IDENTIFYING The COMPETITORS For BELIEF-II—John 1:19-28
Attention:
Shopkeeper's Competition
The shopkeeper was dismayed when a brand-new business much like his own opened up next door & erected a huge sign which read BEST DEALS.
He was horrified when another competitor opened up on his right, & announced its arrival with an even larger sign, reading LOWEST PRICES.
The shopkeeper was panicked, until he got an idea. He put the biggest sign of all over his own shop. It read ...MAIN ENTRANCE.
Some may have the BEST DEALS, others may have the LOWEST PRICES, BUT the shopkeeper was not panicked because he owned the MAIN ENTRANCE!
There are many competitors for our business.
Likewise, there are many competitors for your belief.
Need:
Identifying God’s servant(s)
John was approached by others regarding his spiritual niche.
*We must identify/concern ourselves with/ the spiritual niche of those vying for our belief.
How can/are we to identify the niche of those vying for belief?
9 considerations/keys/objectives/principles for identifying/categorizing those vying/competing for belief.
We’ve previously discovered that...
Identifying competitors for your belief employs...
1. TRUSTWORTHY INFORMANTs(:19)
2—Identifying competitors for your belief employs...
QUALIFYING QUESTIONs(:19b)
Explanation:(:19b)Leading
:19—“Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests & Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?””
What makes our Questions capable of Qualifying?...
Comparing their “Who are you?” to John’s response assumes—“Who are you” in relation to the Christ?...‘Are you the Christ?’(:20)
A simple answer helps us to categorize any further questions needed(see point #5).
Qualifying Questions help us narrow down information by comparison with our current belief system. To bring us to the point where we will weigh one with the other, making pertinent faith decisions.
“Ask”—erwtaw—1) To question; 2) To ask—2a) To request, entreat, beg, beseech. Erwtaw denotes the form of the request. “Aitew signifies to ask for something to be given, not done, giving prominence to the thing asked for rather than the person, & hence is rarely used in exhortation. Erwtaw, on the other hand, is to request a person to do (rarely to give) something; referring more directly to the person, it is naturally used in exhortation, etc.'” Strong—To interrogate; by implication--To request.
“Who”—tiv—Pronoun—1) Who, which, what. Strong—an interrogative pronoun, Who, which or what(in direct or indirect questions).
Argumentation:
Mat. 16:5-19—“Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. Then Jesus said to them, “Take heed & beware of the leaven of the Pharisees & the Sadducees.” And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have taken no bread.” But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? “Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand & how many baskets you took up? “Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand & how many large baskets you took up? “How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?--but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees & Sadducees.” Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees & Sadducees. When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, & others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered & said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered & said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh & blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. “And I also say to you that you are Peter, & on this rock I will build My church, & the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, & whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, & whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.””
Mk. 7:1-13—“Then the Pharisees & some of the scribes came together to Him, having come from Jerusalem. Now when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault. For the Pharisees & all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders. When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received & hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, & couches. Then the Pharisees & scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?” He answered & said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ “For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men--the washing of pitchers & cups, & many other such things you do.” He said to them, “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. For Moses said, ‘Honor your father & your mother’; &, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ “But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban”--’ (that is, a gift to God), “then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.””
The Pharisees & scribes are revealing their own Qualifications.
Our Qualifying Questions begin as inward thoughts & measurements from the heart.
Mat. 4:5-7—[Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness]—“Then the devil took Him(Jesus) up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, & said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ &, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’””
Expecting God to give in my way & my time is presumptive! Questions are qualifying that surround the right use or misuse of Scripture, because it is God’s settled(canonized) revelation.
Lk. 20:19-26—“And the chief priests & the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people--for they knew He had spoken this parable against them. So they watched Him, & sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power & the authority of the governor. Then they asked Him, saying, “Teacher, we know that You say & teach rightly, & You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth: “Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” But He perceived their craftiness, & said to them, “Why do you test Me? “Show Me a denarius. Whose image & inscription does it have?” They answered & said, “Caesar’s.” And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, & to God the things that are God’s.” But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people. And they marveled at His answer & kept silent.”
**Jn. 21:15-22—“So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.” He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep. “Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself & walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, & another will gird you & carry you where you do not wish.” This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me.” Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, & said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.””
Illustration:
I will typically ask, “Where are you from....are you from around here?”/QUALIFYING QUESTIONs
Sharing the Gospel— “If you had died & you were standing before God, & He asked you, ‘Why should I let you into My heaven?’ what would you say?”/QUALIFYING QUESTIONs
FBC Benevolence/We ask pointed questions that help us direct our services either toward or away from/QUALIFYING QUESTIONs
My application to seminary/Try to weed out & cull screwballs, & the uncommitted/QUALIFYING QUESTIONs
Radford & Bell’s ‘Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas’ key(See below)/Each segment of the flow-chart asks 2 questions—Eventually leading to the positive specific identification of the native or introduced plant(tree, bush, vine, weed, etc.)/QUALIFYING QUESTIONs
Point # 2 Qualifying Questions:
3. LYCOPODIACEAE
1. LYCOPODIUM L. Clubmoss/Groundcedar
Stems subterranean or on the surface, branching dichotomously & ascending or dividing into horizontal & erect branches. Roots adventitious along the creeping stem. Leaves numerous, small, scale- or awn-like, to 13 mm long, appressed or spreading, sometimes partly fused with the branch, simple, entire or toothed, with a midrib only. Sporophylls more or less like the sterile leaves, either in cauline bands or clustered in sessile or pedunculate, terminal strobili. Sporangia solitary at the leaf base, subglobose to reniform, opening by a transverse slit; spores uniform, tetrahedral. Gametophytes epigeous, green & thalloid, or fleshy, subterranean & mycorrhizal.
A. Sporophylls like the sterile leaves or only slightly reduced, not aggregated into cones; vegetative reproduction by bulbils.
A1. Leaves somewhat dilated apically, the upper margins toothed; Plants mainly in forest soil; stomata confined to lower surface of leaves.— 1. L. luczdulum.
A2. Leaves more or less awl-shaped, not apically dilated, the upper margins hardly, if at all, toothed; plants mainly of acidic rocks; stomata on both surfaces of leaves.
A2i. Leaves dark, shiny green, bulbous at base, mostly appressed; high altitude plants—2. L. selago.
A2ii. Leaves paler, duller green; flat at base, mostly spreading; moderate altitude plants—3. L. porophilum.
B. Sporophylls differing from sterile leaves, either larger or much smaller, aggregated into terminal cones; vegetative reproduction only by rhizomes.
B1. Plant rooting in mud & wet sand; texture herbaceous; color pale green, dull.
B1i. Horizontal shoots strongly dorsiventral; fertile upright shoot sharply differentiated into peduncle & strobilus—4. L. carolinianum.
B1ii. Horizontal shoots only slightly dorsiventral; fertile upright shoot little differentiated, the strobilus composed of leaves like those of the peduncle but slightly larger.
B1iia. Upright branches 0.5 cm or less thick 5. L. appressum.
B1iia. Upright branches 1 cm or more thick .......... 6. L. alopecuroides.
B2. Plant rooting mainly in drier soils; texture rigid; color bright to dark green, shiny.
B2i. Aerial branches 10 mm or more in diam., not at all tree-like or fan-like; leaves with fine apical setae—7. L. clavatum.
B2ii. Aerial branches 2-8 mm in diam., arranged in a miniature tree-like or fan-like pattern; leaves without apical setae.
B2iia. Strobili sessile at shoot apices; leaves more or less awl-shaped & distinct; leafy branches usually 5-8 mm broad—8. L. obscurum.
B2iib. Strobili on long, narrow peduncles; leaves scale-like & appressed; branches usually 3 mm or less broad.
B2iib1. Rhizomes buried 1-5 cm; leaves along the undersides of branches equaling those along the uppersides; strobilus 1-2 cm long; branches with conspicuous annual constrictions—9. L. tristachyum.
B2iib2. Rhizomes superficial; leaves along the undersides much reduced; strobilus 2-4 cm long; branches without annual constrictions—10. L. flabelliforme or L. digitatum or more currently Diphasiastrum digitatum.
Qualifying Question directly compare belief.
Application:
?You employed QUALIFYING QUESTIONs to identify the competitors for Your belief?
Jesus is competing for your belief & so are others(people, the devil, etc.)!
? You Identified those competing for Belief?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Some may have the BEST DEALS, others may have the LOWEST PRICES, BUT the shopkeeper was not panicked because he owned the MAIN ENTRANCE!
Action:
Identifying competitors for your belief employs...
2. QUALIFYING QUESTIONs(:19b)
1. TRUSTWORTHY INFORMANTs(:19)
Presented 03/02/2014am to:
FBC Cbelle
206 Storrs Ave.
Carrabelle, FL 32322
