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God’s Armorbearer Volume 3 / Study
Guide
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God’s Armorbearer Volume 3 / Study
Guide
Running With Your Pastor’s Vision
T E R RY N A N C E
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© Copyright 2008 — Terry Nance All rights reserved. This book is protected by the copyright laws of the United States of America. This book may not be copied or reprinted for commercial gain or profit. The use of short quotations or occasional page copying for personal or group study is permitted and encouraged. Permission will be granted upon request. Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Version. Scripture quotations are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scriptures marked AMP are taken from the Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scriptures marked TM are taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. Scriptures marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scriptures marked KJV are from the King James Version. Please note that Destiny Image’s publishing style capitalizes certain pronouns in Scripture that refer to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and may differ from some publishers’ styles. Take note that the name satan and related names are not capitalized. We choose not to acknowledge him, even to the point of violating grammatical rules. DESTINY IMAGE® PUBLISHERS, INC. P.O. Box 310, Shippensburg, PA 17257-0310 “Speaking to the Purposes of God for this Generation and for the Generations to Come.” This book and all other Destiny Image, Revival Press, Mercy Place, Fresh Bread, Destiny Image Fiction, and Treasure House books are available at Christian bookstores and distributors worldwide. For a U.S. bookstore nearest you, call 1-800-722-6774. For more information on foreign distributors, call 717-532-3040. Reach us on the Internet: www.destinyimage.com. ISBN 10: 0-7684-2611-1 ISBN 13: 978-0-7684-2611-3 For Worldwide Distribution, Printed in the U.S.A. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 / 11 10 09 08
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Table of Contents Introduction: How to Use This Study Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Chapter 1: It’s Time to…Get Plugged Into the Power Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Chapter 2: It’s Time to…Get Out of the Comfort Zone and Develop the Gift Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Chapter 3: It’s Time to…Step Into the Challenge Zone and Run to the End Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Chapter 4: It’s Time to…Get Ready to Become a Voice and Not an Echo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Chapter 5: It’s Time to…Stand With Your Pastor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Chapter 6: It’s Time to…Become Kingdom-Minded Leaders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Chapter 7: It’s Time to…Release the Members Into Their Ministry . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 Answer Key: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
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I N T RO D U C T I O N
How to Use This Study Guide
T
he Bible states in Psalm 133:1-2 (NKJV), “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments.” This is a picture of the way God anoints His Church, the Body of Christ. The anointing begins at the Head and flows down to touch the entire Body. This guide will help you identify your gifts and guide you in practical ways to use them as you stand beside your pastor and run with the vision God has given him for your local Body. This study guide is to be used as a companion of God’s Armorbearer,Volume 3: Running With Your Pastor’s Vision. It is a vital tool in the God’s Armorbearer series. There is no right or wrong way to use it. You may complete the exercises in the privacy of your own home, in a group setting, or with a study partner. Each lesson was written to help you expand your mind as to how you can get plugged into your local church, take Christ into your workplace, and become a blessing to the Body of Christ. Open your heart now as you begin this study. Be prepared for the Holy Spirit to encourage you, bring correction, and give you revelation for this season in your life journey. Think about this: Running with your pastor’s vision—as long as your pastor is following God—is running with God’s vision. I pray that God will bless and expand your vision for harvest as you study.
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CHAPTER
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It’s Time to…Get Plugged Into the Power Source I. Have you ever considered how far faithfulness can take you? Can you define the word faithful? What does being faithful mean to you personally?
II.
Based on information in God’s Armorbearer,Volume 3, list three areas in which being faithful can cause you to grow in your personal life. A. B. C.
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III. The spiritual law of faithfulness produces tangible evidence in our lives. Can you think of a specific time when you applied the law of faithfulness? What were the results?
IV.
William Bradford was born in England in 1590, was orphaned at a young age, and spent his youth being shuffled from one relative to another. At age 12 he began attending the Puritan Church in Babworth, England. Despite the beatings he received for attending, he walked eight miles each Sunday to attend. Write the Scripture in Luke 16:10a that exemplifies William’s life:
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A. Religious persecution drove Bradford to work with others to organize and travel to the New World, America. Upon arriving, the first civil law of this emerging nation was drafted. What was it called?
B. Why is William Bradford sometimes called, “the father of American History”?
V
The local church is like an electrical outlet. Explain how the Holy Spirit can be compared to electricity.
A. The Holy Spirit uses the church to train and equip the saints for the work of the ministry. What is our part is this equipping?
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B. Even though there are legitimate reasons why a person might leave a local church, the writer of Hebrews writes that we should never “forsake” the assembling of ourselves with other believers. What is the meaning of the word forsake?
C. Name four reasons why a person might leave a local church. 1. 2. 3. 4.
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D. Write First Timothy 3:15:
E. The Lord considers the church to be certain things. Look up the Scripture and mark the correct answer—True or False—according to this particular Scripture. Check your answers with the Answer Key at the end of the chapter. ____ 1. Acts 19:39 — The local church is where we are to assemble together. ____ 2. 1 Peter 2:5 — The local church is a house in which we celebrate the feasts of God. ____ 3. 1 Timothy 3:15 — The local church is the pillar and ground of truth. ____ 4. Ephesians 2:22 — The local church is the habitation of God. ____ 5. Ephesians 2:20-21 — The local church is a place where couples should go when they are fighting.
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VI. God uses the local church to keep us in victory. How victorious is your Christian walk? How much have you integrated the local church into your life and the lives of your immediate family? On a scale of 0-3, grade how you and your family are involved in (and affected by) your local church. Use this scoring system: 0 – not at all; 1 – somewhat; 2 – when we need them; 3 – center of our lives ____
We have learned the foundational truths of God’s Word.
____
We have learned character, stability, and faithfulness.
____
We are discovering our gifts and talents.
____
We are establishing relationships.
____
We are learning to respect and honor God-called leadership.
____
We are learning to submit to authority.
____
We are learning to walk in faith.
____
We are learning to forgive one another and our home is more peaceful.
____
We have learned to respect God’s house.
____
Total Score (the sum of the above grades)
Analyze your score: 0-9
Your lives need refocusing.
10-18 The church has more to offer than you are now availing yourself of. 19-27 You are learning the beauty of participating in the Body of Christ.
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VII. The local church is the ark that saves the household. The Barna Research Group shows that adults who regularly attend church as children are 78 percent more likely to attend church as adults. Did you attend church as a child? If you did, or did not, what difference do you think it makes in your life as an adult?
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A. Do you believe the local church is responsible for the harvest of souls? Why do you believe this? What are you doing in this area?
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VIII. The local church brings in the world harvest. It is the place where souls are brought in and nurtured. “Where there is no vision the people perish” (Prov. 29:18 KJV).The New King James Version says that where there is no vision (“revelation”) the ________________________________________.
A. When people cast off restraint, what are they doing?
B. What is the first step in getting plugged into the local church?
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C. When we plug into a local church, we plug into its _________________.
D. Take a moment and reflect on the vision of your local church. Where do you fit in that vision?
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E. Do you say,“Lord, bless me and change ______________,” or do you say, “Lord, bless _______________ and change ME”?
F. Write Ephesians 3:10:
G. In the above verse in Ephesians, what does satan see?
IX. The local church needs all of us to take our place. You are on earth for a _________________. You have an ___________________ given to you by God to fulfill in the local church.
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A. Reflect on your assignment at the present time in your local church. How does your assignment fit with your natural giftings? Are you allowing your work to complement rather than compete with the local church?
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X.
We must bring our vision under the vision of the house. An influential Shunammite woman invited Elisha into her house for a meal whenever he passed by. Recognizing he was a man of God, she and her husband made the decision to build an apartment for him on the top floor of their home.“And she said to her husband,‘Look now, I know that this is a holy man of God,who passes by us regularly.Please,let us make a small upper room on the wall; and let us put a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; so it will be, whenever he comes to us, he can turn in there’” (2 Kings 4:9-10 NKJV). A. Four keys to establishing your vision under the vision of the house are: 1. The Shunammite woman _______________ that Elisha was a man of God. You have to have a revelation of your pastor as a man of God. 2. The Shunammite woman began _______________ of the Prophet’s room by removing a wall. Do you have walls in your life? You must tear them down. 3. The Shunammite woman built Elisha an ________ over the top of her house. This is symbolic of taking the vision of the man of God and placing it over your life. You must let the vision of the house become your vision. 4. The Shunammite woman furnished the room with a ___________, ______________ , ________________ , and ________________. a. The bed represents _________________________. b. The chair represents ________________________.
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c. The table represents ________________________. d. The lamp represents ________________________.
B. Reflect on your own life. What is your attitude toward your spiritual leaders? How do you respond to them? What are you doing to be a blessing to them?
C. Have you built walls in your life such as hurt, rejection, and lack of trust toward your spiritual leaders? What action would you need to take to begin receiving from your pastor and other spiritual leaders?
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D. Elisha was blessed by this woman’s support and in turn asked what she desired. The result of the Shunammite woman’s allowing the vision of God’s man to become her vision was _____________________. What will happen in your life if you take the challenge of this teaching and come into agreement with the vision of the house, your local church?
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Think on this: Read Hebrews 10:25. Take a few minutes to reflect on your own local church and what it means to you.
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REFLECTIONS
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