Review of Week 4

The Sermon on the Mount should narrow our interest to a focal point - His kingdom and righteousness

Abiding in the presence of God transforms us, changing our very being. We will not, we can not, stay the same.

The overmastering direction of our lives changes from our end, our aim, our purpose, to His. We become devoted not to a cause, but to Christ Himself.

A good heritage doesn’t insure a vibrant walk. There must be elbow room for God. We must make room for Him to do as He pleases!

He cares for us, a people of little faith. He provides for us. He instructs us to not be anxious, but rather to seek first His kingdom and righteousness

The cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust for things beats against our lives like a mighty tide, pulling us toward a despairing abyss. The truth of God stands as a unyielding protective barrier. The Holy Spirit guides us to safety.

We talk about meeting God, but usually we have just met one of His truths. To meet God is to fall down - and to be picked up.

Jan 29 IGNORANCE

Acts 26:15 “...And I said, 'Who are You, Lord?' And the Lord said, 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting...”

Isaiah 8:11 “...For thus the Lord spoke to me with mighty power and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying,...”

Who do you think is more apt to miss the Lord speaking?

A religious person. [Saul was deeply religious and God spoke to Him clearly]

A non-religious person.

Explain how God first spoke to you (when you were non-religious).

How does God speak to you now? [forcefully? quietly? clearly? mysteriously?]

How can confidence in our own convictions become a problem? [an otherwise good thing can’t take the place of God]

What reveals our ignorance? [the voice, purpose, and presence of God] Share a time when you experienced the shock of your own ignorance as His truth flooded into your life?

O.C. again refers to persecuting Jesus. How? [by serving Him in our own ways]

Describe the difference between a right and wrong spirit. [meek and quiet vs. self satisfying]

Do you delight to do His will?

Jan 30 - LISTEN

1 Sam. 3:9 “...And Eli said to Samuel, "Go lie down, and it shall be if He calls you, that you shall say, 'Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place...”

1 Sam.3:15 “... So Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. But Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli....”

God speaks to Samuel, the student of Eli. He reveals the truth and Samuel now carries something that no one else has. A revelation from God is like that.

What do you think about O.C.’s two nevers:

God never speaks to us in startling ways, but in ways easy to misunderstand. [I don’t think Saul could misunderstand what Jesus was saying]

Never ask the advice of another about anything God makes you decide before Him. [If there’s no question that God is speaking, there is no need for other advice]

Never is a word for God, not for man!

“...I will never leave you nor forsake you...” (Heb.13:5)

“...He who comes to me shall never hunger ...never thirst...” (Jn.6:35)

“...Whoever lives and believes in me shall never die...” (Jn.11:26)

“...Love never fails...” (1 Cor.13:8)

Man’s feeble attempts at never:

I’ll never let you down God!

I’ll never ____ again!

Does God interact (put His hand) upon this world

Why is it easy to misunderstand what He’s saying? [we’re impulsive and want to act before clarifying]

Every time circumstances press in, say “Speak Lord”. Is this good advice?

When God speaks, what type of trouble does it cause?

What do I do? [tell everyone, hide it in my heart, act, wait]

Did I hear correctly? [do I need more information?]

How will this message affect others? [do I even need to evaluate this?]

How do we avoid the confusion created by these questions?

Luke 11:13 “...If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?..."

1 Thes. 5:23 “...Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ...”

Jan 31 - REDEMPTION

Rom.1:1 “...Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,...”

What is redemption? When we redeem coupons - we essentially trade them for something of value. It’s the manufacturers guarantee of something. We exchange what we have, a pretty flimsy excuse for value, for something that really does have value

A person would be foolish to collect coupons and never redeem them.

Jesus Christ died for the redemption of mankind. We don’t have life unless we have been redeemed. What we have pre-Christ is a flimsy excuse for value. When we give it up, we trade it in for real life, real value.

A person would be foolish to hold on to any part of His life, failing to allow redemption.

Is redemption the only reality? [actually no. the creative intentions of God are the reality in which redemption allows us to live]

Human goodness is the result of redemption, not vice versa

Try to be good without redemption and you’ll find an unbelievable struggle

Redemption is not something God does for you in isolation. Its something He does to you as a part of the bigger plan of redemption of the world. Separated from the flimsy value to the greater purpose of the Gospel

Why should the gospel be central to our lives? [the world needs redemption and it’s God’s intention]

Why do people place the desire for their own holiness above their desire to know God and to carry out His intentions? [selfishness]

Would you rather escape this world or share in ministering to it?

Feb 1 - GOAL

1 Cor.1:17 “...For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void...”

What is the gospel? [The good news that Jesus paid the penalty for your sin and mine, was crucified, dead and buried, and rose again. The means of redemption of mankind has been accomplished]

What is salvation? [deliverance from a captivity that would otherwise lead to death]

What is sanctification? [the process of becoming completely set apart for God]

If we’re completely set apart for God, what do we do? [the work of the kingdom - which is redemption]

How can salvation and sanctification be selfish as focal points of preaching? [what God did for me. what God does for me. O.C. says we tax his energies from morning until night for things for ourselves.]

Redemption is bigger than self - it encompasses so much more, and in fact it moves us from self.

The passion of Paul’s life was to proclaim this gospel. He wanted the whole world to know and embrace Christ’s redemptive accomplishment.

The GOOD NEW OF THE GOSPEL is that the worst sinner, the person who seems to fleshly eyes to be the most despicable has a way of redemption completed in Christ.

What was/is God’s ultimate intention for the 1st and 2nd coming of Christ?

Feb 2 - CALL

1 Cor 9:16 “...For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel...”

Is salvation easy? [We can thank God for it]

Ro 6:17 “...But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed,..”

Ro 7:25 “...Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin...”

1Co 15:57 “...but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ...”

2Co 2:14 “...But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place...”

2Co 9:15 “...Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!...”

Is discipleship easy? [We have great responsibilities]

How are the conditions for salvation and discipleship the same? [both require looking to Him]. Different? [Jesus justifies and frees us from many captivities, but we must live out discipleship].

What does it mean to be “separated to the gospel”? [moved from personal desires and ambitions to God’s intentions and expectations].

Is everyone called to be a preacher?

When a well trained, experienced lifeguard rescues a drowning swimmer, what is the responsibility of the swimmer?

Are we in danger of having too many lifeguards? Too many well trained and experienced disciples? Too many people answering the Call of God?

What are the competing calls in your life? [flesh, fantasy, and fabrication - lusts of man coupled with satan’s lies].

Feb 3 - DREGS

1 Cor.4:13 “...when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now...”

Paul, talking about himself and Apollos, wanting the Corinthians to learn how to live according to scripture (4:6).

What are dregs (offscouring in KJV)? If you scour something, what happens to what you ‘scour off’? What is done with dregs? [thrown away, discarded]

How was Jesus Christ treated by this world? [crucified, discarded]

How were the disciples treated by this world? [martyred, discarded]

How was Paul treated by the world? [abused, discarded]

Did Jesus Christ, the disciples, and Paul accomplish anything for the kingdom?

Does it matter how the world treats us? Are we too cautious and concerned about our own desires and reputations?

Can we make the world like us? At what cost? [a preference for comfort and a distaste for scum prevent us from truly being “separated for the gospel”]

What is the advantage of not turning away or closing our hearts in the face of contempt, immorality, disloyalty, and dishonesty? [Redemption reaches into places that would otherwise be unreachable. The lifeguard doesn’t insist on certain weather conditions before plunging in to rescue someone. REDEMPTION IS FOR ALL

What are we accomplishing for the kingdom?

Feb 4 - GRIPPED

2 Cor.5:14 “...14 For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died;...”

KJV constraineth, NIV compels, and NASB controls, all signify a constraint, a tight grip that prevents escape.

The love of Christ leaves no choice except to live our lives for Him

2 Cor. 5:15 “...and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf...”

Justification occurs when we accept His finished work. We can testify to this event.

Discipleship is a surrendering to His leading. It leads to testimonies of His unfolding work.

Do we consider ourselves to be held in the grip of the love of God? [we are, even if we don’t sense it]

What is the difference between being a witness to what Jesus can do, and being a witness unto Him? [the difference between SHOW and TELL]

I can TELL you all day about my friend Jesus and what he can do.

I SHOW you His existence in my life, how I’m gripped by Him and His love.

A craftsman grips a tool to finish the project on which he is working.

Is God working on a project? Does He have a grip on lives that He is using to accomplish His intentions? Does He have a grip on us?