Thursday July 31, 2014

Read Romans 8:9-11

The big question for each person in this world is ‘who or what controls you?’ Conversion is the point at which a person changes from being controlled by someone or something other than God to being controlled by God. Conversion is a filling of the Holy Spirit. When evangelist D.L. Moody described his conversion experience, he said: “I was in a new world. The next morning the sun shone brighter and the birds sang sweeter … the old elms waved their branches for joy, and all nature was at peace.” Conversion changes everything.

Unfortunately, there are people in our churches across the world who have not been converted. They may have felt a tinge of guilt. They may have acknowledged the presence or existence of God. They may have sat in a church building their entire life, but they have never been filled with the Spirit.  There are several marks of such a person - far too many to mention. Romans 8:9 sums it up. The pew-sitting person that has never been filled with the Spirit is controlled by the sinful nature. That person will put self above Christ and others. That person will seek pleasure and fulfilment and experience and almost anything else above seeking Christ. That person will make priorities that are not Christ centred and often not Christ honouring. Put bluntly, that person will live for self and not for Christ! The question has to be asked! Are you Spirit filled? Does the Spirit of God live in you? But as we ask that question, several other questions flow out from our heart and mind. How can I know? How can I be sure? How can I tell if some of the afore mentioned things are still in my life?

The question boils down to a simple truth. Do you believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and rose to life for your justification? If you can answer a definitive yes then you are on the right track. But we have to also ask, have you responded positively to that belief? We are constantly told in Scripture to repent and be baptised or to repent and believe. Even the demons “believe” in God but they shudder!!! If you do believe in Jesus but are not sure, then take a moment to pray the STAY prayer on page 16. When you sincerely pray this prayer you can be assured that you are a Spirit filled Christian– there is no other kind. Make sure you tell someone - your pastor, your elders, your cell group leader. Tell someone that you have given your life to Jesus.

The person filled with the Spirit is controlled by the Spirit and lives in accord with the Spirit - which basically means that they live according to the Word of God. God’s law and God’s word have been written in their hear and mind in accord with the new covenant and they seek to please God in everything. This is not some magical takeover by the Holy Spirit where you cease to exist. As verse 10 shows, you still exist in the same body that you had before conversion. But now there is a battle raging. The old sinful nature wages war against the new Spirit filled nature. Now you are led by the Spirit but the old sinful nature will seek to drag you backwards into sin.

Don’t despair. God has won the battle in Christ and will deliver you safely into His heavenly kingdom. Persevere because the battle is won.

Prayer:

Having read today’s passage and notes jot down various prayer points in each:

Adoration:

Confession:

Thanks:

Supplication:

¨ Pray that those in your congregation who are not Spirit filled will pray the STAY Prayer on page 16.

¨ Pray that your church would grow as more people are converted to Christ Jesus. Pray that each believer would be faithful in evangelism.

 Worship Moment:

A life of worship is more than just doing things. It is a life lived in obedience through the power of the Spirit, out of gratitude for Christ’s atoning work, in adoration of the Father for His love.

 Discussion Questions

1. Christians talk about a Spirit/flesh battle. What does this mean?

2. What strategies can we put into place to help win the daily Spirit/flesh battle?

3. When we fall in this battle, what should we do?

 Discipleship Moment For Girls

Intro: We need to make sure that our words match our actions. Sometimes we’ll be tempted to say something but not live it out. We can tell God we love Him but live as though we don’t. God’s Spirit helps us to avoid this kind of life.

Discuss a time when you saw this in your own life. What did you do? How did you change?

Read Galatians 5:17

Describe the battle of Galatians 5:17 in your own life.

How can parents help their daughters and vice versa in this battle?

Pray together for daily victory in this battle.

 Discipleship Moment For Boys

Intro: Men have strong bodily desires (lust, anger etc) that desire immediate fulfilment. God has created right ways to fulfil these desires but our sinful nature seeks out  bad ways to fill them.

Discuss an area of your life where you have seen this to be true in your own life.

Read Galatians 5:17

Describe the battle of Galatians 5:17 in your own life.

How can parents help their sons and vice versa in this battle?

Pray together for daily victory.

Wednesday July 30, 2014

Read Romans 8:5-8

A young man who professed to love Jesus was asked by his pastor why he could not and did not attend church regularly. The fumbled answer, with much umming and arrr-ing came back, ‘There is always so much else to be done. Life just gets busy’. This young man illustrates well the truth of Romans 8:5-8. Our lives are a by-product of what’s in our mind. When Scripture talks about ‘mind’ it includes our thoughts but more so it is our ‘centre’. Whatever we place in our centre, our inner being, is shown in our life and words. That young man had given his heart and mind, that is his centre, over to the things of life. Work, socialising, fun and family were at the centre of his life. God was placed on an outer layer and was given time when these other, more central things, didn’t  demand of him. If God is not in your centre then you are not living a life of worship. Harsh words aren’t they?

God does not and will not play second fiddle to work, socialising, sport, family or anything else. We have to come to God and worship Him on His terms not on ours. The very millisecond me or my agenda enters into worship, it’s no longer worship but consumerism. This is exactly what Romans 8:5-8 is saying. The mind of the sinful nature, that is the mind set on the desires of the flesh is set on what that nature desires. It is more concerned about work and play and fun and pleasing people and earning money and keeping family happy and … God doesn’t get a mention!

The picture only gets dimmer. The mind controlled by the sinful nature ends up in death - death towards God and if left unchecked, eternal death, eternal separation from God. The sinful mind is hostile to God. A person may sit in church but that sinful mind is angered when the church asks for commitment or giving or time or talents or treasures. The sinful mind finds reasons to leave that church or to gossip and slander the leadership of that Church. The sinful mind is hostile when more is asked for than mere attendance. No wonder we read that the sinful mind cannot and will not submit to God’s law!

But in contrast those who live in accord with the Spirit have their mind on what the Spirit desires. John 16:14 tells us that the Spirit desires truth. Truth is about worship, adoration and praise of God. The person who lives by the Spirit is filled with life and peace. He or she puts God in their centre and gives God their entire heart, soul, mind and strength. They worship God and make God a priority in everything. He or she gives God the seat of authority and makes all decisions based on God’s authority and worship of Him. Does he/she schedule other things for Sonday? No, because it’s God’s time! Does he/she spend 95% of the weekly income? No, because that would leave less than a tithe for God? Does he/she dwell on things that are displeasing to God? Of course not. It’s displeasing.

The Spirit filled life is a life lived with God deliberately and consciously in our centre!

Prayer:

Having read today’s passage and notes jot down various prayer points in each:

Adoration:

Confession:

Thanks:

Supplication:

¨ Pray that our cell groups would be havens for growth in holiness and relationship. Pray that they would be reaching out to the community.

¨ Pray that our cell leaders would be equipped by God to lead, to serve and to set the example of godliness and Christ-likeness.

 Word Moment:

If you want God to be a priority in everything try to develop a pattern in your life. Read the Word and apply it!

Do not merely listen to the Word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says!

 Discussion Questions 

1. How can a person find out what’s really at their centre?

2. What can someone do if they find out that God is not in their centre?

3. What role could memorising Scripture and singing Scriptural songs play in guarding and keeping our centre God focussed?

4. What is Proverbs 4:23 teaching us and how can we put it into practice?

 Discipleship Moment For Girls

Intro: It’s very easy to think negatively and to allow jealousy or anger/bitterness to creep into our heart. We can easily begin to think about things that might happen or could happen. This is not glorifying to God.

Discuss how you have seen this in your own life. Talk about how you guard against it.

Read Proverbs 4:23

What does guard your heart mean?

What does it look like for you?

Why is this said to be ‘above all else’?

Pray together that God would purify your heart and help you to guard it carefully.

 Discipleship Moment For Boys

Intro: Men are wired by God to be visual beings. That means we like to look at things, especially women. That in itself is not bad but God wants us to have eyes only for 1 woman - our wife. Until then we have to keep our eyes fixed straight ahead.

Discuss how you have struggled with this and how you have guarded against this.

Read Job 31:1

What does God want you to do?

How can you do this?

Pray together that you would be able to keep the covenant with your eyes before God and that you’ll please Him in all things.

Tuesday July 29, 2014

Read Romans 8:3-4

Humans love to make rules and regulations. Church people are particularly good at this!  We have even created a grading system for Christians and churches based on these laws. A good church for example might sing four hymn or perhaps two hymns and two choruses. A good Christian wears their Sonday best to church and uses eloquent language in prayer. A really good and pious pastor pronounces ‘holy’ with a particularly long ‘o’ sound and with an air of superiority.

But the law was never meant to lead us to salvation. The Hebrew people were enslaved in Egypt and were helpless. How ridiculous to think that God would have said to them, ‘Keep this law and I’ll save you from bondage and slavery.’ Rather, He saved them first. He brought them to Mt Sinai and then gave them the Law or Torah to show them how to live now that they had been saved.

In fact, the law could never save because it was weakened by our sinful nature. God had said that the punishment for sin was death. As soon as our federal forbearers sinned, we were all born under the power of sin. Our weak and biased human nature would ensure that all of us would stand condemned by the law. Each of us rightly deserves God’s punishment, which is death.

But God did what the law could not do. He simultaneously kept the law and metered out the punishment for transgression of the law. He did this by sending Jesus, His one and only Son, into our world. Jesus came as a man and as a man offered Himself as a sin offering. He gave Himself over to death to be the offering for sin. He became our substitute who wore the wrath of God for us.

To put it bluntly, we did the crime and He did the time. Even more so, Jesus’ perfection, His total and complete obedience, has been given or imputed to us. God looks at us through Jesus and sees the complete fulfilment of the Law. And so the complete requirements of the Law have been fully met in us.

So how should we live, given that Jesus has done everything for us? It would be very easy to conclude that because Jesus has done everything for me and because God sees me through Jesus’ perfection, then I can indulge all my passions and desires! But if I reach this conclusion then I show I have totally missed the point. Verse 4 sums up how we are to live. We ‘do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.’ What that means is that our hearts are to be so filled with gratitude and love for Jesus that we willingly want to live His way and not ours. But it’s more than just a ‘want to’ or a desire. The Holy Spirit equips us and enables us to live Jesus’ way and not ours. The Holy Spirit guides us and teaches us and allows us to do it His way, not our way. The Holy  Spirit allows us to say ‘NO’ to our sinful passions and desires. Living according  to the Spirit means living in Spirit enabled and Spirit led obedience.

Prayer:

Having read today’s passage and notes jot down various prayer points in each:

Adoration:

Confession:

Thanks:

Supplication:

¨ Pray for the MOPS/Playpals program that meets on Wednesdays. Pray that the mums would be encouraged and blessed and led to Jesus in faith.

¨ Pray that God would provide the helpers and resources needed.

 Walk Moment:

Obedience to God should always flow out of a heart filled with grace. If it’s not from grace, it’s probably from the wrong motive.

 Discussion Questions

1. What avenues are open to a believer who struggles with their sinful desires and passions?

2. How can we tell if a desire or something in our heart is Spirit given or not?

3. What could you do if you had a leading that you thought was from the Spirit but wasn’t sure?

4. Share a time you have definitely been led by the Spirit and a time you thought you were but were wrong.

 Discipleship Moment For Girls

Intro: God loves it when we walk in obedience but even obedience has to come from the right heart. A wrong heart changes everything.

Discuss a time when you acted with a wrong heart. What were your motivations/goals? Share what God would have preferred in that situation.

Read 1 Samuel 16:7

How do you think this applies to the people you hang with?

How much attention should we give to our outsides - ie our body and looks?

Pray together that you would spend appropriate time building your insides as well as your outside appearance.

 Discipleship Moment For Boys

Intro: Boys/men often act without thinking. We often act on impulse in speaking or doing things. God wants us to think and to have a right heart as well.

Discuss a time when you acted on impulse. Share the results and what you would do differently if you could do it again.

Read 1 Samuel 16:7

How does this verse encourage us to be more like what God wants?

How can we keep a constant check on our heart?

Pray together for a heart that God loves and is happy with.

Monday July 28, 2014

 Coming Up: Sonday August, 2014

Romans 8:1-17. Authentic Spiritual Living

Read Romans 8:1-2

The orchestra sat waiting, poised and ready to burst into melody. Only the piano played the initial verses of that grand old hymn, And Can It Be. But as the final verse began, No condemnation now I dread…, the orchestra exploded into symphony together as if all creation awoke and joined into adoration and praise. As believers we should live in a constant state of such adoration and praise. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection every believer can sing along -

No condemnation now I dread

Jesus, and all in Him, is mine!

Alive in Him, my living Head

and clothed in righteousness divine

Bold I approach the eternal throne

and claim the crown

through Christ, my own.

Billy Graham knew that to be true and when interviewed on national American television in his hey-day he was asked about his certainty of getting into heaven. After Mr Graham responded with absolute certainty the phone lines in the studio rang hot for hours with people incensed about his arrogance and surety.

You should be equally certain for in Romans 8:1-2 we see the heart of the Gospel. There is absolutely no condemnation now for those who are in Christ Jesus. The wrath of God has been fully spent on Christ and nothing awaits us except the love of God, His acceptance and the glorious renewal of all things including ourselves. 

In Christ we have been eternally set free from the law of sin and death. When we came to faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit entered our being and applied the saving work of Christ to us. Through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit you and I have been made new in Christ, renewed in the image of God and made able to trust in Jesus for our salvation. 

The Law of God was never able to save us because through the Law we became conscious of sin and justly wore the punishment for our sin. But Jesus came and died on the cross bearing the weight and penalty of the Law on our behalf. He  became our substitute and through Him we can we sing with all creation that wonderful grand old hymn

No condemnation now I dread

Jesus, and all in Him, is mine!

Alive in Him, my living Head

and clothed in righteousness divine

Bold I approach the eternal throne

and claim the crown

through Christ, my own.

Prayer:

Having read today’s passage and notes jot down various prayer points in each:

Adoration:

Confession:

Thanks:

Supplication:

¨ Pray for the session of your congregation as they lead and make decisions on your behalf. Pray that these men would be Spirit filled and Spirit led in their daily lives.

¨ Pray that everyone in the congregation would willingly submit to their God given authority.

 Witness Moment:

We cannot live as though keeping the Law saves us  because it communicates heresy to non believers. But we cannot live contrary to the Law either for it equally communicates heresy to non believers. To witness through our lives we need God’s grace!

 Discussion Questions For Families and Groups

1. How would you explain the law of sin and death?

2. Where and how did this law originate?

3. How would you explain the law of the Spirit of life?

4. Name 3 other people you’d love to see saved and pray for them below in supplication.

 Discipleship Moment For Girls

Intro: God loves it when you and I relate to Him as our heavenly Dad. He wants us to depend on Him for everything, not just in the hard times of life.

Discuss your relationship to God and how its grown over the years.

Read Romans  5:6 

How does God describe us in this verse? Why is that?

What did Jesus do for us?

What should our role be now that He’s done that?

Pray together: Praise God for your salvation. Pray that you would both grow in intimacy and depth of relationship with God the Father through Jesus.

 Discipleship Moment For Boys

Intro: Boys like to be strong and to be able to fight and shoot and conquer things. But when it comes to our own salvation we are powerless and need to rely solely on God. We cannot help ourselves 1  little bit into God’s salvation.

Share how you became a Christian.

Read Romans 5:6

How does God describe us in this verse? Why is that?

How can we make sure we are saved?

Pray together: Praise God for your salvation. Praise God for His grace to you. Pray that you would grow into strong Christians.