Review of Week 12

HOLINESS: If God has His way with us, other people begin to see God in our lives.

FAITH: Walking by Christian faith requires knowing Christ, living as Christ lived, and following Christ.

INTIMACY: Our intimacy with God is directly related to our delight in Him. Can He confide in us?

IDENTIFIED: Identification with Christ’s crucifixion is not the same as imitation or effort to follow.

BURNING: A part of us comes alive in the presence of Jesus - spirit life.

CARNAL: Spirit led - good. Flesh led - bad. Walk in the Spirit and produce good fruit.

POSITION: Our position should allow for Christ to be increasing.

Mar 25 - CHRIST

John 3:29 “...He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. So this joy of mine has been made full...”

Context: People are flocking to Jesus, and John the Baptist’s disciples are concerned.

What does John recognize about the situation? [his position]

v28 - I am not the Christ.

v30 - He must increase.

v31 - He is above all.

v34 - He speaks the words of God - gives the Spirit without measure.

What is the difference between presenting what Christ has done for you, and presenting Christ? [focal point]

Are goodness and purity desirable attributes? Is holiness a good thing?

Is goodness, purity, and holiness exalted on TV? Are the “good guys” pure and holy?

Do we need more people pursuing goodness, purity and holiness?

- O.C. says it leads souls into side eddies.

- Pharisees say look at me, I’m good and pure and Holy!

- Are there any Pharisees left in the world?

What (who) should we pursue?

- We need to pursue the only one who is good and pure and holy.

- All of life should point to Christ who is the author of life.

- The bride needs to focus on the coming bridegroom

What do you think of O.C. saying “only occasionally is it a matter of obedience”? [same principle as straining to fulfill a “CALL” rather than having a good enough relationship that you easily hear and readily answer]

BUT! Don’t minimize obedience.

John 3:36 “...He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

Mar 26 - PURITY

Matt.5:8 “...Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God...”

Context: The BE-attitudes. Often considered to be the New Testament counterparts of the Old Testament 10 commandments. Part of the Sermon on the Mount.

Have you ever seen God? Can anyone ever see God?

Psalms 24:3-4 “...Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully...”

What is purity?

- unblemished, untainted, uncontaminated.

- free from foreign mixture, foulness, dirt, guilt, defilement.

- hagnos - from the same root as hagios (holy) - clean, modest, pure, undefiled, morally faultless, and without blemish

How is purity achieved?

1 John 1:9 “...If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness...”

James 4:8-10 ”...Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you...”

1 John 3:1-3 “...See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure...”

Acts 15:9 ”...and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith...”

God’s part? Our part?

What causes purity levels to decrease? [conforming to a fallen world]

How did David pray following his flesh driven loss of purity?

Psalms 51:10-17 “...Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit. ... Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation; .... The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise...”

Does purity change the way you see things? Can you look at the same thing and see something different when pure, as compared to impure?

Mar 27 - ELEVATION

Rev. 4:1 ”...After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things..."

Context: Like Abraham before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the Apostle John was being shown what God was going to do.

Is a promotion a good thing? How does one get promoted? [By doing your job well. Mastering what you’ve been given]

How does one obtain a higher state of mind and spiritual vision?

God’s Part? [invitation. John wasn’t going to see heaven unless God invited Him]

Our Part? [accepting. Always embracing the truth we’ve been shown]

What is the devil’s counterfeit for elevation? [self-righteousness, self promotion, High Places, mental and emotional gymnastics]

What’s the difference between being elevated by God and being elevated by the devil?

Answering the invitation of God leads to more focus on Him and His purposes.

Answering the invitation of the devil leads to more focus on self and self purposes.

Have we heard God say “come up here” or are we just trying to manufacture spiritual growth?

Do you think God is hiding anything from you?

Mar 28 - HONOR

John 11:7-8 ”...Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again." The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and are You going there again?"...”

Context: Lazarus was sick. Word was sent to Jesus. He waits 2 days, then tells His disciples they’re going to Judea. The disciples were concerned for Jesus welfare, and questioned his decision.

What’s wrong with asking “Do you really want to go there?”

Is it appropriate to question Jesus? Does He need our input? Does He need our protection? Does He mind talking about it? [Abraham, John]

Are we loyal to our notions of Jesus Christ, or to Jesus Christ himself?

- loyalty to notion - I clear it with my understanding.

- loyalty to Christ - I step where I do not see.

Do we dishonor Him when we’re overly concerned about how people will react to Him? [perverted gospel vs. full gospel]

When is it wrong to weigh the pros and cons of a situation? [when God has spoken]

Mar 29 - SURPRISE

Luke 12:40 ”...You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect..."

Context: Jesus teaching on being ready for His coming

v36 - ready to open the door.

v37 - slaves on alert.

v42-48 - explanation of stewardship responsibilities (not ownership).

v47 - need to get ready and act in accord with His will.

Will there be an surprised people at the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ?

Are there any surprise visits from heaven prior to the end of the Age?

How can we be ready to face Jesus at any time?

- must live in spiritual reality.

- must stop being overly religious.

What interferes with our readiness?

- sin, difficulties, circumstances.

- religious service?

Religion is man’s attempt to reach God.

Christianity is God’s way of reaching man.

Religion has never appreciated those who trust Jesus more than they trust the current religious system.

Hebrews 12:1-2 ”...Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God...”

Who do you think was the least ready for Jesus at His first coming? Why were the Pharisees not ready? [Their religion had taken the place of spiritual reality]

Who do you think will be the least ready for Jesus at His second coming?

Can we be extremely religious and not ready?

What do you think can keep us from being ready?

Can we work against the living Christ when He appears among and in our culture?

Be ready. Don’t be surprised.

Mar 30 - INTERCESSION

Isaiah 59:16 ”...And He saw that there was no man, And was astonished that there was no one to intercede; Then His own arm brought salvation to Him, And His righteousness upheld Him...”

On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your prayer life? How would God rate it?

How important is prayer in your life? What does the prayer look like?

What does it mean to have “only an emotional interest in prayer”?

- people want what people want.

- people are emotionally tied to their interests, and those of people they care about.

Why is worship a critical part of prayer?

- we must acknowledge who God is.

- we are His and He is the one with all the holiness, worth, and understanding.

How does worship change the flavor of intercession?

- not a demand that God do what we want.

- getting the mind of Christ regarding the concern.

Worship increases the intimacy. Increased intimacy leads to better understanding. Better understanding leads to appropriate profession and participation.

Have you ever spoken for someone else and misrepresented them? Is it possible to develop a whole mindset about a person, and carry it with you, and be wrong? How can this be avoided? Before answering for a person - ask them what their answer is!

How does this play out in the kingdom of God? I’m one of God’s representatives. A situation comes up where someone asks what God is going to do about it. Will I represent Him well?

What is the alternative to getting a hold of the mind of Christ? [Religious dogma]

Mar. 31 - DISCERNMENT

1 John 5:16 ”...If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this...”

Context: Chapter 5 talks about keeping His commandments and overcoming the world. He who has the Son has life. Ask according to His will - He hears - we have the requests.

What do we do when we’re aware of another’s sin?

- Ridicule and criticism?

- Intercession and intervention?

Don’t we have a hard enough time dealing with our own sin?

Why would God allow us the awareness of other’s sin?

- Not so we can take the judgment seat.

- Not even so we can avoid those sins ourselves - though sometimes it helps.

- He wants someone to intercede!

James 5:19-20 “...My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins...”

We’re in this together and He wants us to share life!

1 Peter 4:8 ”...Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins...”

How can we effectively intercede? [By first worshiping - to get the mind of Christ]

It’s a high calling!

Are we answering the call?