Understanding God's Word or Power helps avoid Life errors.

In life, no one gets things right; we all mess up and drift away from God (Rom 3:23-24; Isaiah 53:6). One of the reasons is that we don't know Scripture or the power of God. Therefore, Jubilee is also a time to relearn about essential things in life (e.g. John 4:25).

Main Text Matthew 22:23-33

This text thought that at the resurrection of the dead, people would get married. Here, Jesus corrected their defects of knowledge and made them fully acquainted with the mind and will of God. This is one of the missions of Christ, to explain things to us more clearly (e.g. John 4:25). This is because He understands the universe better than us. Jesus also promises to send God’s Spirit to teach us the truth (John 14:25).

E.g. St Paul had to learn what true faith in Jesus Christ was. Aquila had to be taught the way of salvation more adequately. Many marriages struggle because of a lack of knowledge of God’s word; the same thing can be said regarding health. Thus, you will make many mistakes in life if you don’t know God’s word or power.

Jubilee assignment: Write down two areas where you are struggling and search the Bible for answers.

Some of the areas in life we need understanding.

1. What does it mean to be successful in life? This is an area most people are struggling to define. N.B. Everyone has their God-appointed place in life (e.g. 1 Cor 7:17;20; Isaiah 23:17-18). Some people are blessed to be worthy (e.g. Solomon); if you are not blessed to become something, you labour in vain. Jesus says a man's life does not consist in the abundance of things he possesses (Luke 12:15ff). Your success is not about the things you have (Luke 12:15-21), but obeying God is what it means to be successful in life (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). St Paul breaks this down into three things: fight the good, finish the race, and keep the faith in God (2 Timothy 4:6-8).

2. The way of salvation: The contention has been two issues: charity work or faith in God, But the way of salvation is faith in Christ and good deeds (Ephesians 2:8-10; Acts 2:38-41).

3. Believing and belonging to the church.

4. Marriage life: People have various views about it. The key knowledge is found in Genesis 2:18; a suitable helpmate

5. Spirituality: What spirit should people have or engage with? How do you know you have the right spirit or are dealing with God’s Spirit? 1. Your lifestyle (Matt 7:15-20). If you are truly born again, you will live and desire a holy life (1 John 3:7- 10). 2. Whatever anyone tells you must agree with God’s word because God's Spirit comes to teach us the truth about God.

5. The question of suffering. There are many reasons why suffering. But we can take this message home; like Jesus, we learn obedience to God through the things we suffer so that our suffering will not be in vain (Hebrews 5:7-10).