The 911 Handbook Study Guide Answers
Lesson 1/Chapter 1
When You Need God to Provide: Does God Consider the Odds?
Answers are written in italics
Some people view God's provision for them like a bookie takes bets on horses. The odds of some horses winning are better than others. For example, if the solution to the problem is easy, the odds of God's provision appear to be good. However, if the solution is difficult, the odds of God's provision appear unlikely. This is a wrong view of how God provides for his people.
Using the example of the fish with the coin in its mouth, discuss from God's perspective how he performed the miracle.
God appointed someone to throw or lose a coin (the exact amount Peter needed) in the sea. Then God appointed a fish to catch it, but not swallow it. When Peter arrived on the appointed location on the sea and threw in his hook, God kept all the other fish away while causing the appointed fish to swim to the hook and bite on it.
According to Jeremiah 32:17, 27, what problem is too difficult for God?
No problem is too difficult for God to solve.
Fact #1: God knows our needs before we ask.
After reading Matthew 17:24-27, make a list of the things Jesus knew before they happened.
Jesus knew:
Peter's tax problem before he entered the house.
That the first fish, not the second, would have a coin in its mouth.
The coin would be in its mouth, not stomach.
The coin would be a stater, the exact amount needed to pay the tax for Peter and Jesus.
Read Psalm 139:1-4. What are seven things mentioned in this passage that God knows about you?
When I sit down
When I rise up
My thoughts
My path
My lying down
All my ways
Before I speak a word
Do you think God is fully aware of your present situation?
God knows everything about my present situation.
If God knows our needs before we ask (Matt. 6:8), why should we pray?
Because Jesus commanded us to pray. Prayer invites God to become involved in our situation. The purpose of prayer is not to inform God of our needs, but to show how desperately we want him involved in our lives.
Fact #2: God controls events that we can't control.
Discuss the reasons why Jesus told Peter to use a hook rather than a net.
To show God doesn't need our help in providing for us.
To eliminate all the fish without coins in their mouths.
To demonstrate that God is in control when we aren't.
The fish with the coin in its mouth bit on Peter's hook. How does this demonstrate that God controls circumstances that are beyond our control?
Jesus announced to Peter beforehand what would happen. All Peter could do was helplessly hold the fishing pole and trust what Jesus had said. The situation was out of Peter's control, but not out of God's.
How does this apply to the problems we face every day?
We face many situations that are beyond our control. We can pray and ask God to take control of situations so they will turn out for his glory.
Fact #3: God's timing is perfect.
A "divine appointment" occurs when God causes two paths to cross at an appointed time. Discuss what can be learned from the following divine appointments:
Jonah was caught by the whale (Jonah 1:15-17).
What would have happened if the whale was late for the appointment?
Jonah would have drowned and Nineveh would not have repented.
What was God's purpose for the whale?
The whale not only saved his life, but transported him back to Israel as the world's first submarine.
The ram was caught in the thicket (Gen. 22:10-14).
Do you think Abraham was expecting God to provide a ram (see Heb. 11:17-19)?
Abraham wasn't expecting God to provide a ram. He expected God to raise Isaac from the dead.
What is the connection between obedience and provision?
God provides for those who obey him.
What does this teach us about God's provision at the last moment?
Because God is monitoring our faith during our difficulties, he will often delay the provision until the last moment to see how we will respond.
Fact #4: God supplies needs to those who obey him.
God didn't cause the fish to jump into the boat. Jesus told Peter to "throw in a hook." Sometimes we must throw out some lines in order to see God's provision. What are some modern day examples of "throwing out lines"?
Praying, sending out resumes, knocking on doors of opportunity, applying for jobs, making needs known.
Have you ever thrown out a line? Discuss.
Job interviews, relocating.
What are some modern day examples of "fishing in the Dead Sea"? Have you ever done this? Discuss.
Trying to provide for ourselves, dating non-Christians, doing something immoral or illegal. Trusting resources such as our jobs or people instead of God.
If Peter had thrown out of net instead of a hook, what would have been some possible consequences of his disobedience?
God may not have provided, or Peter would have had to search through several hundred fish to find the right one. This would not only have been frustrating, but would have also wasted a lot of time and energy.
In this example of the fish with the coin in its mouth, what have you learned about God's provision?
It is not difficult for God to provide for us, but we must be willing to obey him and patiently "hold the fishing pole." We must be willing to trust God alone to meet our needs.
In what ways can you exercise this new faith in God to provide?
We can exercise our faith by not panicking, but by resting in him and living according to his Word. We can be obedient to the things God wants us to do.