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We have a place already for meditations through bible reading, but something you read might spark off a new train of thought. Maybe God gives you insight into a circumstance that has happened to you. Perhaps someone says something and you want to write it down to expand on it a bit more.
Often, it’s from these short meditations that I have the desire to study something. I find that over a month I can link 3 or 4 of my meditations together or they can form the basis of a word to share with others.
If I’ve read a good book and want to remember some of the things, I write them down in this section, or you could have a separate section for book reviews. Sometimes you may not want to take a lot of notes from a sermon, but just a few thoughts ‑ here again, this is the section to use. Perhaps a series of references on a certain subject. Use ‑ this section however you like ‑ there’s so many different ways.
Be sure to keep each meditation or thought separate so that they are easy to find. It’s also very helpful to title each meditation:
Repentance
Acts 11:21; Acts 11:18; 2 Cor 7:10
e.g., watched Ebenezer Scrooge ‑ good example.
Importance of Speaking Straight
Not ‘maybe’ but ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
e.g., “I am sorry.” “Yes, please. I would like that.” People like to know where they are at with us.
‘Speaking the truth’ ‑ truth is definite, fact, not ‘maybe so’.
Forget & Forgive
Gen 41:50. Joseph. He learned to forget what his brothers did to him and forget his own failures. Living in regret is stupid.

Learning to Meditate
Christian meditation is a key to a successful Christian life. It is the most powerful way of taking in truth, hearing from God, understanding the scriptures and renewing our minds. Bill Gothard, who teaches ‘Basic Youth Conflicts’ in the states, recounts how through meditation and memorisation his grades at school went up from average to A grades. Interestingly enough, his grades varied in direct proportion to his faithfulness in meditation and memorisation.
As we meditate on the scriptures, they come alive to us and we receive many ways to apply the scriptures to our daily lives. Without this application, the bible is just another book and sadly this is the case for many. God can speak to us through meditation and show how scripture can be made relevent for our very own situation.
Meditation differs from study in that we are not simply looking at the interpretation. There is one interpretation, but many applications. David says, “I have more understanding than all my teachers. For Thy testimonies are my meditation.” Ps 119:99. i.e. He’s put into practise (through meditation) what he’s read and his teachers haven’t.
Through meditation we come to understand basic principles throughout the bible that we can apply to our daily lives. The scripture is full of them. Bill Gothard’s project while he was at school was memorising and meditating on a chapter of scripture a week. That may be good for you too. Where do we start?
1. Make a commitment of time
If you’re going to meditate and memorise, you must realise it takes time and effort in the form of concentration. It’s no good trying to fit meditation and memorisation into your present schedule. It’s a priority, therefore, our schedule must fit around meditation and memorisation. That may mean getting up early and going to bed a little earlier. It may mean rescheduling to have time to meditate and memorise at night. Ps 63:5‑6 says, “My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth offers praises with joyful lips. When I remember Thee on my bed, I meditate on Thee in the night watches.” If we do spend time in the evening in the scriptures, it means the last thoughts entering our minds are wholesome, encouraging (even if it’s convicting) and mind renewing. These thoughts remain there and can set our mental attitudes for the following day.
So, you need to make a commitment. If you’re not used to spending time with God in prayer and in the bible daily, just start with 10 minutes. You’ll soon find that this isn’t long enough. But it’s better to set a low goal and keep it consistently, rather than be unrealistic and fail or ultimately give up completely.

2. Find a quiet place
As much as possible, make it a regular place, too, so that there isn’t a lot of things to distract you.
You may find the beat place is sitting in a comfy chair or even driving the car (if you have the verses memorised, that is).

3. Relax in God
In our busy, busy world we’ve lost the art of relaxation. We have so many things on our minds, pressures from all directions, problems to sort out ‑ so many calls on our time. We have to learn to give all these things to God or set them aside for the time being so that we can concentrate on the Lord. God doesn’t shout at us (usually, anyway, sometimes we do need a kick) and we need to tune into His ’still small voice’.
In ‘Celebration of Discipline’ Richard Foster shares a couple of ideas for relaxing in God. What works well for me is a simple breathing exercise. Each time we breath out, we can release something on our mind ‑ with a big sigh.
e.g.,
“Lord, I give you my anger against John.”"I surrender my anxiety over not having enough money to pay the bills.”"I release my frustration over trying to plan this weekend.”
After we’ve said each sentence prayer, breathe out deeply ‑ symbolising your giving it to the Lord completely. Then breathe in, receiving from the Lord what you need.
e.g.
“Lord, I receive your love for John.”"Lord, I receive your peace over these bills.”"Lord, I receive your patience for this weekend.”

4. Select a really meaningful passage of scripture
A passage that relates to you personally. Perhaps a chapter or a few verses on a problem you’re going through; or a passage on a principle you want to work into your life; maybe some verses on God’s character.

5. Ask yourself questions
a) How many promises are there in this passage to the one who meditates?
b) What conditions are there to receive these promises?
Other questions we can ask are the
Who, where, what, why, when, how, kind of questions. These will throw new light on the Passage and get you thinking more.

6. Personalise the scriptures and make it your prayer
Matt 5:14 says, “You are the light of the world.” In personalising this verse, it can become an objective in our lives and as we pray our hearts respond to the Lord with a desire to be lights for Him.
e.g., “I will be a greater light for You Lord in my situation. I will take every opportunity of sharing my love for You and I will not shy away from standing out in the crowd.”
e.g., “Help me to be a man who delights in Your law and meditates day and night.”

7. Memorise the scripture
If you’re memorising a few verses from a chapter, write them down on a card. Then on the reverse side, place the reference. Keep these cards in an easy to reach place at home or in the car and look at them regularly.
If you’re memorising chapters (and I encourage you to do that) it’s easier just to carry your bible around. Nardan Popov, who was imprisoned, in Russia, had memorised 37 chapters!
The key to memorising is constantly recalling.
Memorising is a real benefit to meditating because it enables us to recall the verse at any time of the day and think about it. The literal concept behind the word ‘meditate’ is that of a cow chewing its cud. Just as it brings it up what it’s eaten again and again, so we should recall what we’ve memorised over and over again so we can properly digest it.
Some good passages to memories are:
James 1 ‑ how to prepare for temptation
Matt 5‑7 ‑ how to find happiness
Heb 12 ‑ how to appreciate God’s chastening
John 15 ‑ how to grow spiritually
Col 3 ‑ how to refocus affections
1 Cor 13 ‑ how to develop genuine love
Psalms 1, 15, 34, 63, 139.
If you can manage it, a whole book memorised can be life changing. I’m very fond of Philippians, and have memorised it. The need here is making sure you recall if often, otherwise, it will be lost.
Some good verses to start you off:
Jn 10:27
Mt 5:13
Ps 91:1
Is 26: 3,4
Is 40:29‑31
Acts 1 v 8
Matthew 28 v 19‑20
1 Corinthians 10 v 31
Ephesians 3 v 20
So how do we meditate? Let’s recall!
1. Make a commitment of time.
2. Find a quiet place.
3. Relax in God.
4. Select a meaningful passage.
5. Ask yourself questions.
6. Personalise the scripture and make it a prayer.
7. Memorise.
The motive behind our meditation and memorisation must be to grow deeper in our relationship with God. There has to be an eagerness to soak ourselves in God’s Word. The truth sets us free when we really know it. That means it’s moved from our head to our heart, i.e., it’s put into practise, it’s “hid in our hearts” as Psalm 119:9‑11 says.
If you’re spending vital time with God and meditating in His Word, you’ll be able to answer these questions:
1. Has the Lord reproved you lately? If not, wait on Him.
2. How has the Lord encouraged you?
3. What new challenges has the Lord given you? Are there new goals to set?
4. What fruit of the Spirit is He asking you to work on?
5. What wrong attitudes is He giving instruction on?
6. What attribute/aspect of God’s character are you thinking about?
7. What applications of scripture involving other people has the Lord asked you to do?
8. Who has the Lord asked you to encourage?
9. Who or what has the Lord burdened you to pray for?
How has the Lord given you direction through the bible recently?

A Quick History Lesson on Joshua
1. Joshua had been born into slavery in Egypt and as first born risked death on the day of Passover. He would have seen or heard about the ten miracles Moses performed and the crossing of the Red Sea.
2. Israel’s military leader (Exodus 17)
3. Joshua climbs mount Sinai (Exodus 24)
4. Joshua sent to spy in Canaan (Numbers 13)
5. Joshua declares faith in the Lord (Numbers 14 v 7-10)
6. Joshua anointed as next leader of Israel (Numbers 27)
7. Joshua full of the spirit of wisdom (Deut 34 v 9)
8. As Israel’s leader, Joshua had been fully trained he was a soldier, a servant, a spy and a successor.

Now we turn to Joshua One
God has some things to say to us this morning from this most excellent chapter.
Read Verses 1-9
We learn three things about prayer from these verses. Prayer is listening, responding and obedience.

Prayer is listening

Is God calling you to a new task? Joshua had been called as Israel’s new leader and had prepared well for this calling. You need to get to know God well. Joshua had a good relationship with God. He had seen God do some awesome stuff and along the way had developed a good understanding of how God works. We don’t know but I suspect that Joshua talked to God dawn to dusk. I am pretty sure that if there had been Scripture to study he would have been reading what was available. (In fact in Joshua one he is called to meditate on the Law). You see when he was called to be Israel’s leader he knew he would not be able to do the job without the Lord.
In the Hebrew Bible, Joshua is listed as a prophetic book, and that is what Joshua is a prophet. In these we read it is God talking direct to Joshua giving him his instructions, the ones he needs at that point. Joshua recognised God’s voice and responded.
Would you recognise God’s voice?.

Prayer is responding

God has a ministry for you. How do you feel when you read verse 9 in Chapter one of the book of Joshua, ‘Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage, do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.’
Well whatever you feel you might be surprised that Joshua was around 80 when God called him to lead Israel. So it is as an old man that God says to him, ‘Be strong’.
You might be sat listening to me speak and in your heart you’re thinking, but what does God want me to do?
As we have already seen Joshua knew God well. He had been led to this point and Joshua was ready. So I would encourage you to prepare yourself. How? Well for me I was called into the ministry in 1985 but didn’t go until 1989. Was that disobedience? No it was God preparing me.
Other things to do. Ask God and look at the evidence. What gifts do you have? Start to grow in them now. Go to cell and practice them. Seek out holy people and discover wisdom from them.
God is calling you to a task, are you ready to respond?

Prayer is obedience

If God is calling are you going to be Obedience? For Joshua, obedience was something he chose to do. Yes, when we look at his life we are not surprised that Joshua was obedient.
He saw God act and trusted that God would act again. Joshua has shown himself to be obedient and trustworthy.
Don’t let others get the blessing meant for you. Joshua is a fulfillment of what God told Moses to do. Moses listened but disobeyed God and therefore wasn’t able to do all God asked him to.
The Transfiguration is a picture of obedience. Moses and Elijah were both called to a task but not completed. Joshua and Elisha completed the tasks. Their names mean ‘Jehovah is salvation’.
Jesus which in Greek means ‘Jehovah is salvation’, however goes on to fulfill all God calls him to.
Israel needed a new leader, new land and a new life. Joshua responded, will you? A word of warning, these words need a response. You can respond with a positive affirmation or a negative one but you do need to respond!

Let’s tonight get to know each other through the eyes of Jesus. In fact let’s discover how Jesus treated his friends. I reckon you’ll find it quite interesting. So shall we start?

1.John 15 v 13-16a
1.1.Lay down your life for your friends
1.2.He chose you - choose your friends!
2.Genesis 32 v 24-29

Building Healthy Community
What do you want from life? This is an important question to ask yourselves on a regular basis. Let’s see… Shout out some of the desires we might have….
There can be no right or wrong answer as long as you always put one thing first. Yep clichÈ I know but the answer is Jesus!
This term you’re looking at friendship stuff and tonight we’re looking at friendship through the eyes of Jesus! So how did Jesus ‘hang out’ with his mates.
They hung out in community. They were always at each others houses or out walking the roads with each other. They hung out in community. The Jews are big on community. That’s why when we read about the expansion of the early church it is hard for us to grasp. The church expanded through community.
Now this causes us problems why because we live in an increasingly fragmented society. People are desperately seeking a place where they can experience and participate in real community. God has placed within every human being the need to belong. Our society emphasises the role of the individual, God’s focus is on us becoming more self-less and more ‘brotherly’ in our lifestyles.
You can see it throughout the Gospels. Jesus chilling down with his mates. They are always there with him (apart from when he sneaked off and prayed!). Jesus taught us community.
How do we create a real sense of community, a place where each of us are able to grow and contribute, a place where they feel ’safe’ to try out new things, ask difficult questions, a place where when they are challenge don’t run away and hide, where everyone feels valued?
Wouldn’t that be a good place to be? I reckon folks might actually want to come!
When was the last time you all had an evening out together? Who do you invite to your parties? Look at who Jesus will be inviting?+
How much is your cell a meting rather than a community?
How can you cultivate community in your cell?
Who in your cell has a gift for building community? How can you use them to develop cell community?
Pray
Jesus prayed for his disciples. Pray for those in your cell. Pray for God’s life to flowing between them during the week.
Teach
Talk about community, what it is, how it feels, how to achieve it. Brainstorm community words - together, sharing, co-operation, love, peace, listen etc.. Find stories. Identify community values. Don’t run from conflict, address it together.
Model
It is so important that you as the leader model what you hope to see built. Be open, honest and encouraging. Make the time to phone cell members. Arrange evenings out. Show interest in others’. Check up on yourself to see if you’re living it out.
Have fun!
Make time to hang out, do crazy things, eat together. A lot of what Jesus did was in a relaxed informal setting. It’s a great way to develop friendship.

I discovered first of all that for the monastic teachers’ humility is the key virtue that is both the starting point and the enabler of the whole Christian experience. What they meant by humility, however, had little to do with the modern, everyday use of the term. For them, humility was not about grovelling before God or other human beings. It had nothing to do with being passive, being a doormat, or glorifying having a poor self-image. It was certainly not a virtue recommended to women or poor people so that they would accept their place in society.

No, humility for the ancient teachers meant accepting ourselves and others just as we are, limitations, vulnerabilities, and other major imperfections included, as already equally valuable and beloved of God without our having to prove our worth by what we accomplish, what we own, what we do right, or by our status in society and in the church. This meant that humility was about slipping underneath the whole hierarchical social web of judgements by which we limit ourselves and one another in order to love and act fearlessly with power and authority.

The guarantee of this humility for the monastic teachers is that it is grounded in the humility of God, as we meet it in the person of Jesus. Think of it! - the humility of God, who has no need to prove God’s power and might over human beings, who absolutely does not desire todominate us, or bend us to God’s will. God the Father? Dimly, I was beginning to see that this person might not be the one I had thought.

I wanted humility. I knew by now, however, that humility was not a virtue the ancient teachers thought human beings acquire all at once by gritting their teeth and becoming humble. Like all the qualities of God’s love in which human beings are made to share by virtue of the image of God, humility, they believed, is formed in us as a disposition only over a very long time. A vital part of the process of formation was a daily practice of prayer, including most especially reading and mulling over scripture. Because by now I wanted so badly what they had, the monastic teachers had convinced me that it was worth the risk to try, with their help, to enter into a relationship of daily prayer with this God who was turning out to be so different from the one I had so long thought God was. This is what I did.

“Go into all the world and make disciples of every ethnic groups ”
There are two ways of doing this.
1.DFM - Division of foreign missions
2.DHM - Division of home missions

We are going to look at home missions. At the forefront of home missions should be church. Church should be:-
Inspiring and relevant
Full of grace
Full of awe
Passionate
Real

At church we are given a mission, not necessarily by the Pastor but by God. He calls us to be missionary’s and our main place of mission is through church. So as a missionary you need to remember a few things.

1.As a missionary you need to get to a place of obedience and gratitude. Everything God asks you to do you should say, “Yes” and everything God gives you, whether that is a nice present rapped up or suffering, you should be able to say, “Thank you”. Everything after that is commentary.
2.As a missionary you need to put your time, energy and focus on opportunities. 80% of resources should be used on opportunities. To much time is wasted on trying to get our own way or by trying to tell people how it should be done. This petty squabbling gets in the way of a missionary. Focus on your opportunities. What are your opportunities, they are what God brings along.
3.As a missionary you need to realise that no one can do the job you’ve been called by God to do. When God calls, say yes and do the job because you are the one who will do the job best. Yes I can hear you thinking but maybe I have heard wrong and God doesn’t really want me to do this job. Well that’s the exciting thing about obedience. If you respond yes to what you feel God is calling you to do, he’ll equip you to do the job. Because God values your obedience. 1 Samuel 15 v 22. To obey is better than sacrifice. Now I’m do counsel common sense here. I am not good at singing - I am appalling in fact. So I know in my heart that God will probably never call me to lead and sing worship.
4.As a missionary our contract will end when God says so. You should always be asking yourself, “What is the last thing that God asked you to do and are you doing it?”
5.Without a vision, people will perish. You need a vision but what I say is get involved and then you’ll get the vision! Vision is about imagining the future you want.
6.Now some of you might be called into leadership. Well here is a quick tip for all you future leaders out there. Reward people. And keep rewarding people. Reward through encouragement, thanks, training and equipping, support, visiting, prayer, food and fun evenings. You’ll have no shortage of volunteers!
7.As a missionary we are doomed to failure if we keep trying to please everybody. We have to learn to say no. Do what God is calling you to do. Nothing else.
8.As a missionary you should not allow your sufferings to overpower you. I know the feeling, I am proned to allow things happening around me to cause me to loose my focus but don’t. Set your face like flint and push on through. Because rather scarily, the range of your sufferings is determined by the extent of your vision. Bigger vision, bigger sufferings.
9.As a missionary you should always aim to finish well.

To finish I just want to get you a little bit excited. Do you remember I said right at the start that church should be about passion. Well here’s some passion. Guess what people? I am going to threaten you. If you respond to God’s calling and do what he says, do you know what God threatens you with? It is what I am threatening you with. It is called heaven! Be a good disciple and it is where you’ll go.
Here’s another bit of excitement. In the whole world, every hour 3000 people come to Christ. What happened in the early church, now happens every hour.
Church is a dynamic hope factory. For many people church spells boredom. Let’s turn it around and be the missionaries God calls us to be and give people hope.

A story to finish.

Is being set apart for God, being committed to him with all of our lives. Holiness is to be full of love like Jesus, full of joy like Jesus, and full of peace like Jesus. It takes a whole season for this fruit to grow. There are three things that we need to keep in mind if we want to become more holy and like Jesus:-

Look at him.
2 Corinthians 3 v 18. Paul says that, “we, who with unveiled faces all behold the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever increasing glory which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” We need to take time praying, reading the Bible and worshipping.

Suffer with him.
“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.” Philippians 3 V 10. Hebrews 2 v 10 tells us that Jesus was made perfect through suffering. Instead of stressing about the bad times, turn around and ask what God is trying to teach you.

Obey him.
God has the master plan and knows what is best.

As we go after holiness, learning to turn to him in hard times, patiently and devotedly spending time with him, we will see the change in our lives.

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for times of adversity.” Proverbs 17 v 17

Friendship is one of the greatest goods in our lives - we were born for it. God has wired us up to want to know and be known, to love and be loved, to serve and be served, to celebrate and be celebrated.

Have the right idea about friendship:-

Friendship is not trying to get someone to take care of you.

Friendship is not latching on to someone who has a life.

Friendship is not hitching our lives on to rising stars for self-progressing purposes.

Friendship involves the genuine exchanging of knowledge, kindness, service and celebration.

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Philippians 2 v 3-4

The selecting of friendships is an inexact and often lengthy and frustrating endeavour. It is taking parts of your heart and bringing them into the light for a few other people.

Move beyond the level of superficiality.

You’re probably one friendship from a new experience.

Gain access to one another’s hearts.

Ask the kinds of questions to each other that push you beyond superficiality.

How are you doing REALLY?

How do you feel about that?

What are you thinking right now?

Mastery of conflict resolution skills

“If your brother sins against you. Go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.” Matthew 18 v 15

Your ability to experience and enjoy the fullness of human community is directly linked to the quality of your community with God. We walk around wishing that someone was thinking about us all the time. And guess what….. there is!

“And then someone enters our life who isn’t looking for someone to use, is leisurely enough to find out what’s really going on in us, is secure enough not to exploit our weaknesses or attack our strengths, recognises our inner life and understands the difficulty of living out our inner convictions, confirms what’s deepest within us. A friend.” Eugene H. Peterson

Oh the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure but to pour them all out, just as it is, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keeping what is worth keeping, and then, with the breath of kindness blow the rest away.

Joel 2 v 12
1. We fast in obedience to God’s word.
“Even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Joel 2 v 12
Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.” Matthew 9 v 15
2. We fast to humble ourselves before God and obtain His grace and power.
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. James 4 v 10
3. We fast to overcome temptations in areas that keep us from moving into God’s power. Luke 4 esp v 14
4. We fast to be purified from sin (and to help others become purified as well).
So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed…. Daniel 9 v 3-5
The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast… Jonah 3 v 5-10
5. We fast to become weak before God so God’s power can be strong.
My knees give way from fasting, my body is thin and gaunt… Psalm 109 v 24-28
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12 v 9-10
6. We fast to obtain God’s support in order to accomplish His will.
So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit… Acts 13 v 3-4
Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. Acts 14 v 23
7. We fast in times of crisis. Esther 4 v 15-16, 2 Chronicles 20
8. We fast when seeking God’s direction. Ezra 8 v 21-23
9. We fast for understanding and divine revelation. Jeremiah 36 v 6

A disciple is one who follows Christ or the person who follows the teachings of another whom he or she accepts as a leader (imitating).

Jesus is someone that disciples. He principally taught through discipleship. This meant a huge commitment in time and energy to 12 men. He intended for those 12 men to watch and observe how he did things and then for them to ‘copy’ him. It seems that Jesus took these men into his ‘discipleship programme’ before they were ready to be full followers. Whilst they were interested, they were not ready.

I think there are three stages to discipleship:‑
Pre‑discipleship ‑ Someone who is not a Christian but is interested and ready to be taught.
Convert ‑ Someone who has proclaimed they want to follow Christ, but has not yet explored fully what that means.
Disciple ‑ Full‑on ready to go sort of person.

Tell ‑ Directive leadership ‑ “Follow me” Matthew 4 v 18‑20
Sell ‑ “Birds of the sky” and “Don’t worry” Matthew 6 v 25‑34
Gel ‑ Very close together ‑ “No longer servants, friends” John 15 v 15
Del ‑ Matthew 28 v 18‑20

I lead, you watch
I lead, you help
You lead, I help
You lead, I watch

Belong, Believe, Behave
1. Belong
Primary aim is to meet them where they are at!
At clubs, camps, chat and get to know them
Allow God to lead you naturally to someone to disciple
Ring at least once a week
Remember birthdays
Constructive chatting
Relate and talk to them about things they are interested in but also share yourself ‑ chances are they will be interested in you also!
Find out about family, friends, school, interests, etc. but again share yourself
DO NOT be judgmental
2. Believe
Primary aim is to give them a vision for where they can be
Pray for and with them
Do basic Bible studies
Establish gifting
Instill confidence
Encourage leadership role by giving small tasks
Encourage imitation
Start to disciple where they are at
3. Behave
This should come naturally! Keep checking with them and as you see a change, encourage!

Timescale
You need to spend at least 1 hour a week them. This is a minimum. Don’t be afraid to use the time for other things other than a Bible study. i.e. Go for a pizza, walk, swim, decorate your house, etc.
Do not take on more than you can manage. Commit yourself to the 1 hour a week. Be aware that Jesus provided discipleship for only 12 men.
On the time front, making a disciple is for LIFE.

Maturity
A mature follower of Jesus:‑
Is a servant. They expect nothing in return for their service.
Deals with their sin before the Lord.
Is marked by righteousness.
Is honest and open with his dealings with brothers and sisters.
Brings personal difficulties before the Lord.
Is generous (with time and money. Owns nothing.
Teaches others how to live a Godly life.
Manages his area of responsibility well.
Knows how to obey.
Knows how to relate well with brothers and sisters. He knows how to encourage, how to seek forgiveness. Believes the best about his brother and sister.
Has personal spiritual discipline in good order.

All word, you dry up.
All Spirit, you blow up.
Word and Spirit you grow up.

Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; for it becomes your destiny!

Repentance is a change of willing, of feeling and of living, in respect to God. Charles Finney
The inward area is the first place of loss of true Christian life, of true spirituality, and the outward sinful act is the result. Francis Schaeffer
God is not moved or impressed with our worship until our hearts are moved and impressed by him.
Somebody is waiting on the other side of your obedience.
Your inner man needs to be as strong, if not stronger than, the gift and anointing God has given you to carry on His ministry in the earth. Smith Wigglesworth

A brief overview

Ask the people:
“What are the key areas of discipleship?”
We’re going to look at five elements that I believe are key to a Christian’s life. They are the basics - get these right and everything else will follow on!
A disciple is one who follows Christ or the person who follows the teachings of another whom he or she accepts as a leader (imitating).

Assurance

As a Christian we are following the teachings of Jesus and to get our relationship right from the start we need to understand what it means to be a Christian.
Ask “What do you believe?”
In Romans Chapter One we read, “I am proud of the Good News, because it is the power God uses to save everyone who believes…. The Good News shows how God makes people right with Himself - that it begins and ends with faith.”v16-17
What is the good news that Paul talks about, “The Good News is about God’s Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” v 3
The Good News that we all know and love is the fact that Jesus hatched a rescue plan with His Father, he came and lived a holy life, so that we have an example to follow (He didn’t answer every question - He wants a dynamic relationship with us, where we seek Him for wisdom), and then He died, a cruel and wicked death, but then He rose again and now as it says in Romans 1 v 7, God calls us to be His holy people.
This is good news that God calls us to be holy. And that is assurance to know that God calls. However, there is a flip side to that calling. The flip side is that he wants us to be holy. What is the punishment if we’re not holy? “When people sin, they earn what sin pays - death” Romans 6 v 23 or in the NIV it says, “the wages of sin is death”. Unfortunately, many people have taken this verse out of context and quoted it as a verse for non-Christians. Well it is not a verse for non-Christians, it is a verse for Christians. The context, is moral complacency and presumption among believers. “Shall we go on sinning, so that grace may increase?” Paul asks in 6 v 1 and “Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?” (6 v 15). What Paul is trying to ask and point out to us as Christians is that the wages of continual sin, “not being holy”, is death. I have briefly said it before and I will say it again, watch your salvation and watch your holiness - you can lose it and not even realise you are losing it. Ask God, ask other people, be led by your friends and your Pastor.
Be assured that you are God’s child but don’t get complacent and lose your salvation.

God’s Word

The word has to be read and constantly read so that it becomes part of your life.
A quick quiz
66 books
Longest book is the Psalms
Shortest book is 2 John
Longest verse is Esther 8 v 9
Shortest verse is John 11 v 35
Middle verse is Psalm 118 v 9
1,189 chapters, 773,746 words, 3,566,480 letters
Written in three languages - Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek
Written in three continents - Africa, Asia and Europe
Approx. 1,600 years time span between the last and the first books
40 authors over 60 generations
One message - man’s redemption

Authors/backgrounds
Moses - political leader
Peter - fisherman
Amos - herdsman
Joshua - military leader
Luke - Doctor
Nehemiah - battler
Daniel - Prime Minister
Paul - Rabbi
Solomon - King
Matthew - tax collector

I need a volunteer to come and hold a book for me.
1. Little finger - hearing - 5% - “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” Luke 11 v 28
2. Next finger - reading - 20% - “It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees…” Deuteronomy 17 v 19 (panoramic view). When you look at a beautiful view you don’t need a powerful magnifying glass to examine every part of the view. This is like reading the Bible. Sometimes though it is good to examine a particular flower and then the magnifying glass might be used for a closer focus. Hence…
3. Middle finger - study - 35% - “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2 v 15 (microscopic view).
4. Index finger - memorise - 100% -
How can a young man keep his way pure?
By living according to your word.
I have hidden your word in my heart;
that I might not sin against you.
Psalm 119 v 9 & 11
The final part is the key. Without a thumb you cannot grip anything. Try holding a book without using your thumb!
5. Thumb - meditation - “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” Joshua 1 v 8. Meditation is where the Word of God flows from your head into your heart and becomes your blood. Isaac Newton’s blood was said to be bibling!
The Bible is there for you. Not you for the Bible - don’t get legalistic. The Bible is only a guide - it can’t hope to be specific - girlfriend/wife won’t know name. Sometimes it is a delight to read the Bible, sometimes a duty but always a necessity.

Prayer

Reading the Word and prayer could be called “upward” disciplines. Up to God. And this is what prayer is - up to God.
A quick sketch
1. Get volunteer to give me a phone call and we both just have a little chat.
2. Get another volunteer to ring me and this time I don’t say a thing.
3. I ring another volunteer and say:
“Hi I am very well thank you and know that you are well and happy and would like to tell you about my day and how I enjoyed falling of the horse even though it hurt a bit and how it was the other person’s fault that we had the car accident and I know I read about lying in the Bible but well we all tell a little lie every now and again and that’s fine and I have to go now teas ready. Bye.”
Do you recognise any of this in your prayer life. Well respond to it. Prayer in its simplest form is a chat with God. Read the Bible and look up the word prayer in a concordance - go to every verse and get to know how to pray BUT at the end of the day, as I said to a young man once until you commit time, it won’t work. Give God time.

Fellowship and Witness

If the other two disciplines were upward, these two are outward.
Can I get someone to read Acts 2 v 42 - 47. What do you notice from these verses?(Allow folks to call out!)
Well the thing I noticed the most is that in having fellowship, people became believers. What I mean is that as they met together and enjoyed each other, people saw what was happening and wanted some of it themselves.
“Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Philippians 2 v 4
And back to prayer again, but why were originally created, to have fellowship with God.
The witness means to be a witness. Sounds obvious but if I go and see someone who has never met an Englishman, I am being a witness to them. And likewise as a Christian.
“Love your neighbour as yourself.” Whether that neighbour be a Christian or a non-Christian. Love never hurts a neighbour, loving is obeying the Word of God.” Romans 13 v 9b-10
“But clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ and forget about satisfying your sinful self.” Romans 13 v 14

And to conclude, I could never give full justice to these disciplines in such a short talk, that is why you have the Bible but let me conclude with this.

A mature follower of Jesus:-
Is a servant. They expect nothing in return for their service.
Deals with their sin before the Lord.
Is marked by righteousness.
Is honest and open with his dealings with brothers and sisters.
Brings personal difficulties before the Lord.
Is generous (with time and money). Owns nothing.
Teaches others how to live a Godly life.
Manages his area of responsibility well.
Knows how to obey.
Knows how to relate well with brothers and sisters. He knows how to encourage, how to seek forgiveness. Believes the best about his brother and sister.
Has personal spiritual discipline in good order.

All word, you dry up.
All Spirit, you blow up.
Word and Spirit you grow up.

Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; for it becomes your destiny!

Let’s pray!