Wednesday Night Bible Study - May 30, 2012

1. Deeds, Claims and Promises of Jesus.
Read Mark Chapter 1

1. When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist; as He
came up out of the water, He______________the
______________, and the Spirit like a dove descending
upon Him.

2. Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the ____________
for ___________days.

3. Jesus said to Simon and Andrew, "Come ye after me".
Immediately they_________their nets and followed Him.

4. When Jesus called James and John, immediateily they
_______________their father and went after Him.

5. In the synagogue they were _____________at His
doctrine: for he taught them as one who had__________,
and not as the scribes.

2. Inheritance in Christ
Read the epistle of 1 John

Main Themes:

All three letters along with the Gospel of John were written probably from Ephesus between A.D, 85-95. The letters indicate that the readers were confronted with the error of Gnosticism which became a more serious problem in the second century. As a philosophy of religion, it held that matter is evil and spirit is good. The solution to the tension between these two was knowledge or "gnosis", through which man rose from the mundane to the spiritual.

In the Gospel message this led to two false theories concerning the person of Christ -- Docetism, regarding the human Jesus as a ghost (that is, the view that Christ only seemed to have a body), and Cerinthianism, making Jesus a dual personality, at times human and at times devine.

Some of the highlights of 1 John:
a. A warning against the love of the world.
b. An exhortation to abide in the truth; with the assurance that the divine anointing will give all needed instruction.
c. Brotherly love is the distinguishing mark of spiritual life; when perfected casts out fear.
d. The outcome of love is assurance and answered prayer.
e. Acceptance of Christ as advocate and propitiatory sacrifice.
f. The antichrist mindset that denies Christ.

Affirmations (Repeat and Meditate on These as You Go Throughout the Day):

I John 4:13 - He has put His own Holy Spirit into my heart as a proof to
me that I am living with Him and He is with me.

I John 5:4 - Since I am a child of God I am able to defeat the world. The way I have victory over the world is with my faith.

I John 5: 11,12 - Since I have the Son of God I have eternal life.

I John 5; 14,15 - I can approach God with confidence for this reason: If I make requests which are in accord with His will he listens to me: and if I know that my requests are heard, I know also that the things I ask for are mine.

I John 5:20 - I know that Christ, God’s Son, has come to help me understand and find the true God; and I am in God because I am in Jesus Christ His Son, who is the only true God; and He is eternal life.

3. Dunamis Life

Paying The Price

Psalm 42:1 -- As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.

We neglect to pay the price for the presence of God and wind up wandering around in a wilderness of our own making, being pursued by Satan.

Everything begins with total abandonment, total surrender and total hunger for the living Christ -- not the things He gives or imparts, but Christ and Christ alone.

Psalm 63:1 -- O God You are my God; early will I see You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.

Jeremiah 29:13,14 -- And you shall seek me, and find me, when you shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you says the Lord.

Into Action

Write out, memorize and meditate on a verse in each of the following Psalms that will bring you closer to the presence of God:
Psalm 4
Psalm 27
Psalm 30

4. The Deeper Life

 Read, pray and meditate on the following: http://bit.ly/juCvYE

5. Quiz Answers - Mark Chapter 1

1. Saw, heavens opened

2. Wilderness, forty

3. Forsook

4. Left

5. Astonished, authority