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DIGGING DEEPER STUDY GUIDE FOR MARCH 31-APRIL 5 AFTER SERMON FROM JOHN 7:37-44

3/30/2014

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Monday - Satisfaction - John 4:14 
Time and time again when Jesus offered the people something that was a major need in their lives, it was given with their spiritual future in mind. Jesus offered a woman water that would satisfy to the point of never having to come to the source over an over again. Whoever would drink of the water that Jesus would supply, it would become a spring bubbling up from within the person so that there would never be an end to the supply which truly satisfied.. .and it is to eternal life. That person would never thirst again. Need would be met completely.

Tuesday - Comes - Isaiah 55:1; Luke 14:17 
Throughout the Scriptures there are callings given for the people to come and receive what is needed or to partake of the special gift from God to each one who responds. In these two passages that we look at today, they are calling the people to come to receive that which you cannot afford but is given to you, and come to the banquet because everything is ready for you to share in. This time of readiness reveals that God has seen to it that all needs will be satisfied for those who respond to His call and there is room for all. In the Luke passage we read on that the servants are sent out later to compel all to come in so that the maters house might be filled (v.23).

Wednesday - Spiritual Waters - Ezekiel 47:5-12 
In this passage of scripture the water that flows out from under the Altar in the Temple goes from being a stream to a mighty river that gives life to the land and supplies all kinds of fish for food, bountiful fruit from trees, and even healing from the leaves of those trees. It reveals to us that the spiritual waters, whose flowing is caused by God, is the outpouring of His many blessings that lavished upon us. But we must realize that we must respond to Him in order to receive these blessings.

Thursday - Living Water - Revelation 7:17
It is shared with us that even after the days of judgment as Jesus the Good Shepherd is seated on the throne in heaven that He, Himself will lead us out to find those springs of living water, and in that place of divine supply, God will also wipe every tear from our eyes. There will be no more sorrow in that place for we will see the things of God more clearly and understand far beyond our comprehension that we have here in this place. It is life giving and preserving water available to us.

Friday - Spiritual Promise - John 14:15-18 
In the passage from Sunday, we come to understand that the gift of living water that wells up from within us is a reference to the giving of the Holy Spirit who will dwell within our hearts, our souls. In chapter 14 of John, Jesus shares that if the disciples are obedient, He promises to send to them another Counselor, a Comforter that will give them the guidance that He, Himself had been giving them. Jesus did not want them to feel that they had been abandoned like orphans without help and security, leadership and love. "I will send..." What a promise!

Saturday - Division - John 9:16 
Even with the promise of supplying them with what they truly needed, the people were divided over who Jesus shared that He was and where He came from and what some of the leaders thought of Him. Even when Jesus performed miracles bringing something good out of pain and suffering, some thought of it as being evil and not from God. Others saw it as something that could have only been done by One sent by God because they knew that a sinner could not do these types of miracles. It brought a division among the people because of the difference in people's hearts. Do you want to be fully satisfied by the One who can bring about the promised blessing of God in and for your life. Seek out Jesus!

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DIGGING DEEPER STUDY GUIDE FOR MARCH 24-29 FOLLOWING THE MESSAGE FROM 1 JOHN 1:3-2:8

3/23/2014

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Monday - Spiritual Fullness - Ephesians 3:19 
As we think of the tremendous fellowship we can have with God through Jesus Christ, we come to understand more and more that it is based in a love that we can not fully know, yet it can come into our lives in such a way as to fill us so full that we are overwhelmed by its greatness. To think of how Paul shared it with the Church of Ephesus as being filled with the fullness of God, where do we begin to describe its richness. The satisfaction that comes to our hearts is powerful, leading us to that idea that our "hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and His righteousness....wholly lean on Jesus name."

Tuesday - Spiritual Joy - 1 Peter 1:8 
The fellowship goes beyond words and visible evidence. But a joy can come over us that lifts us to heights that help us soar over the realm of stresses and problems. A place of inner peace and contentment that, even though we have not seen Him, we love Him and believe in Him to the where we can greatly rejoice in the midst of strife with and inexpressible joy and sense that we are in the presence of God in all His glory. Not alone, but in the sweet fellowship that Christ brings to us and leads us into more deeply.

Wednesday - Spiritual Darkness - John 3:19 
The only way that someone can miss out on the great fellowship that is possible with God, is if they have chosen to live outside the influence of His marvelous light and desire to live in the darkness. This is not saying that the light has not been available for them but that they have chosen a way of life that exists outside the circle of light. They have chosen the shadows rather than the light that allows us to see clearly the full spectrum of grace that has been extended to us by God, through Jesus Christ. Honestly, I do not know how they can pass up on this great fellowship of living in the light of His love.

Thursday - Spiritual Cleansing - 1 John 1:7 
Some look at living in the light as something that they cannot accomplish and in a sense they cannot. It takes walking not our own way or an easy way but it takes the energy to seek out the way of the light and following the path that His light shines on. That is where Jesus is and if we walk with Him He will give you and I the strength to walk that path and He will do the cleansing of hearts, and lives, by taking us through the blood that He shed for the remission of our sins. Yet the verse in 1 John says that He will cleanse us from all sin. Not just the acts of sins committed but the desire to want to do wrong. His blood continues to cleanse (keep us clean) as we continue to walk in His marvelous light (that is sweet fellowship).

Friday - Spiritual Knowledge - John 8:31-32 
Jesus shared with those who would listen that if they would just allow His words to abide in their hearts and direct their lives, they would come to a point where they would understand (have knowledge of) what was truth and that knowledge of truth would certainly set them free from choosing the wrong ideas to govern their lives. It will be a knowledge grounded in the evidence of who Jesus is and the true purpose of God in His life and in our own. A spiritual knowledge that will establish our steps as we walk in the light as He is in the light without fear of judgment or condemnation. It will give us freedom to live the fullness of life.

Saturday - Spiritual Dawn - 2 Peter 1:19 
The knowledge, of the light that leads us to the fellowship with Christ and fellow-believers, comes to us as we examine and pay attention to the words of scripture (whether it be from the prophets or apostles). It reveals to us the truth we need for each day to piece together the full story of Jesus and His love. The knowledge that we glean from scripture each day is a dawning to that deepening relationship that we have establish at that moment that we first believed in Christ Jesus, but also points us towards the dawning of the day when Jesus the Morning Star, will arise not only in our hearts but on that day that ushers in our home-going for eternity.

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    Study guides provided by Pastor, Dr. David Shirer

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