Introduction

• Hebrews 1:1
• Prophets were God’s spokesmen. They did more than just tell the future.
• Ezekiel 4
• There are sixteen or seventeen books of prophecy in the Old Testament, depending on precisely which ones you count. There were many more prophets who did not have their own books.

• II Peter 1:20

God loves us!

• Ezekiel 18:23, 27-32
• Jeremiah 26:1-3
• II Peter 3:9
• Jonah 4:1-11 – Jonah had compassion on the plant, but not on the people of the city. God expects us to love souls like He does.

We need His love when times are hard.

• I Kings 18:3-4 – When times were hard, God had hundreds of prophets.
• Jeremiah 6:10
• II Chronicles 24:19
• Hosea 4:6
• When we are in difficult times, we must seek God the most!

With God, there is always something to look forward to.

• Malachi 4:1-6
• Jeremiah 31:31
• We’re looking forward to our salvation with God in heaven.

Introduction

• Courage: Acting despite our fear.
• Mark 15:43
• Deuteronomy 31:1-7, 23
• Joshua 1:5-9 – God would be with Joshua.
• I Chronicles 28:20

To stand for the truth despite consequences.

• John 9:22, 30-34 – The blind man had courage!
• John 12:42-43 – The rulers were afraid to confess Jesus. They lacked courage to face the potential consequences.
• John 18:17, 25-27 – Peter lacked courage to confess Christ. Peter had legitimate reasons to be afraid.

To be alone.

• I Kings 18:22; 19:10 – Elijah
• Daniel 3:16-18 – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stood alone before Nebuchadnezzar.

To confront our own sins.

• Psalms 32:1-5 – David was willing to confront his own sins.
• Psalms 51:12

To clearly expose error even among brethren.

• Numbers 13:31; 14:1-10 – The ten spies discourage the people. Caleb and Joshua stand up against them.
• II Timothy 4:14-18 – Paul showed great courage.
• Galatians 2:11-12 – Paul had the courage to call out Peter for his sin.

Introduction

• I Peter 5:7
• Romans 12:12
• I John 5:14-15

Waiting allows us to build our trust in Him.

• Genesis 12:2, 4; 21:5 – Abraham and Sarah waited a long time for Isaac.
• I Samuel 16:12; II Samuel 5:4 – David waited a long time before becoming king.
• Sometimes God expects us just to wait.

Suffering produces endurances.

• James 1:2
• Job 42:6; 40:1-2; 42:7-8 – Job handled himself very well. God repeatedly calls him, “my servant Job” – a great compliment!
• James 5:10-11

Sometimes God simply says “No,” and we should remember that He knows all, and we don’t.

• II Kings 6:15-17
• II Corinthians 12:7-10 – God said no to keep Paul from exalting himself.
• Ephesians 1:16-19; 6:18-20
• Note: Praying does not relieve us of responsibility. We must pray, then get up and get to work.

II Corinthians 11

• II Corinthians 11:3-4 – Compare Galatians 1:8-9.
• II Corinthians 11:5-6 – Who are these “super-apostles” (ESV)? Compare Acts 15:24. It’s possible he is defending against the caricature of the original twelve apostles that false teachers were using.
• II Corinthians 11:7-8 – Some false teachers were apparently boasting that because they were taking money for preaching, they were more authoritative that Paul. Paul did not take money for his work from the Corinthians to try to prevent controversy, but it ended up being turned into ammunition for the false teachers.
• II Corinthians 11:11-12 – Paul continued to not accept support so that people could not hold that against him.
• II Corinthians 11:13-15 – Paul identifies his opponents as false apostles. Compare Matthew 7:15.
• II Corinthians 11:16-18 – Paul regarded himself as a fool for even having to talk about this, but felt that it was necessary to counter the false teachers.
• II Corinthians 11:19-21 – Paul speaks with irony here. He was too weak to mistreat them!
• II Corinthians 11:22-23 – Paul is making the case that he is genuinely Jewish.
• II Corinthians 11:24-27 – Paul suffered tremendously to spread the gospel. See Acts 9:15-16.

Introduction

• I Timothy 4:13-16

English Bibles are translations.

• Word-for-word versus thought-for-thought translations.
• Examples:
  • John 3:16
  • Matthew 19:9
  • II Thessalonians 3:12

Bibles are published and packaged in lots of different ways.

• Deuteronomy 17:18-20
• Reference Bibles – include cross-references and footnotes
• Study Bibles – include commentary
• Devotional Bibles – include short articles, usually targeted at a specific group.
• Children’s Bibles

Jesus didn’t write any of the books.

• John 4:1-2
• John 14:25
• John 16:13-15
• I Thessalonians 2:13
• Words from Jesus’ inspired messengers carry His authority.
• II Peter 1:19-21

It was divided into chapters and verses a few centuries ago.

• Romans 14:12-13, 22-15:2, 7 – The same thought continues across chapters.
• The chapter and verse divisions are not inspired.

The Bible has been preserved very accurately.

• Isaiah 1:1
• We have tremendous evidence that the Bible has been accurately preserved.
• 1947 – Dead Sea Scrolls discovered. Previously, the oldest Old Testament manuscript we had was the Masoretic Text, dating to about 980 A.D. The Dead Sea Scrolls date from the 100s B.C. Comparison between them showed only a five percent difference, all of which was either spelling changes or obvious slips of the pen. The other 95% was identical between the two.

Since it’s God’s Word, it contains the best wisdom and teaching on earth.

• Psalms 119:97-100
• II Timothy 3:16-17

It’s not just good advice; it’s what we’ll be judged by.

• Hebrews 1:1