Authority = right, liberty

• Deity

  • Father, Son, Holy Spirit – Genesis 1:1; Hebrews 1:1-2; John 8:28-29; 16:13-15

  • Ultimate authority starts with God.

• Inspired people

  • Apostles, prophets (John 16:13-15; Acts 8:14-17)

  • These people carried the authority of God.

• Inspired scripture

  • Bible – I Thessalonians 2:13

• Deity > Inspired people > Inspired scripture

Gather all the facts

• Commands

  • Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 17:7-10; I Corinthians 7:19; I Thessalonians 4:1-2, 11; II Thessalonians 3:4-6, 10-12; II Peter 2:21-3:2; I John 2:3-4; 3:22-24; 4:21-5:3; II John 1:4-6

• Statements

  • Psalms 119:104; Matthew 10:34-37; 15:9; 21:42-45; Acts 20:35

• Examples

  • John 15:12; Acts 20:35; I Corinthians 4:16; 10:6-11; 11:1; Philippians 3:17; 4:9; I Thessalonians 1:6; II Thessalonians 3:7-9; Hebrews 4:11; 3 John 1:9-11

• Inferences

  • Creation > Romans 1:18-21

  • Genesis 2:24 > Matthew 19:3-6

  • Genesis 3:14-18 + Psalms 110:4 > Hebrews 7:7-11; 8:6

  • Exodus 3:6 > Mark 12:26-27

  • Psalms 16:10 > Acts 2:24-32

  • Psalms 110:1 > Matthew 22:41-46; Acts 2:33-36

  • Matthew 9:6 > Matthew 9:2

  • Acts 16:9 > Acts 16:10

Harmonize the facts into a conclusion

• Matthew 4:5-7 – “On the other hand, it is written …”

  • The devil correctly quotes Psalm 91. Jesus then shows the importance of harmonizing all the facts.

• Acts 10

  • Vision: Acts 10:10-16, unclean animals, “God has cleansed”

  • Spirit: Acts 10:19-21, “accompany them”

  • Angel to Cornelius: Acts 10:5, 22, “send for … Peter”

  • Peter infers/concludes: Acts 10:28, 34-35, “I should not call any man unholy or unclean”

• Acts 11

  • Acts 11:5-10 – The vision and the commands

  • Acts 11:11-14 – The angel telling Cornelius to send messengers

  • Acts 11:12

  • Acts 11:15-16

  • Jews infer/conclude: Acts 11:18, “God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life”

• Acts 15

  • Acts 15:6-11 – Inference from events with Cornelius

  • Acts 15:12 – Paul and Barnabas: examples from first preaching journey

  • Acts 15:13-18 – James: statements from prophets

  • Apostles and elders lead them to a conclusion – “do not trouble” Gentiles (Acts 15:19)

• I Corinthians 9

  • Statement: Deuteronomy 25:4 (I Corinthians 9:9a)

  • Inference: From Deuteronomy 25:4 (I Corinthians 9:9b-10)

  • Example: Old Covenant priests (I Corinthians 9:13)

  • Command: Jesus, Luke 10:7-8 (I Corinthians 9:14)

  • Paul leads them to a conclusion: Preachers have a “right” to support (I Corinthians 9:4-6, 18)

What we need to know

• We must reason logically and objectively from the text. Acts 17:2, 17; 18:4, 19, 28

• The failure to do so has resulted in tons of religious division and error. Matthew 15:3-9

• This did not originate with the Restoration Movement. II Timothy 2:15

Zephaniah 1:1-3:20

Introduction

• Zephaniah was the son of Hezekiah, contemporary with Jeremiah. He prophesied in the days of Josiah, 630-608 B.C., 20 years before the first group from Judah was taken into Babylonian captivity.

• II Kings 22:15-20

Message of the book: judgment is coming because of disobedience

Zephaniah 1 – God’s judgment was coming on Judah

• Zephaniah 1:17 – The reason for judgment: sin against the Lord.

Zephaniah 2:1-3:8 – Call to repentance.

• Zephaniah 3:1 – Woe to the city!

Zephaniah 3:9-20 – There would be salvation for a remnant.

• This could be a Messianic prophecy. Physically, Judah never really prospered after returning from captivity. We are the new temple of God (I Corinthians 3:16; 2 Corinthians 6:16).

• In Zephaniah 3:13-20, God repeatedly says “I will” do this or that, which would seem to indicate Christ’s activities and the result of them.

Lessons for us:

• The salvation God provides is a gift from the Lord. No one earns or merits it.

• The day of the Lord is a day of gloom and punishment for the wicked, but a day of glory for the righteous.

• Those who respond to the call will be saved. Matthew 11:27-28

• God is always in the midst of His people. I John 1:6-7

• God makes His people to be an upright people.

Next up: Nahum

Being told “no” is not easy.

• Kids don’t like “no” and neither do adults.

Times in the Bible when God answered petitions with “yes”:

• Exodus 32; Numbers 14 – Moses interceded for the Israelites

• II Kings 20 – Hezekiah’s request to live longer

Sometimes God’s answer is “no.”

• II Samuel 12:13-22 – David and Bathsheba’s baby

• II Corinthians 12:7-10 – Paul’s thorn in the flesh

Considerations for prayer

• We must be in a right relationship with God. I Peter 3:7

• We must not ask for something that contradicts His will. James 4:3

• Our perspective is limited by our minds. Isaiah 55:8-9

God told Paul “no.”

• I Corinthians 2:3

• Galatians 4:13-15; 6:11

“My grace is sufficient for you.”

• When life doesn’t go our way, we may question our faith.

• God may say “no” because we need reminding of what He has done for us. Ephesians 2:4-5, 8-9

• The effects of God’s grace must be seen in our lives. II Corinthians 9:8; Ephesians 2:10; Titus 2:11-14

• Sufficient à to be enough

• Application: Even in being told “no,” there is good.

  • Occasion to thank God for what He has done.

“My power is made perfect in weakness.”

• Is this the way the world works?

• God works through man’s weakness to show His power.

  • Exodus 7-14: Moses vs. Pharaoh

  • Joshua 6: The walls of Jericho

  • Judges 7: Gideon and the 300 men (Judges 7:2-7, 9)

  • I Corinthians 1: The gospel message

• Made perfect à to perform, execute, complete, fulfill. Psalms 28:8; Isaiah 40:29-31

• Application: In weakness, insult, hardship, persecution, and calamity, show God’s power in your life.

  • Genesis 21:1-5

  • Mark 10:46-62

  • Acts 16:16ff

  • II Corinthians 11:23-29

  • Matthew 26:26-29 – Jesus’ death

“I am content with …”

• Content à it seems good to me, is one’s full pleasure

  • NOT “I’ll only be happy/content if …”

  • Philippians 4:11-13

• Isaiah 53:7 – At what point did Jesus ever express discontent?

• Paul boasted of his weakness.

  • I Corinthians 2:1-5 – What impact would this have had on the Christians in Corinth?

• There is value in sharing our challenges with others. James 5:16

• Revelation 3:15-17 – A false impression of strength is damaging.

• Application: How might your challenges, or those facing society, allow you to show true contentedness?

When God’s answer is “no”

• Remember His grace.

• Let His power shine in your weakness.

• Be content with your lot in life.

I Thessalonians 4:1-18

I Thessalonians 4:1-2 – “Excel still more.” Every church should want to mature to this point. They were not perfect, but were doing well and the next step was to grow.

I Thessalonians 4:3-8 – In Paul’s day, chastity was regarded as an unreasonable restriction. The phrase “possess his own vessel” has been debated for a long time. It could mean one’s own body or could be a reference to one’s wife. (Romans 6:13; I Corinthians 6:19-20; 7:2) The overall message is to abstain from sexual immorality.

• Job 31:1; Matthew 5:27 – We have to guard ourselves from sexual immorality.

• The idolatrous practices in those days involved sexual immorality, which was part of what made it so popular. These Christians had come out of these idolatrous practices.

I Thessalonians 4:8 – See Nehemiah 9:30; Acts 7:51-52; I Thessalonians 1:5; 2:2, 8-9, 13; 3:2; 4:1-2, 6, 11. The gospel was from God! The “Holy Spirit” here refers to the inspired message they had received and were receiving through Paul as a messenger.

I Thessalonians 4:9-10 – See Matthew 23:23; I Corinthians 13:1-3. It’s possible to follow every law precisely, but ultimately fail if you lack love. Verse 9 is an example of a figure of speech called paralipsis, in which emphasis is added by professing to say little about it. Compare other examples in Philemon 1:9; I Thessalonians 5:1.

I Thessalonians 4:11-12 – Compare II Thessalonians 3:11-12. Get to work!

I Thessalonians 4:13-18 – The dead in Christ will rise first, then those alive in Christ will meet him in the air. This should be a great comfort to us. This does not say that Jesus will come to earth (pre-millenialism). The doctrine of rapture comes from a misinterpretation of this verse. John 5:28-29

II Corinthians 7:4

Do I understand that I am personally guilty of sin?

• Children start out innocent. Acts 2:38; Luke 18:15

• But at some point, God starts holding us accountable for our sins.

  • Numbers 14:29; Deuteronomy 1:39 – Twenty was the cutoff age in the wilderness, but this is not a universal rule we see elsewhere in the Bible.

  • II Chronicles 34:3 – Josiah started serving God at age 16.

• Baptism is an appeal to God for a good conscience.

  • I Peter 3:21

  • Guilt à Baptism à Clean conscience

  • Acts 9:5-6, 9 – Saul realizes he is guilty.

  • Acts 22:16

• Notice how it’s personal.

  • Acts 2:23, 36

  • Acts 9:19

  • Acts 16:34

Do I know the good news?

• Matthew 28:18-20

• Acts 2:40-41

• Acts 8:12, 35

• The act of baptism is based on Jesus and His death.

• Romans 6:3

• We don’t have to know it all to be baptized. None of us do!

Am I convinced?

• Mark 16:15-16; Acts 8:12-13

• Acts 17:2-3, 11; 18:8 – People were reasoning through the scriptures and believing!

• Hebrews 11:6

• Romans 10:8

Am I prepared to start a new life?

• I must repent.

  • Acts 2:41; Ezekiel 18:30-32; Jonah 3:4-5, 8; Acts 26:20

  • Change of mind à change of life

• I must prepare to walk in newness of life.

  • Romans 6:3-4; Luke 14:26; II Corinthians 7:8-10

  • Repentance is lifelong!