Tag: God’s purpose

Compassion, Living in the Image of God

Testimony of Man Born Blind—Part 1 Motivated by Appreciation

Living in the Image of God M02S14

A man born blind and given sight by Jesus was motivated by appreciation to tell his story. He told his neighbors and other relations: that Jesus gave him sight, by soiling his eyes and directing him to wash in a pool. He knew the facts but was yet to understand what they meant regarding Jesus. He will understand better subsequently, as his story developed into a mission to tell others about Jesus. Thus, he was propelled by appreciation onto a gospel mission.

Testimony of Man Born Blind 1of2 7:53

We discuss the testimony of a man born blind based on bible accounts of his interactions with others after he received sight through an encounter with Jesus (John 9:1–34). In appreciation for receiving sight, he was motivated to tell his story. As we discuss in a previous study under Human Relationship with God Regarding Work, telling his story became a Gospel mission that he discovered incrementally as he interacted with others.

First, he testified to his neighbors and other relations. Subsequently, his neighbors took him to the Pharisees, also known as the Teachers of the Law, and he gave testimonies in several interactions with them. His audience grew as he testified to different groups. Also, he showed better understanding of his message as he interacted more with others regarding his healing.

The man was blind from birth but received sight during this encounter with Jesus. Several events that occurred following the healing led him incrementally to a mission to proclaim Jesus is the Messiah. His appreciation for receiving sight motivated him to tell his story and propelled him to the mission. He told the story several times: more boldly and with greater clarity each time.

We will present the study in two parts. In the current session, we discuss Christ explanation of God’s purpose for the man’s blindness and the man receiving sight and testifying about the healing to his neighbors and other relations.

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Basis for Living in the Image of God, Living in the Image of God

Benefits of Living in the Image of God

Living in the Image of God M01S06

Building faith by Living in the Image of God arises from commitment to God’s purpose and recognizing that your every task or battle belongs to God and he will guide you to complete his tasks and accomplish his goals. Furthermore, “Living in the Image of God” makes you a beneficiary of God’s promise of blessing proclaimed in the Beatitudes and illustrated in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats. Every blessing you earn is yours to keep until fulfilled.

Living in the Image of God Module 01 Session 06 (6:46)

Living in the Image of God begins with commitment to God’s purpose and living according to the commitment. A person builds and strengthens faith by Living in the Image of God—based on recognizing that every task or battle belongs to God and he will guide you to complete his tasks and accomplish his goals. Furthermore, in the Beatitudes, Christ proclaims God’s promise of blessing for every person that commits to the responsibilities of representing God in human interactions: through humility toward others, compassion, motivation for righteousness based on commitment to God’s purpose, and acceptance of individual responsibility for peace and righteousness irrespective of what others do or fail to do. Also, Christ describes the blessing further in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, using compassion as an example for Living in the Image of God.

Thus, faith building is the primary benefit of Living in the Image of God. The other benefit is the promise of blessing proclaimed in the Beatitudes (see Resources for Living in the Image of God and Human Responsibilities in Living in the Image of God) and illustrated in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (see Call to Compassion—Parable of the Sheep and the Goats). We discuss Living in the Image of God as a basis for faith to make a case that a person builds faith of God by committing to God’s purpose and living accordingly.

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Famous Persons, Samuel

Aligning with God’s Purpose—Hannah’s Petition and Birth of Samuel

Hannah’s prayer aligned with God’s purpose and resulted in the birth of Samuel to lead the beginning of a new phase in the life of Israelites. She did not “know” God’s purpose to align with it by any deliberate human choice. Instead, the misery she felt from childlessness and her resignation to God as the only source of relief caused her to lift her spirit toward God, close enough to be guided to a spiritual understanding of her need that was consistent with God’s purpose. Based on her interactions with people and with God regarding the birth of Samuel, we learn about petitioning directly to God, respect for priestly authority, humility, and interacting with a fellow human being facing adversity.

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Interactions regarding the birth of Samuel provide opportunities to learn about petitioning directly to God, respect for priestly authority, humility, and interacting with a fellow human being facing adversity. Hannah was grieved of childlessness and a feeling of loneliness due to people around her either seeking advantage from her adversity or asking her to accept the condition as a sentence to barrenness.

Birth of Samuel
Birth of Samuel
Sweet Publishing FreeBibleImages.org

However, she did not succumb. Instead, she sought relief from God. In a moment of intensely focused prayer, she petitioned God directly and asked for a son that will be dedicated to serving God full time through all his life. Her prayer aligned with God’s purpose for a spiritual leader to unify Israelites through the next phase of their development. Though she petitioned God directly in the presence of Chief Priest Eli, when Eli scolded her for what he thought was drunkenness, she responded with humility and promise of obedience that moved Eli to join her prayer without knowing her prayer points. God granted her request in the form of the man we know today as Samuel.

 

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