SoiKosum

(John 6:12-13) Why does Jesus have his disciples pick up the left-over pieces? What does this have to do with his attitude towards waste? What does it have to do with his teaching the disciples about abundance? To make the point that God's provision is not merely enough but exceeding abundantly. Jesus' attitude towards waste - "When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.”" (John 6:12) The lesson about abundance is - though there is abundance, there is no waste.

(John 6:11) How did Jesus distribute the multiplied loaves and fishes to the multitudes? How do the disciples fit in? How are the baskets used? What impression do you think this is making on the disciples as they work hard during the ongoing miracle? It would seem that the process was that the disciples would bring an empty basket to Jesus, who would then give thanks to God, blessed the bread and fish, broke the bread into the basket and the disciples would then bring it to the people who were grouped into 50s. The disciples were helping Jesus feed the multitude. The baskets were receptacles used to bring Jesus' blessing to the people. I would imagine that both the disciples and people were amazed as they were given as much bread and fish as they wanted. This would possibly mean that each person would have had more than one serving, perhaps with some have more than several servings - Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,... (Eph 3:20). Amen!

(John 6:10) Why does Jesus have the crowds sit down before feeding them? What is the disciples’ role in this? Why would you prepare for a miracle if you don’t think it would happen? How ready is your congregation to see miracles take place? Two reasons - (i) to organise them so that the disciples can determine how much bread and fish to pass around and (ii) so that the people will not push and shove to get the food. The disciples' role was to organise the people and distribute the food. Further, it could be that Jesus wanted the people to be organised so that they can witness the miracle and believe - be still and know that I am God! Generally you will not prepare for a miracle if you don't think it will happen. Therefore, there is a need to prepare the congregation's hearts and minds to see and receive miracles. If there is unbelief, it will be difficult for miracles to happen.

(John 6:5-9) Why does Jesus try to get the disciples to own the task of feeding the crowds? What is the significance to the story of the boy’s five loaves and two little fish? Jesus wanted to get His disciples to own the task of feeding the crowds in order to build up their faith. In today's context, it could be seen as experiential learning or learning by doing. The disciples must be part of the solution. The significance of the story is that God can use who we are or whatever resources we have, no matter how little or insignificant, to accomplish His will. Further, it also shows that we must be committed i.e. take action in faith before God will move.

(John 5:39-40) What should be the role of the Scriptures in our lives? How is it possible for a person to be a great student of the Bible, but so lacking in spiritual discernment and lifestyle? How can we keep our churches orthodox but not legalistic and judgmental? The role of Scriptures in our lives is for us to know God's word and which in turn guides us in our lives. A person can study and know the Bible inside and out. However, this only gives him head knowledge. Together this person must have a personal relationship with Jesus. We must also allow the Holy Spirit to guide us into a deeper understanding and relationship with Jesus. Otherwise, we will not be living in the victory that Jesus died on the cross to give us. The Holy Spirit is absolutely necessary for us to understand and apply the Scriptures. "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 2:14). To keep our Churches orthodox and yet not be legalistic or judgmental, there must be an equal emphasis on Bible study and prayer sessions asking for God's wisdom and the Holy Spirit's guidance.

(John 5:36-37) According to John’s Gospel, what is the value of miracles? What is the weakness of faith that depends solely on miracles? Why do you think that we don’t have more miracles in our day? How much is that dependent upon a congregation’s attitude (and unbelief) towards the importance of modern-day miracles? The value of miracles is that they serve as a testimony for God and Jesus - "The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me.... even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles." (John 10:25, 38). Faith does not, and should not depend solely on miracles. Faith must be based on our relationship with God and Jesus. The danger of depending on miracles is that our faith will then rise and fall with the occurrence or absence of miracles and this should not be the case. Miracles are very dependent on the faith and belief of the congregation. If there is unbelief, miracles will seldom happen.

(John 5:30) Why is Jesus so dependent upon the Father for wisdom? How dependent are you upon your culture to approve of your way of life and validate your wisdom? To what degree do you depend upon God for wisdom? Jesus is so dependent on the Father for wisdom because He is in the Father and the Father is in Him. The doctrine of the Trinity affirms that the Father and Son and Holy Spirit are eternally equal in Person, but acknowledges that the Son and Holy Spirit are subordinate in role -- "ontological equality, but economic subordination," that is, "equal in being, but subordinate in role." Man is very dependent on our peers to acknowledge our wisdom and approve our way of life. Hence, premiums and prestige are placed on academic qualifications rather than practical experience. We choose homes in areas which are seen to "approved" by our peers. We adopt lifestyles which commensurate with our jobs, titles, salaries and homes. We drive cars to tell others that we have made in the world - we have arrived! Sad to say, I have to admit that I do not fully depend on God for wisdom. Many times, I act out of my own fleshly volition and then ask God to either validate my actions or forgiveness. Daily, I try to choose to ask God for wisdom before acting, but it is a struggle. Dear God, please grant me your grace and the strength to stop and ask you for wisdom before acting on my own wisdom. In Jesus name I pray, Amen!

(John 5:21-24) According to John 5:24, when does eternal life begin? What is our default position without Christ – life or death? How can people come to eternal life if they never “hear my word”? How do your friends and neighbors normally hear Jesus’ word? What might be your role in seeing that they hear his word? According to John 5:24, eternal life begins when we believe Jesus' words and believes in God who sent Jesus - we have crossed over from death to life. The default position without Christ is death. The great commission, in Matthew 28:19 - "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit...", this includes our family, friends and neighbours.

(John 5:19-20) Are we intended to emulate Jesus’ listening to the Father, or is knowing the Bible a modern-day substitute for this? Why don’t churches teach more about hearing the voice of God? What would happen in our generation if we would learn to dynamically hear God and then obey what he is saying to us? I think we need to do both - know the word of God and spend time listening to the Father. Knowing the word of God is head knowledge. Anyone can master the Bible and regurgitate chapter and verse. However, we also need heart knowledge. We need to have a relationship with God. We need to have both head knowledge and heart knowledge. For obvious reasons, churches will find teaching the Word easier. However, there is also a desperate need to teach about hearing the voice of God. The issue that I see is that some may take "hearing from God" to the extreme and use this (hearing from God) to judge, condemn and even manipulate other people or situations. There is also the possibility that those who do not hear from God may be made to feel embarrassed or inferior by those who "consistently" hear from God after every prayer session. After a while, these people may just say something for the sake of not being left out or may even stop attending prayer meetings. I believe the spiritual atmosphere in our spheres of influence will be dramatically altered if we were to hear from God and obey His word.

(John 5:14-15) Is it possible to be blessed outwardly, but lost inwardly? Why did Jesus confront the healed man in the temple with his sin? How was this necessary for a full healing, his salvation? Does the man seem to respond with faith to Jesus’ rebuke? Outwardly i.e. appearances can be deceiving. As the proverb says, Don't judge a book by its cover! By all appearances, one could be seen to be blessed - job, family, material wealth, church, etc, etc. However, inwardly i.e. spiritually, we could be lost. We could be continuing in our sins and not be repentant. Grace without repentance is cheap grace. We would not get very far on this formula; although there are churches which seem to be growing on the basis of this message.

(John 5:14-15) Is it possible to be blessed outwardly, but lost inwardly? Why did Jesus confront the healed man in the temple with his sin? How was this necessary for a full healing, his salvation? Does the man seem to respond with faith to Jesus’ rebuke? Outwardly i.e. appearances can be deceiving. As the proverb says, Don't judge a book by its cover! By all appearances, one could be seen to be blessed - job, family, material wealth, church, etc, etc. However, inwardly i.e. spiritually, we could be lost. We could be continuing in our sins and not be repentant. Grace without repentance is cheap grace. We would not get very far on this formula; although there are churches which seem to be growing on the basis of this message.

(John 5:9-13) Why are the “sabbath police” (the Pharisees) so upset at the man who is healed? How can a person be so intent on rules that they miss what God is doing? Have you ever caught yourself doing that? Has someone in your church been so intent on “how we do things here” that they couldn’t see God at work? What is the sin of the Pharisees here? There could be a few reasons why the Pharisees were upset - (1) They could not heal the invalid. (2) They were overzealous in interpreting and administering the law. (3) They were jealous. Very often, we can get so intent on the rules that we miss what God is doing. One issue of contention that I have is being asked to sit in a specific row when I attend church. We are always asked to fill in the front rows. But my take is, why can't we sit where we want to sit, within reasonable limits i.e. not sit on along the aisles, when we are in Church. We are in Church to worship God, not the Senior Pastor and the Church leadership and certainly not the ushers! Please don't get me wrong. I have done usher duty and I have always allowed people to sit where they want to sit - First come first served. If you are late, then you don't get to pick. Right? Anyway, I think this is one example where we are so intent on the rules.

(John 5:6) Why do you think Jesus asked the invalid if he wanted to get well? Why is it important for us not to make assumptions, but to seek discernment about people’s needs before we pray for them? We need to "Ask" because until the person voices their need/s, we are not able to pray effectively for them. For example, we can assume that a person wants to be healed but is it really their true desire? They may have a victim mentality and are quite happy to remain sick so that they can throw a pity party and blame the whole world for their condition. In the case of the invalid, he did not respond to Jesus' question. Instead, he explained why he could not get into the pool when it was stirred.

(John 5:1-16) How would you describe the invalid’s character? The invalid’s faith? How does Jesus’ healing here demonstrate the grace of God? Why do we humans find it difficult to accept grace when it is offered to us? Why do we resist the concept that God’s gifts are entirely by grace? The invalid was a complainer, blamer, ungrateful, disloyal and unrepentant. However, he had faith. He knew enough to obey Jesus and took up his mat and walked. No doubt there were many invalids at the Pool of Bethesda. However, of all these people, Jesus choose this particular invalid to heal. The invalid didn't do anything to deserve Jesus' grace. In fact, rather the opposite, his character would have precluded him from receiving God's grace. Nonetheless, Jesus healed him. God's grace is free and unbiased. Humans find it difficult to accept God's grace because we are so used to working and/or paying for everything and when something is offered to us for free, we are immediately suspicious. Perhaps, it is also because we are too proud to accept God's grace. We may feel that we have pay for it or else we would be a charity case. Another perspective could be that we feel that we would not be in control if we accept God's grace and that may make us feel uncomfortable.

Have you read of miracles accompanying a great harvest of new believers on the missions fields in our day? What place do miracles have in evangelism today – both in your country and abroad? Why do some denominations in our day deemphasize miracles or claim that they were only for the early church? Why do some denominations emphasize miracles? Which of these types of denominations tend to grow faster? What kind of “discipling” is necessary for those who come to Christ primarily on the basis of miracles? I strongly believe that there is a place for miracles in evangelism today. The event of miracles are two-fold: - to instil faith in non-believers - to build up the faith in non-believers to cause them to give their lives to Jesus I am not sure why some denominations emphasize or deemphasize miracles. Perhaps those denominations that emphasize miracles believe that miracles can be used to bring non-believers to Christ. On the other hand, those that deemphasize miracles could be afraid that the congregation will be overly focused on miracles and "miss" Jesus. For believers who come to Christ solely on the basis of miracles will need to be discipled differently. They need to counselled that Jesus is more than the miracles that He performed and is still performing today. Our job is to place our hope, faith and trust in Jesus and His word, regardless of whether we witness a miracle or not. Just like the royal official, when we act on this faith, the miracles will happen. Hallelujah!

(John 4:53) What are the factors that caused the royal official’s household (immediate family, extended family, and servants) to believe? How mature was this faith initially? How do you think the royal official was able to nurture it beyond mere “miracles faith”? "While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, 'The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour.' Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, 'Your son will live.' So he and all his household believed." (4:51-53) - His faith had begun with seeing miracles, but it has gone deeper. He believes Jesus' word and later sees the results. The royal official's faith was initially based on seeing miracles. However, the faith must have been deep in their hearts. It must have been this faith that drove the royal official to go to Cana to seek out Jesus. It must have also been this faith that caused the royal official to take Jesus as His word. Having placed his faith in Jesus' words, his son was healed, even while the father was on his way home. Praise God!

(John 4:43-50) What do we learn about the royal official’s faith from his actions? Why did he travel 20 miles from Capernaum to Cana? What does this say about his faith? When he departs for home and “takes Jesus at his word,” what does this tell us about his faith? The actions of the royal official showed that he had faith. He knew that Jesus is the only one that can heal his son and so he rushed to Cana to seek out Jesus - he chased after Jesus. When the royal official "takes Jesus at His word" and departed for home, he showed even greater faith. He has begged and Jesus has responded. The royal official was satisfied that his son was indeed healed. “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? Numbers 23:19

(John 4:43-48) Many of the Galileans believe mainly because they have seen miracles. In what ways do miracles help build faith? Why does only seeing miracles not build a mature faith? Why does Jesus rebuke the Galileans in 4:48? Miracles help build faith by reinforcing our faith with events in the natural. We read God's word and we declare we have faith. Then when we witness miracles, it reinforces what we have read and causes us to say with even more conviction - Yes, I have seen and I now truly believe. However, building our faith through seeing miracles is not a sustainable kind of faith. If we have to rely on seeing miracles to build up our faith, then it means that our foundation in Christ is weak. It is precisely for this reason that Jesus rebukes the Galileans in John 4:48. Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29) We should be chasing after Jesus Himself and not his miracles.

(John 4:39-42). Why do you think Jesus stayed two days in Samaria, when elsewhere he instructed his disciples not to preach in Samaritan villages? What does it mean that Jesus is the Savior of the whole world? What are its implications for our lives? For your church’s mission? Jesus stayed in Samaria for two days at the urging of the Samaritans. It was also probably because He saw that the Samaritans were yearning to learn the truth and "the field" was ripe for the harvest - "And because of His words many more became believers" (John 4:41) Jesus' stay in Samaria was an exception. He did not let traditions stop His ministry, even though it upset the Pharisees. Neither did He allow His own rules to prevent Him from ministering to the Samaritans even though this was not the main focus of Jesus' ministry. Jesus is the saviour of the world. He is not only a Jewish Messiah or a Messiah to Americans or Europeans. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." (John 3:16-17) Therefore, the Great Commission is for us, and churches, to take the gospel to the ends of the earth.

(John 4:36-38) Sowers and reapers usually got “paid” when the crop was harvested. According to this analogy, what will Christian workers receive at the end of the age when the final harvest takes place and Christ comes? Not only will Christian workers get to spend eternity with Christ, each will also be rewarded according to his own labor. Whether your ministry is primarily to sow (share your faith, testify, preach), to water (discipleship), or to reap (lead people to Christ), all are important -- and when the harvest comes in, everyone will "get paid." However, we must also be careful of the quality of our work - Each of us is responsible for the quality of our work. We can't be lazy or sloppy! That dishonors the "Lord of the harvest" who calls us (Matthew 9:38).

(John 4:35) What caused the harvest to ripen so rapidly in Sychar? How likely is it that the testimony of one, discredited woman could make such a huge impact? What might God do with your testimony if you were to share it? Why is it necessary to “open our eyes” to see the potential spiritual harvest? The cause of the harvest to ripen so rapidly was probably due to the testimony of the Samaritan woman. The townspeople were spiritually hungry but did not know where to go to search for the truth. However, when the Samaritan woman went to call them, they could see that she was different, after her encounter with Jesus. We need to ask God to open our spiritual eyes in order to see the harvest because we cannot see it (the harvest) when we see in the natural which are often clouded by our experiences and biases.

(John 4:31-34) What does Jesus mean by “food” in these verses? What was his passion? What is your passion? What will it take so that your passion, your goal in life, is to do the Father’s work? In your life, what do you think that might look like? Jesus was referring to spiritual food. To Jesus, food meant - 'My food,' said Jesus, 'is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.' (John 4:34) In Matthew 4:4, when Jesus was tempted by the devil, He said, 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' Jesus' passion is to save the spiritually lost. Doing the will of God does not necessarily mean being a pastor or minister. Instead we can do the will of God in our every day lives - by being obedient to God's word, living our lives according to God's words and bringing God's word to the spiritually needy.

(John 4:23-24) What does it mean that “God is spirit”? What does it mean to worship in spirit and in truth? Have you ever “gone through the motions” of worship without worshipping? How can you worship in a way more pleasing to God? God is spirit, He does not have a human form. Jesus took on human form and frail humanity on earth to redeem us to Himself. Worshiping in spirit and in truth, in my opinion, is worship not directed to a physical being but rather having an attitude of gratefulness and love towards a God whom we cannot physically see. Many times, I have gone through the motion of worship and singing songs and praising God, but my mind is on other worldly issues. This is not pleasing to God as we are not focused on Him but on other things. This then leads me back to the point about worshiping in spirit and in truth - focusing on our Lord and Saviour and not on other things. Worshiping in spirit and in truth also means that we need not necessarily be in Church to meet and worship God. We can be in the middle on a busy shopping mall and yet be worshiping God. I think worshiping speaks more of our attitude and focus rather than being in a specific place and time.

(John 4:19-22) What motives cause the woman to bring up a religious controversy to Jesus? Why do people today try to generate religious controversies with us? What are their motives? Believing that He (Jesus) was a prophet, the Samaritan woman brought up the religious controversy to Jesus probably in the hope that He could explain the rationale for why the Jews said that they must only worship in Jerusalem. She was curious and obviously had this question in her for a long time. Finally when she meets a Jewish prophet she was the opportunity to clarify this issue. Whenever we read God's word, we interpret it according to our own understanding, circumstances, innate beliefs, biases, experience and world views. Several issues that come to mind are for example attending (or not attending) church and tithing. These issues have divided views within the greater Christian community and many times it can differ from pastor to pastor even within the same denomination. I believe that we will not any answers to these, and many other religious controversies, until Jesus returns. In the meantime, we just have to be lead by our convictions, and hopefully it comes from the Holy Spirit, and agree to disagree among the brethren. The motive of bringing up religious controversies shows that, as humans, we are interpreting God's word according to our own individuality and that deep down we are always seeking the truth. May God grant us all the wisdom to know His truth. Amen.

(John 4:16-19) What was the effect of Jesus’ special knowledge of the woman’s history with men? What effect did it have on her faith? How can such gifts of the Spirit work today to bring people to faith or deepen their faith? Jesus' special knowledge of the woman's history with men would undoubtedly have surprised her. Especially since Jesus was not from her town and more so when Jews do not mingle with Samaritans. The only logical conclusion to the woman was that Jesus was a prophet. Hence her remark - 'Sir,' the woman said, 'I can see that you are a prophet.' (John 4:19) Having just told her about living water, which may be could have piqued her spiritual interest, Jesus' revelation to her would undoubtedly have stirred her faith and her desire to learn more. I believe such revelations from God still happens today and that God does bring a timely word to people, through friends, colleagues or even strangers, to build up or deepen their faith in Him. Thank you Jesus. Hallelujah!