Review of Week 39:

ONWARD: We can’t let blessings or persecution prevent us from moving onward with Jesus.

RECONCILIATION: We are responsible for reconciling with anyone who has something against us.

GO FURTHER: We must go further than our natural inclinations will take us.

RECONCILIATION: There is a right and wrong way to approach God.

COST: Following Jesus may not please me. I may need to shift priorities. I must act.

OUR ISSUE: Jesus loves us and points out Our Issue.

DOWN WITH RIGHTS: We must lay down our rights and become good stewards of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Sept.30 - CRUSHED

Colossians 1:24 “...Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions...”

We mentioned before that God is working all things together for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purposes.

Today Oswald talks about the crushing caused by circumstances and people. Is this crushing orchestrated by God?

Is it comfortable to be crushed?

Was Jesus crushed?

What good came from Jesus being crushed? Was it for Jesus, or for others?

Is there good that comes from you being crushed? Who benefits?

Does crushing seem to interfere with a person’s perceived value and mission?

Was Jesus ministry interrupted or fulfilled by His crushing?

Can we embrace crushing or do we work hard to avoid it?

Colossians 1:26-28 “...that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ...”

What is lacking in Christ’s afflictions? [we must proclaim, admonish, and teach so that we may present every man complete in Christ].

Oct.1 - SEE/CARE

Mark 9:2 “...Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them;...”

Context: This was the Mount of Transfiguration. The Glory was revealed.

What is a mountain top experience?

- on top of things instead of things on top of you.

- place of perspective.

- place of inspiration.

Are mountain top experiences important?

Does Jesus lead us to mountain tops?

Do we get to stay on mountain tops?

Do we like coming down?

Why do we come down?

- to live in real life.

- to make a difference in the valleys and plains.

What does Oswald mean by saying “the mount is not meant to teach us anything, it is meant to make us something”?

What is the difference between knowledge and character?

Do we see what Jesus sees? Do we care like Jesus cares?

Oct.2 - NEED

Mark 9:22 “...It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!...”

Context:

- Coming down from the Mount of Transfiguration.

- Boy with a spirit that made him mute.

- Spirit would seize the boy and throw him into what we’d describe as a seizure.

- Disciples weren’t able to cast the spirit out.

- Jesus called them a “faithless generation”.

Mark 9:23 “...Jesus said to him, " 'If You can?' All things are possible to him who believes..."

What was revealed on the mount? [God’s glory. Jesus place in Kingdom].

What was needed in the valley? [God’s glory. Jesus brought into a sinful world].

Are we worth more to God on the mountain or in the valley?

- He reveals Himself on the mountain.

- We realize He is indeed Lord.

- He sends us to a demon possessed world.

Do we care about what He cares about?

Are we able to help our world?

Oct.3 - HELP

Mark 9:29 “...And He said to them, "This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer..." KJV adds “...and fasting...” Another manuscript adds “...and weeping...”

Context:

- Disciples asked why they were unable to cast out the demon.

Why couldn’t the disciples resolve the problem they were facing?

- They weren’t properly bringing the Lordship of Jesus to the situation.

Can we do God’s work without Him? Without knowing Him?

How is the Lordship of Jesus brought to the world’s demonic situations?

- prayer: communion with God.

- weeping: legitimate concern.

- fasting: demotion of self needs to elevate sensitivity to God’s purposes.

Are we powerless to do God’s work in our world?

Zechariah 4:6 ”...Then he said to me, "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel saying, 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the Lord of hosts...”

Are we expected to do God’s work in our world?

Are we improving in doing God’s work in our world?

Do we prefer rising up to coming down?

Oct.4 - TOGETHER

1 Corinthians 1:2 ”...To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:...”

Are we part of something bigger than our own personal existence?

Why do we tend to focus on how everything affects us?

Are we part of something bigger than our own local church?

Why do we tend to focus on how everything affects our church?

Are we called to be saints together with all those in every place that call upon the great I AM?

Why are we so concerned about the little I am?

Why does life have so many ways of battering us?

- we live in a fallen world.

What do we bring to the situation?

- are we battering?

- are we bettering?

Are we called to long for His Kingdom, or to bring His Kingdom into the realities of life.

Is God dominating, or are we dominating?

Oct.5 - MY SIN

Romans 5:12-14 ”...Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned - for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come...”

Romans 5:8 “...But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us...”

Romans 5:11 “...And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation...”

Why is there sin in the world? [Adam chose to gratify self].

What is sin? [Self realization - I am my own god].

To what does sin lead?

- immorality and wrongdoing.

- pompous religious blether.

- people want what people want.

Hebrews 9:26-28 “...Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him...”

What is the solution for sin?

- Christ chose to gratify the Father.

- I can choose to accept His sacrifice.

- I can choose to gratify the Father.

When are moral degradation and moral attainment equivalent?

- when they are the result of self realization.

- when I am in control.

Is God God?

Is God my God?

Am I a saint together “...with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ ...” ?

Oct.6 - RE-GENED

Galatians 1:15-16 “...But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother's womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood,...”

Context:

- Paul explaining that he’s carrying a message bigger than man’s gospel.

- He was once a religious zealot, following man’s traditions.

- He was now preaching Christ.

What is redemption?

- Upgrading from something of little value to something of great value.

- Moving from sinner (I am god) to saint (He is God).

What is regeneration?

- My genetic disposition was one of sin.

- I’m re-gened so my disposition is one of holiness.

Romans 8:10-11 ”...If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you...”

What is God’s part?

- Jesus on the cross.

- Sending the Holy Spirit.

What is my part?

- Agreement with God that Jesus paid for my sin.

- Acceptance of a Spirit led life.

- Denial of a fleshly self led life.

Can we do this?