Review of Week 28

WILL: Our conscience and our will are our friends. It’s our desires that need transforming.

SERVE: It is absolutely critical that we allow God to do something in and through us.

WORK: What’s your reaction when faced with the challenges of life? Retreat and retire or Face and Embrace? We need to encourage each other toward love and good deeds.

KNOW HIM: If Christ isn’t in our public life, it’s likely that we don’t know Him, but rather know a little about Him.

BODY: “...the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body...”

BEYOND WOE: Falling walls. See Him. Woe is me. Cleansing. Usable

RIGHTS: It is the nature of eros to preserve rights. It is the nature of agape to lay down rights.

July 15 - OBLIGATED

Rom.1:14 ”...I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish...”

What does it mean to owe someone?

What’s the relationship between freedom and debt?

- increasing debt leads to decreasing freedom.

- Prov. 22:7 “...the borrower becomes the lender's slave...”

What is the responsible thing to do when in debt? [focus on repayment]

Are we debtors spiritually? Have we paid our way? Can we pay our way?

What do we owe to Jesus Christ? [our very life]

Can we repay the debt? What is the responsible thing to do?

John 14:15 “...If you love Me, you will keep My commandments...”

John 14:12 “...Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father...”

For whom did Jesus live and die? For whom should we live and die?

Paul felt indebted to Christ for every soul, and felt he had a responsibility to live his life for others. Was he being extreme? Was he being responsible?

Did he grasp a truth that we haven’t got a good handle on yet?

Are we our brother’s keeper? Who is our neighbor?

July 16 - CONTROL

Matt 7:11 ”...If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!...”

Is God in control of everything?

Does God know how to give GOOD things to those who ask?

What difference should these notions make when facing circumstances?

- God is all powerful and all loving. If He loves me, why worry?

When does God seem to be an unkind friend?

- When He doesn’t meet our preferences.

Is He unkind?

What keeps us from being perfect givers of good things?

- Don’t have control over all things.

- Don’t have endless resources.

- Don’t always know what’s best.

- Are very needy ourselves.

Does God have any of these problems?

Can we trust Him? Do we trust Him?

Can you think of something that God has forgotten?

Will there ever be darkness in our lives? Has God lost control? [we can trust Him]

Will there ever be unjust things in our lives? Has God lost control? [we can trust Him]

It really is a simple IF/THEN statement. IF God has control of all, THEN nothing can function outside His control.

Why do we worry?

- We don’t understand He controls all.

- We want to control all, and aren’t willing to give up the reins.

- When people want what people want, they never can be free

We need to get the control issue resolved. We need better relationships with God. We need to ask.

July 17 - POWER OF GOD

1 Cor. 2:4 “...and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,...”

Was Paul incapable of using persuasive words? Was he uneducated?

- God has used some very uneducated people to effectively preach the good news. Paul wasn’t one of them.

- Paul could have succeeded in building a mega church.

- Paul could have been a successful television evangelist.

Do you like to listen to persuasive words?

Why was Paul against persuasive words? What is the danger of persuasive words?

- human wisdom can be impressive, but it falls far short of God’s truth.

- 1 Cor. 2:5 “...so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God...”

What are the alternatives to persuasive words of wisdom?

- non-persuasive words (of absolutely no value).

- truth demonstrated by the Spirit with the power of God (of great value).

Preachers and teachers can do so much good.

Preachers and teachers can do a great deal of harm.

- it doesn’t take much to distort or even destroy the truth.

- the less you see a preacher or teacher, the better they’re working.

July 18 - MIRACULOUS

Acts 9:5 “...And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" And He said, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting,...”

Context:

- The response of an intensely religious, extremely strong willed man, when spoken to by Jesus Christ: “Who are you Lord”

- Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee, dedicated to making sure things were done properly, was blinded by the truth, and forever changed.

Did Jesus use persuasive words of human wisdom to convert Saul or did he use demonstration of the Spirit and of power?

Why do we gravitate to persuasive words of human wisdom?

- They’re what we know. They’re what we own.

- They’re what we can control, and we like to be in control.

Why is it “not necessarily sinful to disobey”? [Without the mystery and miracle, without getting through to the higher authority, the Holy God, all the obedience / disobedience questions are merely man judging man by man’s human wisdom]

- Obedience is not necessarily obedience

- Disobedience is not necessarily disobedience.

How can we have out-of-focus focus?

- So intent on what we think we see that we can’t see what God wants us to see.

- We’re on a mission, like Saul of Tarsus.

In Num.22:28-31 Balaam had out-of-focus focus. He didn’t even seem surprised at the donkey talking. Then the Lord opened his eyes

What do we need for our out-of-focus focus problem?

- To be blinded by truth.

- To have the miracle working God apprehend us and send us on His mission.

We need to be knocked off our high horse, as Saul was, while we’re on what we mistakenly think is His great mission.

Lord speak - empower us to obey

July 19 - OBEDIENCE

John 13:13 ”...You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am...”

Do you call Jesus teacher and Lord?

Do you know the context in which Jesus said these words to His disciples? He had just washed the disciples feet, then sat down and asked/said to them:

v12 “...Do you know what I have done to you?...”

v15 “...I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you...”

v.17 “...If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them...”

When we use the phrase ‘Lord it over’ what do we mean?

Taskmasters, tyrants, and despots insist on obedience.

Is Jesus this kind of Lord?

How much freedom do you have to submit to or reject His Lordship?

Can we spit in His face? Did people literally do that to Him?

Have we ever done it?

Accepting His Lordship doesn’t lead to ‘lording over’, it leads to willing service.

How is the level of our obedience a reflection of our growth as Christians?

That which is unworthy refuses to bow down. To know Him little is to serve Him little.

That which is worthy recognizes His Lordship and willingly bows down. To know Him well is to serve Him well.

July 20 - WAIT

Is. 40:31 ”...Yet those who wait for the Lord Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary...”

Mount Up (soaring)

- Rising above. Perhaps as in ‘rising above our problems.’

- How does an eagle rise up?

- Some effort to rise, but soaring is making good use of the updrafts.

- Would it get the same result trying to soar when the updraft isn’t there, or when there’s a down draft?

- Is it worth waiting for the right conditions?

- Do people ever try to soar when the conditions aren’t right?

- What’s the inappropriate way to soar? [I want to soar. I know I need the wind of the Spirit. I can make it happen]

- What’s the appropriate way? [Wait upon the Lord]

Run (not tired)

- How can this happen? [Training. Supernaturally]

- When an athlete comes to a track meet, is it the first time he’s run? Why does training require discipline?

- Does this athlete take off running every time he hears a gun go off? [No, he waits for his race. If he took off at every gun, would he be tired running his race?]

- Have we grown tired running the race? Are we patient enough to wait? Do we know when we’re supposed to run? Have we had any false starts?

Walk (not weary)

- How glamorous is walking?

- In our lifetime, will we do more soaring, running, or walking?

- Do people ask how’s your soar? How’s your run? How’s your walk?

- Our walk with the Lord is the expression of our character.

- Can we carry on the everyday reality of our life without fainting?

- How does waiting on the Lord affect our walk?

Are we conscious of God’s presence when soaring? [It’s thrilling to sense the uplift of the Spirit]

Are we conscious of God’s presence when running? [When well trained, having waited for the starter’s gun, we run without wearying]

Are we conscious of God’s presence when walking? [When we walk with the reality of His presence, we will not fear]

Gain new strength

What really happens when we wait on the Lord? [Some translations say renew strength, some say gain new strength]

Do we need strength?

July 21 - KINGDOM BLESSINGS

Matt. 5:3 "...Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven...”

Context: The first words Jesus spoke when he sat down to explain the counter-culture, to teach the be-attitudes, to explain how life was to be lived before God.

The blessing of the kingdom of heaven is for the poor in spirit.

What do you think it means to be poor in spirit?

Blessed (mak-ar-ee-oss) is a word that expresses special joys and satisfaction granted to a person.

The special joy and satisfaction of the kingdom of heaven is found by:

5:3 the poor in spirit

5:10 those persecuted for righteousness sake

5:19 whoever does and teaches even the least of the commandments

5:20 the truly righteous

7:21 he who does the will of the Father

This isn’t an exhaustive list, but it certainly says a lot.

When you look at this list, do you see yourself?

The problem in this journey is that a standard is erected that we can’t attain. We’re told:

- To be pure in heart

- To do more than our duty

- To be perfectly devoted to God

What are the possible reactions to this standard?

- Turn away discouraged.

- Minimize additional input so I can feel better about where I stand.

- Fall at the feet of Jesus as a pauper - poor in Spirit.

The gate is narrow. Jesus is the gate. Only He can make me what He teaches I should be.

If you’re intending to follow Jesus into truth and life - pack light.

If we come with a lot of baggage - preconceived ideas of how it should be, treasures that we insist must go with us, we’ll find it difficult to follow.

Can Jesus put into us the same disposition that ruled, and rules, His life?