One Month to Live (Lesson 4): Leave Boldly*

Leave Boldly

A Typical Life on Planet Earth

• It often seems so routine
• It can sometimes be boring and repetitious
• It may seem that we are just going around in circles
• But the reality is we are building a legacy

What do we mean by the term “Legacy?”

• Something that is handed down to the next generation
• It is our life’s message
• It can be powerful or weak
• It can be inspiring or discouraging
• It can be positive or negative
• A legacy is made up of our attitudes, actions, words and habits

Foundational passage: 1 Corinthians 3:12-14

¹² Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, ¹³ each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. ¹⁴ If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.

What does this passage teach us?

• This passage reveals that everyday we are building a legacy
• Every moment of every day we are choosing the materials that we will build the legacy with
• We can build with temporary materials or we can build with eternal materials
• There are only three materials that will build a legacy that will stand the test of time

The First Material: Convictions

• Convictions are our core beliefs and values that we base our lives upon
• Those convictions and values can be drawn from many sources, but there is only one faithful source that will not fail us, the Word of God.
• Isaiah 40:8

The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.”

• Trends, styles and fads come and go but God’s Word never changes
• Pop psychology is always changing
• The latest best seller is a new direction
• The Word of God never changes!
• The Bible was true 1000 years ago, it is true today and it will be true a 1000 years into the future
• Matthew 7:26

“But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:

• For convictions to truly be convictions we must live them out
• We really don’t believe it if we don’t live it out
• New best seller, “ The Greatest Health and Workout Book in the World”
  • Guarantees health
  • Guarantees weight loss
  • Guarantees feeling great
  • Guarantees longer life
• You read it, it your favorite book, you memorize passages from the book
• You read it seven times all the way through
• But…..you never workout
• You get no real results
• If you don’t live it out, you really don’t believe it!
• “A belief is something you hold, a conviction is something that gets a hold of you!”
• Our convictions are the core values of our life that come from God’s Word and are the anchors of our souls
• You can build a legacy from convictions

The Second Material: Character

• Character is who you really are!
• When you die you don’t take anything with you accept your character
• The Lord’s goal is to mold us to look more and more like His Son
• Romans 8:29

For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

• From the beginning this has been the Lord’s goal
• He is build into us the traits of His Son
• Michelangelo was asked how he was able to sculpt the famous “David?” … He answered, “I just chipped away everything that didn’t look like David.”
• That’s what the Lord is doing in our lives

He uses three tools:

First: Problems

• For the believer, problems always have a purpose
• God allows little problems and huge problems into our lives
• Sometimes He uses a little chisel and other times a jackhammer
• Our response to the problem is key to our spiritual growth and legacy development

Second: Pressures

• We learn patience under pressure
• The most Christ like people are those who know great pressure
• Pressure brings out the best or the worst in us

Third: People

• All of us have people in our lives that are hard to love
• The Lord uses people to knock off some rough edges in our lives
• These folks are heavenly sandpaper

The Third Material: Connections

• Our legacy is developed in the environment of people and relationships with people
• Our legacy is to make an impact on the lives of others
  • Our family
  • Fellow Christians
  • Our Church family
  • Our community
  • Our work or professional world
  • Other environments
• We draw strength and encouragement from other believers
• Hebrews 10: 24-25

And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, ²⁵ not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

• We influence one another as Christians
• Through faithful living in our homes, church and community we are used of the Lord
• As we are submissive and faithful to the Lord, He uses us and builds the legacy of our lives in connection with others

Leave Boldly with these legacy builders:

• Love for the Lord
• Love for His Church
• Love for the souls of men
• Love for family
• Love for the Word of God
• A faithful friend
• Honesty, integrity and purity
• Servant-spirit

*Notes are from fbcFOCUS University Ministry class (October 25, 2009).  This is a church-wide study at First Baptist Church, Fort Smith, Arkansas and is taken from the book One Month to Live by Kerry and Chris Shook.

DOWNLOAD THE PODCAST HERE.

One Month to Live (Lesson 3): Learn Humbly*

Learn Humbly

Paul’s Struggle – 2 Corinthians 12:7-9

⁷ And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. ⁸ Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. ⁹ And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Let’s examine Paul’s experience:

• Paul admits his powerlessness over this issue
• Paul is honest about the fact that he is struggling
• Paul asks the Lord three times to remove this powerful problem
• The Lord says that Paul needs His grace
• The lesson for us is: In times of difficulty, personal weakness, or even failure, God’s grace can take us through
• Does this sound simplistic?

What steps do I take to see God’s grace work in my life?

First: Learn Humbly from Your Failures

• We are all sinners and we all know what spiritual failure is for sure
• We must learn from our past failures and move on to the future
• We must confess our sins and failures and move on to the future
• 1 John 1:9
• When a believer is burdened with guilt over sin and failure, the Lord calls us to confess and repent
• Once we have confessed our sin, we are to rejoice in His mercy and move forward
• Satan wants to use our past as a hammer of guilt
• The Lord convicts us of sin so that we can confess it and get right with Him
• There is a difference between conviction and destructive guilt that Satan uses against us

Peter is an example of failure, forgiveness and moving forward

• Matthew 16:15-19
• Here Peter is given a place of leadership of the 12
• Peter was still confident in his own abilities
• Luke 22: 31-34
• Peter did fail as he depended on his own strength and confidence in himself
• But the Lord is the Lord of a second chance
• “ and when you have returned to me …”
• Because of the power of the Cross, failure is never fatal
• The Lord gives the strength to begin again
• We must “learn humbly” from our failures and seek the Lord’s strength in our lives

Second: Accept Responsibility for Your Failures

• Proverbs 28:13
• Excuses, blaming others and rationalization our all losing positions with the Lord
• The blame game is popular
  • Blame our spouse
  • Blame the company
  • Blame our boss
  • Blame our family members
  • Blame anybody who is handy!
• We have to look in the mirror and accept our responsibility for our failures
• We have to admit our sin to be forgiven
• We have to admit our failures so that we can learn from them

Peter felt that God could not use him because of his failure

• Instead, the Lord could finally use him because he had to get real about himself
• The Lord cannot use us if we are full of ourselves and full of pride
• The Lord can use us when we are broken to our pride
• 2 Corinthians 12:10
• Selfishness, pride and ego are obstacles to the Lord using our lives

Three: Don’t soak in the guilt of your sin and failure

• Learn humbly, but guilt after forgiveness is destructive
• If you have fallen, let the Lord pick you back up so that you can go again
• Mark 16:7
• “…and Peter…”
• Peter thought that He was disqualified because of his failure
• Guilt binds us up into hopelessness
• John 21: 15-17
• This pictures Jesus healing His relationship with Peter so Peter could go on
• Notice, three times Jesus asked Peter if he love Him

Four: Surrender to the Lord’s strength

• We need the Lord every day, we need His strength, wisdom and guidance
• Luke 9:23
• The self help books tell us to look within ourselves and find our strength
  • Satisfy yourself
  • Follow your desires
  • Meet your needs
  • Find your purpose
• Jesus says just the opposite as the world
• Deny yourself, Die to self and follow Him

Fifth: Pursue God’s Path for Your Life

• If we do not humbly learn to trust the Lord, we can never follow Him
• “What if God messes up my life?
• “What if God asks me to do something I don’t want to do?”
• It all comes down to a trust issue. Who do you trust most, yourself or the Lord?
• Psalm 119:32
• The Lord does not give us a path to hurt us, but for us to fulfill His design for our lives

Biblical Illustrations of those who came to the point of learning humbly

• There seems to be three steps
  • First: The Call
    • The Lord has a call on your life
    • Second: the Wall
      • We discover our inability
      • Our sin and the failure of our own strength
      • Third: the Fall
        • We fall on our face
        • Or, we fall on our knees and seek His strength
• The great truth is that our strength will never be found with us, but from Him
• This is the truth that we must learn humbly
• If we had “One Month to Live” we could see this truth

*Notes are from fbcFOCUS University Ministry class (October 18, 2009).  This is a church-wide study at First Baptist Church, Fort Smith, Arkansas and is taken from the book One Month to Live by Kerry and Chris Shook.

DOWNLOAD THE PODCAST HERE.

One Month to Live (Lesson 2): Love Completely*

Love Completely

If we knew we had only One Month to Live how would our relationships be different?

• We would desire to enjoy our relationships
• We would seek to heal broken relationships
• No one wants to leave unfinished business behind
• But to love completely, we will need divine power

Three key factors that destroy relationships:

1.   Misunderstanding

• This is the most common factor in broken relationships
• Many people have had broken relationships for decades over misunderstanding
• Misunderstandings can pile up over time
• Misunderstanding can be death to a relationships
• Marriage is a great example:

• Often marriage is the place that powerful misunderstanding take place
• Opposites attract
• Over time, opposites attack!
• Reading between the lines
• Not hearing the other person out
• Allowing ourselves to be easily offended
• Making too much of voice tone
• Jumping to conclusions
• Not allow your partner to have a different opinion (insecurity)
• Miscommunication is natural
• Misinterpretations are inevitable

• Differences of opinion are natural
• We are all human

2.   Selfishness: Me first!

• Selfishness is often blind to itself
• We want our needs meet first
• Selfishness fosters “conditional relationships”
• Godly relationships are based on love and commitment (marriage, friendships)

3.   Relational Mistakes

• Just as we have misunderstandings, we all have our faults
• Sometimes we just mess up
• Many relationships are abandoned forever because of a mistake one party makes
• You will never have a perfect marriage because you are not perfect
• You will never have a perfect friendships because you are not perfect
• You will never have a perfect business relationships because you are not perfect
• All relationships will produce some hurt sometime
• Hurt produces anger and the anger must be resolved
• It the anger is not resolved you are headed for bitterness
• Anger is a natural response to a slight or offense, but bitterness changes the game entirely
• Bitterness poisons your heart and hurts even those who are not involved in the issue
• No relationship can survive bitterness

The Bible gives us Three Keys to loving others completely and preserving relationships:

1.   Be accepting of others

Romans 15:7

Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.

• The word “receive” means, acceptance
• Acceptance means that I am to be open to others
• Acceptance means that I do not reject others based on their weaknesses
• Acceptance means that I stop tying to change them and I try to understand them
• We are to seek God’s wisdom in understanding others
• We are all different, and if everyone was alike, it would be a boring world
• Acceptance is a process where I seek to cherish people instead of change people

2.   Loving others through your actions

There are three loving actions that make all the difference in loving others completely

• First – Consideration
  • Philippians 2:4

Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

• Look to the needs of others first
• Look to the needs of your spouse
• Look to the needs of your family
• Look to the needs of friends
• Picture a marriage where both parties are seeking to meet the needs of the other.
• The consideration principle makes an incredible difference in your relationship and in you
• Philippians 2:5-8

⁵ Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, ⁷ but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross

• John 13:12-17

¹² So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? ¹³ You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. ¹⁴ If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. ¹⁶ Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. ¹⁷ If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

• Second – Cooperation
  • Great teams have something called “chemistry”
  • John 13:1

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.

• Jesus revealed to them the power of servanthood
• God’s math is one plus one equals one
• “Oneness” is a powerful principle in developing loving actions
• Third – Commitment
  • Being a fully committed spouse is critical to a successful relationship and loving completely
  • Being a fully committed friend is critical if the friendship is real and vital
  • Commitment negates manipulation, dishonesty and betrayal

3.   Being one who forgives

• If you believe that forgiveness is for suckers you will never be able to love others completely
• If your expectations of others is perfection, you are in for lots of disappointment, daily
• Colossians 3:12-14

¹² Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; ¹³ bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. ¹⁴ But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

• Can the power to forgive others by looking at the Cross and the price God paid to forgive you?
• You will never have to forgive another more than the Lord has forgiven you
• We often “balk” at forgiving others, but we should not, not in light of the Sacrifice of Christ Jesus
• The more you realize how much the Lord has forgiven you, the greater your ability will be to forgive

If you had one month to live:

• You would be more accepting of others
• You would love others through your actions
• You would want to be forgiving toward those you have hurt you
• Leaving this world with little or no unfinished business
• Let’s seek to live that way NOW!

*Notes are from fbcFOCUS University Ministry class (October 11, 2009).  This is a church-wide study at First Baptist Church, Fort Smith, Arkansas and is taken from the book One Month to Live by Kerry and Chris Shook.

DOWNLOAD THE PODCAST HERE.

One Month to Live (Lesson 1): Live Passionately*

Live Passionately

Defining Passion

Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language:

“Any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling, the state of being acted upon or affected by something external, compelled by or ruled by intense emotion or strong feeling”

• Passion can be related to the words; enthusiasm and zeal.
• Passion is the driving force behind all great achievement. Whether it is in art, literature, or music, achievement is rooted in passion.
• Passion is the key to athletic accomplishment, record breaking performances and championships.

The Apostle Paul expresses passionate living this way in Romans 12:10-11:

• “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another, not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.”
• The idea of “fervent in spirit” is a picture of water boiling; this pictures energy, action and heat.

Jesus states this zealous and fervent spirit for the Lord in Mark 12:30:

• “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.  This is the first commandment.”
• Other passages on zeal, which is a good biblical word that mirrors passion: Galatians 4:18, 2 Corinthians 7:10-11, John 2:17
• Regardless of your personality type, God made you to feel things deeply.  God wants you to have a passion about your walk with Him
• The Lord knows that we need a passion for Him, His work and His Kingdom if we are to live a life with eternal impact.
• If you only had one month to live, would you not live it with passion, zeal and fervor?

A Biblical Example – Core Lesson Passage:  Luke 5:18-26

¹⁸ Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him. ¹⁹ And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.
²⁰ When He saw their faith, He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”
²¹ And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
²² But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? ²³ Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise up and walk’? ²⁴ But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”
²⁵ Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. ²⁶ And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen strange things today!”

This is a picture of passion and determination.  These four men decided nothing would keep them from the goal of getting their friend to Jesus!

Notice the crowd’s reaction in verse 26: “We have seen strange things today”

• They could have said, “We have seen remarkable things today!”
• The remarkable things they saw and heard were not only the things Jesus said and did, but also the extreme actions taken by the friends of the paralyzed man.
• When we give our lives to live for the Lord with passion, we will also see remarkable things that we would never see when living our lives in the “hum-drum.”
• Too often our nature is to sit back and wait for the Lord to bring the remarkable to us, but amazingly He calls us to live our lives with passion!  It is in the context of our faith and passion that the Lord works in our lives!

Remember what Jesus said in Mark 12:30

“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. This is the first commandment.”

• Just like the crowd kept the men and their needy friend away from the Lord, our crowded lives can keep us from being close to the Lord.
• Bad habits, procrastination and the distractions of this world cut us off from the life that satisfies and gives our lives real meaning.
• How can we remedy this situation?

This passage teaches us four things we can do to live with passion:

1. Do Something Drastic!

• These guys in the passage did just that!  Look at verse 19 again:

“And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.”

• When our lives are over-crowded, full of distractions and blurred priorities, we won’t fix it with a few adjustments.  We must stop and do something drastic.
• When left to ourselves, our lives naturally gravitate to spiritual chaos, apathy and lifelessness.
• WE MUST ASK THE CLARIFING QUESTION: IF YOU KNEW YOU HAD ONE MONTH TO LIVE HOW WOULD YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE?
• Why don’t we live our lives like this all the time?  Because we let little obstacles stop us in our tracks.
• When the men were tearing off the roof of the house, did they think about how much it would cost to fix it? I doubt it!
• It was “just” a roof and their friend was paralyzed.  Suddenly, they clearly saw what was important.
• While we likely have more than one month to live, we need to consider a more drastic lifestyle.

1. Remove the Obstacles!

• Living your life for the Lord and eternity is directly related to time.
• Many of the obstacles that keep us from living our lives for the Lord and His Kingdom are time related
• You can have 20 or 30 really good things to get done and be involved in, but do they get you to your spiritual goals for your life?
• So, how do we choose?
• THE PRINCIPLE TO USE: “Today I choose only the things I would do if I knew I had a limited time to live.”
• They are not the things that get you monetary rewards, have deadlines, or material things.
• The important things are your walk with your God, your marriage, your family and all the things that make an eternal impact.
• So far, here are the steps to a life lived with passion:
  • Realize what is truly important in your life
  • Remove the obstacles that are in the way
  • Do something drastic
• To the friends of the paralyzed man in Luke 5, the crowd was an obstacle, the roof was an obstacle; but to get their friend healing they had to push by both obstacles.

1. Expect the Unexpected!

• You set a plan, you set new priorities and life interrupts you when things don’t go according to plan.
• We love to be in control, but when we can’t control the situations we must not just give up.
• That is when we surrender control to the Lord.
• The friends in Luke 5 experienced this very thing:
  • They planned: They knew where Jesus would be.
  • They got enough men to carry him.
  • They arrived at the right time.
  • But: they had not planned on a crowd, a press so great they could not get through.
  • There was no way to get to the front door.
  • They could have said:
    • “Well, we tried.”
    • “It not our day.”
    • “We’re sorry old buddy; we tried to get you to Jesus.”
    • “It’s just not working out for us.”
    • “We gave it our best effort.”
    • They changed their plans when they encountered the unexpected.
    • Remember: its passion, zeal, fervor that makes us roll with the punches in life.
    • They got creative …. “Let’s go through the roof!”
    • Another unexpected action in this passage is in verse 20 when Jesus forgives the paralyzed man’s sins:

“When He saw their faith, He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”

• Learn to expect the unexpected because Jesus knows what is best for you.
• When your plans get interrupted, trust the Lord.  If you get frustrated you will lose your passion.

1. Give the Lord His Space to Work!

• Another key phrase in Luke 5:19:

“And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.” (emphasis added)

• “into the midst” means they placed their friend right in the middle of the crowd
• In our crowded lives we need to make sure that we are making space for the Lord to work in us.
• Even Jesus made space for the Father when He walked on the earth.
• Mark 1:35-37

³⁵ Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. ³⁶ And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him. ³⁷ When they found Him, they said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.”

• In effect, the crowd was saying, “Jesus, you are disappointing people, you need to hurry.  You need to meet needs.  People are sick and hurting!”
• Jesus knew time with the Father would save time in the long run.
• The secret to maintaining passion and zeal is spending time with the Lord.

CONCLUSION:

• Knowing they had one month to live, a Christian with a converted heart would look at it differently than a person with a worldly heart.
• The worldly person would seek to indulge themselves in pleasures or sink into total despair.
• The Christian sees life from a different perspective.
• The knowledge that he only had one month to live would surely awaken any believer’s heart to eternity.
• Let’s allow the Lord to awaken our hearts now even though eternity does not seem to be looming just 30 days ahead.
• It all begins with a passion for living our life for the Lord – PASSION, ZEAL, and FERVOR!

*Notes are from fbcFOCUS University Ministry class (October 18, 2009).  This is a church-wide study at First Baptist Church, Fort Smith, Arkansas and is taken from the book One Month to Live by Kerry and Chris Shook.

DOWNLOAD THE PODCAST One Month to Live – Passion (10-4-09).

Are You Boiling? Understanding the Highest Privilege in the Universe

These are the notes from the talk I gave at the UAFS BCM on Wednesday, September 2, 2009.

Are You Boiling?  Understanding the Highest Privilege in the Universe

Romans 12:11:  ”Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.”

I.  Intensity:  Do lots of work for Christ passionately.

A.  Don’t be lazy, work

B.  ”Fervent” – latin word “fervens”, which means “boiling.”  In the the Greek, “zeontes”, which literally means “boiling in spirit.”

C.  Combination of the two:  work, feel

1.  Balance:  Don’t just work, but don’t just be emotional

D.  1 Cor. 15:58

E.  Be practical AND passionate

II.  Focus:  Serve the Lord

A.  All this intensity has a focus….Serving Christ.  This is what the passion is for.

B.  Serving Christ is the highest privilege in the universe for human beings.

C.  Serve Jesus

1.  …not the belly (Romans 16:17-18)

2.  ….not the people (Gal. 5:13, Eph. 6:6-7)

3.  …not the law (Romans 7:6)

III.  Paul’s Example

A.  Romans 15:18

B.  Colossians 1:28-29

C.  1 Corinthians 15:10

*These notes were taken from a message by Dr. John Piper titled “Boiling for Christ”, January 9, 2005.

John Piper on Studying the Bible

Download and Read this article!  I mean really…stop and take the time to read this.  Practical words of application from a truly inspiring student of the Bible…

Bible Study Magazine posed these and other questions to Dr. John Piper:

They asked him…

• How do you keep from growing indifferent to the Bible when you’re so familiar with it?
• How do you approach the Bible?
• How can we make time for the Bible?
• How do you memorize Scripture?
• Is the Bible easier for you to understand than for other people?
• What would you say to someone who hasn’t read their Bible in a long time?

See how Dr. Piper answered these questions by downloading the article here.

Committing to Read the Bible through in One Year

One of the goals that I accomplished in 2008 was to read the Bible through in one year.  And, now in 2009, I’m half way through it again.

Sunday we discussed the benefits of consistantly being in the Word, and one of those ways is to commit to a daily Bible reading plan that will result in reading through the Bible in one year.

This week I came across an excellent article in Catalyst Magazine by Mark Batterson titled “The Best Decision I Made This Year.” This article reinvigorated me to continue to read through the Bible each year for the rest of my life!!!

So, what are waiting for?  Start now and commit to read the Bible through in one year.

Spiritual Gifts Test

In Week 5 of our “Identity” study, we studied “You Are His Sevant”, and in that study we emphasized the importance of knowing and using our unique and individual Spiritual Gifts.

For those who are unsure of their unique Spiritual Gift, here is a test that you can download and take that will help you in discerning your true gift.  Download it here.

Then, go and enjoy your gift for Christ’s glory!

Identity: You Are God’s Friend (Week 6)

I.  Best of All God Is with Us

A.  God with Us

1.  We often view the Christian life as being “about God.”  Or we do things “for God.”  Or we approach life as a way to get “to God.”  Yet God desires us to be “with God.”  …”With us is” God’s heart.

a.  Isaiah 7:14

b.  Matthew 1:23

B.  Dinner with God

1.  Luke 10:38-42

a.  Martha was too busy doing things “for” Jesus to be still and be “with” Him.  She was more occupied with her cause than she was with Christ.  Mary, however, savored the opportunity to be “with” God.

2.  If you are not hungry for a close friendship with God, you are probably filling up on the cheap stuff of life.  If you are not hungry to sit at the feet of Jesus, as Mary did, perhaps you are devouring parts of life that will never truly satisfy.

C.  More than Servants

1.  John 15:13-15

II.  He Shares, Shows, and Includes

A.  He Shares His Thoughts

1.  Abraham is called a friend of God

a.  James 2:23

b.  2 Chronicles 20:7

c.  …as God’s friend, God shared His thoughts with Abraham.

2.  Sodom and Gomorrah

a.  Genesis 18

i.  Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? (Gen. 18:17 NIV).

ii.  Why does God share His plans with Abraham?

iii.  Or does God share His thoughts with Abraham simply because they are friends?

3.  The Holy Spirit

a.  John 16:12-14

i.  Moments after telling the disciples they were His friends, Jesus told them that it was best for them if He left the world because when He left, He would send the Holy Spirit to be their counselor and teacher.  And the Holy Spirit would always be with them, always teaching them, always sharing with them everything from the Father.

ii.  As a Christian, you have the Holy Spirit of God living inside of you.  The Holy Spirit takes the thoughts of God and makes them known to you.  He speaks truth into your life.  He guides you.  He never misleads you because He does not speak on His own.  He only speaks from the mind and heart of God.  You are God’s friend, and the Holy Spirit constantly shares God’s thoughts with you because He never leaves you.

4.  Listening 101

a.  But how do you know you are hearing His voice?  How can you be sure are hearing His thoughts?

b.  Does what you think God is saying to you lie up with what He has already said in Scripture?  God will never pull you in a direction that is contrary to Scripture.

c.  Jesus said the Holy Spirit will guide you in all truth.  If you will listen to Him, He will share His thoughts with you.  He does not hold His thoughts from you.  You are His friend and through His Holy Spirit, who lives in you, He speaks to your spirit, to your heart.

d.  Will we ever stop talking to listen?  Instead of listening, our prayers are often long run-on sentences with no commas and no pauses.  God speaks to us, wanting to share His thoughts, but we often talk over Him.  …As His friend, listen.  …He shares His thoughts with you.  And He shows His greatness to you.

B.  He Shows His Greatness

1.  Moses enjoyed a close friendship with God, and God showed Moses His greatness.

a.  Exodus 33:11, 18-20

2.  I fear we often live bland and boring lives because we don’t press in and enjoy a friendship with God that brings us to the point of asking God to show us His glory.  I fear we miss out on the greatness of God because we pray small prayers and attempt small things for God.

3.  Elijah’s Story

a.  1 Kings 18

i.  But why did Elijah pour water on the altar?  In the middle of a drought?

ii.  Elijah poured water on the altar so it would be clear that it was God who lit everything on fire.  So that no one could say, “I think because of the drought that perhaps some heat from one of the stones caused a piece of straw to catch on fire and then that just spread.”   Elijah poured water all over the altar so the fire would have no explanation other than God.

iii.  God is attracted to situations where it will be clear that He is the one who intervened.  God is attracted to situations where His friends sincerely ask for His greatness and glory to be displayed.

iv.  Perhaps you need to pour some water on a situation in your life.  Perhaps you need to give up, release control, and allow your Friend to fight the battle.  And when God’s greatness is revealed, people will say, “The LORD–he is God!”

C.  He Includes You

1.  You are included in God’s plan.  God does not need us.  …He is completely sufficient in Himself, yet He chooses to include us in His plans.

2.  From the beginning of humanity, God has included His friends in His plans.  God has continually entrusted responsibility to people.  Early in the story of humanity, we see God including us….

a.  Genesis 2:19

3.  You are god’s friend.  He shares His thoughts with you.  He shows His greatness to you.  And He includes you in His plans.  How should you respond to this reality?

D.  Enjoy Being with God

1.  Because you are His friend, simply enjoy being “with” Him.

2.  View your spiritual journey as a journey “with” God, not “toward” Him.  View your daily life as an opportunity to live “with” God, not simply “for” God.  Go to work “with” Him.  Enjoy your leisure time “with” God.

3.  Because Jesus is Immanuel, the message of the gospel is not about doing things “for” God or to get “to” God.  Live life as dinner “with” Jesus instead of dinner “for” Him.  The bottom line is an intimate relationship “with” God.

4.  Best of all God is with us.

The reality:  you are God’s friend.

The response:  live with Him.

*This FOCUS University Ministry Bible Study is based Identity:  Who You Are in Christ by Eric Geiger.  All direct quotes are in italics above.

Identity: You Are His Servant (Week 5)

I.  More Than A Title

A.  1 Peter 2:9

1.  Many people love titles because they find their identity in their title.  Their title is more than a description of what they do.  In their minds their title is a description of who they are.

2.  Since we find much of our identity in our title, we tend to drift toward titles that make us sound important.  Fancy titles give us a greater sense of identity.  They contribute to our sense of self-worth.

3.  What title should we be most proud to claim? a.  Hint:  What title did the early Christians claim as their own?

B.  Hi, I Am A Doulos

1.  Philippians 1:1

a.  The word for bondservant in the original language is “doulos”, which literally means slave.  A “doulos” is a slave who is willingly bound to another.

b.  Paul and Timothy could have chosen other titles to describe their identity.  …But they chose the title “doulos.”

c.  In the Jewish culture, someone who fell on hard times could choose to sell himself as a slave to someone.  If a person was deep in debt, he could sell himself to the person whom he owed money.  It was often a wise and logical choice because your master was required to take care of your needs and treat you well.

d.  This was not slavery as we have imagined slavery; masters treated their servants as family.  Many viewed selling themselves as servants as a viable option to provide for their family and survive.

e.  God instituted a law among His people that the seventh year all debts would be completely forgiven.  People who sold themselves to wealthy businessmen would be freed after six years of service.  God gave instructions to His people detailing how to free servants who sold themselves into service.

i.  Deuteronomy 15:12, 16-17

f.  Servants were given the option to stay with their master, to continue in the service of the person who bought them.  Many chose to stay because life with their master was so much better than life elsewhere.  They loved the mast and his family.  the could not imagine living elsewhere.  they could not imagine working for anyone else.  So the servant could say, “I don’t want to leave you.  I want to stay.”

g.  At that point a special ceremony took place.  The servant would place his ear against a door, and the master would take an awl, which is a small piercing device, and pierce the earlobe of the servant.  Through this special ceremony the master and the servant entered into a special relationship, a bond that lasted their entire life.  The servant was marked for life as the willing and grateful servant of his master.

h.  The marking was important so that everyone who saw the servant and the master together would know that the servant chose to stay and serve.  The servant was with his master out of love and gratitude, not obligation.

2.  Like Paul and Timothy, you are a bondservant of Christ.

a.  1 Peter 1:18-19

b.  Ephesians 1:13

c.  …you stay with your Master because you love Him.  While you serve because you love, you also know that true greatness is found in serving your Master.

II.  Serving Is Greatness

A.  An Empty Life Apart from Your Master

1.  Do you remember how empty life was away from your Master, apart from a relationship with God?  Is not greatness found with your Master?

a.  Psalm 84:10

2.  Unfortunately we sometimes forget that true greatness is serving our Master.  We often suffer from memory loss as Christians, forgetting where greatness is found and living confused and misdirected lives.

3.  …we often listen to the wrong voices and are marked by the wrong influences, our daily lives are tragic attempts to please ourselves.  The bombardment of messages telling us that we exist for ourselves contributes to our spiritual amnesia.  And the messages detailing narcissistic methods to enjoy life are plentiful.

a.  Mark 9:35

b.  Mark 10:43-45

4.  God’s kingdom is an upside-down kingdom.  In God’s economy, true greatness comes from serving.  For Jesus, “last is the new first”.  If you choose to be a servant now, you will be first for all of eternity.  If you choose to serve in this brief life, you will be rewarded for all of eternity.

B.  The Example of Jesus

1.  John 13:1-5

2.  Luke 22:24

a.  During the meal the disciples argue about who is the greatest.

b.  The hands that created the world washes feet.  The hands that fashioned humanity rubs dirt off grungy and nasty feet.  God is on His knees cleaning the feet of His twelve disciples.  …Including Judas.

3.  John 13:12-17

a.  As a follower of Christ, you are challenged to wash feet.  Not literally, but figuratively.  Christ asks you to serve others, to embrace your identity as a servant.  He has handed you a towel and has given you a basin.  …Servants serve.  A nonserving Christian is an oxymoron…

C.  The Serving High

1.  Jesus told His disciples that they would be blessed if they served.  An you will be blessed if you serve, both eternally and presently.  Eternally you will receive rewards because of your faithful service.  Presently, a supernatural high comes with serving.

2.  Experiencing God overflow out of your life to serve others trumps anything the world has to offer.  There is a blessing in serving that cannot be experienced any other way.

D.  The Reality of A Servant

1.  Serve the Master’s Family

a.  While God desires for you to serve the world around you, the Master also asks you to serve His family.  And the church is God’s family.  By “church,” I mean God’s people, not a building, denomination, creed, confession, or organization.  The church is the gathering of the Master’s family in specific locations all around the world.  …the church is the bride of Christ… the church is the family of the Master.  And the Master asks us to serve His family.

b.  God has given you a spiritual gift, and one of the reasons of your gifting is so that God’s family will benefit from your contribution.  The family suffers if you choose not to serve.  The family suffers if you forget you are a marked servant.

2.  Manage God’s Grace

a.  Serving is management of God’s grace.

i.  1 Peter 4:10

b.  Since we are God’s servants.  He has entrusted us with His resources.  We are His stewards, His managers, His administrators.  Not only do we manage God’s finances, creation, and time; but we also manage His grace.

c.  God has entrusted His grace to you for you to mange.  When you serve, you administer God’s grace to other people.  AS you serve others, you dispense God’s love and compassion.  You are the manager of God’s greatest resource — His grace.  And you are responsible to administer it through serving.

3.  Enjoy Your Unique Contribution

a.  As God’s bond servant, your service is unique.  Your contribution to the Master’s kingdom and family is uniquely customized to your calling, personality, gifting, and stage of life.

i.  1 Peter 4:10 – 11

b.  While God’s grace is administered through His servants, His grace is administered in various forms.  Because we are different, with unique spiritual gifts, God’s mercy is expressed in a variety of ways.

c.  There is a unique contribution that only you can make.  There is a specific way that God’s grace is going to be distributed through you.  Each of us plays a critical role in God’s desire to reveal His glory through the church (Eph. 3:10), and your Master desires your unique and specific contribution.

The reality:  You are a servant.

The response:  Serve the Master.

*This FOCUS University Ministry Bible Study is based Identity:  Who You Are in Christ by Eric Geiger.  All direct quotes are in italics above.