Category Archives: Visions

Cross of Christ, Kingdom of God, Revelation, Suffering, Visions

REVELATION 4 AND 5 STUDY GUIDE – THE GREAT VISION OF HEAVEN

The basic message of this book is that even though Christians may be called upon to suffer terrible persecution in this life, they must remember that they will win in the end because Jesus, described as the Lamb that was slain, defeated evil on the cross and has prepared a place for his faithful people to be with him forever.

The way this message is conveyed is through pictures. All these pictures are from this world, reminding us that they are not to be taken literally. The reader has to look for the meaning behind the pictures.

Always remember, the reality which the word pictures represent will be far, far, greater than anything that can be imagined; like the very first scratchy black and white moving pictures of over a century ago have morphed into a big, smart, ultra-high-definition TV, able to tune in live to anything, anywhere in the world.

All that said; let’s look at the great vision of heaven which John described in Chapters 4 and 5 of the Revelation.

Revelation 4:1-6 [Read]

John sees an open door into heaven. Before him is someone, not described, on a throne. This represents God ruling over all things.

Surrounding the throne are 24 other thrones with 24 elders sitting on them. They represent all of God’s people gathered in the presence of God. They are decked-out in white, with crowns of gold on their head; these represent purity and honour.

From the throne comes flashes of lightning and peals of thunder, representing God’s awesome power and holiness. Before the throne is what looks like a sea of glass, clear as crystal, representing the tranquility and safety of that place.

Revelation 4:6-7 [Read]

Then there are the four living creatures, representing the whole heavenly realm, who know all that can be known about the one who sits upon the throne.

Revelation 4:8-11 [Read]

They never cease to say, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come.’

And whenever the living creatures give glory and honour to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the 24 elders fall down before him seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever saying;

‘Worthy are you our Lord and God to receive glory and honour and power for you created all things and by your will they existed and where created.’

Here are the essential elements of heaven in worldly pictorial form. We don’t know what it will actually look like, but we know enough to be sure that it will be wonderful beyond description and much too marvelous for words.

All his people, purified from sin, will be in his presence. It will be a place of awe and wonder, and it will be beautiful and secure like a tranquil sea.

Notice also that the focus in this vision is on God as creator. In a sense it takes us back to Genesis.

Revelation 1:1-25 [Read]

The theme of God as creator permeates the whole Scripture.

Take as an example Psalm 8 as David gazed up to those very same heavens:

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. … When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him and the son of man that you care for him? … O Lord how majestic is your name in all the earth.

Back to Revelation 4, what do the people of God, gathered in his presence, say? Verse 11:

Worthy are you, our Lord and God to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things and by your will they existed and where created.

When faced with the challenges and mysteries of life in this world, we need to give more thought to our great, almighty Creator, who can do anything he wants to, and always does what is exactly right.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

  1. How would you explain to a new Christian the significance of God as creator when so many today live as if he doesn’t even exist?
  2. When faced with natural disasters such as the Covid -19, or terrible earthquakes, how do they fit into our world-view as Christians in ways that might lead us to worship God the way it is portrayed in this vision?

Revelation 5:1-5 [Read]

But even the picture of God as creator is not the complete story. For that we must go to the second part of this vision, Chapter 5:1:

Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to open the scroll and break the seals?’

In all of heaven, no one was found worthy to open the scroll. John began to weep loudly because of this. Then, verse 5;

One of the elders said to me, ‘weep no more; behold, the Lion of Judah, the root of David has conquered so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.’

Is that familiar? Think of Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3), Isaac (Genesis 26:1-5), Jacob (Genesis 34:9-15), Judah (Genesis 49:8-10), David (2 Samuel 7:8-17), and great David’s greater son, Jesus?

He is the one who has conquered Satan and all his works. … So he alone has the right to know what is written on the scroll and what is to come.

Revelation 5:6-7 [Read]

Having introduced us to the long promised conquering king, under the title ‘The Lion of Judah’, the imagery changes; verse 6;

And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a lamb standing as though it had been slain, with seven eyes which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.

From now on in the Book of Revelation, Jesus is mainly referred to as ‘the Lamb that was slain’, who has redeemed us to God.

This reminds us that in heaven we will never be able to forget that we are there because he laid down his life for us and took upon himself the penalty for all our sins.

Revelation 5:8-10

And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell before the Lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying;

Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open the seals, for you were slain and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God and they shall reign on the earth.

Is this not what God promised to Abraham in the beginning? Is this not what God promised, Isaac, Jacob, Judah and David and is not Jesus the fulfilment of all those promises? That is what we will be affirming in heaven, that all the promises of God find their fulfilment in Jesus.

Exactly what it will be like in heaven, we cannot imagine, but the key point to remember is that whatever it turns out to be like, it will all be about our Lord Jesus Christ.

He will have gathered us to himself like a hen gathers her chicks under her wings and it will be wonderful beyond anything that has ever entered our minds.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

  1. In addition to God as Creator, how would you explain to a new Christian the significance of the phrases ‘the lamb that was slain’ and ‘The Lion of Judah of the root of David’?
  2. Why do you think it is important to state these descriptions of Jesus in the vision?
  3. How would you explain why the ‘Lamb’ is worshipped alongside the one who is seated on the throne?

CONCLUSION

Imagine we are those Christians in Asia Minor being told to confess Caesar as Lord. Imagine you are a Christian in the Middle East or in Nigeria being ordered to renounce Jesus and embrace Islam, imagine you belong to a house church in China and the knock comes on the door and they take you away for re-education. What would we do?

If we have the hope of eternal life burning in our hearts, if we fix our eyes on Jesus, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God, we will stand but if we take our eyes off him …

That is the message behind is great heavenly vision which we must hold onto in good times and the bad.

Church, Holy Spirit, Judgment, Kingdom of God, Resurrection, Revelation, The Last Days, Visions, Worship

Revelation 1

A vision from God to the churches

Discussion Question

What would you rather: to know all the details of a holiday before you go on it (the events of every day right down to all the problems that will occur) or to have a guide that promises you will be fine and to just go on the journey?

Background (Context)

We are at the very end of the bible and in a book that gets way too much attention for the wrong reasons. Being the last book of the bible, we must consider all that has gone before it! Creation, the Fall, the promise of salvation, the suffering servant-king, the gospels, the spread of the church with the message of resurrection, forgiveness of sins and persecution. The Bible, as a singular book, ends with a vision of all that is and will be. Whenever it is treated as an isolated book it is mistreated by the reader.

The scope of these notes will not be exhaustive on the book of Revelation. As we have always done, we will take each chapter at a time, each section at a time and uncover what the author wants us to see and hear and how to respond. There is no end to the amount of commentaries written on parts of the bible but there is no substitute to the bible itself for gaining understanding and good context.

A note on apocalyptic writing. Readers can get stuck in this book whenever symbols and ideas emerge that spark our imagination. While the genre of Revelation is different, it still uses the same constructs of language. Words build up sentences which build up a message which, in context, can be understood when we look for the clues. We will see in chapter one that questions are raised in the text and then resolved – in the text! We may not always know what exactly is meant but we will avoid jumping to whimsical conclusions.

So, Jesus has come to this earth and laid down his life. John 3:16 is not a prophecy but history. In this book we will remember that there is no greater truth than that Jesus is King and He’s going to take care of everything.

Read Revelation 1

Follow this link to read the passage on BibleGateway… 

What did you see? (Observation)

Structure

  • The revelation (1-3)
  • Grace and peace from the Triune God (4-8)
  • Write what you have seen (9-19)
    • The writer to the churches (9-11)
    • What he saw (12-16)
    • How to respond to Revelation (17-20)

Part a (1-3)

The revelation (1-3)

“The revelation from Jesus Christ…” The bible does not waste words. These three verses and the rest of this chapter give us great insights to uncover the whole of this book. We start by reading that this book is about a revelation from Jesus Christ. A revelation is simply the uncovering of something previously unknown. Jesus is revealing something to John, the writer, and to us. The whole bible is a revelation – knowledge of God that would otherwise be unknown to us.

“…which God gave him…” So the revelation is from Jesus but it was given to Jesus from God. The doctrine of the Trinity does not simply state God is One but that God is One and Three. Throughout the book of Revelation we will be amazed at the revelation of the Trinity in action! Jesus is a servant of the Father.

“…to show his servants what must soon take place.” It is a little bit exciting to know that we read this book knowing that certain elements of it are still yet to be fulfilled. We are reading the finished bible with still hope for what God has promised. We will see, I hope, that the book is not forecast for a sequence of events that will devastate us all but that the events to take place all involve the consummation of the work on the cross. This is a book filled with hope for those who love Jesus and fair warning for those who do not. 

“He made it known…” John, an angel, Jesus Christ and God are all involved in the writing of this book. John’s hand is used to give exactly what he heard from the angel/messenger sent by Christ to convey the word of God. Although there are many hands in this kitchen, the authority of God is not bent. Again, the whole bible follows this kind of pattern.

“Blessed is the one who reads aloud…and who hear it and take to heart what is written in it…” We hold in our hands a message from God that is promised to be a blessing to those who take it to heart. We may very well pray for our church right now that we will take these words to heart and do more than treat it like a toy or puzzle to solve but to love God more dearly as we hear him speak to us.

“…because the time is near.” Jesus claimed not to know the hour when he would return but told his disciples to be ready. They died before his return. Many have died before Jesus’ return. The time is still near. We must not get trapped in the popular thought that the days are getting closer now. Everyday is one day closer of course. But the day has been near even in 90AD.

So, The Revelation is new and it is more of the bible. God has spoken, Jesus has served as the Word of God and with the help of messengers and writers, the things that God wishes to reveal to us have been made known.

Grace and Peace from the Triune God (4-8)

“John…” This is John the disciple whom Jesus loved. Perhaps not that Jesus had a special relationship with John but that John, the author of the 4th gospel, loved that Jesus loves him, and chose to refer to himself by that identity rather than just his name. Tradition tells us that John was the last disciple to die and died of old age, although suffered as much as the other apostles. He wrote three epistles and is known to have been ‘imprisoned’ on Patmos for his faith.

“To the seven churches…” The churches are listed in Verse 11 and are the focus of Chapters 2 and 3. The whole letter of Revelation is addressed to these churches. 

“Grace and peace to you from…and from…and from…” Like many of the letters in the New Testament, grace and peace set the tone of the greeting. This means that there is no war between the writer and the recipient. Even when Paul writes stern words to a church and when John here writes rebuking words to the seven churches, it is in the context of grace and peace. You see, we are not at war with one another. The gospel sets us free from that. There are no higher and lower orders of people but we are all servants of Christ and indebted to him for the grace received. We are at peace now with God and must be at peace with one another. The status we share is grace and peace – the reality must be matched as far as we are able.

“…from him who is, and who was, and who is to come…” This can be applied to Jesus specifically and will be done later on, but because Jesus is mentioned a few clauses later, this must refer to God – Father and Trinity. The eternal one. Probably no simpler identifier of God is that he just is. He is independent in every sense of the word. See Exodus 3:14-15.

“…from the seven spirits before his throne…” What is this? With the mention of the eternal One before and the Christ after, it is tempting to see this as somehow the Holy Spirit. And  perhaps it is. The term, “seven spirits” appears in 3:1 held along with the seven stars (which are the angels of the seven churches according to 1:20); in 4:5 described as seven lamps; and in 5:6 described as seven horns and seven eyes which are sent out into all the earth. You would know that seven is a perfect number in Revelation but what do we make of all this information? We may not be able to conclude that this refers somehow to the Holy Spirit but there is a will of God behind every metaphore provided in this list. Grace and peace are sent from the seven spirits and they seem tightly bound to both God and to the church. I won’t speculate any further.

“…from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.” Jesus is the promised Messiah, the one who does everything that the Father desires, the resurrection and the Lord of Lords. This is Jesus. Let’s not overlook this person. He is God’s promise. He is God’s faithful one able to represent God and man. He conquered death in a way that promises the same resurrection to us and he is the boss. Jesus is number one. In Bible study, this is not something to treat as theory but we follow Him, we praise Him and we thank Him. While He is the messenger and faithful witness here in Chapter one, He will continue to take centre stage in the story of salvation and the end of all things as we know it.

Write what you have seen (9-19)

The writer to the churches (9-11)

“… on the Lord’s day, I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet.” There is not much normal about this although it sounds normal coming from John’s mouth! The Lord’s day? Is this Sunday? Is it, like many will content, the Sabbath? In the Spirit? Was he in prayer? He pre-empty the rest of the story with the classification that he was not just sitting in a cave but he was engaged with God somehow – not with reality but with God.

“…write what you see and send it…” The vision is not intended for John to keep to himself. This vision and Revelation is not for John’s personal spiritual benefit alone. John is a messenger and scribe for the benefit of the church who are firstly the seven churches (that number seven again – why these seven and why only seven except that it represents the whole of the worldwide church) and then us.

What he saw (12-16)

“…I saw seven golden lamp stands…His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.” There are two many elements to list and go through. We will hear these elements reappear. It is easy to see, however, the imagery of purity and power at the same time. There is strength but life giving – not entirely terrible. Jesus is of course standing in the middle of the churches. What John saw was a kaleidoscope of imagery mashed together to tell a story of one who upholds and speaks, he is nothing like a human and yet is one like a son of man. This is Jesus.

How to respond to Revelation (17-20)

“When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.” One might expect John to respond in reverence and awe but he is stunned into submission – like one who is dead!

“Do not be afraid.” This is the juxtaposition of Revelation: at the same time terrifying and peaceful. When you are on the side of Jesus, you are on the side of the one who stands with his face as brilliant as the sun!

“I was dead…I am alive for ever and ever.. I hold the keys of death and Hades.” The whole New Testament teaches this. Jesus is the centre of our faith because he died and is NOW alive and wil never die BUT he holds the key to the eternal death of others. There is not rival to Jesus’ power and authority. Our God does not fight with other gods for who owns hell etc. Jesus is the king of everything. The book will talk more of death and Hades later. Who wouldn’t want to know the One who has the key to death in their hands?

“Write, therefore…” Again, this vision is not for John’s binge watching alone but news to be written down. What we find in this book, however, is not a brand new ending but the ending that the gospels and Epistles point to also.

“The mystery of the seven starts that you saw…” Here we have some clues provided. Not everything in Revelation is like this. We need to listen to the imagery, sometimes referenced elsewhere in the book, sometimes it is an Old Testament reference we need to relearn. It is helpful to know the overall story of the bible when reading this book and it is helpful to have a bible word-search tool.

“…angels of the seven churches…” It is not for us to conclude that every church gets its angel. An angel is a messenger and the whole book is metaphor, simile and apocryphal/pictorial language. The churches do not stand in isolation but are provided for by God by messengers. Jesus is at the center and He holds all the ingredients in his hands: the church which is purchased by his blood (to come later in the book), the messengers of the church who presumably bring the gospel, and the keys to death and hades. Jesus is not a spectator but the power behind what is, what was and what will be.

We respond to Revelation by avoiding mystery and fear and running to Jesus in awe and wonder. The imagery is out of this world but that is also the future that we are called to. Keep in mind that everything is picture language that point to real truths. 

What did we learn? (Meaning)

Christianity will not die out with the last remaining Apostle. God has got more to say to the church of Christ to confirm that Jesus is still alive, he is the king and he holds everything in his hands. We are not to be afraid when there is someone eternal and all powerful who has already provided victory over death and Hades. We must be ready to listen properly to this book so that we can be blessed by it.

Now what? (Application)

Topic A: Reflect on the person of Jesus. Take a breath and reflect on how central Jesus Christ is to all eternity. Take your eyes off your worries about tomorrow and consider that Jesus holds tomorrow in his hands. Ask yourself, is there anybody else in all the world and time and space worth knowing more than Jesus Christ? Respond to these reflections with praise and prayer.

Topic B: What questions do you have of God? As we get ready to read the rest of the book, what do you want to know from God about the future? If he were to list you a chain of events to be prepared for or give you confidence in a Person who has already defeated eternity, which would be better information to hold? Will it disappoint you to not have every question you have answered but be assured that God has already won? The image of Jesus in Verses 12-18 is of a divine man who has already won. He is to be feared but touches us gently and says, do not be afraid.

Topic C: Because the time is near. This is scary and comforting. Jesus warned his disciples while in Judea that they need to be ready. He told parables about bridesmaids and invitations to feats. He warned us that if we get distracted by this world and forget the kingdom of God then the kingdom of God may forget us. And so, Revelation instructs us to hear this word and to take it to heart. Pray that we will do just that.

Ezekiel, Holy Spirit, The Word of God, Visions

Ezekiel 2-3 – The Sweet Scroll and the Watchman

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context

Where as chapter one was filled with visions of God, these chapters contain the words of God and the command to Ezekiel to receive His word and speak it to the nation n of Israel. We remember the greater context of Ezekiel living with the exiles in Babylon – an exile which came about because of Israel’s persistent rebellion. The chapter opens with Ezekiel by the Kebar river in Babylon and fallen face don because of the awesome visi n of the Almighty that he has seen…and he hears the voice of one speaking.

Observation

As far as a structure to these chapters go, it should be seen to include chapter one also. This allows us to see that Ezekiel’s vision bookends the section of 2:1-11 and that 3:16-27, although related, make a separate event.

  • 1:4-28 vision of the LORD
    • 2:1-7 Speech
      • 2:8-3:3 Action
    • 3:4-11 Speech
  • 3:12-15 vision of the LORD
  • 3:16-27 The Call to be a Watchman

The theme of this section seems to revolve around God commanding Ezekiel to take His words and speak to Israel, who are most likely not going to listen – but Ezekiel is to listen. Let’s look at some of the interesting phrases that appear in the text.

“Son of man” This appears several times. It is aimed at Ezekiel and could mean either, he is just a man in comparison to the Almighty voice speaking to him, or it could point to a biblical title for all of Israel. Daniel 7 uses the phrase as a title which we know points to Jesus as the true Israel and the true King on the throne. It’s likely that it simply compares Ezekiel with the Almighty.

“stand up on your feet…the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet…” 2:1-2 The voice commanded Ezekiel to rise (since he was prostrate) and then sends the Spirit to raise him. This is a beautiful picture of God’s command for us to follow and giving us his Spirit to obey. The image is of a ‘dead man’ being raised up – an image that will come again in bulk at chapter 37! Notice the amount of times the Spirit is described as raising and moving (2:2, 3:12, 14, 24). This Spirit was active throughout the vision of chapter one also.

“the Israelites…a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me.” Israel is called rebellious (2:3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 3:26, 27), obstinate and stubborn (2:4, 7) and also thorns, briers and scorpions (2:6). This is why Israel is in Exile and why they will be further removed from the land. They are stubborn rebels who will not listen. But they will not be allowed to be punished without warning – this will further mark their doom.

“They and their ancestors.” 2:3 This is not to state that the sin is from their ancestors but that God has been very patient with them.

“Do not be afraid…You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen…” (2:7, see also 10-11). It is not wasted to speak the words of God to the people of God even if the expectation is not to listen. God is with Ezekiel and he is not to fear those he will speak to. God will give Ezekiel a head that is hard as Israel’s heart to protect him and keep him firmly on task. Is this where the expression “he’s a hard headed man” come from?

“But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you…” 2:8. In contrast, this is the expectation of Ezekiel. He will prove to be a very loyal prophet but not without a hiccup. 3:14 seems to suggest that Ezekiel was not looking forward to this assignment. 3:15 places him among the Exiles in Tel Aviv saying nothing and deeply distressed. See below on 3:16.

“…a hand stretched out to me. In it was a scroll…And he said to me, “Son of man, eat what is before you, eat the scroll…”…So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.” (2:9-3:3) This is odd. The hand comes from the glory of the LORD and in it is a scroll. These symbolise the message that is to go to Israel by Ezekiel, and they are words of “lament and mourning and woe.” The scroll is full of these words on both sides. Ezekiel is being “spoon fed” the message to go back to the rebel nation. They refused to receive God’s word but Ezekiel is asked to feed on it and fill his stomach (3:3).

Although the words are lament and woe, the taste to Ezekiel is sweet. This is a description of the word of God found also in the Psalms (Psalm 19:10; 119:103). Wisdom is described as honey to taste in Proverbs 24:13-14. This Ezekiel event is replayed in the book of Revelation which describes the message of the scroll to be bitter to the stomach but sweet in the mouth (Rev 10:9-10).

I have an image in my mind of children who refuse to eat what their parents put on the table. They cry and whinge and rebel. But when the hand of the parent stretches out and places the food in their mouth, they agree that the food is yummy to eat. While the word of the LORD that is targeted at Israel is woe and destruction, the word of God contains life and joy to those who will listen and digest it. See the prayer for the week below for an Anglican prayer taken from the Prayer Book.

“I sat among [the exiles] for seven days – deeply distressed. At the end of the seven days…” 3:15-16. Rather than speaking the words of woe to the rebels in Tel Aviv, Ezekiel kept quiet and in distress. This was a massive task for him to do. One man speaking against a nation of rebells and scorpions! These two verses remind me of the prophet Jonah, although Ezekiel didn’t run away. Earlier, in 2:5-6, Ezekiel was reminded that he is not going off to a strange land with strange tongue but to his own people. He is not being asked to do what Jonah did. Actually, this will be harder because a foreigner to Israel would repent and listen!

“I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel.” 3:17. This section from verse 16-27 acts like a second commissioning of Ezekiel. He was commissioned to go and he was sent to the exiles in Babylon but he said nothing. Now, God instructs him on how important for himself it will be to speak. If he stays silent and the people are judged, Ezekiel too will be found guilty. But if Ezekiel speaks, no matter what the outcome, Ezekiel will not be guilty for their blood. See Hosea 9:8 and Jeremiah 6:17 for other times the title ‘watchman’ is used. It is the picture of an eye for the city to see what danger approaches. Isaiah 52:8 has a watchman rejoicing because the Lord returns to Zion but Ezekiel, Hosea and Jeremiah describe the watchmen as keep watch for danger but nobody is listening to them. Ezekiel sees the danger coming and is being asked by God to do his job as a watchman.

“I will hold you accountable for their blood” 3:20. This sounds quite harsh but the warning is for Ezekiel to get on with the task that God has commanded him to do. If he refuses, then judgement will fall on him also. See Acts 20:26-27; 1 Timothy 4:16. Note that the heavy warning in Ezekiel is for Ezekiel. We must remember that this message for God is first and foremost written to that prophet for that time and that reason. Having said that, we ought to take a sober lesson from this principal. If we know that there is judgement coming and remain silent about it, are we serving our King proudly? The guilt of sin remains on the sinner. We, however, ought to be ready to make ways of warning people. See 2 Corinthians 5:18-20. We may not find ourselves guilty of anyone else’s blood, but we have been given the ministry of reconciliation.

Meaning

Judgement against rebellion did not come from God without more than plenty of warnings. God’s word is sweet and we ought to consume it, listen to it, read it and obey! We should also expect many to not listen to God’s word but this is not an excuse to remain quiet.

Application

  • As Christians, we have the word of God and the same choice as Ezekiel to either feed on it or refuse it.
  • The word of God is sweet to those who know and fear God but to the rebel heart, it is bitter and full of bad news.
  • If God has reconciled you to Christ and you still of air in your lungs, you are God’s representative on earth – his mouthpiece. What kind of words can we be speaking to this generation? In what ways can we bring the gospel to others?
  • God is patient with us when we are slow to obey him. But he does desire for us to trust and obey.
  • The Spirit of God is with us to do the work of an evangelist.
  • When we speak, it is not our mission to make sure a conversion happens as if our souls depend on that. The hearer will either respond and live, or walk away at their own peril. Our prayer is that the Spirit of God does what He does well.
  • Especially the ministers of the gospel who have been set apart to preach God’s word – they have the responsibility to preach and teach without fearing what people think, say or do. Not only paid ministers, but especially them! Pray for boldness and courage to fear God more than men!
  • Are there any other applications you get from this passage? Is there anything specific that your group could talk and pray about?

Prayer of the week – this is a prayer (a ‘Collect’) copied and pasted from the Anglican Prayer Book.

BLESSED Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning; Grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace, and ever hold fast, the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.