Review of Week 33:
CONFIDENCE: Take the
tests. Increase in faith. Grow in confidence that God is God.
HEAR: Train yourself to
hear the gentle, still, small voice of God. Don’t grieve the Holy
Spirit.
CHASTENING: Do not regard
lightly the discipline of the Lord.
BORN AGAIN: Jesus
received. Kingdom seen. Sinning stopped.
CALLED: Jesus knows us.
Jesus calls us by name. Jesus leads us out.
FOLLOW: We can’t shy
away from the hard word of Jesus. We must give it up and follow Him.
SAD: The hard words of
Jesus can leave us quite sad. Doing as He says turns the sadness to
joy.
Aug 19 - COME
Matt 11:28 "...Come
to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest...” (ESV)
What does it mean to
labor? [Making something happen through extra effort.]
What does it mean to be
heavy laden? [The load isn’t light - its extra
difficult]
What are some examples of
labor or heavy loads that people carry?
What happens when a
person carries a load, or labors for an extended period of time?
[They get tired and weary]. What do they need? [REST]
What is the difference
between rest and escape?
- Rest: sitting down to
catch your breath before going back at it (not retirement).
- Escape: abandoning what
you’re doing.
Do you feel like escaping
your loads and labors? Do you really just need rest?
One Greek word
interpreted as rest is anapauô (to give rest, give
intermission from labor)
Mark 6:31 “...And He
*said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and
anapauô a while." (For there were many people
coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)...”
Matthew 11:28 ”...Come
to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you
anapauô...:
Another Greek word
interpreted as rest is katapausis (rest, repose)
Hebrews 4:1-2
”...Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of
entering His katapausis, any one of you may seem to
have come short of it. For indeed we have had good news preached to
us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them,
because it was not united by faith in those who
heard...”
A Hebrew word interpreted
as rest is menuchah (a place of stillness, peace, comfort)
Isaiah 28:12 ”...He
who said to them, "Here is menuchah, give rest to
the weary," And, "Here is repose," but they would not
listen...”
Psalms 23:2-3 “...He
makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside menuchah
waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of
righteousness For His name's sake...”
Psalms 95:10-11 “...For
forty years I loathed that generation, And said they are a people who
err in their heart, And they do not know My
ways. "Therefore I swore in My anger, Truly they
shall not enter into My menuchah..."
How can a person find the
stillness, peace and comfort of God?
- God’s promise must be
‘united by faith’ (Heb.4:1,2)
- A person must not ‘err
in their heart’ and ‘not know My ways’. (Psa.95:10,11)
Was Jesus serious when He
said come to me, all (not some) who labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest?
What is self
consciousness?
- awareness of self.
- viewing our life, from
our life
Why does self
consciousness produce wrestling?
- we can’t control our
situations and we feel isolated.
- we fall into
introspection, examining our heavy loads that cause so much labor.
- we think we need Jesus,
and His power, to come to us.
Jesus says come to me.
We need to move from self consciousness to Christ consciousness. We
are a part of something bigger than our individualism.
God has been offering
rest throughout time.
Aug 20 - GIVEN
Matt 11:28 "...Come
to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest...” (ESV)
What have you found
disturbs your rest? What disturbs your resting in the Lord?
- conflict -
relationship struggles
- responsibilities -
deadlines, jobs to do
- rumble/noise - TV,
kids, neighbors
- hyperactivity - bored
if not doing
- distractions
Can you control these
things? Can you control the affect they have on you?
What is the end result of
prolonged self consciousness?
- self pity or self
exaltation.
- woe is me or great is
me.
There is no rest in the
self-pity pit.
- The self pity pit is
dark. You can’t see anything but your problem.
- When you finally come
out, you find that the world has been going on without you, without
you knowing it.
There is no rest on the
self-exaltation mountain.
- The mountain is
difficult to stay atop, taking all your effort and focus.
- When you finally come
down, you find that the world has been going on without the slightest
care for your previously self assumed position.
Are you laboring in the
pit or on the mountain? In the presence of God we see things more
clearly.
When do people pray for
health? [when they, or someone they care about, loses it].
When do people pray for
God’s will? [when they, or someone they care about, doesn’t know
it].
Self conscious wrestling
indicates a failure to come to Jesus and live in Christ
consciousness. How can this snowball into a bigger problem? [trying
harder only makes us more self-aware]
Because we’re born is
sin, our normal is warped. Relatively speaking, we can identify
times when we have less rest than others, but our conception of rest
falls well short of the true rest that God offers
When Christ says come
unto me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will GIVE you
rest - He has something in mind that we don’t.
- Rest is GIVEN, not
earned. It comes from YIELDING. Is effort involved?
Aug 21 - PAUPERS
Matthew 5:3 “...Blessed
are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven...”
How would you describe
rich in spirit? [feeling worthy, important]
How would you describe
poor in spirit? [feeling unworthy, humble]
Who gets the blessing and
how are they blessed? [the poor in spirit, theirs is the kingdom of
heaven]
What other group of
people in Matthew 5 are blessed with the kingdom of heaven? [v.10 -
those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness]
Is the kingdom of heaven
“for the paupers and the persecuted” consistent with our current
brand of American Christianity?
Remember the two
statements about the kingdom discussed when talking about being born
again.
John 3:3 “...Jesus
answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless
one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God..."
John 3:5 ”...Jesus
answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of
water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of
God...”
How close do you think
you can get to the kingdom and still not be a part of it?
Mark 12:28-34 ”...One
of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He
had answered them well, asked Him, "What commandment is the
foremost of all?" Jesus answered, "The foremost is, 'HEAR,
O ISRAEL! THE Lord OUR GOD IS ONE Lord; AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE Lord
YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL
YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.' "The second is this,
'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' There is no other
commandment greater than these." The scribe said to Him, "Right,
Teacher; You have truly stated that HE IS ONE, AND THERE IS NO ONE
ELSE BESIDES HIM; AND TO LOVE HIM WITH ALL THE HEART AND WITH ALL THE
UNDERSTANDING AND WITH ALL THE STRENGTH, AND TO LOVE ONE'S NEIGHBOR
AS HIMSELF, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."
When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently,
He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of
God." After that, no one would venture to ask Him any
more questions....”
Apparently the scribe’s
religious upbringing and mental knowledge got him close.
Was the scribe poor in
spirit? [Not likely. If anything, he had probably become what man’s
religion always produces - haughty in spirit]
What is the difference
between deciding for Christ and yielding to Christ?
- our decision vs. His
decision.
- Who’s in control.
We promote ‘decide for
Christ’ and then are baffled when churches are filled with people
who always want to decide for themselves.
Have we turned the
‘coming to Christ’ experience into something that we control?
Have we made it a
self-conscious event and journey?
What is the difference
between choosing a “Christian Lifestyle” and choosing to follow
Christ?
Think of coming to a
yield sign on the road. By law, what must you do?
If you decide to not
yield and you and another vehicle have a difference of opinion, who’s
in trouble?
- Arrogant people don’t
yield. The poor in spirit know how to yield.
- Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Aug 22 - BAPTIZED
Matthew 3:11 ”...As
for me, I baptize you with water for repentance,
but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to
remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy
Spirit and fire...”
As for me, ...but He.
Who said these words? [John the Baptist]
- John’s father was the
priest, Zacharias.
- His mother was
Elizabeth.
- His parents (Lk.1:6)
were both righteous before God.
- Elizabeth was pregnant
with John when her relative Mary came to tell her about the angel’s
news, that Mary was to give birth to Jesus
- when Mary entered the
house, unborn John leapt in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with
the Holy Spirit.
John the Baptist came
preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying Repent, for the kingdom
of heaven is at hand.
People were responding to
John:
- they were repenting
- they were being
baptized
- John had quite a
ministry going (tapes, CDs, newsletters, t-shirts)
- How close can you get
to the kingdom and still not be a part of it?
Did John know his place?
- As for me, ..but He
- I’ve got something
you need, but you haven’t seen anything yet.
What part does humanity
have in moving into a Christ led life? As for me:
- recognize we’re
paupers and admitting it.
- repent of our sins,
which is an acknowledgment of our unworthiness.
- turning from our self
conscious existence toward Jesus.
- baptized publicly with
water, stating that we yield to Jesus as Lord
What part does God have
in moving us into a Christ led life? But He:
- Jesus comes, and the
heat get turned up.
- baptizes with the Holy
Spirit and fire.
- moves people who admit
their unworthiness into a life they couldn’t otherwise attain
Is the baptism with the
Holy Spirit and fire a one time experience?
Are we mistaken when we
classify it as an “as for me” experience?
If baptism with the Holy
Spirit and fire is “But He”, it’s performed by Jesus Christ on
His terms, not our preference.
Have we moved from the
“as for me” to the “but He”?
Aug 23 - PRAY
Matt.6:6 “...But
you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your
door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your
Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you...”
Is prayer easy and
effortless or difficult and laborious?
Which is it in a crisis?
Which is it when all is well?
What’s the difference?
Focus. During a crisis we’re focused on the need for God. We may
still be focusing on our preferences, but we readily bring God into
the equation.
Does God want us to talk
to him when we have a crisis? When we don’t?
1 Thessalonians 5:17
”...pray without ceasing;...”
We need to get started
and not stop.
Do you have a special
place, or places for prayer?
Susanna Wesley had 11-12
children? Charles and John are well known in Methodist circles.
Does anyone remember Susanna’s place of prayer? [Under her
apron].
Can prayer only be done
in a special place?
What are the advantages
of a special place?
- the formation of a
habit increases the likelihood of repeating the behavior.
- its symbolic of
shutting the door on the distractions of our lives.
- it helps us maintain
the intimate relationship God desires to develop with us.
- our expectation of
fellowship increases.
- we become more sure of
God.
What are the
difficulties, even in a special place?
- wandering thoughts (not
leaving life on the other side of the door).
- interruptions (mobile
phones, emergencies).
- fatigue (early or late
hours).
How can you, or do you,
overcome the difficulties?
Jesus doesn’t say if
you pray go into your inner room, He says when you pray.
Prayer behind closed doors is an expected behavior
Aug 24 - TUNE
IN
Matthew 7:7-11 "...Ask,
and it will be given to you; seek, and you will
find; knock, and it will be opened to you. "For everyone who
asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will
be opened. "Or what man is there among you who, when his son
asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? "Or if he asks for a
fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? "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!...”
Do we get everything we
ask for?
Do we wish we could?
What would be some
problems with getting everything we asked for?
- we don’t know what’s
best.
- we tend toward self at
the expense of others.
- we can’t get the big
picture, our perspective is limited.
James 4:2-3 ”...You
lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and
cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have
because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive,
because you ask with wrong motives, so that you
may spend it on your pleasures...”
Do we have to be in
agreement with God before He’ll give us our request?
Numbers 11:4-6 “...The
rabble who were among them had greedy
desires; and also the sons of Israel wept again and said,
"Who will give us meat to eat? "We
remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers
and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, but now
our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at
except this manna..."
Numbers 11:13
“...Where am I to get meat to give to all this
people? For they weep before me, saying, 'Give us meat that we may
eat!...'
Numbers 11:18 “...Say
to the people, 'Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you
shall eat meat; for you have wept in the ears of the Lord,
saying, "Oh that someone would give us meat to eat! For we were
well-off in Egypt." Therefore the Lord will give you meat and
you shall eat...”
Numbers 11:31 “...Now
there went forth a wind from the Lord and it
brought quail from the sea, and let them fall
beside the camp, about a day's journey on this side and a day's
journey on the other side, all around the camp and about two cubits
deep on the surface of the ground...”
Numbers 11:33 “...While
the meat was still between their teeth, before it was
chewed, the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the
Lord struck the people with a very severe plague...”
Does relationship with
God have a bearing on answered prayer?
Jeremiah 7:16 “...As
for you, do not pray for this people, and do not
lift up cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with Me; for
I do not hear you....”
Does relationship with
others have a bearing on answered prayer?
Matthew 5:23-24
“...Therefore if you are presenting your offering
at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something
against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go;
first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and
present your offering...”
What does O.C. mean by
saying prayer with most of us is turned into pious platitude?
- it’s a trivial
religious expression.
- we don’t know what to
pray about, or how to pray, so our prayers are unfocused, nonspecific
babble.
What does Oswald mean by
“turning up the index”?
- get beyond platitudes.
- get beyond cliches.
- get beyond shallow,
selfish attitudes.
- tune in to how we stand
before God.
- tune in to God’s
expectations and intentions.
- tune in to God’s will
in all situations.
We need the baptism of
the Holy Spirit and fire, the work of Jesus in us, to transform us
into the children of God we’re supposed to be, asking for the right
things. We need to be friends.
Aug 25 - FRIEND
John 15:15 "...No
longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his
master is doing; but I have called you friends,
for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to
you...”
Are you an introvert or
an extrovert?
My kids know what their
parents are!
- One of them commented
once that finding me in the bleachers was really quite easy. All
they had to do was look for the gaps, at the places where individuals
were sitting by themselves, and presto, there I was.
- Finding Terry, on the
other hand, always took more time. Find me, then scan the clumps of
people nearby. Eventually they’d find her.
Do extroverts need
people? Do they need friends?
Do introverts need
friends?
- All people need
friends. Life is very lonely without friends.
- We all have a need to
love and to be loved, to care and to be cared for.
John 15:9-13 “...Just
as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in
My love. "If you keep My commandments,
you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's
commandments and abide in His love. "These things I have spoken
to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may
be made full. "This is My commandment, that you love
one another, just as I have loved you. "Greater love has no one
than this, that one lay down his life for his friends...”
- Jesus wants us to abide
in His love.
- He wants His joy to
remain in us that our joy may be full.
- He commands us to love
one another.
- He tells us what the
greatest love is ...To lay down one’s life for his friends.
Has anyone laid down His
life for you? [Jesus]
Why did He? [He calls us
his friends.]
Do you consider Jesus to
be your friend? Have you laid down your life for him?
Is it painful to
sacrifice self-interests for God’s interests?
Is it a burden to
surrender to God?
How do natural affinities
interfere with the joy of self-sacrifice? [eros is in love with self
and always complains about self-sacrifice].
How can there be joy in
self-sacrifice? [agape is in love with others and never complains
about self-sacrifice].
When does Jesus call
people friends?
John 15:15 "...No
longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his
master is doing; but I have called you friends,
for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to
you...”
- our status changes when
embrace the Father’s purposes.
Abide in Christ’s love
(take up residence there) and love one another the same way - lay
down you life for your friends
