13 Week Discipleship Class Facilitator’s Guide WWW.FREEDOMMINISTRIES.CC
TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTORY INFO:
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WEEK ONE:
7
WEEK TWO:
9
WEEK THREE:
13
WEEK FOUR:
16
WEEK FIVE:
18
WEEK SIX:
21
WEEK SEVEN:
24
WEEK EIGHT:
26
WEEK NINE:
29
WEEK TEN:
32
WEEK ELEVEN:
34
WEEK TWELVE:
36
WEEK THIRTEEN:
39
Table of Contents
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COURSE GOAL: The goal of this course is to address anything inside us that tells us something different than what God’s Word and His Spirit tell us about who we are, who God is, and what our purpose is.
FACILITATOR’S COMMITMENT: •
To remain surrendered to the Holy Spirit in support of His work in people’s lives.
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To continue to seek deeper levels of freedom and spiritual growth for myself.
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To regularly pray for group members.
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To honor confidentiality for all group members. Each life story is their own to tell.
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To watch over the emotional health of your group. Be sensitive to the emotions being triggered, (i.e. tears, shutting down/withdrawal, defensiveness, anger, blaming, and sudden absence.) Do not allow spiritual bullying or attempts by others to “fix” the situation. Pray with individuals privately as appropriate.
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To recognize and raise up new leaders. Recognize leadership skills (i.e. genuine care toward others with patience and wisdom, teachability and authenticity, faithfulness over the long haul, humility in success, and significant spiritual growth) and provide an opportunity to practice through smaller responsibilities.
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To follow the outlined curriculum for Freedom Discipleship Class.
COURSE FORMAT: This is a 13-week course. Recommended group time is 2 hours with 30 minutes for each of the following components:
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community building
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video
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discussion
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prayer
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Introductory Info
Sunday morning and Saturday night classes will be 90 minutes. Your role is to facilitate the group’s discussion and prayer with Bob Hamp serving as the video teacher. Notes and discussion questions are provided for each week. Please adjust the questions to your particular group dynamics and needs. Reflection questions are also provided for individual processing during the week. This is an additional opportunity for the participant to learn to hear directly from God.
SESSION SCHEDULE & AGENDA: Week 1 – A Kingdom Parable •
Objective: Understand who God is and begin to walk in freedom
Week 2 – Levels of Change/Chapter 1 •
Objective: Begin to identify the lies you have believed about yourself and discover the truth
Week 3 – Levels of Change/Chapter 2 •
Objective: Identify the lies you have believed about yourself and discover the truth
Week 4 – Levels of Change/Chapter 3 •
Objective: Understanding Biblical salvation
Week 5 – The Kingdom of God/Chapter 1 •
Objective: Changing how we think about the Kingdom of God
Week 6 – The Kingdom of God/Chapter 2 •
Objective: Understanding how to reconnect to God as our source
Week 7 – The Kingdom of God/Chapter 3 •
Objective: Recognizing that the kingdom of God is not something we fulfill, it’s something we receive and He fulfills
Introductory Info
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Week 8 – Hearing God/Chapter 1 •
Objective: Learning to recognize and hear the voice of God
Week 9 – Hearing God/Chapter 2 •
Objective: Recognizing that the word of God is alive and powerful
Week 10 – Hearing God/Chapter 3 •
Objective: Recognizing our part in hearing God; changing how we see confession
Week 11 – Life in the Kingdom/Chapter 1 •
Objective: Learning to integrate the spiritual and earthly kingdom so we embrace our God-given identity
Week 12 – Life in the Kingdom/Chapter 2 •
Objective: Understanding that transformation comes from connecting to our source – Jesus!
Week 13 – Life in the Kingdom/Chapter 3 •
Objective: Understanding what is my part and what is God’s part when exercising His authority and overcoming spiritual warfare.
IDEAS FOR GATHERING PRAYER NEEDS: Creating a private Facebook page is one way to enhance the connection of your class. This is also a great place for sharing prayer needs without using too much class time. Asking for volunteers to bring snacks, sharing thoughts about what they are learning and general life-happenings all help with connection. Keeping a box, basket or even a notebook in a central place each week and encouraging people to write out their prayer needs is a way to effectively pray for one another. The written prayer need can be read and prayed for by class members or the leader at a specific time each week. Group texting or emails are also a way to cover these prayer needs outside of class times.
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Introductory Info
HINTS FOR JOURNALING: Journaling focuses more on being aware of and processing through how you are feeling about the events of your life. Where a diary keeps a record of schedules and activities, journaling is more about how those calendar items affect you. A journal can contain letters to God, prayers for others or spiritual growth desires within ourselves. They can be answers to prayers prayed or processing feelings about those waiting to be answered. Journals can contain Scripture verses that have “come alive” to you or quotes that have held deep meaning. You can keep sermon notes, notes from classes or conferences attended or your own notes as you study a book or the Bible. Sometimes drawings, doodles or other marks of emphasis say more than words can.
MANAGING EXTENDED PRAYER TIME: Providing the environment for people to experience God includes managing extended prayer times. In general, people are uncomfortable with silence, even more so during prayer. By teaching them that prayer is more than a one-sided conversation, but a dialogue, we can help lessen the awkwardness of waiting in silence. Helping them to be aware of thoughts, images, memories and words come to mind as we invite God to show us things from His perspective is an important first step. He rarely speaks audibly, but rather to our spirit, a way of hearing we are not accustomed to. There is a “feeling” when He speaks. It feels like life being poured into you. We learn to sense this. It is the restoration of relationship with the Presence of God. Modeling this during your discussion/prayer segment of class also reinforces the idea of listening for God. Examples of listening prayers are listed in each lesson for you to consider or to give you examples to create your own as you get to know your group. The videos contain several spaces of time where this style of prayer is modeled. Please do not skip over these parts. Powerful things have happened during those moments in past classes: Healings, life-changing words from the Lord to individuals’ hearts and clear direction from Him, even though this is just a video loaded about 5 years ago. God is not bound by time as we are. Be prepared to help people through this topic. The enemy wants nothing more than to convince them that something is wrong with their relationship with God and that’s why they’re not “hearing”. Remind them of what it was like when they “heard” the Lord drawing them at salvation. They “heard” Him revealing Himself to them then and they responded. That is an example most in your group should be able to relate to. Having your own stories of times when you heard from the Lord is a great way to help them through this process. Handling these times prayerfully and humbly will produce lasting change in their lives. Introductory Info
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TEMPLATE FOR WEEKLY AGENDA: 1. Have drinks and snacks available 2. Welcome & opening prayer 3. Pose a question or opportunity to share reflections from last week’s topic 4. Introduce video for tonight along with the objective for the evening 5. View video – Refer participants to notes 6. Lead follow-up discussion using questions provided 7. Lead guided reflective prayer as appropriate 8. Prayer Requests and Closing Prayer
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Introductory Info
WEEK ONE: A Kingdom Parable
OBJECTIVE: Understand who God is and begin to walk in freedom Welcome, Opening Prayer, and Introductions Have each person share . . . • •
Your name How many siblings you have and your position in the family order
•
One thing you feel passionate about
Share structure and goal of Freedom Discipleship Class • The goal of this class is to address anything inside us that tells us something different than what God’s Word and His Spirit tell us about who we are, who God is, and what our purpose is.
NOTES: •
Focus on something different – What you seek first organizes every other aspect of your life. “Seek first the kingdom of God and all other things will be added to you.” – plug into the power source. •
Don’t focus on what you are wanting to receive relief from.
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Change the way you think about the things you are focused on. – “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” Prov. 23:7
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The way that you think shapes how you perceive and think in your heart.
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His DNA and his birthright determine who he is - everything in him wants to fulfill who he was designed to be
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not the trauma of his birth circumstances
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not the family that he was raised in
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not the forces set against him
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not the turning of his heart and the leanings of his soul
There are some things hidden in your heart that you may never discover if you don’t push yourself enough to find them.
Week One // 7
GROUP DISCUSSION: Discuss what it means to hear God’s voice •
As we invite God to show us things from His perspective, be aware of what thoughts, images, memories, and words come to your mind. He rarely speaks audibly, but rather to our spirit, a way of hearing we are not very accustomed to. There is a “feeling” when He speaks. It feels like life being poured into you. We learn to sense this. It is the restoration of relationship with the Presence of God.
•
Listening for God: be aware of what’s going on inside. For focus, you can close your eyes. Ask God the questions, listening for His response after each question.
PRAYER AND CONTEMPLATION: Using Bob Hamp’s prayer at the end of A Kingdom Parable, lead a time of prayer and reflection by reading the following individual questions aloud, allowing time for participants to reflect silently or through journaling after each question. After completing all questions, invite feedback on their experience and any insight or thoughts. •
Show me that time in my life when I was so badly broken and I began to walk with a limp – where were you and what lies did I believe in those moments of my life?
•
Jesus, when I found myself in circumstances and relationships that pressed down on me and put my heart to a slow death – where were you then and what lies did I believe because I couldn’t see you in that moment?
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Jesus, would you speak into those moments in my life where the fallen-ness of our world and the kingdom of darkness were doing everything they could to steal from me the life that you made me for?
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Would you begin to reveal lies that I’ve believed? More importantly, would you begin to speak your truth to me, in me, and through me?
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Thank you that you look us in the eyes and say, “I love you. I don’t need you to perform. I just want you to discover who I made you to be.” And from this day forward, Jesus, would you show me the kind of truth that sets me free?
8 \\ Week One
WEEK TWO:
Levels of Change (Chapter 1)
OBJECTIVE: Begin to identify the lies you have believed about yourself and discover the truth.
NOTES: The life of a believer comes from the One we believe in. The Levels of Change: Level 1 – Environment •
Believing that if something outside us would change we’d be OK.
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Stuck in the “clean diaper/dirty diaper” cycle.
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Trying very, very hard with the wrong tool.
Level 2 – Behavior (thoughts and feelings) •
We get our truth – or the version of our truth – from our experiences. Our “truth” leads to behavior, which then reinforces our version of the truth.
Level 3 – Capabilities •
Our capabilities or limitations are those things in our heart that define for us what we can or can’t do, think or feel, locking us into a way of thinking or acting.
Week Two // 9
GROUP DISCUSSION: What did you learn from the acrobat parable? Galatians 2:20 Amplified Bible (AMP) I have been crucified with Christ [that is, in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body I live by faith [by adhering to, relying on, and completely trusting] in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
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Have you ever had the thought that Christianity works for everybody but you? What experiences made you reach that decision?
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Can you recall a time when you said, “It’s too late for me… I’ll never be different and I can’t change?” Let’s dig deeper: What was the lie you believed that made you think you could not change?
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What is God inviting you to learn from Proverbs 27:3 - “As a man believes in his heart, so is he”? (Hint: a thought is resident in your mind, a belief is resident in your heart)
PRAYER AND CONTEMPLATION: Meditate on Ephesians 3:20 : Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think Ask God to open the eyes of your heart and respond to the following questions: •
What are the lies you believe about yourself?
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What are the truths you believe about yourself?
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What are the lies you believe about God?
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What are the truths you believe about God?
10 \\ Week Two
WHO GOD IS:
WHO I AM:
The Father of mercies and the God of comfort
II Cor. 1:3
I am God’s child
I Pet 1:23
The first and the last; beside Him there is no God
Isa 44:6
I am forgiven
Eph 1:7
There is none holy as the Lord
I Sam 2:2
I am a new creature
II Cor 5:17
The only true God
John 17:3
I am the temple of the Holy Spirit
I Cor 6:19
The most high God
Hebrews 7:1
I am delivered from the power of darkness
Col. 1:13
The Lord God Almighty who was, and is, and is to come
I am strong in the Lord
Eph 6:10
Rev. 4:8
I am holy and without blame before Him
Eph 1:4
I am accepted in Christ
Eph 1:6
I am blessed
Deut 28:1-14
God of god’s, Lord of lords, a great God, Mighty and Awesome
Deut 10:17
With Him is wisdom and strength, counsel, and understanding
I am victorious
Rev 21:7
Job 12:13
I am loved with an everlasting love
Jer 31:3
Of great power; there is nothing too hard For Him
Jer 32:17
I am set free
John 8:31-33
Worthy to receive glory and honor and power
Rev 4:11
Holy and Awesome is His name
Psalm 111:9
I am raised up with Christ and seated in Heavenly places
Col 2:12
Psalm 146:10
I am His faithful follower
Eph 5:1
Whatever God does shall be forever
Ecc 3:14
I am the light of the world
Matt 5:14
For He is good and His mercy endures forever
II Chr 5:13
I am the salt of the earth
Matt 5:13
Psalm 145:17
I am called of God
II Tim 1:9
I am born of God and the evil one does not touch me
I John 5:8
I am more than a conqueror
Rom 8:37
Who reigns forever
Righteous in all His ways and holy Full of compassion and gracious, long-suffering and plenteous in mercy and truth
Psalm 86:15
Lives in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness
I am beloved of God
I Thess 1:4
Jeremiah 4:2
I am complete in Christ
Col 2:10
Rich in mercy
Ephesians 2:24
I am the apple of my Father’s eye
Psalm 17:8
Our refuge
Deut 33:27
I am free from condemnation
Romans 8:1
The Lord that heals you
Exodus 15:26
I am chosen
I Thess 1:4
The Judge of all
Hebrews 12:23
Good to all
Psalm 145:9
I am God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works
Eph 2:10
Slow to anger and great in power
Nahum 1:3
I am being changed into His image
Phil 1:6
The faithful God
I Cor 10:13
I have the mind of Christ
I Cor 2:16
The omnipresent God
Psalm 139
I have everlasting life
John 6:47
The Lord God omnipotent
Revelation 19:6
I have the peace of God which passes understanding
Phil 4:7
The God of love and peace
II Cor 13:11
I have access to the Father by one Spirit
Eph 2:18
The God of patience and of hope
Romans 15:5, 13
I have received the power of the Holy Spirit
Mark 16:17
Who is light and in Him is no darkness at all
I John 1:15
I can do all things through Jesus Christ
Phil 4:13
From everlasting to everlasting
Psalm 90:2
I shall do even greater works through Jesus
John 14:12
My maker
Job 35:10
I walk in Christ Jesus
Col 2:6
My light and my salvation; the strength of my life
Psalm 27:1
I can know God’s voice
John 10:14
A shield for me; my glory and the lifter of my head
Psalm 3:3
A refuge for the oppressed; a stronghold in the day of trouble
Psalm 9:9 Nah 1:7
A rewarder of them that diligently seek Him
Hebrews 11:6
Near to all who call upon Him
Psalm 145:18
Never changes
Malachi 3:6
Not one of His promises has failed
John 23:14
Week Two // 11
LISTENING PRAYER STATEMENTS: •
Jesus, today begins a process of change at a new level for me spiritually. I will see the things the Holy Spirit wants to show me, I will hear what You want to speak to me and I will feel or sense Your Presence with me. I receive everything You want to reveal to me You-God, my Father, Jesus, my Lord and Your Holy Spirit, my Teacher. Tune my ears to hear You, open my eyes to see You, and awaken my spirit to feel and sense You. In Jesus Name.
•
Jesus, I have spent years just trying harder, which has left me frustrated, defeated and exhausted! Please, forgive me for believing the lie that my freedom depends on me. Bring Your truth into this place in me and set me free to live life in You!
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Jesus, I have believed things about myself that oppose what You say about me. They are lies aimed at destroying my true identity. Will you speak Your Words of Life into my spirit?
12 \\ Week Two
WEEK THREE: Levels of Change (Chapter 2)
OBJECTIVE: Identify the lies you have believed about yourself and discover the truth.
NOTES: BELIEF •
Example of Thought – God loves us
•
Example of Belief – When you wake up in the morning with a strong sense of the affection of the creator of the universe for you and you’re convinced that He wants to walk out His day with you and yours with Him; that He loves you and doesn’t hate you; that He is for you and not against you.
•
When you know that in the deep places of your gut, when things go wrong, you live in peace because you know he loves you and you trust that He’s more powerful than anything out there. Now we’re talking about believing that God loves us.
IDENTITY •
Your identity is the blueprint in the heart of God when he created you. Not what you have felt all of your life, not what you have cooked up or imagined about yourself, but it’s the blueprint in the mind of a creative and always good God who said, “I’m going to fill the world with representatives of my nature.”
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When we begin to see what was in God’s heart when He knit us together, what was in His mind when He began to dream us up, then we can not only begin to see it, but when we can recognize it and start to agree with it, now you’re talking about the kind of truth that can set people free. What’s true about you, not in your experience, but in the mind of God?
•
Psalm 139:1-18
Week Three // 13
GROUP DISCUSSION: 1. Based on Bob’s definitions of thoughts and beliefs, give an example of a belief you hold about yourself. 2. Listen as your facilitator reads Psalm 139:1-18 and be ready to share one thing that pricked your heart. 3. Use the scripture lists this week to get to know who God is and who you are in his blueprint.
Anatomy of a Stronghold Examples: Fear, Rejection, Pride, Shame, Unbelief, Lust, Addictions, Unforgiveness, Depression, Anger, Regret, Soul Ties, Vows/Judgement, Trauma, Etc.
Pain
Event
Fear
Idolatry
Others React
1. Source of Truth? 2. Source of Security? 3. Source of Comfort?
Answer?
Lie
Repent = Change Sources
Hear God 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
How do I defend self? How do I seek comfort? Confess/Receive Renounce way & role Invite the Father to be your source Agree/Confess
14 \\ Week Three
Defense/ Comfort
Hear God 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
What’s the lie? Confess/Receive Renounce the lie Forgive? What’s the truth? Agree/Confess
LISTENING PRAYER STATEMENTS: •
Jesus, please show me how my beliefs have altered the way I see You, my life, or others.
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As we saw how a stronghold is formed using Bob’s story about his Dad, that made sense to me. Jesus, when has my enemy used painful or fearful moments in my life to introduce his lies? Jesus, show me Your truth in that hard situation.
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Jesus, will You show me what I really believe about You?
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Jesus, who am I allowing to set my value?
Week Three // 15
WEEK FOUR:
Levels of Change (Chapter 3)
As a man thinks in His heart, so he is — Proverbs 23:7
OBJECTIVE: Understanding Biblical salvation
RELFECTIONS FROM WEEK THREE: If what you believe to be true about yourself is contrary to what God says about you in His Word, then it’s a lie. Do you believe any lies about yourself?
NOTES: •
We often define sin incompletely - as a set of behaviors, thoughts or feelings. That process has two traps: •
When we believe sin is at the behavior level, we try to solve it by changing our behavior.
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When we talk about sin as a behavior only, we bring part of the problem to the whole of God’s solution. In other words, it’s like treating cancer with Tylenol.
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Sin is far worse than bad behaving people.
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Sin is the absence of God in the human soul.
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The absence of God equals the presence of death in the human soul where the source of my life is cut off.
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Jesus died on the cross because death is in you and you need life.
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Jesus died so that you can have life through the presence of God.
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Jesus didn’t die for what you have done but He died for who you are.
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He died on the cross for the death that is inside of me.
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I now put my dead-self on the cross and God takes my old nature and replaces it with His nature.
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God makes us a new creation, not just a new expectation.
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God will draw us into relationship so he can tell us the truth about who He is and who we really are.
16 \\ Week Four
GROUP DISCUSSION: What does it mean to be made a new creation in Christ? Has God changed an area in your life from the inside out?
PRAYER AND CONTEMPLATION: Lord, I bring my whole self to you and I’m asking you to forgive me for the death that is inside of me. Lord, exchange the death inside of me and put your life inside of me, right now. Thank you for forgiving me and making me a new creation. Amen.
LISTENING PRAYER STATEMENTS: •
Jesus, thank You for being my substitute on the cross. You took the death penalty for me and gave me Your life instead! I receive Your life and the power of Your resurrection that makes me new! Speak to me, Lord. I’m listening for You.
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Jesus, the things I feel most strongly about, the things that I feel are so true. They must line up with what You say or they can’t be true. What should I do with the thoughts that run over and over in my mind that don’t agree with what You say?
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Jesus, when I am tempted to believe these things will never change, will you remind me of the depressed lady or others like her, who believed You over their experience and whom You have set free? When I feel weak, Lord, remind me that Your strength is more than enough.
Week Four // 17
WEEK FIVE:
Kingdom of God (Chapter 1)
“For those who have eyes to see, let them see. For those who have ears to hear, let them hear.”
OBJECTIVE: Changing how we think about the Kingdom of God
REFLECTIONS: NOTES: God’s creation of Adam and the assignment given to him: •
God speaks into existence a planet.
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Creates Adam, Earth, and breath that is eternal; life came from God separate from God but not separate from God.
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Assigns him as Steward, a representative on Earth to be to the earth what God was to the kingdom
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Instruction to be fruitful and multiply, take dominion.
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Adam bears the image of God and has dominion over the earth.
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God’s plan never got thwarted and changed – there were no surprises. There was only a plan A. – When you’re God, you don’t need a plan B.
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Plan A has always been that we will take dominion over the creation and what is under our rule. What’s true about God and his kingdom becomes true about the earth that He’s given us control over. We’ve got some work to do, but mostly, we’ve got some repenting to do.
Repentence •
Repent is a word we have applied to self-effort •
Turning and going the other way is the fruit of repentance but is not repentance itself.
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Turning depends on you, repentance comes from God.
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Repentance in Greek: -metanoeo – to think differently afterwards.
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Changing the process of your mind – processing spirit to spirit.
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Changing the way that we take in reality.
18 \\ Week Five
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Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand – the most important part.
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Geographical - reach out your hand – this is where the kingdom is, it’s within your reach. It’s at arm’s reach.
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Change the way that you take in reality - in the room with you right now is a kingdom that is filled with power and life and love and peace and joy and righteousness.
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If you’ll change the way you think, you will change the way that you see. When you change the way that you see, you will turn around and go the other direction.
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The kingdom of heaven is within your grasp and the only thing that is keeping you from accessing it may be the way that you see.
GROUP DISCUSSION: For those who have eyes to see, let them see. For those who have ears to hear, let them hear. (Matt. 13:16) - What is it in your life that “clouds your vision” and “plugs your ears”? What is it that brings about true repentence? Discuss your reflections after you complete the following prayer and contemplation activity.
PRAYER AND CONTEMPLATION: Apply your spiritual listening skills as your facilitator reads the following statements aloud: •
God’s love is all consuming and so aggressively loving that it could never stand anything that would harm the object of His love, even if it was you harming yourself - I John 4:8
•
Peace is a tangible state of the atmosphere that if we’ll just breathe it in, it changes us. It will take your anxiety and turn it into something completely different. It will take your concerns about the past and the future and just smash it down into the ground. The kind of peace that passes all understanding isn’t that we finally figured it out and we feel better. It is the presence and the power of God that moves in and overwhelms those things that were once overwhelming you.
Week Five // 19
LISTENING PRAYER STATEMENTS: •
Jesus, Your life on Earth is our example of living life as we were created to live. Jesus, will You awaken my spirit to the Kingdom life You are inviting me into? Continue showing me any beliefs that get in the way of me hearing and seeing You.
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Jesus, teach me the sound of Your voice! Teach me to hear what you say and see what You show me.
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Jesus, the idea of the universe before creation being filled with Your nature is a lot to take in… help me absorb this truth. What aspect of Your nature do You want to show me today?
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Jesus, I’m so thankful that Your Kingdom came near to me. I felt it and realized how much I needed You! That caused me to repent and open my life to You at salvation. Whenever I sense You near, help me respond appropriately; whether to repent or rejoice, to rethink or receive.
20 \\ Week Five
WEEK SIX:
Kingdom of God (Chapter 2)
“The LORD God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground - trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” — Genesis 2:9 New Living Translation
OBJECTIVE: Understanding how to reconnect to God as our source
RELFECTIONS FROM WEEK FIVE: Last week our video lesson closed with this statement: “When you change the way you think, it will change how you live.” •
Share an experience when your negative thoughts about yourself or others influenced how you responded?
•
Have you ever changed your “thinking process” and it helped change your perspective of people and/or events? Describe how you were able to see through the lens of God’s viewpoint.
NOTES: The process of “see-ing”: •
Seeing both the spiritual and physical intertwined should be a reality in the Kingdom. Adam and Eve could see life as “fruit” hanging from the branches of the tree of life. They saw “fruit” on the tree of knowledge and reached out to take it. If they had realized the full extent of their choice, they may have reconsidered, but Satan is convincing!
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God’s perspective is much greater than doing what is right or changing our behavior. If our “input” is based only from knowledge, we often bring death and destruction.
Week Six // 21
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Jesus came to take our punishment (sin). More importantly, He came to be our source and foundation: •
Our source and foundation is the spirit of life, the very breath of God deposited within us that makes us a living soul.
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The source of Adam and Eve’s mind, will, and emotions before the Fall was the free flowing life of God to them, in them, and through them according to Genesis 3.
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The Spirit of Truth should be our spiritual mechanism for our input (source of supply) because knowledge isn’t the same as power.
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The knowledge of good can never replace life.
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The knowledge of good and evil are the two primary strategies against the human race because our knowledge of good is never sufficient to change our behaviors. We still need God’s power to change.
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All the world’s religions have been based on our human efforts to change behavior. According to John 10:10, Jesus came so you and I could have life and have life more abundantly. Shout amen…such GOOD NEWS!!!
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God’s consuming love is to free us, because life will not be stopped.
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In John 4:10, the Lord promised Rivers of Living Water to the woman at the well if she would only ask. Now, we can ask!
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The beauty of the Kingdom is that is doesn’t rely on our ability to act well, but rather on the present power and activity of God to us, in us, and through us.
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When we respond to Christ’s invitation to be our source of supply, we are plugged into His power and can be the person He has created and designed us to be.
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Jesus is a present reality who is more than Jesus the Man, but Jesus the Creator who lives inside of us.
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PRAYER AND CONTEMPLATION: Jesus, show me WHO YOU ARE? Reveal to me how You want to be my SOURCE AND FOUNDATION. Take a moment to respond by writing down what the Lord speaks to your heart.
Jesus, there are situations in my past that if I could have known the full extent of my choice ahead of time, I would have surely made a different choice! Lord, I ask that You continue to teach me to see the spiritual reality in life situations I pray for the sensitivity from the Holy Spirit to be aware of the spiritual reality that is around me. Is there anything about the difficult situations in my life presently that You want to help me see? (Note: As those things are revealed to you, stay connected to Him as your Source…..especially when you are tempted to shift into knowledge and figure out what to “do” about it. Take a moment to write down what God is speaking to you.
LISTENING PRAYER STATEMENTS: •
Father God, You offer me life through Your Son, Jesus. I have accepted Him as my Savior, the forgiveness for my sins connecting me to You — to life. Will You pour Your life into me, filling me, freeing me to be who You created me to be?
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Jesus, show me what my life filled with Your life would look like.
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Jesus, how has Satan tempted me with the knowledge of good and/or evil setting me up to disconnect from life, to turn back to a life of searching through my knowledge?
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Jesus, how would You prepare me to see the spiritual reality around me?
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WEEK SEVEN: Kingdom of God (Chapter 3) OBJECTIVE: Recognizing that the kingdom of God is not something we fulfill, it’s something we receive and He fulfillsREFLECTIO Intro to Video: •
Not only a teaching tonight, but also a listening prayer workshop
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You will each be invited to share one thing that God spoke to you personally (one insight) – either from the teaching or the prayer time.
NOTES: •
The most important paradigm shift: The Kingdom of God is not something we fulfill, it’s something that we receive and He fulfills.
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New birth gives us access, but access doesn’t only mean that one day we’ll go to heaven. It means we have . . . •
a new residence
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a new nature
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a new way of seeing
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a new way of being
Parables #1 - The Kingdom of Heaven is like a radio station. – There has to be a receiver that is turned on, tuned in, and turned up. •
Turning on the power: Seeking first the real presence of God among the human race right now – His active voice, His living word, His present reality, and His presence among us
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Tuning in: God, what are you doing right now? What are you saying right now?
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Turning up: I’ll hear and I’ll broadcast.
#2 – The Kingdom of Heaven is like an oven that is on. It has an atmosphere and anything you put into the oven receives what the oven does – heat. The oven has it’s own power and effect. We enter the atmosphere of the oven as cookie dough and the effect of the oven causes us to become a cookie. •
God is here to transform that which is in His presence. Changing the way we think and hear changes the way we think and do ministry.
PRAYER AND CONTEMPLATION: Stop the video just before the prayer at 1:19:23 and encourage everyone to get comfortable and open your heart to hear God in the prayer time.
GROUP DISCUSSION: As you were invited earlier, please share one thing that God spoke to you personally (one insight) – either from the teaching or the prayer time.
LISTENING PRAYER STATEMENTS: •
Jesus, will You show me any areas where I have depended upon my knowledge and not received Your life to guide me where You want me to be?
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Jesus, I have accepted Your life and received Your gift of salvation. I’m plugged in. Tuning in and turning on have proved more difficult. When it feels hard to turn on or tune in to the frequency of Your Kingdom, show me how the little “g” god of this world is fighting against Your purposes for my life. What is it that draws my focus away from You?
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Jesus, show me where I rely upon my desire to accomplish what only true surrender and time in Your Presence can produce.
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WEEK EIGHT: Hearing God (Chapter 1)
“So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God” Romans 10:17 NIV
OBJECTIVE: Learning to recognize and hear the voice of God
RELFECTIONS FROM WEEK SEVEN: We discovered that the most important paradigm shift is that the Kingdom of God is not something we fulfill, it’s something that we receive and He fulfills. How has this concept affected your daily living this week?
NOTES: The process of hearing: •
Romans 10 – faith comes by hearing not from us. Faith isn’t hoping really hard.
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Hearing the voice of God produces faith inside us.
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Sometimes God speaks through pictures in our mind that lead to something (action) that is more than theology but is reality.
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God’s nature and power is presented to us, through us, and in us.
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As we listen to God, we are connected to Him as our source and foundation.
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As we come to God, He knows how to capture our hearts and attention.
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Believe the truth about who He is.
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God will draw us into relationship so He can tell us the truth about who He is and who we really are.
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Hearing God’s voice is the primary way we disconnect from our knowledge and connect to our source.
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Revelation changes beliefs but information only changes thoughts.
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Hearing God’s voice is the central activity of living a life of freedom and restoration of your created design.
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God wants to talk to you about what you believe and who you are. Ways God speaks: •
Scripture is the primary way that God speaks to us.
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Prophetic words delivered by others to speak to us.
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God is creative and can speak through people, nature, etc.
GROUP DISCUSSION: •
What impacted you personally when Bob shared the testimony of God leading him and his friend by a picture in their minds to directly minister to a person at a restaurant?
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Describe a time when you felt like God was silent in your life.
PRAYER AND CONTEMPLATION: Read Romans 10:17 Take some time to meditate, then ask the Lord, “What are you saying to me right now through this passage of scripture?” Journal what you hear:
Week Eight // 27
LISTENING PRAYER STATEMENTS: •
Jesus, will You help me know if I’m asking the wrong questions about “doing and going” when You are trying to tell me about “being”?
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Jesus, I long to hear You “speak” to me, but I am afraid I won’t know for sure it’s You. Will You teach me to recognize the sound of Your voice and to be aware of the feeling when You do?
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Jesus, through reading Your Word, You speak to me. Through the teaching of Your Word, through praise and worship songs, through nature, through friends and into my heart by Your Spirit. I heard You when You called me to salvation and I responded. Show me a time recently where You were speaking to me.
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Jesus, I know that unforgiveness can get in the way of me hearing You. Is there anyone I need to forgive?
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WEEK NINE: Hearing God (Chapter 2) OBJECTIVE: Recognizing that the Word of God is alive and powerfulEFLECTIO
REFLECTIONS FROM WEEK EIGHT: Are there any “hearing God” experiences you have had this week that you would like to share?
NOTES: •
The Word of God is the thing through which everything came into existence
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The Word of God is eternal – living and active – has the power to fulfill itself.
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The Word of God contains life.
Scripture used in the teaching . . . 2 Timothy 3:16-17 - (NIV) 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. Hebrews 4:12 (NIV) 12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Genesis 15 (NIV) 15 After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:
Week Nine // 29
John 1:1-2 (NIV) 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. Romans 4:13 (NIV) 13 It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. Romans 10:8 (NIV) 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,”[a] that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim Colossians 1:17 (NIV) 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Hebrews 11:3 (NIV) 3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
God’s Personal Message: I love you! I LOVE you! I love YOU! And anything that stands in the way of my love reaching you, even if it’s you, I will overwhelm it in order to love you. It’s He that steps into my life to speak, to show, to take dominion over, and to take control over the things that have controlled me.
GROUP DISCUSSION: •
Share a personal “Aha!” from one of the scriptures shared in the teaching tonight.
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What are the things that have controlled you that you want to give over to His control?
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PRAYER AND CONTEMPLATION: Jesus, You created me. You know how to speak to me. Teach me to quiet my mind, to embrace silence, to let go of the expectations of what Your speaking to me “should” be like. Help me to stop trying to make something happen and just be open to Your way of communicating with me.
LISTENING PRAYER STATEMENTS: •
Jesus, I don’t want my prayer time with You to be a one-sided conversation. Remind me to give You the time to both answer my prayers and speak the words You want to say to me.
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Jesus, when something in my life (or beliefs) comes face to face with the truth of scripture and is found out-of-line, show me the deep love You are extending to me in helping me back to truth. You do not shame, accuse or condemn! You invite me into Your truth with You exposing where the enemy has introduced his lies.
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Jesus, it’s easy to see why Satan wants to distract me from time with You, both in The Word and talking with You. Your Word and voice contain everything I need – strength for my weakness; peace for my anxiety; life for my death. You know my life. Show me how and when to meet with You on a consistent basis, knowing that as I give You that time, Your Word has creative power to make me who You created me to be.
Week Nine // 31
WEEK TEN:
Hearing God (Chapter 3)
“So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God” Romans 10:17 NIV
OBJECTIVE: Recognizing our part in hearing God; changing how we see confession
REFLECTIONS:
RELFECTIONS FROM WEEK NINE: When the Bible describes the Word of God as the “Logos”, He is saying I love you, I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU! How did God express His love to you this week?
NOTES: The process of hearing includes: •
Confession is more than forgiveness of sins but confession means that you believe what God is saying about you.
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Confession means “homologeos” in the Greek: •
Homo – the same
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Logos – the expression of what’s in God’s heart.
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Your response in confession should be, “Lord, you made me this way and I believe EVERY word that proceeds out of your mouth about me”.
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Confession is more than repetition and the sin in our lives.
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Confession begins with God and is fulfilled by God.
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Confession is hearing, believing, and acting according to what God says about you and not what you think or perceive about yourself.
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The Word of God discerns the motives and intentions of our heart.
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GROUP DISCUSSION: Hearing God’s voice is the central activity of living a life of freedom and restoration. Describe a time when God revealed a motive or intention of your heart that was selfish? Do you have an expectation that God will speak to you? Why or why not?
PRAYER AND CONTEMPLATION: Let’s take some time to listen to God now by getting still before Him. Ask Jesus to speak to you. (Remember, He may speak through a picture, phrase, a single word, or a scripture)
What did God speak to you tonight? Is it consistent with His Word, produce Fruit of the Spirit and have the ability to release you from anything that keeps you in bondage?
LISTENING PRAYER STATEMENTS: •
Jesus, I have not understood confession fully. Speak Your truth and I will agree with You.
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Jesus, teach me to look past my own needs and see what You are doing today. When I see it, show me my part, whether confessing what You’ve said to me or giving me an active part, I want to be part of Your plan today! What would You show me today?
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Jesus, I ask for sensitivity when You are showing me that my motives are not in line with Your heart, when I want my prayers answered in front of what You are doing. Gently, show me how those motives feed my flesh instead of strengthening my connection with You.
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Jesus, I pour out a lot of words. How many of them are from You?
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WEEK ELEVEN: Life in the Kingdom (Chapter 1)
“Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the Kingdom of His dear Son” — Colossians 1:13 NIV
OBJECTIVE: Learning to integrate the spiritual and earthly kingdom so we embrace our God-given identity.REFLECTIONS:
RELFECTIONS FROM WEEK TEN: We continue to learn about shifting the way we think. Describe a time when God addressed something in your life where your motives were not pure.
NOTES: The process of integrating the Spiritual Kingdom and the Earthly Kingdom •
We often get stuck in trying to get God to do our job or “acts of our will.”
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Often we try to change ourselves, but God is the only One who can change our identity.
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We should adopt a way of “seeing reality” that integrates both the natural and spiritual kingdoms that help us determine what God’s part is and what my part is.
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The Kingdom of God is different than what we think or have been taught because the Kingdom of God is eternal.
Four Principles of Life in the Kingdom: 1. Lordship: Surrendering our will to God •
Our will is the mechanism of deciding (decision making)
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Our submission is to allow God access
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Our surrender to God’s Lordship includes three stages: •
Saved, healed, and delivered
2. Transformation: Discovering my part and God’s part in my transformation 3. Authority: Learning how to take dominion by integrating the spiritual and natural 4. Spiritual Warfare: The internal battle of who we choose to worship Colossians 1: 13 “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the Kingdom of His dear son”.
GROUP DISCUSSION: What does it mean for your new identity to be compatible with the Kingdom of Heaven?
PRAYER AND CONTEMPLATION: Your entire nature was changed when you became a Kingdom Citizen and were given the mind of Christ. Meditate on 1 Corinthians 2:15 and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal anything that you have not submitted to God’s power. What did you hear?
LISTENING PRAYER STATEMENTS: •
Jesus, more than anything I want to live in the truths You are teaching me through this study. Show me how to incorporate these things in practical ways. Give me a starting point, what is a good first step for me?
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Jesus, I call You Lord. Teach me what that really looks like.
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Lord Jesus, I am listening for what You are saying to me. I will confess the words You’ve said to me, checking them with Your words in scripture, and trusting You to bring me into their reality as I remain connected to You as my source without dictating how and what that looks like.
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Lord Jesus, show me any areas of my will I have not yet submitted to You. (Write anything He shows you. If you are ready to offer those areas to Him, do so now. If there is hesitation or fear, talk to Him about what you are feeling.) Week Eleven // 35
WEEK TWELVE: Life in the Kingdom (Chapter 2)
“Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the Kingdom of His dear Son” — Colossians 1:13 NIV
OBJECTIVE: Understanding that transformation comes from connecting to our source – Jesus!FLECTIONS:
RELFECTIONS FROM WEEK ELEVEN: We discovered that we are citizens of heaven when we surrender our life to Jesus according to Colossians 1:13. What does it mean to you to be a citizen of heaven or translated into the Kingdom of Christ?
NOTES: •
The change we are trying to receive is not “how well you act” but the “source of how you act.”
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The process of change is understanding WHO is the source of my change.
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God sees our motive and more importantly the source of change.
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Change isn’t about me trying harder but the source of how I act, think, and feel.
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Training is not learning, but reprogramming how we think and giving guidance to change.
Four Principles of Life in the Kingdom: 1. Lordship: Surrendering our will to God •
Will – mechanism of decision making
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Submission – to allow God access
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Saved, healed, and delivered are three stages of Lordship
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2. Transformation: Am I allowing my flesh to empower the transformation process? •
Flesh or Spirit
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When you allow God to give you more of Him
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Not compliance and obedience, but surrender with sensitivity
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Baptism of the Holy Spirit – bringing life back to His people not regulations on our performance
3. Authority: Learning how to take dominion by integrating the spiritual and natural 4. Spiritual Warfare: The internal battle of who is the center of the universe
GROUP DISCUSSION: God wants you to walk with a Kingdom mindset and learn from your mistakes and failures. Do you have an example when you stumbled but learned from your failure? What does receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit mean to you?
PRAYER AND CONTEMPLATION: Jesus invites you to join the transformation process. Take a moment to ask the Lord how He wants to give you more of Him. What did you hear?
Week Twelve // 37
LISTENING PRAYER STATEMENTS: •
Lord Jesus, You present me with this choice so many times a day: my old way or surrendering to Your Spirit and receiving what I need for this new life in You. Let me hear You clearly as You offer me what I need for life.
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Lord Jesus, forgive me for the times I’ve run away when I fell. Will You show me how to run to You even when I have failed?
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Lord Jesus, I reject the belief that I will only be free after I die! Your death provided me life as I received You. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. You have begun this work in me. I trust You to continue and finish it!
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Lord Jesus, You are the One who baptizes me in the Holy Spirit. You have said this promise is for all who call on Your Name (Acts 2:39). I lay down all preconceived ideas of what the Holy Spirit is or isn’t. I also lay down any expectations of how receiving Him should look. I trust You to give me what I need and receive everything You give me.
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WEEK THIRTEEN: Life in the Kingdom (Chapter 3) OBJECTIVE: Understanding what is my part and what is God’s part when exercising His authority and overcoming through spiritual warfare.
NOTES: AUTHORITY •
Power is the strength or ability to affect change. Authority is delegated power. •
Jesus has the power, we have the authority.
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Our part: to exercise authority; God’s part: to empower our actions, words, etc.
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Jesus delegated authority to us, and it only works when we use it. Praying in hope is not the same as commanding in authority.
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I need to be under authority in order to be able to exercise it.
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Recognizing His authority – Recognize that He is within us. He has deputized us and he has given us authority on the earth to re-present Him in the geography we inhabit, and he is with us to back up the things that we say and do that match up with His character and His instruction.
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When you pray for another person, you need to pray for the spiritual realm around them. Pray for the spirit of truth to break through, for the spirit of deception to break off, that there be clarity, and that they would see with the eyes of their hearts and hear with the ears of their hearts.
SPIRITUAL WARFARE •
2 Cor 10:3-5
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Central issue: It’s not about what’s in front of us, but which voice we listen to about what’s in front of us. It’s the exercise of our will to choose one voice over another voice.
Week Thirteen // 39
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In the worst moment of your life, Satan is waiting to inform you about what that moment means and what’s true about you because of that moment. AND SO IS GOD. We need to say, “Lord, you talk to me about this flat tire. Lord, you talk to me about (this event or circumstance).
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Spiritual forces are empowered by human agreement.
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God says, “I know what you see, but ask me what I see.”
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Spiritual warfare is the only battle you win by surrender – surrender to the fact that God has all the power and He wins.
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It’s about who we’re going to worship in the worst and the best moments of our lives.
GROUP DISCUSSION: 1. How would you describe what is your part and what is God’s part with regard to expressing the authority God has given us? 2. Do you have an example from your life that demonstrates a time that you experienced the results of God’s authority in action? 3. Did the video challenge your prior understanding of spiritual warfare? Explain. 4. Is there an issue or situation that comes to mind for which you need to ask God, “What do you see?”
LISTENING PRAYER STATEMENTS: •
Lord Jesus, show me anything in my life that hinders the authority You’ve given me.
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Father God, please teach me to pause in situations that try to tell me what I’m seeing and ask You what You see!
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Lord Jesus, You know me and where I am in this journey of spiritual growth. I have committed everything I am to You, connecting with You and receiving Your life. Show me how You are with me every step of the way.
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