Review of Week 25

JUDGE NOT: God doesn’t say do nothing. He says get fixed, then come alongside one another

LOOK TO JESUS: Let your actual circumstances be what they may, but keep recognizing Jesus, maintaining complete reliance on Him

TEND: If we love Christ and are passionately devoted to Him, we will get beyond self and tend to God’s business, no matter how we’re treated.

OTHERS: The one small step for man, the one giant step for mankind, isn’t a step on the moon. It’s the step from self-centered to others-centered.

PROCLAIM: If we have been called out of darkness into His marvelous light, we will be proclaiming His excellencies!

MERCY: Fellow humans need the same thing you need, mercy and grace. We get what we give!

SIN: Don’t be casual about sin! Jesus faced it. We must readily repent and allow the cleansing to occur. This is the purpose of God in our lives for which Jesus came.

June 24 - HUMAN NATURE

Luke 22:53 “...While I was with you daily in the temple, you did not lay hands on Me; but this hour and the power of darkness are yours..."

Context: Jesus speaking to the chief priests, captains of the temple, and elders as they arrested him in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Does darkness have any power? In the face of the Incarnate God, did sin have its way? [Yes. Rom.6:23 the wages of sin is death.]

Does darkness have any power now? Are families destroyed? Are relationships damaged? [Sin brings death wherever it manifests.]

If we don’t call it sin, do we strip it of its power? If we decide to call evil good, does it become less destructive?

Do you trust human nature?

Are you now cynical about human nature?

O.C. says Jesus never trusted human nature, yet he was never cynical.

1 John 1:8-9 “...If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness...”

We can’t minimize the reality of sinful human nature. We can’t minimize the redemptive power of repentance and forgiveness.

June 25 - SORROW

John 12:27,28 "...Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour. "Father, glorify Your name." Then a voice came out of heaven: "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again..."

Context: Jesus predicting his soon coming crucifixion.

What causes sorrow?

- more than just facing difficulties.

- includes an emotional response to circumstances.

Can sorrow be avoided?

- not in this time/space dimension.

- but the New Heaven and New Earth will be different. Revelation 21:4 ”...and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away..."

Why did Jesus avoid praying “save me from this hour”? [it was necessary to go through it to fulfill God’s Will]

What do we become when we refuse to embrace sorrow?

- hard and unapproachable.

- less available for God to use.

How can sorrow be better at shaping character than success or uninterrupted routine?

- success can lead to pride.

- uninterrupted routine can lead to unexamined monotony.

- sorrow can burn up shallowness and reveal the true self relative to God.

Who do you find more sensitive, one who has tasted sorrow, or one who has tasted success? Who has more compassion? More grace?

- 2 Cor. 1:3-4 “...Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God...”

- 1 Peter 5:9 “...But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world...”

What is the difference between appropriate and inappropriate sorrow?

2 Corinthians 7:10 ”...For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death...”

June 26 - GRACE

2 Cor. 6:1 ”...And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain...”

What is God’s grace?

- The unmerited favor of God.

- Mercy is not getting what we deserve. Grace is getting what we don’t deserve.

John 1:16-17 “...For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ...”

Rom.5:17 "...For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ..."

Is God's grace sufficient?

2 Cor. 12:9 "...And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me..."

Eph. 4:7 "...But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift..."

Is grace something that a person can possess?

- grace is more verb than noun, more action than item.

- like faith, hope, and love, grace should be increasingly evident in the life of every believer.

James 4:6 "...But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble..."

2 Peter 3:17,18 "...You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen..."

How does a person find grace at work in their life? [if we recognize God always at work, grace is obvious]

When is grace needed? [Always! We must be aware of Almighty God at all times, and in all situations]

What does it mean to 'receive the grace of God in vain'?

Are we trying to live in our own sufficiency, when only the grace is sufficient?

Is it sufficient in tribulation, in needs, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonment, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings?

When is it not sufficient? [only if it is received in vain.

June 27 - DEVOTION

Jer.1:8 “...Do not be afraid of them, For I am with you to deliver you," declares the Lord...”

Context: Jeremiah was a prophet of God, a prophet of doom. He carried a word from God that was contrary to the hope of the people. It’s not uncommon for God’s people to want to hear something different than the message God is sending. God’s people were going to be taken captive by a godless nation.

Did the people like what Jeremiah was saying?

Did Jeremiah need the Word from the Lord “...Do not be afraid of them, For I am with you to deliver you...”?

- 20:2 was struck and put in stocks

- 37:15 was struck and put in prison

- 38:6 was let down with ropes into a dungeon without water. he sank in the mire

When God calls us, when God guides us, when God uses us, we must not be half hearted.

How do possessions distract us from devotion? Are we holding too tightly?

How does personal preference distract us from devotion? Are we holding too tightly?

How do injustices in this world distract us from devotion? Are we too annoyed?

Can we trust God to protect what needs protecting?

What must be given up to truly be devoted to God?

- Devotion to self.

- If we look to protect our things and ourselves, we end up indulging in self-pity.

- If I can’t afford to lose it, I can’t afford to have it.

Devotion to God absolutely requires denying self.

But denying self doesn’t necessarily equate to devotion to God.

June 28 - THAT

Phil.3:12 “...Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus...”

What makes for a good employee? A good soldier? A good Christian?

In a world of self-centeredness, they’re all hard to find.

A good employee embraces the goals, plans, and intentions of the employer. It isn’t about what is best for the employee. They were hired for the purposes of the employer. They should seek out and lay hold of that for which they were hired

A good soldier embraces the goals, plans and intentions of the military branch in which he serves. It isn’t about what is best for the soldier.

A good Christian embraces the goals, plans, and intentions of God. It isn’t about what is best for them. They must lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus laid hold of them.

What are your goals? What are God’s? Do they differ? Which do you press on for?

How can a person work hard but not please God? [flesh, not Spirit led].

Will someone who is pleasing God work hard? [much to do, few laborers].

Is the call to share the truth of the gospel for preachers only?

How does the truth get watered down?

Have we laid hold of THAT for which we were laid hold of by Christ?

June 29 - VIOLENCE

Matt.5:30 ”...If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell...”

Context: Jesus was clarifying issues that were being taught improperly. In this verse, he revealed the importance of avoiding sin at all costs.

Is this teaching found in modern Christianity? Does this seem severe?

Do we overestimate the severity of the solution to the same degree that we underestimate the severity of the problem?

- The problem isn’t that Jesus was too severe in his solution.

- The problem is that we fail to understand the severity of the problem.

- We don’t understand the extreme danger of SIN. This isn’t surprising in a culture that repeatedly and persistently promotes SIN as GOOD and NORMAL

Why does the life promoted by Jesus require violence against self? [Self is the greatest threat to a Spirit led life]

Religion deals with what we do. Christ deals with who we are.

We try to change what we do without changing who we are.

This scripture suggests that we change who we are and what we do will automatically be changed as a result.

Will following Christ result in your appearing maimed to the world? Is that a problem to you? What is the ultimate goal of this radical lifestyle?

Matthew 5:48 “...Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect...”

Does that sound maimed to you?

June 30 - RIGHTS

Matt.5:25 ”...Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison...”

A major emphasis of Jesus’ teaching is how to build and maintain relationships with God and man. Relationship is the essence of life.

Prov.16:7 ”...When a man's ways are pleasing to the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him...”

Mat.5:21,22 Jesus equates anger with murder.

Mat.5:24,25 Instant reconciliation is to be practiced.

Luke 12:57,58 Conflicts cause great damage to relationships when left unresolved,

Mat.6:14,15 God forgives us just as we forgive others.

The words opponent or adversary imply a problem exists! What is the natural response when a problem exists in a relationship? [Give me my rights - see things my way!]

What is Jesus’ concern? [Give others their rights - see things their way.]

Does it matter if you’re more ‘right’ than they are ‘right’? Why is ‘quickly’ important?

What’s more important, that you are not defrauded, or that you don’t defraud?

1 Cor.6:7 ”...Actually, then, it is already a defeat for you, that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded?...”

Can we trust God for justice, or not?

Micah 6:8 “...He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?...”

Do we act justly and give mercy? Or do we seek mercy but mete out judgment?

How does giving up our ‘rights’ fulfill God’s unalterable truth?