Quiet Times Search

• Days of excitement are for young Christians
• Mature means being dead and lifeless
• See other older Christians not doing well and assume that is our fate

• Gospel of John - John 13-17
• As a young ministry intern, Paul's letters to Timothy and Titus
• As a mature Christians, David and the Psalms
• After failure, Isaiah 40-66
• Entering forties with cynicism and anger, Book of Ecclesiastes
• All the time, study of Jesus

It is good to be reminded of who God the Father is:

1. God's love is unconitional

• Thomas, the douber, was forgiven
• Peter, who deied the Lord, was forgiven
• Paul, killer of Christians, was forgiven

The only ones who dail to receive forgiveness are the ones who fail  to ask for it

2. God always comes through

God is faithful, he can not disown himself (2 Timothy 2:13)

3. Nothing is impossible for God

God's power is absolute
He can change anyone and anything
It is never an issue of whether or not God has power, it is if we believe

4. God never makes a mistake

He knows what we can bear - he is always right

Life is a temporary assignment

It is descriped as a mist, a fast runner, a breath, a wisp of smoke

Compared to eternity, life is extremely brief
Earth is only a temporary residence
Christians should carry spiritual green cards

With this understanding. worries lost their grip on our lives

In order to keep us from getting too attached God allows us to feel much discontentment and dissatisfaction in life
It is a fatal mistake to assume God's goal for your life is material prosperity or popular success

• Paul was faithful - ended up in prison
• John the Baptist was faithful - was beheaded

Some would consider them foolish and lost everything but they gained everything - God and heaven

In heaven we will ask ourselves:

• Why did I place so much importance things so temporary?
• What was I thinking?
• Why did I waste so much time on thing that will not last?

• Lose fellowship with God
• Expose my pride and insecurity
• Set myself up to be judged by God
• Harm the fellowship

Will the cross ever make sense to the world?

Will all the wisdom of the world, no one has found God
Man destined to frustration by God himself to show themselves helpless without God

Jews sought a miracle worker general ignoring scriptures like Isaiah 53
Greeks described god as apatheia - total inability to feel; looked don on uncultered Christians

God's plan was never to impress prideful scholars or to find acceptance among the rulers of the ages

Some things never change:

• Graduate student in the laborary for 100 hours - OK
• Athlete who trains 6-8 hours a day - OK
• Executive working 60 hours a week - OK
• Someone passionate about Christ - Bad

Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing
Man without the Spirit does not accpet spiritual things - 1 Corinthians 2:14
God has blinded the minds of unbelievers - 2 Corinthians 4:4

God didn't come to impress the world. Are you?

• Reminded the Israelties not to be afraid
• Memorials and Feasts that were setup by God
• Jesus reminded the disciples time and time again to have faith
• Paul's letters remind Christians about the cross and resurrection
• Communion for us to remember the cross and resurrection

• A new life -  we too may live a new life - Romans 6:4
• Eternal life - we will not perish and nothing compares to it - 1 Peter 1:3-5

One may ask, where is the quiet listening part of prayer in this book

God encourages us to be still and know that he is God - Psalms 46:10

Mature prayer is not intended to be a monologue, but a dialogue

Christian meditation and Eastern meditation has to do with is in our minds as meditate
Eastern = empty our minds - dangerous activity
New Age = visualization of pleasant and peaceful landscapes as spiritual guides - opens a door to tremendous spiritual deception

Biblically based contemplation and meditation seeks not to empty the mind but fill it
God will speak through impression and intuition - should always be checked against the Bible and mature Christians

Luke 18:22-24
Wouldn't all Christians love to meet someone who comes across as this man does initially?

Most of us would say, "can we study the Bible?"
Jesus had a very different responce because he knew his heart

Sell everything and follow him = It's not what you do but who you are
For him to have a heart set fully on following Jesus - it meant a willingness to seel all
Following the exchange, it became clear - the man was out of touch with himself and God

Jesus did challenge him but he also loved him
He pointed the man to the narrow way
At the same time he drew him close want to give him strength, faith, and hope

Jesus does not get into a lengthy theological debate
He saw weaknesses the man had to deal with if he was going to enter the kingdom of God

Each of us lacks that "one thing" deep down that we must give up and following Jesus
Something we don't know what it is but God will reveal it - Hebrews 4:12-13

• Jesus served humbly as their servant - his life was all about love
  
• All men will know you as a disciple by your love of one another
• Distinctive mark by which Christians are recognized
• Does not say "they will know by your doctrine"

• People would beat tools of division into tools of peace - Isaiah 2:4
• Impossible unity - Isaiah 11:6-9
• Men would protect each other - Isaiah 32:2

• Praying for show - Matthew 22:29
• Studying the scriptures - Matthew 22:29

• NT letter deal with relationships more than any other subject
• Carry each other's burden - burdens produced by sin
• Christians are to be involved to know what sin's others are struggling to overcome
• Helping your brother to overcome a sin is a fulfillment of the principle of Christ
• Jesus carried our burden - Isaiah 53:4-6; 1 Peter 2:24

There were a lot of relationship issues that needed to be corrected in first book of Corinthians:

1. They were divided into cliquish groups - Chapter 1-3
2. Became arrogant in their relationship with Paul - 1 Corinthians 4:18-19
3. Lawsuits with each other - Chapter 6
4. Left their spouses just because they were not Christians - Chapter 7
5. Offending other's conscience - Chapter 8
6. Acted insensitively toward the poorer members - Chapter 11
7. Who had the greatest gift (selfish competition) - Chapter 12-14

1. Have you made a recent decision to change something in your life?
2. Why is it more comfortable to make changes on your own terms? What changes do you seek to make?
3. How well do you respond to reproof – from the Bible and from fellow Christians?
4. Have you ever changed a fellowship, that is, church membership, to avoid a call to repentance?

• Matrix – do you know what this is, Neo?
• Feeling we have all had – there is something wrong with the world
• Blue Pill – You wake up and you believe what you wan to the believe (Jewish leaders chose this one)
• Red Pill – you are only offered truth
• Without repentance, we will remain blinded
  • How could a kingdom transcend geographic boundaries?
  • How could a kingdom be within us?
  • What sort of kingdom has no capital, no government, no army, and no temple?
• Longed for a tangible kingdom rather than a spiritual kingdom

• Many Christians the kingdom of God as something the future holds
• Some wish to avoid the kingdom commitment here on earth
• Kingdom expect allegiance ahead of all others
• Any real government expects this type of loyalty

• King exerted seasonal influence
• Three levels of subjects:
  • Disciples – treated him a Lord
  • Christians – little bit naughty, gave mainly to friends and family, on rear occasions to the poor
  • Unbelievers – little bit naughty, did not believe, not Hitler or other really bad people
• Most indirectly believe in this theory of the world
• If I abandon this paradigm, I would have to admit I am wrong.

• Thought of Jesus as a Messianic Champion
• Thought Jesus would reveal himself in a fierce battle
• “You are the Christ!”
• All the right data
  • Witness the transfiguration – built shelters for Moses, Jesus, and Elijah – Jesus said Peter didn’t know what he was saying
  • Night of the betrayal – Peter said bring it on, he held on hope that 12 leagues of angels would come; drawn his sword to the guard
  • Peter joined the other disciples in Jerusalem – with “one mind” in prayer and purpose

Means to show someone his sin and to summon him to repentance; bring light, expose set forth
More than just showing faults (easy)
Sets out to prove the offense to the blinded offender
Laodicean – I know your deeds, church became blinded
Exposing the church resented a gate to enter repentance

• To give repentance – Acts 5:30-31
• God granted repentance – Acts 11:11-18
• God will grant the repentance – 2 Timothy 2:24-26

1. What is the value of the gift of elegcho (pronounced “elencho”)?
2. What methods has the Holy Spirit used to convict you? Which has been most effective at producing repentance? Which methods have you most tried to avoid?
3. How have you tried to avoid reproof from fellow Christians?
4. According to Revelation 3:19, why does Jesus reprove us? What response does He desire from us?
5. How can a person dead in sin repent and believe?
6. How does God grant repentance?
7. Look back over the ministries of John the Baptist and Jesus (see chapters 4 and 5); list examples of how they reproved their hearers in order to bring them to repentance.
8. Why is repentance impossible without God?

1. How does the church represent the “destination of repentance”?
2. How did the early church help sinners to repent? How did it safeguard true repentance from compromise?
3. How did the walls of the early church stand steadfast against the assaults of the world?
4. What does it mean to be of “one mind” with your brothers and sisters?
5. How were early Christians both non-conformists and conformists?
6. Why has church discipline gotten a “bad rap”? Is it warranted?
7. Why do so few churches practice the Biblical mandates to discipline its members?
8. How can a church best practice church discipline?
9. Have you ever been disciplined by your church? Did God’s plan lead you to repentance – why or why not?
10. Over 85% of the Biblical references to repentance address groups rather than individuals. Thus, how can you help your fellowship - at various levels – repent?
11. How can you spark repentance – even revival – in your church and in your community? Are you willing to walk its path of selfless commitment?

• Jesus built into the disciples the structure of the church; Mustard seed - Matthew 13:32
• Jesus’ vision was for the church to be world-wide
• The church would have many trials and battles but would never be overcome - Matthew 16:18
• Peter finally realized what was going on - Matthew 16:18
• Must see the direct relation:
  • Bearing witness to Christ
  • Ultimate Victory over the world
• If the disciples did not evangelize, there would not be any Christians today.
• “Through the Word” – Others would believe in Him too. - John 17:20
• We must do what Jesus – He made disciples, we should walk as Jesus walked
• He taught His disciples to reproduce
• He had no other plan

• Great Commission
  • Go, baptize and teach
  • Go to the ends of the earth preaching the Gospel - Mark 16:15
  • Not only followed but led others to follow.
• · Pray for workers
  • Mass ripe for harvest – pray for harvesters.
  • God already loves us – we need to pray specifically
  • Only hope for men is to go to them with the gospel of Salvation
  • Won by working faithfully, patiently, painstakingly until they become fruitful Christians

• Are those who have followed us to Christ now leading others to Him?
• Not enough to rescue the perishing but to build them in the faith of Christ.
• Converts go out and make leaders out of the converts not just simply more followers.
• Church should be measured on how many Christians are actively winning souls.
• Lord added to the Church, those who were being saved
• Within a few centuries, the world would have known the hand of the Master
• Shortcuts have failed
  • Adaptations of the principle are always necessary in the light of changing circumstances.
  • Costly principles of leadership development can not undercut
  • We try ceremonies, programs, organizations, and crusades of human ingenuity.
  • We must understand that evangelism is not done by something but by someone
  • God's nature is to get personal. Men reaching other men for Christ.
• Need men who:
  • See His vision
  • Feel His passion
  • Willing to be nothing so that He may be everything