Quiet Times Search

How do we decide what to study?

• How do I need to grow?
• What is my greatest spiritual need right now?

Questions to ask yourself:

• Do I need to see Jesus? - Gospels
• Do I need to be more spiritual? - Sermon of the Mount
• Do I need more faith?
• Do I need to learn to others more? - Jesus, John, Peter, Paul examples
• Do I need to be more grateful? - Psalms/Topical study
• Do I need to become more evangelistic?
• Do I need to know God better? - Abraham or Moses
• Do I need greater assurance of salvation? Grace topical study
• Do I need to learn how to lead? - Moses, Joshua, Nehemiah, David, Timothy/Paul, and Titus
• Do I need to renew and revived as an older disciple? Hebrews
• Do I need to a greater conviction of sin? - David's sins account, acts of the sinful nature, the cross
• Do I need to repent of sin? Godly and worldly repentance, Paul's repentance, David's repentance
• Do I need a deeper prayer life? Jesus, Moses, Ahraham, Nehemiah, and Daniel
• Do I need help as a husband, wife, or parent? Ephesians 5:21-6:4; Colossians 3:18-21; 1 Peter 3:1-7
• Do I need help in dealing with suffering or persecution? Early church's persecution in Acts
• Do I need inspiration or encouragement?  Joshua, Joseph, Peter, Elijah, Elisha, and Daniel

Commit passages of scripture to memory

• Voice of guilt that reminds me of the past
• Voice of doubt tries to tell me about the future
• Voice that says we are weak and can not do it
• Voice that judges me of wrong doing and bad motivation
  

• Deny self daily
• Repentance - when we don't respond to God's grace - God will find a way to help us to repent
  
  • Through kindness - Romans 2:4
  • Through discipline - Hebrews 12:5-11
• Persevering though suffering - James 1:2-4

Servants think about their work, not what others are doing

They do not compare, criticize, or compete with other servants; same goal and same team
When you are busy serving, you don't have time to be critical
Our job is not to evaluate - Lord will determine the sucessfulness  of his servant - Romans 14:4

If you serve like Jesus, expect to be criticized
The service of the sinful (pouring perfume on Jesus) was though to be a waste but just though of it as significant - Matthew 26:10

Servants base their identity in Christ

They are loved and accepted by grace, servants don't have to prove their worth
Jesus washing feet - Jesus understood his worth and the task did not threathen his self-image - John 13:3-4

Insecure people are always worrying about how they appear; want others to serve them instead
Only God's approval counts - 2 Corinthians 10:18

Servants think of ministry as an opportunity, not an obligation

Serve the Lord with gladness - Psalms 100:2
The Father rewards anyone who serves him - John 12:26
He will not forget how hard you have worked - Hebrews 6:10

The only really happy people are those who have learned to serve

• Help me be a better person
• Help me to change
• Help me to love you more

1. We must admit that we are sinful
2. We must realize Jesus has called us to follow him and be righteous
3. Humbly commit to change
4. We must change

1. There is but one mediator between God and man - 1 Timothy 2:5
2. God sent Christ to reconcile sinful man back to Him - 2 Corinthians 5:18-20
3. This God did this by offering Christ as the sacrifice  for our sins - 1 John 4:9-10
4. We have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins - Ephesians 1:7
5. Jesus is the only way to God - John 14:6

Prophets – God can forgive your sins
Jesus – He said their sins were given by him
To the paralytic - “…may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” (Mark 2:10)
To the sinful women – “her many sins have been forgiven” (Luke 7:47)

Prophets – God saves
Jesus knew he was the one to save the world from sin
“…Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45)
“This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28)

Prophets – God judges
Jesus - “…my judgment is just” (John 5:30))
On the last day - “Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord…” (Matthew 7:22)

1. How to live
2. Be committed to him
3. Should love him

1. Must admit to being sinful
2. Must admit to being selfish
3. Must admit to being wrong

1. How does Scrooge illustrate metanoia?
2. Have you ever experienced a gestalt switch while studying in school? How would your life change if you experienced this phenomenon in a way that helped you better understand your relationship with God?
3. What are the rules by which you play the “game of life” within an egocentric paradigm …and a deocentric paradigm?
4. How does changing the rules of a game change the strategy by which you play the game? What can learn from applying that principle to your life with God?

• Students – pass/fail
• Employees – promotions\get fired
• Calories – lose/gain weight

• None of delight in a highlight reel of our personal sinfulness (especially avoid reference to specific sins)
• Whenever we expose our sins in the light of fellowship – able to see our sin more clearly

1. How can grace compel repentance?
2. How can you assess your debt to Jesus?
3. How can you be assured of the forgiveness of that debt?
4. Who is to blame for Christ’s death on the Cross?
5. How does one’s good confession - “Jesus is Lord!” - express one’s repentance?
6. Why is sharing the good news of Jesus Christ a clear indication of one’s repentance?

• Many call press conferences to get there side of the story our first
• Once guilt is found, party than give a “heart-felt” apology – sorrow for getting caught
• Sin is destructive. It ruins relationships, reputation, peace of mind and personal integrity

• Some believe the abundance of tears is repentance
  • Forgiven women (forgiven)
  • Peter, Paul vs Cain (became angry)
  • Esau (wailed loudly)
  • Judas (deeply regretted)
• All three shed tear but not one repented
• Claiming to be a victim doesn’t make one a victim
• Tears can be self-affirming to one with self-pity (can become more sinful)
• Ones mostly likely to enable and least likely to help you

Does Christianity condemn desire? Like the Puritans

It is not a matter of desire is good or not - it is what we do with it
Christianity recognizes that desire has gone mad within us but not seeking to fix the problem by killing our desire

Something has gone wrong
God gives us commands for our own good
The point is not the law but joy

Faith on its way to maturity moves from duty to delight
If the goal is to move from delight to duty, we are going backwards and regressing

Prodigal son
Younger son desire get him into trouble
Father's desire for the lost boy is deep
He is grateful just to have his son home again
Older brother lived his entire life under duty and obligation - dealt with his sinful nature by killing desire
THose who kill desire are not the ones who experience God's embrace

Jesus offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry to the one who could deliever him - Hebrews 5:7

Strong desires make strong prayers

Children are often not embarrassed by desire
We hide our true desires and call it maturity - Jesus is not impressed

Why are we embarrassed by our desire? Why do we pretend?

• Persistent widow wasn't embarrassed
• "Sinful" woman wasn't embarrassed

We don't pray like Jesus because we don't allow ourselves to nearly alive
We don't allow ourselves to feel how desparate our situation truely is

Pretending seems a much more reliable road to Christian maturity
Only the price is we pay for the loss of soul, communication with God, loss of direction and loss of hope

Without a deep and buring desire of our own, we will be ruled by the desires of others

Myth tell us three truths, this third one is:

3. In this desparate hour, we have a crucial role to play

Neo sees himself as Thomas Anderson, but he was the one
Dorthy see herself as just a farm girl from Kansas but Joan of Arc was also on the farm but saw much more

People in the scriptures that saw this:

• Little boy slays the gaint
• Loudmouthed fisherman who can not keep a job to lead the church
• Sinful woman with a golden heart became a example of humility to the Pharisees

This eternal truth is the most difficult for us to believe
Our days are extraordinary but most don't see it this way
It is the 'veil of familarity' - you are not what you think you are

There is a glory to your life that your enemy fears

The one who knows what you could be, fears it
The whole world lies under the power of the evil one - 1 John 5:19

Things happen to you and we question why
There is a bigger story going on

If believe we have a crucial role to play and come to know it is true, everything would change

• Cinderella rises from from supression to become queen
• The ugly duckling becomes a beautiful swan
• Pinocchio becomes a real boy
• Frog becomes a prince
• Scrooge becomes a good friend to all
• Cowardly lion, Scarecrow, Tinman all get what they are missing

• Zacchaeus the trickster becomes Zaccheaus the honest
• Mary the sinful becomes Mary the faithful
• Paul the self-righteous murder becomes Paul the humble apostle

Ephesians 1:11-14

• We eat to get energy
• We need to eat to healthy spiritually too
• What are we feeding the spirit?
  • What is your spiritual diet?
  • Are you eating junk food?
• Do not forget the Holy Spirit! - get to know him better
• We will die if we continue to gratify the sinful nature

Ephesians 3:14-19

• We desire to be filled
• Fullness = satisfied (not looks for more)

Ephesians 4:11-13

• Leaders help us
• Let other into your life

Ephesians 4:17-29

• All these sins are poisonous to our health
• Put on new self - start a new diet

General healthy spiritual food items

1. Obedience
2. Prayer
3. Bible Study
4. Singing
5. Encouraging Others
6. Serving
7. Contribution
8. Graduated
9. Fasting
10. Confessing Sin
11. Discipling

1. Weak - poison = no, good food = no, eats little
2. Sick - poison = some, worldly, impure
3. Dying - not eating much, lots of poison
4. Strong - lots of food, consistent, wide variety

1. Scheduled meals
2. Decide what meals should go
3. Decide what to start eating

• God's nature
• Their sinfulness
• Christ's payment
• Steps that must be taken to receive forgiveness
• The new life he offers

• High potency, low proximity = remaining isolated from those you need to be with
• Low potency, high proximity = just being part of the world
• High potency, High proximity, No communication = hoping the gospel will just rub off

1. Types of Debt
   1. Legitimate
      1. To meet real needs, to provide for necessities (e.g. home mortgage)
      2. To enable you to earn a living (e.g. auto loan, educational loan, business loan)
   2. Sinful, Foolish
      1. To make purchases which are not essential (e.g. entertainment items, vacations, etc.)
      2. Borrowing what you cannot repay or do not know when you can repay.
      3. Borrowing at excessive rates of interest (credit cards).
2. Borrowing
   1. As Christians, borrowing should be an exception, not the rule.
   2. God calls those wicked who borrow and do not repay. (Psalms 37:21)
   3. Let your "yes" be "yes." When you borrow, repay on time. (Matthew 5:37)
   4. When you borrow someone"s property you are responsible for it. For example, if you borrow someone's car and get into an accident, you are responsible to pay the cost of repairs.
3. Lending
   1. Do not charge interest when lending to a brother in need. Have compassion and do not add to people's burdens. (Exodus 22:25-27)
   2. Be generous in lending to those in real need. (Deuteronomy 15:7-8)
   3. Do not lend expecting repayment; therefore, do not lend what you need to get back. For example, do not lend out money you need to pay your rent, expecting the borrower to repay you on time. (Luke 6:34-36)
   4. Do not lend or give money to someone, especially a brother who is idle or unwilling to work Do not lend to people if it promotes their irresponsibility, laziness, or self-indulgence.

• Make a list of your debts. Contact your creditors, ask for forgiveness and let them know your intention to pay in full.

1. Why Get Out of Debt?
   1. It hinders us from being able to give generously. When we are paying 18%+ interest on top of the principal, it is difficult to have anything left to share with others.
   2. It is wasteful. The exorbitant interest we pay on our credit cards is totally wasted.
   3. The balance is probably there because you were not following God's plan for your finances.
2. How to Get Out
   1. You must be radical (Matthew 5:29-30)
      1. Cut up all your credit cards (if you have outstanding balances that you have not been able to pay off for 3 months or more).
      2. Call your credit card companies and cancel the accounts.
      3. Work out your budget with the goal of removing your debt. Do not buy anything that is not necessary. Cut all unnecessary expenditures out of your budget (e.g. cable TV, newspaper).
      4. Get input (Proverbs 15:22)
      5. Commit your plan to the Lord (Psalms 127:1-2)
   2. Finish the job (Luke 14:28-30)
      1. Let godly sorrow lead you to repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10-11). You must take responsibility for your debt.

1. Am I in sinful/foolish debt? If so, why?
2. Am I willing to apply the principles set forth to get out of debt?
3. What will be the hardest thing for me to change to get out of debt?
4. Who do I know that will be able to help me with my plan?

1. God's Plan for Your Life - Genesis 3:19; Ecclesiastes 3:13, 22; 2 Thessalonians 3:10
   1. It is God's will for us to work hard in order to earn the bread we eat.
   2. God wants us to find satisfaction in our work.
   3. If a person will not work, he cannot eat.
2. Responsibility of the Employee - Colossians 3:22-25; Ephesians 4:28; Acts 5:29
   1. Obedience: We are to be a disciple to our boss on the job. God expects us to obey our boss not just to win his favor, but out of reverence for Christ.
   2. Wholeheartedness: God expects us to put our whole heart into our work. As Christians, we should be the most sincere and hard-working employees on the job.
   3. Do not steal from your employer (e.g. receiving pay for work you did not do, taking supplies, submitting false or exaggerated expense reports).
   4. Obey God first. If asked to do something that is illegal, unethical, or sinful - obey God over men.

1. What do I need to repent of in relation to my job? Be specific.
2. Am I doing anything as a part of my job that is sinful or goes against my conscience?