Q. Who was Mary Magdalene?
A. Luke 8:2 = A woman Jesus cast seven demons out of. Jesus asked her along with other women to go with him on mission trips.

Q. Who was Joanna?
A. Luke 8:3 = Wife of Chuza, Herod’s business manager. Jesus asked her to accompany Him on mission trips too.

Q. Who was Susanna?
A. Luke 8:3 = Another Jesus asked along on mission trips.

Q. Did Jesus ask others who remain unnamed?
A. Luke 8:3 = Yes.

Q. What did they all have in common, besides a love for Jesus?
A. Luke 8:3 = They contributed from their own resources support to Jesus and the disciples.
👉This is noteworthy!
How many church leaders are in place because they contribute generously to their churches?
Notice that New Testament folks all really loved Jesus. This was no club. This was the real beginning of the church—before it lost its first love.

Q. What is it like when a church loses its first love?
A. Luke 8:15 = A church that is right with God has these qualities:
1) Honesty
2) Good–heartedness
3) Love and commitment to
God’s Word
4) Steady in producing a
good harvest.
Thus, the opposite qualities are tue of a church that has lost its first love:
1) Dishonesty
2) Evil–heartedness
3) Hate and neglect of God’s Word
4) Producing a puny harvest.

Q. Do churches start well and stay well?

A. Luke Only if these good qualities among others are dominant in the life of the church.

Q. Is this evil in the church necessary?
A. Luke 8:10 = Yes. That the Scriptures may be fulfilled in Isaiah 6:9:
God’s Word is light. In Luke 8:16, it says that God’s wWord has a purpose, and without that purpose, it doesn’t benefit us.

Q. What is the purpose of God’s Word; God’s lamp?
A. Luke 8:16 =
1)To light up the doorway for all to see where that doorway is.
2) Luke 8:17 = To expose evil and make clear the sheer hideousness of evil.

Q. How do I receive God’s Word in full?
A. Luke 8:18 = I have to pay attention when I read it. God reveals and confirms His Word to me. Then I receive more by the everyday confirmations through situations God graciously uses to etch that Word into my heart.

Q. Example please?
A.
1) I’m in the Word daily
2) God reveals to me a truth
3) In my everyday routine, something happens to show me the lesson, 3D.

Q. Do we all have the same opportunity to learn this way?
A. Luke 8:18 = Yes. But we must make the choice to not only read God’s Word, but to listen to God as He teaches it.

Q. What is required to get the full meaning of a verse or passage of Scripture?
A. Luke 8:18 = A open heard and mind.

Q. Can I be half–listening and get a partial understanding?
A. Luke 8:18 = Yes, but without the full understanding, tye partial one is taken away and we are left with a blank on that verse or passage. Only God can teach us fully, but He won’t force His Word into us!

Q. How can I recognize a fellow believer?
A. Luke 8:21 = He hears God’s Word and obeys it openly.

Q. I felt that God asked me to relocate to a place I had never seen. I waited and He kept giving me confirmation, so I moved. I thought I would be part of God’s work in a sister church, but it wasn’t anything I had expected. My life was turned upside down! My question is this: Did I read God wrong?
A. Luke 8:22 = No. Jesus led His disciples over a lake and a storm came. Trouble comes when we are inthe best places in our lives. Those circumstances are our parometers of our levels of faith in God, not only for our initial salvation, but for all the details of our lives. It is easy to trust in God to protect us when we are safe; harder to keep our eyes on Jesus when the storms come.

Q. How did Jesus handle the storm?
A. Luke 8:23–24 = He slept like a baby through it!
Note: No storm would stop God’s plan for the salvation of mankind! Whatever came up, Jesus knew His purpose. Whatever comes up with you, do you remember your purpose?

Q. What can I do in a storm? A. Luke 8:24 = Rebuke it! Whatever it is, call it by name (for example: confusion, fighting, hurrican, tornado, etc).

Q. What do I need to take such authority over evil or weather?
A. Luke 8:25 = Faith. Even an ounce of faith moves mountains!

Q. What was the lesson in this passage?
A. Luke 8:25 = Jesus did what they didn’t know they had the authority to do. They knew now!
👉 Someone once asked me, “Where’s your faith?” It is oimportant to really understand the meaning of faith, so that when it is tie for a heavenly shakedown, you’ll stay calm and exercise authority over it.

Q. Did the disciples believe Jesus about their authority over the elements?

A. Luke 8:25 = Not really. They were focused on Jesus’ power over the elements
👉We need to grasp the truth that we are a powerful army of God. That power keeps us safe and shows the world God’s glory and many are saved as a result.

Q. Why don’t more churches take up the mantle of power as Elisha did?
A. I believe God raises up Spirit–filled churches according to the needs of the people who will be ministered to by them. Some folks need to see God’s power to believe He is here. I saw God’s power move upon my salvation, but I didn’t ask for it. So I was blessed! I long wondered how to reach folks deeply involved in the do–gooder cults. I know of one beloved family entrenched in a cult whose lives are being touched by a particularly unique, prosperous and famous church. Although they are critical of the monetary factor in the church, members of this family are touched to the heart and they cannot deny how good an effect this church has had on their lives. On the other hand, this same woman is appreciative of the servants’ heart of a single believer in a small charasmatic church. She needs a monetarily humble church in order to see the power of God. Consistency in serving joyfully breaks down walls. Do–gooding exhausted this woman because she did it out of the flesh. She watches carefully a church’s ministry and wonders how its believers do not burn out when serving the poor. The truth is our love is not our own! “They will know we are Christians by our love.” Let your life impact your world, so that they will say of you, “Who is this man,that even the winds and wves obey him?”
“Let your light shine among men so they will see your good works and glorify God in Heaven.”

Q. What should I do when blessed with healing or deliverance?
A. Luke 8:39 = Go home and tell your family.
👉God loves families. The 2nd most importent commandment is to honor mother and father. What an impact, what joy there was for this man’s family, that their son suffered no more and was touched with healing by God! I want this for my children. I want them to come home one day and rejoice with me about what God is doing for them.

👉 Churches should teach every member of every age to honor their parents; to go tell them what God is doing. Parents are, next to God, the most concerned for their childrens’ welfare. Isn’t Jesus cool to emphasize that here? On the other hand, a pastor or church that does not see that crucial honor of parents as key to happiness borders on cultish behavior. Our carnal instinct is to be repelled by parents. Parents, teach your children this commandment well. Their happiness depends on obeying it!

A healthy church has these 3 characteristics intact:
1) Compassion before propriety
2) Passion before propriety
3) Welcoming little children
Footnote: Propriety is like protocol. It is policy above love. Never put policy above love!

Q. How do I evangelize my parents?
A. Luke 8:39 = Tell them of the wonderful things Jesus has done for you.
👉Make a list of those changes to your life. Don’t bible–beat! People get saved because of your new, honoring, miraculously–changing life. Don’t promote yourself. Promote God.

Q. Who gives believers power and authority to cast out demons?
A. Luke 9:1 = Jesus does.

Q. Who gives power and authority to heal all diseases?
A. Luke 9:1 = Jesus does.

Q. Who sends evangelists out?
A. Luke 9:2 = Jesus does.

Q. What is the message they bring?
A. Luke 9:2 = They announce the coming of the Kingdom of God with them and His wonderful plan to heal the sick.

Q. Why did the disciples go out as evangelists without luggage?

A. Luke 9:4 = So they would rely on others to take care of them.
👉Relying on others to take care of you is not a matter of needing to be dependent on man, but of not relying on yourself and one’s onwn riches. I’m sure these verses here helped some churches get rich on their congregations, who then live a lower quality of life than their pastors. I think Jesus had been emphasizing interdependence here, as through His ministry, He was rarely alone. Through fellowship, a pastor never feels alone, has the visible support, prayer support, moral support of everyday people. When a pastor isolates himself from everyday people, or else only surrounds himself with other pastors (who isolate themselves too), he is not at the top of his game and can even delude himself into thinking that his congregation doesn’t support him. This conclusion comes by his own fleshly evaluations and unhealthy, isolating habits! Like a boxer with his coach at hand, pastor needs fresh strength and prayer flowing through the whole body of Christ, to revive and refresh him for the next round. If all he’s got for coach(es) are other tired pastors, he will suffer lack.

Q. When do you know if people are open to the gospel?
A. Luke 9:5 = When they receive it quickly.

Q. Should I pursue people who resist?
A. Luke 9:5 = No. Jesus said to abandon them to their fate.
👉 Don’t tarry! “Fate” means to let Jesus pursue them. He has the patience to do it unto death.

Q. What is the Good News? A. Luke 9:6; 9:3 = The coming of the Kingdom of God on Earth.

Q. When is it good for full–time ministry workers to retreat together?
A. Luke 9:10 = When they’ve had much successand can encourage each other.

Q. If my time of rest is interrupted by someone who has questions about the gospel and the work of God, should I turn him away?
A. Luke 9:11 = NO. Receive him with joy.
👉 Always be ready to share in God’s work.

Q. But won’t I burn out?
A. Luke No! If you are a humble servant of God, open to His working through you, He is the one exerting the energy! If you are doing it by your own strength, you’ll wear out. This is true of all Kingdom work.

Q. How does Jesus feed us when we’re flat broke?
A. Luke 9:16–17 = Mysteriously!
👉 Heavenly visions of heavenly homes are easier to fathom when you are reliant on God by necessity, and this life doesn’t seem so remote from the one to come in Heaven. There is nothing like being totally dependent on God. There are teachings in the church that mockingly call this attitude toward physical poverty a “poverty mentality.” As if poor folks who experience reliance on God’s physical kindnesses and provisions are weak believers or martyrs. They are mistaken. I also notice that prosperity teachers are themselves independently rich with no need to rely on God or everyday people. They don’t need a Savior. Jesus’ point comes home when he states that evangelists should be at the mercy of everyday people. We are to rely on the support of others, not ourselves. Relying on people for the bare necessities can be harder than relying on God, but it is an act of faith that grows us up.

Q. Who is Jesus?
A. Luke 9:20 =
1) Messiah sent from God.
2) = Destined to suffer many terrible things.

Q. What terrible things?
A. Luke 9:22 =
1) Rejection from religious leaders
2) Murder.

Q. Then what?
A. Luke 9:22 =To be raised from the dead.

Q. What does it mean to follow Jesus?
A. Luke 9:23–26 =
1) I put aside my selfish ambitions
2) Shoulder my cross daily
3) Follow Jesus

Q. What does it mean to put aside my selfish ambitions? A. Luke 9:24 = To choose to lose my life for Jesus.

Q. What will happen if I do that?
A. Luke 5:24 = I will find true life.

Q. What’s wrong with a life lived for myself?

A. Luke 9:25–26 = I may gain riches, but that requires losing or forteiting my soul in the process.
👉Process! One doesn’t see his soul at risk when living in the flesh. The soul is the mind, will and emotions. It feels good to be successful, a temporary sense of well–being happens and is a cheap substitute for God’s peace. Visible consequences are:
1) self–sufficiency
2) smugness
3) superficial autonomy (i.e., feeling of power)
4) judging others who have less than me
5) Oppressing people
6) deafness to heaven
7) twisting of Scriptures to justify bad attitudes toward others
8) Neglect of the poor
9) thinking people who corect me are just jealous of my wealth
10) thinking I don’t fall under obedience to God as much as others do
1) pride
12) arrogance
13) isolation
14) feelings of superiority over my brothers
15) unwillingness to befriend poor brothers
16) wrong placement inministry in church as I am deemed mature automatically by my generosity
17) holier than thou attitude
18) thinking prosperity equals approval by God
19) delayed reaping of bad sowing
20) my life ending in poverty
21) shame of the gospel of Christ
22) forgetting who granted me those riches
👉Jesus gives riches without the soul suffering. If you find yourself uable to look at God’s whole Word and keep your eyes up, those riches are actually a pursuit of the flesh. Stop workng for them! Your life is more important than riches!

Q. When did the Kingdom of God come?
A. Luke 9:27 = Within the apostles’ lifetime at Pentecost.

Q. What happens when we blurt out words quietly?
A. Luke 9:33 = We say stupid, careless things.

Q. Why didn’t the disciples understand the significance of Jesus’ betrayal?
A. Luke 9:45 = It was purposefully hidden from them.

Q. How?
A. Luke 9:45 =
1) They couldn’t understand it
2) They were afraid to ask Jesus about it
👉Do you see different sects of the church with differing missions?
The significance of one is hidden from the others and visa–versa. I have seen this in my own experience. I was once a right–wing Baptist with no understanding and plenty of fear toward my Charasmatic brethren. One day,
God threw me into the Charasmatic camp. “Why hadn’t I seen this before?” I had gasped in amazement. Let God hide facets of His Kingdom as He will. His sovereign plan sometimes requires it.

Q. Is there rank in Heaven?
A. Luke 9:46–48 = No. All are equal—as we should be with everyone.

Q. Who is everyone?
A. Luke 9:46–48 = From the smallest child to the oldest beggar, to receive all of them, I receive Jesus. To reject one of them is to reject Jesus.

Q. Does the church have different kinds of believers as a rule?
A. Luke 9:49–50 = Yes.

Q. Do believers uderstand the differences in people?
A. Luke 9:49–50 = Not always!

Q. How can I discern whether a denomination of proclaiming believers is truly God’s own?
A. Luke 9:49–50 = If they are not against me, pitting themselves against me, we are on the same side.
👉This is a warning! God’s church is at peace within itself. Jesus wants us to let each person be free to accomplish his part of the Kingdom work.

Q. Did Jesus fear his coming death?
A. Luke 9:51 = No. When the time was ripe, He was also resolute about His mission, which was to die and conquer death. Not that His flesh didn’t fight it!

Q. What helped Jesus to focus?
A. Luke 9:51 = Hope. He knew He was returning to Heaven.
👉Wouldn’t it be nice to KNOW Heaven? We live by faith, hope and love. We have faith in what Jesus knew (Heaven). At the very worst, we die and the beginning of real life begins and never ends.

✍️🥬Mrs. Kalaiselvi Balakrishnan in Jesus Christ 🥬✍️