Review of Week 43:

BUILT on FAITH: Are we building up our life on things seen or unseen?

ASSURED: If we want the assurance and the inheritance, we must set our mind on the Spirit and choose the path of Jesus Christ.

NO PREJUDICES: Are we stuck in our prejudices, or are we carrying on the ministry of reconciliation?

TRIUMPH: Proceeding through life with Christ as our leader accomplishes His bigger goals.

CHOSEN: There’s a difference between choosing and chosen. We choose to work when it’s convenient. If we’re chosen by God for His work, it takes commitment.

SENT: Jesus breathes on His disciples and sends them to a perishing world with a ministry of forgiveness.

MAKE DISCIPLES: Are we trying to make converts to our point of view, or disciples of Jesus Christ?

Oct. 28 - DEATH and LIFE

Rom.5:10 “...For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life...”

Context: 5:1-12

- Justification, and subsequently peace, come from Jesus Christ.

- Faith introduces us to the grace in which we stand.

- We exult in hope, and we exult in tribulation.

- Tribulation brings perseverance, brings character, brings hope and hope doesn’t disappoint.

- Christ died at the right time. Is God’s timing always correct?

Are we saved by believing? Who is responsible for believing? [we are]

Are we saved by repentance? Who is responsible for repenting? [we are]

Who is responsible for saving us? [Jesus]

What does believing accomplish?

- brings us to a realization of what Christ has done.

- we don’t believe to get salvation.

- we believe to line up with reality.

What does repentance accomplish?

- shows that we understand what Christ has done, and that we are truly sorry for our part in making it necessary.

- we don’t repent to get salvation.

- we repent because we regret that we sent Him to the cross.

- we repent because we regret disappointing the Father.

- we repent to turn from death to life.

What did the DEATH of Jesus accomplish?

- our justification and therefore reconciliation.

- we were justified through His atoning DEATH.

What will the LIFE of Jesus accomplish?

- we shall be saved by His resurrection LIFE.

- Romans 8:11 ”...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...”

Oct. 29 - FORMED

2 Cor. 5:21 “...He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him...”

Context: 5:1-21

- there’s groaning in our earthly existence

- what is mortal will be swallowed up by life.

- this is God’s purpose, and the Spirit has been given as a pledge.

- our ambition is to please Him.

- all will appear before the judgment seat of Christ.

- we’re not to take pride in appearance, but in heart.

- we no longer live for ourselves, but for Him.

- old things, new things, reconciliation, and the ministry of reconciliation.

Why did Jesus go to the cross? Was it sympathy or obedience?

Are we saved by obedience? [not by ours, but by His]

For whom did Jesus die? [for all]

What happened at the cross?

- Jesus was made to be sin on our behalf.

- His was a substitutionary death.

What is to happen on this side of the cross?

- We are to be the righteousness of God.

- His is a substitutionary life.

What is the difference between Jesus doing something for me and Jesus being formed in me?

Oct. 30 - REAL FAITH

Heb. 11:6 “...And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him...”

Context:

- This is the faith chapter of Hebrews.

- Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

- By faith we understand that God made this world from unseen things.

- God’s people walk by faith, not by sight.

What do you get when common sense is in charge, rather than faith?

- rational and culturally accepted outcomes.

- common sense offers answers from the natural realm.

What do you get when faith is in charge, rather than common sense?

- a pleased God.

- faith offers assurance and conviction from the spiritual realm.

What is fanaticism?

- wildly excessive or irrational devotion, dedication, or enthusiasm.

Are people of faith fanatics?

- highly devoted, dedicated, and enthusiastic.

- may appear irrational to the current culture, but God’s ways differ from man’s ways.

Did Jesus appear to be ruled by common sense?

Luke 4:36 “...And amazement came upon them all, and they began talking with one another saying, "What is this message? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits and they come out..."

How does God get us from ‘ideal’ faith to ‘real’ faith?

- it’s a journey from talking to walking.

Is it easy or is it a struggle?

Do we resist the process?

Can we live our lives without seeing or understanding?

Do we trust God when we don’t see God?

Do we please God?

Oct. 31 - TRIED FAITH

Matt.17:20 “...And He said to them, "Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you...”

Context:

1-8 Mount of Transfiguration.

14,15 Boy with a demon.

16 Disciples couldn’t cast it out.

17 Jesus calls them a faithless and twisted generation.

20 But mustard seed faith moves mountains.

Why do we need faith? [there are a lot of mountains that need moving]

What does faith get you?

- this is a consumer’s question.

- self centered people wonder “what’s in it for me”.

What should faith be doing?

- pleasing the Father.

- doing the works of Jesus.

- freeing captives.

To what lengths will God go to develop our faith?

Will He “knock the bottom board out of your experience”?

How is a life of faith more than sentimental enjoyment of His blessings?

Are we a faithful generation regardless of circumstances?

We must be built up in faith that is real and tried.

Contend for it.

Nov. 1 - PURCHASED

1 Cor. 6:19 “...Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?...”

Context:

2 - Saints will judge the world.

7 - It’s defeat to have lawsuits. Why not rather be wronged? Be offended?

9 - List of the unrighteous that won’t inherit the kingdom of God (fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, homosexuals, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, swindlers)

13,18 - The body is not for immorality. Flee immorality.

19,20 - You are not your own. You have been bought with a price

Did God own Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden?

What led to their fall and subsequent departure from the garden?

- the serpent convinced them that they had a private life of their own, and that they could pursue what they preferred.

Did God own Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane?

Could Jesus have pursued what He preferred?

Do we care more for what happens to us as individuals than for what’s happening in the kingdom of God?

How can our heartbreaks be doorways to God’s purposes?

When are self pity and even Christian sympathy ‘deal killers’?

- when they prevent us from completing the transaction.

Nov. 2 - LOVE / KEEP

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

Context:

- following the Last Supper.

- Peter’s denial predicted.

- v3 going to prepare a place, and will come again.

- v6 “...Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me...”

- v12 greater works than these.

- v15 keep my commandments.

Does God force us to do anything?

- do you have to believe that He’s the way, the truth and the life? [eventually yes]

- do you have to believe that no one comes to the Father but through Jesus?

- do you have to do greater works?

- do you have to keep His commandments?

Why don’t we keep His commandments?

- we love something more than we love God.

Which comes first, love or obedience?

- obedience is a logical display of love.

- can obedience lead to increased love?

How are the numerous petty incidents of life really opportunities to demonstrate our love of God?

How does the world benefit from our obedience to the Truth?

Nov. 3 - DEAD and ALIVE

Gal. 2:20 “...I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me...”

Context:

- God is birthing the church of Jesus Christ.

- Saul has been transformed from a Judaizer (a preserver of religious traditions) to an effective voice for the gospel truth.

- v19 ”...For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God...”

What happened to Saul turned Paul?

- he identified with the crucifixion of Christ (death to sinful natural self).

- he identified with the resurrected Christ (life in the Spirit, Christ lives in me).

Are we preservers of religious traditions or voices for gospel truth?

Are we maintaining our independence or surrendering to the supremacy of God?

Where are our loyalties? To self? To God?

Do we stand up for our rights, or surrender them?

What does it feel like to lose yourself in something bigger than yourself?

- some identity crisis at first?

- sense of value being a important part of something bigger?