their status was transferred to a better world in heaven. All they had to accept was their dream deferred until a time set by the Father before they should enter His glory. 

· (247a) God’s Interests (Key verse)

· (247j) Priorities Ø God’s priorities Ø God’s interests Ø God’s interests are not man’s interests

Mat 16,24-26

· (56g) Paradox Ø Opposites Ø Seek God’s life by subduing your flesh

Mat 16-24

· (5h) Responsibility Ø Discipleship tested Ø God tests your loyalty Ø Your commitment to follow Jesus

Mat 16,25-28

· (47e) God Judges the world Ø Hell is a place of the dead

· (55j) Lose By Gaining (Key verse)

· (55k) Paradox Ø Gain the world to lose your soul Ø he who saves his life shall lose it -- Whoever wants to hold on to this life in the flesh along with the worldly mindsets that accompany it, will lose everything, but whoever is willing to let it all go and adhere to another paradigm, one in which this life is temporary will find another world living in their own spirit. There is another life waiting for us just outside the door of our mortality that is better and permanent, where we find our true life in Christ that God had prepared us from the foundation of the world. It is buried just beneath the skin of our worldly experience; we don't have to dig far to find it. 

Mat 16-28

· (26b) Consequences of sin Ø Death is hell -- It seems that people in hell will witness the return of Jesus Christ and the establishment of His kingdom on earth. Jn 17-37 says, "They shall look on him whom they pierced." and Rev 1-7 says, "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen." Although they may have been already suffering some time in hell prior to this, they will not taste the full brunt of their anguish until they see what they have lost in the kingdom of God finally established on earth, when His chosen and faithful inhabit His glory and are cared for specifically by God. 

· (48n) Judgment Ø Jesus’ enemies are destroyed Ø Enemies of His glory