REVIEW
FLIP CHART: SOM’S KEY VERSE, GOAL, MOTTO
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness ….” (Mt. 6:33a).
The law sends us to Christ for justification; Christ sends us back to the law for sanctification.
FLIP CHART: Show new “Perfect Righteousness” chart explaining steps to coming to Christ (As a worm, mourning, meek, spiritual hunger/thirst with the result of legal righteousness). Explain: moral righteousness, immediate moral change at conversion, gradual change through life’s challenges and speeding up moral change via CCRC (Concentration, Choice, Reflection and Confession/Thanksgiving). Key verse, “By one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy” (Heb. 10:14).
FLIP CHART: John Stott’s outline of SOM.
INTRODUCTION
And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (Matthew 6:5-8)
REVIEW:
“What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36)
One way to help us cultivate the life and growth of our soul is to develop a “Spiritual Life Statement” that focuses our attention on spiritual goals, goals that become a purpose/mission/vision statement for our spiritual life.
Willow Creek’s Conclusion as Key to Spiritual Growth: At the heart of the unhappiness the (25% of the church membership that are) ‘stalled’ and ‘dissatisfied’ have with the church is the failure to realize that responsibility for their spiritual growth belongs to them. (Reveal, 54)
“…. we just assumed the church would show up as the central force in the spiritual walk of most Christ-centered people. … We were surprised that personal spiritual disciplines played such a critical role – – showing up as the primary catalyst for growth in the most advanced spiritual segments of our church.” (Reveal, 58)
One of the best ways to take responsibility for our spiritual growth is to have a consistent Quiet Time / Personal Devotions. There are good reasons to set aside an hour a day for the Quiet Time and by setting up a devotional program for each day we can make this time interesting, joyous and inspirational.
OUTLINE FOR TODAY:
1. Content for the Quiet Time (Review)
2. Bible Reading / Bible Study
GOD’S WORD AND OUR QUIET TIME
CONTENT FOR THE QUIET TIME
WALL CHART: Show the chart that talks about what can be included in time of worship; time of prayer.
A good Quiet Time should include among other things a time of worship, a time of prayer and a time of Bible Study.
An opening prayer is a good idea:
Christ, whose glory fills the skies,
Christ, the true, the only light,
Sun of Righteousness, arise!
Triumph o’er the shades of night;
Day-spring from on high, be near!
Day-star, in my heart appear!
Dark and cheerless is the morn,
If Thy life is hid from me;
Joyless is the day’s return,
Till Thy mercy’s beams I see;
Till they inward light impart,
Warmth and gladness to my heart.
Visit, then, this soul of mine;
Pierce the gloom of sin and grief;
Fill me, radiant Sun divine;
Scatter all my unbelief;
More and more Thy self display,
Shining to the perfect day. (C. Wesley)
PRAISE/WORSHIP: Singing praise songs (Use some of the old hymns, be particular about the content); reading worship Psalms, praising God for his attributes, using His 360 plus names, mystical verse, repeating the creeds, thanksgiving (Develop lists that include the character of God, spiritual blessings etc.)
PRAYER: Confession, the Lord’s Prayer, Biblical prayers, Spiritual Life Statement, weak areas in our lives, BCC prayer requests, special prayer goals for each year, ministry of Word around the world, family and personal needs. Keep a record of answered prayers.
Develop a prayer program / list for each day of the week. Start by reflecting on verses that build faith.
BIBLE STUDY: Memorization, meditation
MISCELLANEOUS: Journaling
ASSIGNMENT: Produce a program for a one hour devotional time using three main divisions – Worship, Prayer and Bible Study. Seek to include in your program several of the spiritual disciplines, e.g. memorization, use of mystical verse, confession, journaling, thanksgiving. Determine how many minutes you will spend on each activity. You may want to provide a separate program for each day of the week. Write out your prayer requests for each day of the week. List prayer requests that you will be praying for every day.
BIBLE READING / BIBLE STUDY
*** USE “MY ENCOUNTER WITH GOD” FORM
MY ENCOUNTER WITH GOD
* Many formats for having a Bible Study have been written and all of them are good. Anything that helps us focus on the Word of God and understand it better is a good method of study. This form is one I have developed and works for me. But any form will do. You may want to use this form or you may just glean some ideas that can help you as you continue on using the form/method that is familiar to you.
* THANKSGIVING JOURNAL:
Write down something that happened yesterday that was a blessing to you. It could be some new insight received, a friend that you were able to visit with, some good news about a persons spiritual growth, a spiritual victory you experienced, a TV movie you watched, a book read … anything that blessed you and helped you or another person on their journey.
I have two sections for “Thanksgiving Journal” because I generally can not complete this form in one day, one 20 minute session.
1. WRITE IN THE DATE AND TEXT FOR THE DAY
You may decide upon Bible Reading only. That is one option. If you read three chapters a day, you will read the whole Bible in one year, six chapters will take you six months, 12 chapters will take you 3 months.
My practice is the read a chapter and trust God to speak to me through a verse/s. Those verses then become the focus of my Bible Study.
You may want to spend Monday reading several chapters and then the next two days studying in depth one or two of the verses that spoke to your heart.
To vary your reading you may interchange Bible books, e.g. set up an order of Genesis, Psalms, Luke, Hebrews. Do a chapter on Genesis one day and then Psalms the next.
It is certainly best to spend some time in Bible Study and I am suggesting that it is best to zero in on a verse or two.
We are assuming that you read II Peter 1 and during your reading you were attracted to verse 4.
ACTIVITY: Write in the date and text.
Date: Sept. 30, 2007 Text: II Peter 1:4
EXPLAIN CAREFULLY: A fresh understanding of spiritual truth
does not lead me to an encounter with God; it is an encounter with God.
Thus when God leads me to a new understanding of Himself or His
ways through Scripture I should:
1. WRITE DOWN AND MEDITATE ON THE VERSE/S GOD IS USING TO SPEAK TO ME.
ACTIVITY: Copy only I Peter 1:4 (in small print) on your BS form.
ACTIVITY: Read the text in other translations and make notes of any variances or discoveries.
A good web resource is the Blue Letter Bible –
http://www.blueletterbible.org
TRANSPARENCY – Show the Blue Letter Bible “Versions” overhead!
As you study you are drawn to the phrase “… you may participate in the divine nature …” So you underline that phrase. That is what you will focus on.
2. IMMERSE MYSELF IN THE MEANING OF THE TEXT. WHAT IS GOD REVEALING ABOUT HIMSELF, HIS PURPOSES, HIS WAYS? WHAT IS HE REVEALING ABOUT ME?
TABLE ACTIVITY: Record and interesting cross-reference data from the verses referring to “ye might.”.
TRANSPARENCY – Blue Letter Bible “Knowledge” overhead.
Things that stand out may be the idea that we are sons of God (I John 1:12-13), that we are renewed in the Spirit of our mind (Eph. 4:23, Col. 3:10), that we are partakers of God’s holiness (Heb. 12:10), that one day we shall be like Him (I John 3:2).
You may also find verses that point to Christ being the Vine and we the branches, the fact that He is the head and we are members of His body, the truth that Christ is in us (“You are in me and I am in you;” “I in them;” “The mystery, Christ in you” – John 14:20, John 17:23, Col. 1:26-27).
ACTIVITY: Read the Lexicon and write the Greek word for “participate.” Click on ‘Strong’s Number” and get several meanings.
TRANSPARENCY – C – Lexicon
1) a partner, associate, comrade, companion
2) a partner, sharer, in anything
a) of the altar in Jerusalem on which the sacrifices are offered
1) sharing in the worship of the Jews
b) partakers of (or with) demons
1) brought into fellowship with them, because they are the authors of heathen worship
ACTIVITY: Picture it! Visualize the verse. Close your eyes and try to see what kind of a picture you can make out of the verse: Through these he has give us His very great and precious promises, so that through them we may participate in the divine nature. Or maybe you want to just visualize what it would look like to “participate in the divine nature.”
Write down any insights you have received.
TABLE ACTIVITY: Pronounce it! Say the verse aloud, each time emphasizing a different word. Have the tables choose three words and then read in unison emphasizing those words.
Write down any insights you have received.
ACTIVITY: Paraphrase it! Write the verse in your own words. Try to write the verse over without using any of the words in the verse. You will want to write it under the first point where we wrote the verse to start with an did the research of other translation.
Write down any insights you have received.
ACTIVITY: Personalize it! Replace the pronouns or people in the verse with your own name! Do this quietly. Through these he has give Jeff His very great and precious promises, so that through them Jeff may participate in the divine nature.
Write down any insights you have received.
ACTIVITY: Pray it! Turn the verse back into a prayer and say it back to God. Everyone pray quietly for one minute.
Write down any insights you have received.
3. MAKE ADJUSTMENTS IN MY PERSONAL LIFE, FAMILYU, CHURCH, MINISTRY AND WORK SO THAT GOD CAN WORK IN THAT WAY WITH ME.
ACTIVITY: Use the probing “Space Pet Questions”! and continue to write down any insights you have received.
ACTIVITY: Sin to confess? I have not grasped this promise of partaking from the divine nature. I have sought to do so much in my own strength.
Write down any insights you have received.
FLIP CHART: Refer to my triangle chart showing the self-effort segment in contrast to the infusion of divine strength. Show that although we are to “make every effort” to add to our faith the qualities Rich is preaching about, we also must only seek to do so as those that are receiving strength from God, e.g. participating in the divine nature.
TABLE ACTIVITY: Promise to Claim? Discuss what promise/s might be drawn from the text.
Write down any insights you have received.
ACTIVITY: Attitude to change? I need to lean more on Christ, to see myself as a branch of the vine, a member of His body.
Write down any insights you have received.
ACTIVITY: Command to keep? No commands are listed.
Write down any insights you have received.
ACTIVITY: Example to follow? No example listed.
Write down any insights you have received.
ACTIVITY: Prayer to pray? No prayer is listed but very easy to pray for God to help us grasp the promises and learn to partake of His divine nature.
Write down any insights you have received.
TABLE ACTIVITY: Error to avoid? Discuss what error to avoid might be evident in the verse.
Write down any insights you have received.
ACTIVITY: Truth to believe? God loves me so much that He not only saves me but also enables me to live a holy life by participating in His nature. His strength flows into me.
Write down any insights you have received.
ACTIVITY: Something to thank God for? That He has provided for me the privilege of participating in His life and thus experiencing His life in mine.
Write down any insights you have received.
TABLE ACTIVITY: THEME (7 Words). Seek to write a theme for the verse in just seven words and write it on the line provide at the top of the page.
4. MY WRITTEN PRAYER REQUEST TO GOD
ACTIVITY: Write out your personal prayer to God based on your study of the verse and what God has revealed to you.
ILL: Show my own completed study of II Peter 1:4.
Explain that that in the “Key Phrase / Verse” box they can write anything that stands out, that they feel is unique and different.
ASSIGNMENT:
Write out your devotional agenda / program for one day. List exactly what you are going to do for your time of worship / praise. Will you focus just on singing? Will you use the creeds or mystical verses? List what you will be praying for (You can keep this general if you wish). List how you will handle your Bible Study, e.g. reading, in depth study, what book. Send that to me along with your Spiritual Life statement in 18pt. black and white text. I will then produce transparencies and we can look over these and talk about them on October 21.
Also, please do use the Bible Study format that we have introduced today and be ready to share testimonies and what the Lord reveals to you in the next 20 days.