Page 11 - Bible Character Traits
P. 11
See: verse 45.
Philip was not one t o follow _B l i n d y _ _ . He wanted to see it in the scriptures before e
_l
h
_
_
believe
would _____ . This is a noble attribute , worthy o f all true disciples-Acts 1 7 :11 ;
John 5:39.
_____ is not a leap in the dark-it's a leap in the Book! "Faith is base on the word of God"
Faith
1
Note the order in Hebrews 11: 1 :13:
1 . Received the promises
------
2. Persuaded of them.
3. ______ them.
Embrace
4. Confess
See also: 11 Timothy 1 :12b ("know" - "believed" - "persuaded"- "Committed".)
Pastors are to be followed, but not blindly! "Whose _ _ f _ a i _ t _ h _ follow" -Hebrews 13:7. We
only follow the man a s he preaches the Word.
B. Personal Experience.
See: verse 46d -"come and see."
_
_
Salvation by faith produces a _ personal _ _ _ experience -Psalm 34:8. A new life (John
_
10:10b; II Corinthians 5:17), answered prayer (John 16:24), spiritual blessings of all kinds
(Ephesians 1 :3), etc., are all part o f the _ _ Christian _ _ experience. They are evidences
_
_
_
o f God's work of grace -John 9:25.
_
Note: _ _ _ Experience _ must always remain secondary to the Word of God. God's order
_
_
is: FACT (Acts 8:32) -FAITH (Acts 8:37) - E E LINGS (Acts 8:39d).
F
Ill. PHILIP DISCOVERS THE POWER OF CHRIST:
Read Joh.n 6:3-13.
I n this passage, the Lord Jesus deals with Philip's practical approach:
A. The Lord's Question.
Notice that Jesus specifically asked this question, '' Whence shall we buy bread, that these
may eat?" -verse 5 .
B. The Lord's Purpose.
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_
_
This was to "prove" (test) Philip-verse 6. H e knew Philip was _ _ practical _ _ minded and
would want to "figure i t out" first.
C. The Lord's Lesson.
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It is good to be _ _ practical _ (Luke 14:31) so long as that practicality takes into account
_
God's Word. _ faith _ always supersedes practical reasoning.
_
On this occasion, it was the Lord's will t o feed the multitude. Therefore, reason become
meaningless. There is an important balance t o be learned here.
Example: The Bible commands our Church to "go into all the world and preach the Gospel to
b
every creature" (Mark 16:15). Reason would say, "That's impractical. It's impossible! It can't e
done!" Faith would say, "With God, all things are possible." (Mark 10:27.) The key to this matter
is always the World of God. If God has clearly spoken, reason won't always work, but
-
- - faith - will.
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Philip surely learned that day his _ _ pratical _ _ approach had to include God.
t
_
The miracle of h e feeding of the 5,000 men is the only miracle o f _ _ Christ _ to be recorded
in each of the four gospels -Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:33-44; Luke 9:11-17 and John 6:2-13.
It is interesting to note some different approaches we might adopt when confronted with a great
_
_
obstacle. Christ wanted to _ minister _ to the multitude-just as He wants us t o reach the
_
world with the gospel - - -
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W e could:
• Send the multitude _ _away _ _ ( Matthew 14:15.) But how shall they hear without
_
a preacher (Romans 10:15)?
• _ _ blame
__ the multitude for not bringing their own food. But if they believe not,
(
they shall die in their sins J ohn 8:24).
