My New Life in Christ by Justin Singleton Copyright © 2004 by Justin Singleton All rights reserved. Written permission must be secured from the publisher to use or reproduce any part of this study, except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles. Published in Cincinnati, Ohio, by Life Ministries Publications. All Scripture quotations are preceded by the initials of the version in which they come.
Special thanks to: Brandy Singleton, my beautiful wife who helps me to study the Scriptures God’s Bible School and College, for teaching me to follow the Scriptures
Disclaimer: This is a compilation of information I have received through the years. Most of what I learned came through my studies at God’s Bible School and College and from the professors that mentored me there. The only work I have done was to rework it and make it look pretty for these pages. I say this in order to give honor where honor is due. I thank God for showing me to the college and helping me to grow. I pray that what I have learned there can now be passed on to others.
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Study for New Converts My New Life in Christ Table of Contents Introduction .......................................... 3 1.What Jesus did to save you ............... 7 2.God's plan for your life ..................... 17 3.Growing in Christ-likeness ............... 25 4.What it means to be a disciple .......... 34 5.What is sin, and how do I avoid it ..... 45 6.Making the next step ......................... 55 7.Making a full surrender ..................... 63 Epilogue ……………………………… 71 Bibliography ......................................... 74
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Introduction
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Introduction So you made a decision? You have decided to ask God to forgive you of your sins. That is wonderful! I congratulate you on your new life. That's what it is, it is a new life. The old you is gone now. God has given you a fresh start, a new beginning. He doesn't hold your old life against you anymore. That is wonderful! But what do you do now? This study is designed to take you, a new Christian, through your new life in Christ. This study will help you to learn what it is that Jesus requires of His followers, as well as practical ways we can show our love and devotion for the God who gave up His own life to die in our place. This study is meant to be used as a teaching utensil for new believers. You will learn things like: what Jesus did to save you, God's plan for your life, how to grow and become more like Jesus, what it means to be a disciple, what is sin and how can I avoid it, making the next step, and letting nothing control you but God. This is an intense study on your new life in Christ. This is how it is going to work: there are seven studies in this Bible Study. You can do one study per day, or you may wish to work on half a study a day. If working on half studies, every time you see the line ( ), a new day begins. You will need an ink pen and a good writing surface. It would probably be best to do this at a table, and not in bed since being in bed will make you tired. And the final thing you will need to do with this study is pray. Pray every day at the beginning of your study, asking God to help you understand. And then pray after the day's study is over. In this prayer you can praise God, and thank Him, and you can ask Him to help you to incorporate what you have learned into your life. I hope that you desire earnestly to learn from the Word of God. I pray that you are hungry to know what God wants your life to be like. Your new life in Christ will be great! Are you ready? Let's pray together: Father, you are a great God. You have saved us from our sins. You have made a way for us to have a personal relationship with you. We thank you for that. We thank you that you love us so much that you sent Jesus to die on an old Roman cross to die in our place. Thank you. Lord help me to understand this Bible study. I want to learn more about you and who you are. I want to learn about what you want me to be. Help me to live my life for you. I love you. Amen.
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The Story Bill Johnson was not the ordinary guy, yet in a lot of ways he was. Standing at only 5'6", he was probably the shortest guy in his class. He was a biology major in college, where he spent more time in the clubs than in the books. Bill was an outspoken 'life of the party' type of person, but even he felt as if something was missing. "So what are we doing tonight?" a voice came from behind the crowd of loiterers outside the local college coffee shop. "What's the plan?" Bill turned to the heightened giant of a man towering over him. Mac was a great guy, and a close friend of Bill. He wasn't the brightest of men, but he had a heart. Mac was loyal to his friends always ready for the college scene. "I don't know yet. We're waiting for Nicky; she's still inside. Her professor had his evening class in here tonight. ... We're thinking of Foister's." The crowd wasn't large, only about five so far. Nicky was finishing up inside, Chris was on his way from the Library where he works part time. Some of them wanted to go to Foister's, the local bar, others wanted pizza and movies, others just wanted to hang out where they were. It was Thursday, and it was close enough to the weekend to be the weekend. Nicky walked out slowly, sipping on a steaming cup. As she meandered down the steps she asked, "What do you guys think about church?" Nicky was a young girl, a freshman, only about eighteen years old. She never grew up in church, as a matter of fact, Sundays in her household were just days that everyone used to leave the house and do whatever they wanted. Her brother would go who knows where, her mother grocery shopping, her father usually stayed in the garage and she normally went to the mall with some friends. One girl in the crowd laughingly asked, "What have you been talking about in there?" "No it’s not class. I have been thinking about it all day," she sluggishly said then took another sip before continuing, "my aunt Janny has been having a rough time with her ex-husband, so she's been talking to her neighbor about church. I've never really thought about it, but sometimes I wonder." Bill put his arm around Nicky, pulling her close to his shoulder, "Come on Nicky, we're going to Pastor Foister's house. I'll sneak you a few beers. That's all the church we need right now."
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"Just STOP! alright. Just stop talking to me like that. I don't care what you think. Kevin is not going to your house right now. ... ... No. Your drunk Mike. How are you going to feed your son when you don't even feed yourself? When's the last time you ate? ... ... That's not a meal. ... Listen. You've heard me, now deal with it." Jan slammed the phone down and finally released her tears. Kevin sat on the couch, head lowered, almost afraid to speak. "What am I going to do?" she spoke out loud but for no one to answer. Kevin raised his eyes to meet his mother's, but then lowered them again. Kevin was a good kid, normally, but the divorce had hit him quite hard. His ten-year-old mind grasped clearly the idea of divorce, but like every other kid his age who has gone through his parent's separating, he couldn't understand why. Kevin sat up from his half-laying position on the couch, and then finally stood. "Why can't I go?" he demanded. "Why is it that every time dad calls you hang up on him? Every time he says he wants to see me, you say he can't? ... You just don't want him to see me." Her tears of pain became instant rage, a rage that her son did not deserve. "Shut up! Shut up!! You don't know anything. Your father only calls when he's been drinking because that's the only time he thinks of any of us. " "You just hate him ..." "I hate him? Of course I hate him. Look what he has done to this family. He has torn us apart. He makes us hate each other ..." "You make us hate each other. ... I hate you." Kevin threw the pillow he had been cradling onto the couch and in a flash the door to his room was slammed.
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Chapter 1
What Jesus Did to Save You
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Chapter 1 What Jesus Did to Save You The Story
Bill rushed across an open field trying to reach his class in time. The fresh cut grass made his sandaled feet itch, but he paid little attention to it. He had spent the last hour cramming a test review into his now sober mind. Lucky for him his class wasn't until 10am, which meant that he had only to wake up at eight to shower, eat, sit around for a little bit, then cram as much 'useful' knowledge into his head as he could. Unfortunately for him, there was a bit more to remember than he realized. He hadn't even looked at the test review, which Mac had copied for him, until about nine. It was already ten now, and Bill almost even reverted to prayer, although to some unknown god, to try to plead mercy on part of his professor. He reached the door at four minutes past and he knew that Dr. Andrews always started at exactly ten o'clock. "Alright class," he could remember his teacher saying every class period, "it is ten o'clock. You are no longer on your time, you are on my time." He waited a few seconds to catch his breath somewhat then slowly opened the door. "... again I apologize, but that is why we are not having a test this morning," came the professors unhappy voice, "since there will be no test today, I want you all to spend the class period developing the outline you will use for your paper due in three weeks on 'Irreducible Complexity and the blood clotting system.'" "Sir," a voice from one of the seats interrupted, "do you mind if we go to the library for that, I still need to develop my thesis ..." The voice was indiscernible as to whether there was seriousness in it or not. "We will let the class decide. How many of you would like to go?" Every hand rose. "How many of you will go to the library?" Again, every hand rose. "Why do I not believe you?" Now a few chuckles instead of a reply. "Here is what we will do. I will let you all have this class period to do whatever you like. In return, I want to see an outline on this desk by 10am next class period, typed in a readable font. ... Dismissed." The sound of squeaking chairs instantly filled the room followed closely by slamming books and chatter. Bill jumped to the occasion to fly out of sight but was stopped by the voice of the professor calling his name and then asking him to come forward.
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"Yes sir?" Bill stood before the professor’s desk awaiting the lecture to follow. Dr. Andrews still busy with his briefcase didn't look up when he spoke, "Mr. Johnson, you were late again today. This will make the fourth time in two weeks." As if the world stood still and the two of them were the only ones in the room, Dr. Andrews looked up and asked, "Are you doing okay, I'm a bit worried about you?" This was not the lecture he was expecting, in fact, he was a bit stunned. So much that he only widened his eyes and sputtered a few one syllable sounds. "I'm sorry if I struck you off guard, it’s just that I have been thinking a lot about you recently and it seems that you have the potential to stand behind this class and teach it yourself, yet you consistently neglect the work ..." Now Bill found his tongue and jumped in, "I am doing the work sir, I ... I just haven't turned it in yet." "I am very good at seeing through lies son, I have been doings it for quite some time now. I ask you because it seems that you are preoccupied with something else." He reached down and began to finish gathering his belongings now and continued, "It seems that for the last few years you have done nothing but party and drink. We are not sure if you are cut out for this type of work ..." Bill quickly cut him off with a fearful squeak, "We?" Dr. Andrews looked up again and spoke all so nonchalantly, "Yes the faculty." Looking from left to right as if trying to find something to grasp onto he finally remembered the test and asked, "Why is it that you didn't give the test sir, I was prepared for that." This he asked not because he was but trying to show that even teachers miss appointments sometimes. "Are you asking to prove a point or because you really want to know?" Knowing he was caught he still responded, "Because I want to know sir." "All right then, my wife and I were up all night last night with a neighbor who was having problems." Trying to buy mercy Bill questioned, "Oh I'm sorry sir, how were you helping her?"
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The professor sat down in his chair, then motioned for Bill to sit as well, "I was explaining to her how that Jesus Christ died on an old Roman cross in real history some two thousand years ago so that we might have true life in Him where that we can lean on Him for hope and help in hard times." Dr. Andrews said this in order to test his student, would he sit through such a statement as that and still act concerned, or would he stand up now, walk off, and accept discipline? Bill still strong in his acting skills leaned forward all the more interested and queried, "Really, how did she take it?" "Well, she accepted what I told her as truth." "That's fantastic!" he pretended to be excited, of course this was mere acting, a trick he had learned through the last few years at school to get out of trouble. Some teachers wondered why he didn't study psychology. Dr. Andrews still not taking the bait offered a bit more information by saying, "Yes, it is. She agreed to come to my adult Sunday School class this Sunday and learn more." "Oh I didn't know you taught Sunday School Dr., where at?" Dr. Andrews told Bill the place, and then at Bill's prompting told him the time. Afterward, the professor looked at his watch and said that Bill had better get started on his outline. The two parted ways, the professor to his office and Bill to his dorm room. Bill knew he was getting in too deep, but he wouldn't be the first student that the Science department had 'kicked out.' They had a long lasting record of excellence, so much that most students changed majors by their junior year, but Bill really had a love for science, so he held on. Those students who had no chance of graduating, but still held on, the science department normally excused so that they could find a home in some other department and earn their degree. Bill didn't want this, as a matter fact, he dreaded it. Now that it finally happened, he would do everything possible to stop it. Even trying to win the professor's favor by going to his church.
Introduction Before we can understand what Jesus did for us, we have to first understand what God wants for us. In this first verse we see that God wants us to have eternal life. But what is eternal life?
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John 17.3 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
The essence of eternal life does not mean living forever, it means having a personal relationship with God, to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. The words 'to know' mean to know them through experience. Not just knowing about them, but to have a personal relationship with them. Eternal life flows from having a right relationship with God. According to this verse, what is eternal life? What comes out of having a right relationship with God? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ The Problem and Solution Our Problem That is what God wants for us, but there is a problem. Something happened in everyone's lives that changed things forever.
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Romans 3.23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
The thing that happened was sin. Everyone of us has sinned (disobeyed God) in some way or another. And sin causes us to fall short of God's standards. Have you ever sinned? (Yes/No) Judging from this verse, what does sin cause us to do? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
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Colossians 1.21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.
Our problem was that our evil behavior caused us, before salvation, to be alienated (separated) from God and we became His enemies. Sin separates us from God, because a holy, perfect God can not allow sin to be in His presence. According to this scripture, what was your life like before salvation? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
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Ephesians 2.1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins
Before we came to know Christ, we were dead in our many wrongdoings. Since spiritual life is having a right relationship with God, being dead must mean being separated from God. Explain the spiritual “life� of a sinner. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
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2 Thessalonians 1.8-9 [Jesus] will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power
Eventually, all who have died separated from God (those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus) will be punished in an eternal Hell. If they choose to live separated from God on earth, then they will live an eternity separated from God in Hell. God's great and perfect justice will be met. According to this passage, who will be punished by Jesus if they do not turn from their
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wickedness? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ What is the punishment that they will receive? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ God's Solution Thank God, He has a solution to this problem. God doesn't want us to be alienated and separated. He doesn't want us to be punished in Hell.
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Colossians 1.22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation--
God didn't want us to be separated from Him, He knew that that would eventually mean eternal Hell for those separated. So He made a way to save us. He saved us and brought us back to Himself by taking Jesus' sacrifice of His own body as payment for our sins. Jesus paid for our sins. When we accept the gift that Jesus gave on the cross (His death in place of ours), what does God present you as according to this Scripture? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
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2 Corinthians 5.17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
When we do accept the gift Jesus gave, and we enter into this personal relationship with God, God gives us a brand new beginning. We are a new creation. We are totally changed so that we can now forget the old lifestyle and begin living for God. A part of God's solution to the our problem is to make us a new creation, what does this
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mean? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
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Ephesians 2.4-7,10 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-- it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ... For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
We were once dead in our sins, but God made us alive and created us in Him, it is only as we are “in Him” that we have spiritual life. Our spiritual life exists only from our being united with Christ. What is the source of our spiritual life? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
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John 15.1-7 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.”
This is a picture of us being “in Christ”. Christ teaches us that unless we are abiding “in Him” we can do nothing, we cannot produce fruit, we will be nothing but a dead dry branch fit only for the fire. According to this passage, can we bear fruit (good works and holy actions that spring from 14
having a loving relationship with God) apart from being in Christ? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ What happens to the branches that do not remain in Christ? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
“How do we abide in Christ? (1) Depend totally upon Him for everything (15:4-5); (2) Bring his word in to abide in us (memorize & meditate & assimilate God’s word) cf. 1 John 2:24 where John says that if what we have heard from the beginning abides in us then we abide in the Father and in the Son.” - Brown, Philip Principles of the Christian Life
Look At Your Life This is the story of our salvation, but before we move on, I think it is important not just to see salvation from the big picture, but to look into the very act of our salvation through Jesus Christ. What did Jesus do to save us?
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Romans 5.8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
God loves us. God loved us even when we were sinners and spit in God's face so to say. He loved us so much that Jesus died for us.
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How did God show His love for us through Jesus? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
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Hebrews 9:26a-28 But now [Jesus] has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
Sin brings separation from God. It also brings punishment and eternal damnation. But God loved us so much, that Jesus decided to come to earth as a man who has never sinned and so deserves no death, to die on an old Roman cross and to spill His own blood to appease the judgment of God so that we do not have to die. Jesus died in our place. He took the punishment that you and I deserve. Not just the physical punishment of the cross, but He took was placed under the curse and wrath of God. His sacrifice was enough to take away the sins of everyone, if only they will accept it. What did Jesus do to take away your sins? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Why did Jesus decide to take upon Himself the punishment of God so that we do not have to face it? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
Thus, Jesus has shown us His love.
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Chapter 2
God's Plan for Your Life
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Chapter 2 God's Plan for Your Life The Story
It was an average Friday night crowd at Foister's. The music was loud, the air was smoky, the people were lively with laughing and yelling, and the thuds of glasses hitting wooden tables filled the room. Bill walked in through the door, spotted a few friends, and made his way across the sticky floor to sit at his usual table. It had almost been two weeks since the last time he sat in that seat surrounded by his friends. The last two weeks had been profound. He had a lot of catching up to do for his five classes this semester: books had to be read, outlines written, work had to be made up. You could say that Bill was having a crisis experience. For the past few years he had made it through school by the skin of his teeth. He had failed classes, but that didn't matter to him then, his parents were paying. He had retaken classes and when his parents threatened not to pay he had gotten a loan. Now he is facing a new tiger ... he may not ever graduate. All this madness came whirling through Bill's mind. On top of all of this, what Dr. Andrews said in his Sunday School class continued to rush to the forefront of his brain. He had never even thought of sacrifice, unless it meant eventual selfish gain. But this Jesus, whose name had meant nothing more than uncomfortable benches two weeks ago, actually gave up his life freely for no more gain than to save a worthless people? This just seems a little illogical, yet he couldn't shake the thought. "Where have you been?" the quiet voice of eighteen-year-old Nicky tried to peak over the noise of the bar. "I have had a lot of work to do lately," he answered, then ordered a cold beer. "Work?" Nicky asked a bit stunned, "what happened? Is the world coming to an end?" Very few people laughed. Nicky was known for her brilliance, but not for her humor. Bill didn't know it yet, but Nicky had actually been struggling with the same thoughts. "No ... I found out that I may be kicked out of the Science program because of my grades." When he finished talking, no one else spoke for nearly a minute. The once boisterous crowd was suddenly tamed. Bill himself actually broke the silence, "So Nicky, what did you find out about Church?"
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This was the last thing she ever thought she would hear the mighty Bill Johnson ask her, but she pulled herself together enough to answer him. She was still a bit reserved in her speech though, "Well, actually I have been meeting with my aunt and her neighbor Martha. We are having a kinda girl's group studying the Bible." This peeked Bill's interest. He quickly raised his eyes to meet her's and she could see something in them that she had never seen before ... pure undivided attention. He pulled his chair in more toward the table, sat up straight and exclaimed, "Really? ... How is it?" Still shocked Nicky told him how great it was. They got to sit and talk and drink coffee. Martha was pretty knowledgeable about the Bible and had answered every question Nicky had so far. Nicky asked about the meaning of life. Do we have a meaning? Is there a purpose to this purposeless world? All this was far more interesting to Bill than Nicky even realized. These were the questions he asked. In a scientific way, he had always seen order and complexity. Studying for his paper Dr. Andrews had assigned even pushed him further toward wondering if God really did exist. With all this complexity in life, even in something as universal as the blood clotting system, there must be a purpose to our existence. "I know it is a girl thing, but do you think I could come?" One of their mutual friends, Chris, added, "That's right, because if he can't graduate with a degree in biology he decided to try theology." This got fewer laughs than Nick’s try at comedy. This was the last straw, "Listen, you don't have to make fun of me." "I'm not," he fought back with an evil eye penetrating into Chris, then after lowering his head to his mug once he said, "I'm serious. I really would like to go." This is not the Bill Nicky had known. The last two weeks really must have been rough on him. She tried to look into his eyes, but he wouldn't let her. He stood up without waiting for a response, assuming the answer, and walked over to the bar with money in hand. "Wait!" Nicky quickly jumped up after him, "Martha invited me to her husband's Sunday school this Sunday. I know it sounds kinda funny, but it’s not a kid thing." She paused for a moment, trying to gain enough confidence to ask Bill to go with him, but didn't want it to sound like a date. "If you really want to come ... it would probably be all right."
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Bill had turned half way back toward Nicky as she spoke but now turned completely around to face her. Blushing quite noticeably, even in the dim light, he said, "Actually ... I'm going to Sunday school this Sunday. Dr. Andrews, one of my professors, teaches a Sunday school class and I am trying to earn a passing grade in his class. I thought the Sunday school thing might help ... instead it is just confusing me further." Nicky gave Bill quite the confused look. "Dr. Andrews? That's Martha's last name?" Bill, quite confused himself, perked up enough to say, "Well, I guess we have a date this Sunday."
Introduction God has a purpose and goal for everything. He never just does something for the mere act of doing it, He always has some goal in mind. When He brought us to salvation, He did it so that we could have a holy, love relationship with Him. But He understands that the only way to better that relationship, is to transform us into better people. His goal for our life is that we be changed into a mirror reflection of Jesus. He wants us to be just like Jesus. He wants us to have the right attitudes, the right actions. He wants everything we have to be perfect. Ultimately, this will bring glory to God name. You see, while His goal for our lives is that we grow in Christ-likeness, His ultimate goal for everything He does, is to be glory to His name.
God’s Purpose A. Christ-likeness in our Lives
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Romans 8.29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
God’s purpose in our lives is that we be conformed to the image of Christ. He wants to change us into the likeness of His Son.
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From this verse, what is God's goal for your life? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
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Colossians 3.9-10 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him--
“We are in the process of being renewed into the image of the one who created us. God’s goal for us is for us to be brought back into his full image = the image of Christ, the One who created us.” - Brown, Philip Principles of the Christian Life As Christians, we have laid aside the old lifestyle and have taken a new life in Christ. What is God doing to this “new self”? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
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Hebrews 1.3 The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
Jesus brightly shines God's glory for all to see and is the exact representation of who God is. God wants us to be just like Jesus, He wants us to do those things as well! What does Jesus, through His life, show about the Father? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
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What should you, through your life, show about the Father? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
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Ephesians 1.3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.
God chose us, even before we were created, to live a pure and spotless life before Him in love. God has planned for us to be just like Jesus. What did God choose us for? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ B. God's Glory Ultimately
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Romans 11.36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.
The ultimate end of everything is centered toward God. Everything that God does will ultimately bring His glory. God's goal for us is to make us like Jesus, but what is His ultimate goal for everything He does? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
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Isaiah 43.6-7 “I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' and to the south, 'Do not hold them back.' Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth-everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”
God created us as new creatures for His glory. [See Eph 2.24] According to this passage, why did God create us as new creatures? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
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Ephesians 1.3-6,11-14 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-- to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. ... In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession-- to the praise of his glory.
Three times the phrase is mentioned, “to the praise of His glory”. All that God has done for us ultimately is for His own glory. Our election, predestination, and redemption all have “the praise of His glory” as their purpose (Eph. 1:6, 12, 14). What is God's ultimate goal for everything He does? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
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Ephesians 2.6-7 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
God redeemed us to display the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us. Why did God redeem us? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ What is God's purpose for us? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ What is God's ultimate goal for anything He does? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ If it is God's chief end to bring glory to His name, what should our chief end be? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ *************** When we say the chief end of man is to glorify God, we mean (a) to live in such a way that observers praise the unique excellence of God they see displayed in our lives, and (b) to offer praise personally to God for his unique excellence.
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Chapter 3
Growing in Christ-likeness
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Chapter 3 Growing in Christ-likeness The Story
Bill stood outside the coffee shop on a cold, rainy evening. He was the only one who stood there. People ran from doorway to car or bus, or hurried along down the street under the false protection of an umbrella. Every once in a while he would receive an odd stare, just another reminder of how silly he felt for standing there. Bill wasn't simply standing in the rain trying to get wet. As a matter of fact, he did all he could not to get wet. He tried to stand under the overhang of the building; then tried a nearby decorative tree in the middle of the sidewalk. None of this seemed to work, but Bill didn't have the nerve yet to walk inside. He knew Nicky was in there, for she said her professor was having class here again this evening. He felt like a childish schoolboy, which in fact he had been for quite some time. Now, things had changed. He didn't accept everything Dr. Andrews said in that early Sunday morning lecture, although Nicky did. She even spoke to Dr. Andrews afterward and 'prayed' with him. Bill agreed to think about it and research it a bit more, but made no promises as to what the outcome might be. He said this, but within himself he had already decided. Bill 'blew his cover' by admitting to Dr. Andrews that he had gone simply to win his favor, but also told him that he now had many honest questions. Nicky opened the door quickly and began to run down the stairs. She had a fool's hope that if she ran quickly enough down the street, she might not get as wet. Her books were tucked tight against her belly to keep them dry, but as she began to widen her stride she just happened to look up and see Bill standing there ... all wet. Bill had told himself that he must talk to Nicky, but never even tried to figure out what he would say when he saw her. When he saw her open the door, for a brief moment he turned as if to walk off, hoping she would simply think he was walking by. This of course was a stupid idea and he abandoned it almost as quickly as he tried it. "Bill?" Nicky spoke half stunned, then looking side to side for the rest of 'the gang' she asked, "what are you doing here?"
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He tried to buy time by running his fingers through his hair in order to dry it a bit, then, throwing his hands out to his side said, "I was looking for you. You said you would be here." "Have you been standing out here in the rain?" After she spoke she realized her books were getting wet and tried to protect them more. He didn't answer so she quickly grabbed his hand and dragged him inside the coffee shop. After sitting down at a two seat table she took her hand and wiped the water away from the cover of her two books. "Did you want to talk?" "Actually ... yes." He paused for a moment then continued, "I feel like my entire world has flipped upside down. Four weeks ago I knew everything I would do. Eventually I would graduate, then I would really buckle down and go to grad school. Afterward I could get a PhD and begin research at some high tech laboratory. ... Now I'm a twenty-four-year-old guy who just doesn't know anything for certain anymore." Nicky didn't reply, she just leaned forward in her chair and looked deeper into his eyes nodding for him to continue. She didn't even think twice about the last statement Bill made, then again, why would she, she was younger than him and too believed that a well planned life never changed. "Dr. Andrews said some things the other day ..." She interrupted him by asking, "... do you mean at church?" "... yes, at church. He said some things that I just haven't been able to let go. The Sunday before he talked about Jesus dying and raising for us ... for me. Now he talks about some plan or purpose. ... I just wonder if that plan involves me." "I'm sure it does. ... You know, I've been having a lot of questions also. I don't know what I am supposed to do now. I know I have to grow closer to God ... I just don't know how." "You prayed with him," he said a bit more excited now, "what happened? What did you feel?" She thought for a moment, "I don't think I really felt anything. ... Maybe relieved in a way. I have been trying to find out my own way for so long. Now I can actually turn to someone else, someone much smarter than myself, and ask him. ... As Mr. Andrews put it, a Father." "What way is that?" he jumped in. "His way," she stated matter-of-factly.
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"My whole life has changed in a matter of weeks. I don't know what to do. Should I pray like you did? Should I fix my problems first? I've done some pretty bad things in my life you know." "I know ... but I don't think you can fix those things." She looked down at her watch and quickly stood. "Look, we are having our 'small group' tonight ..." He stood too, interrupting her, "What kind of a small group?" "You remember? Martha, Janny and me are meeting together to talk about all of this." She stood there for a moment, wishing he could go, but it isn't for her to say. She is just sitting in on the group, not leading it. "Okay," he stepped out from his seat now and pushed it under the table. "Do me a favor. Call me tonight and tell me everything you guys discussed. I have got to know what to do." The gloom on his face was a bit more than she could handle. She spoke softly, "Martha said that most people think that God helps those who help themselves, but that isn't true. She says that God helps those who rely on Him. ... You need to rely on Him and then let Him decide what needs to change in your life." He stood there a moment more, soaking up what she had just said. He had never heard anything so real. He didn't want to leave, but he knew he had to walk away so she could go. As he started toward the door she said quite loud, "Wait a minute." Then quieting her voice, "Let me call and see if you can go tonight. The topic is 'Growing in Christ-likeness,' I think you would like it. His boyish smile quickly broke out, revealing his childish nature. He still needed to grow up, that was evident, but she hoped that somehow should could help him do that. They both sat back down and she called Martha. Martha told her that he was welcome to come along if he would like. She said that she would ask her husband Jeff if he would mind sitting in as well, so that Bill wouldn't have to be the only guy. This of course made Bill nervous, but he agreed to follow along still. He had already changed somehow, but he knew that he needed something. What it was he hoped to find out tonight.
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Introduction God's plan for our lives is that we grow to be just like Jesus. This is His goal, to change us little by little, until our attitudes and actions are just like Jesus' are. We won't be totally perfect, at least not till we get to heaven, but we can bring God glory through living pure lives for Him, so that all people can look at our lives and praise God instead of curse Him (if our lives are bad people will curse the name of your God because they either know that you are fake or they think that your life is an example of Jesus). Our purpose is to grow in Christ-likeness, and there are many ways to do this. But before we go into those, let's look back over something.
NIV
Romans 8.29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
You must realize that God’s purpose for our lives is that we be conformed to the image of Christ. He wants to change us into the likeness of His Son. What is God's purpose for our lives? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
God Wills our Perfection
NKJ
Hebrews 6.1 Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God.
God wants us to eventually go beyond learning the basics of the Christian life, and He plans for us to go on to perfection. Yes perfection!
What goal does God have planned for us to reach? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
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NKJ
Ephesians 4.11-13 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
God gave different people different gifts so that we can help each other reach this perfection that God has called us to. But perfection isn't never doing anything wrong, we won't be like that until we go to heaven, perfection is taking everything that we presently know, and measuring it up to Jesus. Are you living like Jesus? Are your thoughts, attitude, and actions how they should be? According to this passage, what does it mean to be perfect man? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
God Wills our Transformation into the Image of Christ
NASB
Romans 12.2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
God's plan is to transform us. He wants us to be transformed into the image of Christ. How does this verse say that we can be transformed? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
NIV
Ephesians 4.22-24 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
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Here we are told that when we God saved God created us as brand new people, crated to be like God! Since we are new people, we need to put off our old lifestyle, like taking off an old coat, to be made new (renewed) in our attitudes and whole mindset (look at life through God's eyes) and put on our new coat, our new lifestyle. What was our old lifestyle like? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ In what areas are we to be renewed? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ What is our new life like? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
NIV
Titus 3.5 He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the agent of our renewal. He is the one who actually changes us. But we can be renewed only as much as we are willing to allow Him to renew us. He is the one who actually does the renewing of our lives? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
NIV
Colossians 3.9-10 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
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We are in the process of being renewed into the image of the one who created us. This renewal takes place in knowledge, this knowledge is the knowledge of the word of God. How are we being renewed? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
NIV
John 17.17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
God's word sanctifies us. It purges us. God's word has the power to change lives, because it is His word! It was God's word that brought all of creation into existence, and now it is by God's word that you will be renewed into the image of Christ. Through what are we being renewed? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ If the Holy Spirit is the person who renews us, and if God's word is the measuring tape to which we are measured up to, how important is it for us to learn all we can about our God through the Bible? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ What ways can you think of personally how you can study the Bible in order to grow in Christ-likeness? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
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Here are some ways I have found to be helpful: Read every day from the Bible (normally a small paragraph a day, not a whole chapter. And start from the book of John. If your Bible doesn't have chapter titles or thought titles, then you should probably find one that has them); pray everyday (this doesn't mean only over meals, but talk to God. Set a time that you can be alone and tell God how much you love Him, tell Him how your weeks has been, confess if you have failed Him, and ask Him to help you live your life for Him. You can tell God what you understand about the scripture you read that day); go to Sunday School (Sunday School is a time that we can sit down and learn some of the good information the Bible has in it. What God likes and dislikes, who God is, etc.); Worship God together with everyone in the sanctuary (This involves singing the hymns and choruses that we sing. These songs are normally saturated with the Word of God. We should not be ashamed to close our eyes, raise our hands, and praise God for who He is, what He has done, and what He promises to do); Go to an accountability group (these groups are designed to help you stay accountable to what you learn in the Bible. If you learn that the Bible says not to lie, and you have a problem lying, then the others of the group can ask you whenever they see you how you are doing with that problem. When you come back together once a week or once a month, you can talk about the problem with everyone and they can suggest things that they have done to conquer the problem). Another helpful hint would be to attend the Wednesday night Bible study or prayer meeting (This way you can spend time with other Christians more than just once a week, and learn about who God is and how He has helped others. If it is a prayer meeting, you can listen to the saints of the church pray and join in with them. If at a Bible Study, you can ask questions that you have come up with in your personal devotions. Either way, you can grow in Christ).
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Chapter 4
What it means to be a disciple
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Chapter 4 What it means to be a disciple The Story
The night had been long. Kevin had a fever and had been throwing up. He hadn't been feeling well the last few days and so stayed home from school. Jan still had to go to work, at the local Credit Union, but called home periodically to check up on her son. She had Martha stop by at lunch to bring him some chicken noodle soup, which he ate as if starving. It seemed he was getting better. When Jan finally got home from work, she found Kevin sleeping in front of the television covered up with a blanket. She loved her son. As she stood over him, all the memories of his younger days flooded back to her. She remembered the very first diaper, his first word, his first haircut. Her entire life changed when he was born. Her attitude had changed over the past few weeks, Kevin noticed. Her meetings with Martha and her niece were taking a toll on her life. She was a changed person. Her new found love for God allowed her to love herself and her only child. She still had her problems though. She still yelled when she got angry. Her attitude was not equivalent to an angel, but it changed drastically. She sat down on the couch, picked up the remote control and turned off the TV. As if clockwork, Kevin woke up and smiled at his mother. "Hi mom," he whispered still half asleep. "Hey buddy," she answered, "how are you feeling?" "I feel a lot better. Martha brought some soup earlier. She kept coming by and checking on me." "Good," Jan smiled again. Jan walked over to feel his forehead and found no fever. She picked herself up and walked into the kitchen to find a snack before she had to start cooking. Since she was a working mom, her family was used to eating late dinners. She got home at six, started cooking and had dinner ready by seven.
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Her life had changed, that was certain, but something still seemed to stand in her way of progress. She loved her son, she loved her son more than herself, but then again, she loved herself so much that she cloaked her selfishness with love for her son. The problem that stood in her way wasn't her ex-husband, but her hatred of him. Whenever she thought of him, she began to boil inside. Was he a jerk? Yes. Was he a drunk? Yes. Was he Kevin's father? ... She wasn't willing to say that. "Dad called today," Kevin tested the waters. "What does he want?" she answered already in anger. "He said he stopped drinking ... he said he just got out of the hospital," Kevin pleaded. "He says one thing and does another Kevin. I've told you this." She spoke from the other room, slamming an aluminum pot onto the stove top. Kevin didn't even try to continue. He tried, but had failed. His mother would never let him see his father, even if he did stop drinking. Just then the phone rang. Jan walked into the living room from the kitchen and stared at the phone. Kevin, still on the floor, looked up at his mother for guidance. Another ring had finished, but she still did not move. At the prompting of the third ring, she wiped her hands on a hand towel and tossed it onto the arm of the recliner. She slowly walked to the phone and picked it up before it had a chance to ring a fourth time. Pausing briefly before speaking she answered, "Hello." "Hey Janny," came the quiet eighteen-year-old voice of Nicky. "Hi Nicky." Kevin seemed to fall back down into the comfort of his blanket at the sound of his mother's voice talking to someone other than his father. "I was wondering if Bill and I could come over tonight. You have been talking to Martha longer than I have and I wanted to ask you a question." "Actually, Kevin's sick. I think he has the flu." "Oh, I'm sorry," she thought for a second and then began again, "well do you mind if I ask you something over the phone?" "Sure sweety," Jan spoke with uncertainty in her voice, "but I don't know if I can answer, I'm still kind of new at this."
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"I know, but I didn't want to bother Martha." "Well, shoot," she tried to ready herself for whatever question might come. "Martha was saying the other day that we are to live like Christ," Nicky started. "Yes," she prodded Nicky on. "Well, when Jesus did something, He always did what God the Father wanted Him to do. I mean, I know they are both God, but ..." she stumbled in her words, "you know what I mean." "Actually I don't ... I'm sorry." "Well, I really want to ask Bill on a real date, but I don't know if that is what God wants me to do. I want to do what God wants me to do, even if that means not doing what I want." She stopped to take a deep breath, "I like him, but I think I am willing to sacrifice what I want for what He wants, ... God that is." Jan just sat there thinking for a moment. Nicky talked of sacrifice and denying herself of what she wanted, even if that meant losing what she really wanted. All this was confusing to her. She never really thought about it. Jan had a lot of things that she loved to do. From week to week, she would have someone keep an eye on Kevin while she went shopping with some friends. She would spend a gross amount of money on herself, telling herself that she deserved it after all she went through. Then when the bills weren't paid, she would call Mike and argue for an hour about child support payments and how he always neglected his priorities. She did what she wanted no matter what. Actually, as she sat there thinking about it, she did what she wanted when it came to her son. She wouldn't allow him to make any decisions himself. While it is truly good parenting to help your child make decisions (and to ensure that they are the right ones), this isn't what she was doing. She was completely enveloping her son in herself. As Nicky continued to talk, all Jan could do was think about how she had sheltered her son for the sake of herself, so that she wouldn't get hurt again. "... so what do you think I should do?" Nicky questioned. "I ... I don't know Nicky. I don't think I'm the person to answer boy questions. I have a pretty rotten track record." "That's not what I'm asking. I'm asking if I am right in thinking that I should give up my own desires for Christ's?"
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"Nicky," she spoke with confidence in her niece's opinions, knowing that she had just learned a major lesson, "I think you are exactly right. Maybe you should talk that over with Bill." "I think your right Janny. Thanks for your help." "Thank you sweety," Jan smiled before she hung up the phone. She walked over to her son, gave him a hug and sat down next to him. "Kevin?" she asked. "Mom?" "Before I let you see your dad, I want to make sure that he has done several things first. One, I want to see him getting some help with his drinking ..." "He has mom," he pleaded. Putting her finger up to tell him to wait she continued, "I want to make sure that he can take care of you for a day. He has to show me that he is willing to try very hard to be a real dad, and he has to start by only seeing you half the day on Saturday ... no staying the night. Understood?" Of course Kevin wanted to argue with all of this, but this is the first chance he had gotten in months to see his dad. He didn't argue; he simply nodded the affirmative. "I know you love him," she hugged his head to her chest, "so I have to let you see him, even though I don't want to do it. Maybe you can help him straighten himself out. ... Do you think so?" "Yes mom." "Oh, and you have to start going to church with me," she added. It is often hard to do what you don't want to do. Jan is beginning to see that. Her ex-husband is not the best father, but he is truly trying. She knows that as long as he is honestly trying, then he will make progress. She will have to defuse a lot of things Kevin picks up from him, one more reason that goes through her mind why she should change her mind right now, but a whole lot more good will come out of it, she is sure. Only time will tell.
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Introduction To be a follower of Jesus, is an important thing. If you really want to live for God, Jesus has laid down some requirements that He wants you to follow. To be a disciple means to be a student. Jesus is our teacher, our master teacher. Let's see what He has to say.
NKJ
Matthew 16.24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”
Jesus laid down four requirements for anyone who wants to be a Christian.
Make the Decision The very first thing that Jesus says is that you must make the decision you want to be a disciple of Him. You have to decide it. You have to desire to come after Him. This sometimes seems difficult. Do you really want to live for Christ? Are you ready to give up the things of the world? This is a decision that you must make.
NIV
Matthew 6.24a “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.”
No one can serve two masters. Either you will serve Jesus, or you will serve your own selfishness. You have to make the decision which one you are going to serve, and stick to that decision. What would happen if someone worked for two masters? What would happen if an employee worked for two rival companies? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
NASB
Luke 6.46 Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?
This decision we make must be based on who Jesus is. He is our Lord. This is a technical term that means Master or Owner. When we call Him Lord, we are submitting ourselves to His
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control. In essence, what are we doing when we call Jesus Lord? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
NKJ
Matthew 16.24b … If anyone desires to come after Me …
Our desire to ‘follow Jesus’ must be a commitment to persevere. No one starts a marriage relationship with the intent to separate after so long. If anyone today begins a marriage relationship without the intent to persevere, then normally they get a divorce. In a sense, this is our marriage to Jesus. We must be willing to ‘stick it out’ no matter what happens. We must commit to Him eternally. What does it mean to ‘come after’ Jesus? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
Deny Yourself The second requirement that Jesus gives is that you must deny yourself.
NKJ
Matthew 16.24a Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself ...
This means that whenever there is a conflict between what you want and what God wants, you have to deny yourself and do what God wants. You have made the decision to put God first, now let's live that decision. What does it mean to deny yourself? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
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Have you ever had to deny yourself before, if so, why was it hard or why was it easy? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
Jesus gave us the perfect example of this when He was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane.
NIV
Matthew 26.39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."
Jesus was about to go to the cross and die. He asked God the Father if there was any thing else that could be done, any other way to save people. But He knew that there was no other way. There was a conflict between what He wanted, to find another way, and what the Father wanted, for Him to go on to die on the cross. So He submitted, denied Himself, and followed the Father. Jesus is our great example, what did Jesus do that we should always do? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Take Your Cross Jesus' third requirement seems a little odd at first. He says that if we want to follow Him, we must take up our cross. What does this mean? Let's see.
NKJ
Matthew 16.24a Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross ...
Crosses, in the old Roman times, were instruments of death. That is where people died. Jesus is telling you that if you want to be His follower, then you must die to yourself. To die to the selfishness inside you.
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What does it mean to take up your cross? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Are you ready to kill the selfishness that lives within you and to serve Jesus for the rest of your life? (Think about that before you answer it. That is a tough question, but ultimately, it must be answered) ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
Now that doesn't mean kill yourself. That means that you have to kill the selfishness that lives inside of you. You have to kill the idea that you have the right to do whatever you want to do. Because if you are a Christian, you don't have the right to do whatever you want to do. Jesus owns you. When Jesus died on the cross, He paid the penalty that you were supposed to pay. It is like you were a slave, and you were about to be killed for all of the bad things you have done, even if it was only one bad thing, then Jesus came along and He gave up His own life in place of yours. He died in your place so that you wouldn't have to. He took upon Himself the anger and wrath of God that we deserved. Jesus bought you. He paid the price for you. When you accept what Jesus did for you, you ask Jesus to buy you off of the slave market before you are killed. But justice must be fulfilled! So Jesus lovingly pays the penalty with His own body. You become a slave of Jesus. Jesus owns you. That's why you must kill the selfishness inside you that wants your own way. From this point on, it is God's way in your life.
NIV
Romans 8.13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
As followers of Jesus, we need to put to death evil deeds that we have done. We need to stop doing them, and kill them, and not allow them to come back up. If we do this, we will live.
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According to this passage, what will happen to Christians that begin to live sinful lives? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ According to this passage, what will happen if we obey the Spirit of God and kill the evil deeds that once filled our lives, and not allow them to enslave us any longer? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
NASB
Luke 9.23 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”
This is a parallel account of Jesus’ statement about discipleship. Luke records a little more information than Matthew did. Here we see that Jesus says that not only must we take up our cross, but that we must do this daily. That means that we must maintain this death to self. Selfishness always has a way of ‘creeping’ back into our lives. Therefore, we must constantly be killing the evil desires that may find their way into our hearts. What does it mean to take up your cross daily? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
Follow Him The fourth and final requirement that Jesus places on us, as His disciples, is that we follow Him all the days of our lives. You have the ongoing responsibility to continually follow Jesus.
NKJ
Matthew 16.24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”
That means that from that point on, you have the duty to do what God says in the Bible. You have to continually serve Jesus. This is the greatest thing in the world, to love and serve Jesus.
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As the fourth step in being a disciple, what must we always do? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ What is the greatest thing in the world? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
To be a servant of Jesus is a noble thing. It is an office that all Christians are called to do. There isn't a choice. You either follow Christ, or you follow your selfishness. You can not have it both ways. Dying to yourself isn't a one time deal. Selfishness can always spring back up. It is a continual life of dying to self. Luke 9.23 tells us that we must take up our cross daily. We must maintain this death to self life. Then we must follow Jesus all the days of our life. That includes keeping a proper focus, that is, keeping your eyes on Jesus. And then it includes cultivating a relationship with Jesus. Remember, we are not called to follow an experience, or feelings, but a person, Jesus our savior. Let's decide right now who you will follow. Will you follow God, completely?
Will you submit to Jesus' requirements for discipleship? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
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Chapter 5
What is Sin, and How Do I Avoid It
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Chapter 5 What is Sin, and How Do I avoid It The Story
A lot had changed in the life of Bill Johnson. He was in fact, a new man. According to the Bible he had been reading quite frequently he became a 'new creature' that night that he spoke a prayer of repentance led by none other than his Biology Professor. Nicky was there at his side and, thinking she might as well 'do it again,' knelt beside him and reaffirmed her own relationship with Christ. It wasn't just his spirituality that had changed, his work ethic changed as well. He finally sat down with Dr. Andrews and the other faculty and admitted that he had been 'slacking' the last few years. He was placed into a probationary period of one semester to see how he faired. That meant that he had to work quite busily in order to play 'catch up' during this semester, which was almost now over. Bill Johnson now sat in a seat that no one had ever imagined to see him in. He was in the library, knee deep in Microbiology in order to complete his final paper for Dr. Andrews' class. "Fancy meeting you here?" Mac pulled out a chair, set a few books down and sat across from Bill. The light wood finish had a glare from the bright florescent lights above. Bill only glanced up for a second, long enough to see who it was. "Hey Mac, what's going on?" He asked in such a rhetorical way that Mac didn't even try to answer. "Hey, were going to Foister's tonight," he paused long enough to pull an already opened candy bar out of his pocket and take a bite, "... you coming?" Bill didn't even look up from his text and notebook but answered, "Not today buddy." "Come on man, it's Chris' 23rd birthday in two days. Were going to give him an early present. Afterward were going to a frat' party." "Really ... I've got to study," Bill tried to plead. "What's wrong with you ... you've changed. You're not the man you once were," Mac scolded.
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Bill didn't look up from his reading, but did stop reading. He stared hard onto the paper, yet through it somewhere deep in his thoughts. After a second he looked up and said, "Listen Mac, I'm not trying to blow you off. I've just got to finish this paper in order to pass this class. It’s got to be turned in two days. Do you know what that means?" "Yeah," Mac got a little louder with sarcasm, "it means you have tonight completely open. Come on, let's go." He closed Bill's book then stood up, not paying attention to where his chair had been pushed. "I can't," Bill reopened his book, trying to find where he had left off. Mac sat down again, this time on the edge of his uncomfortable wooden seat, "I'll tell you what. You come tonight, we'll party, get a little tipsy, have some fun, maybe throw up afterward ..." He almost convinced himself not to go so started again, "Come on, Chris is waiting for us." "I don't know man," Bill began to actually think about it now, "I don't think Nicky would like it if I started drinking again." "How are you going to start again if you never quit?" Mac asked again with sarcasm. The two of them sat motionless for but a moment then Mac broke out again, although with a lying tongue, "Besides, I saw Nicky on the way here. I asked her where you were, and then I told her that you and I were going to throw Chris a party and she said she would meet us there." This wasn't a complete lie. He did see Nicky and she did tell him where Bill was, but concerning the party she nervously said that she had other things to do and she knew that Bill was going to be studying all night and couldn't go either. Mac could see the dilemma in Bill's head. Bill looked from left to right trying to calculate everything. This was just enough proof to Mac that Bill was going to decide to go. He closed Bill's book one last time and pushed it to the side of the desk. Bill stood up and said that he had to at least put the book back on the shelf, at which time Mac assured Bill that many a college student got paid big dollars to do that for him. Chris finally met up with them, he had to reshelf a few books that some people left on the tables (he was one of those 'well paid' college students who worked at the library), and they all left to meet up with Nicky at Foister's. ~~~
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"Hey Janny," Nicky spoke as her aunt opened the front door of her house. Nicky was just a little nervous after seeing Mac and wanted to talk to someone about it. After she had finished her errand, which was dropping off a jacket at the drycleaners if you would like to know, she hurried over to the library to see if Bill was still there. He wasn't there; Chris' boss said that Chris and his two friends left together. To make things worse, Bill wasn't answering his cell phone. When she called it cut straight to the voice mail, which meant that the phone was either turned off or the battery dead. This worried her. "Hi Nicky," her aunt smiled and moved to the side to let her niece through the door. Walking in and plopping herself down on the couch she said, "It's Bill. I'm worried." "Do you want some tea, I just made some?" Jan bought some time for Nicky to get comfortable. "Sounds great Janny," a relief, which could be heard in her voice, finally came over her now that she could talk about it. Jan walked into the kitchen to pour some of the freshly steeped tea while saying, "So tell me your boy problems." "One of our friends was looking for him today to take him to a party ..." "Oh that's bad," Jan broke in the middle. "... right," she began again, "I didn't think he would go, but he hasn't answered his phone." Jan walked back in to the living room with a cup of steaming tea in each hand. She sat the cups down on the coffee table, being sure to place them one on a coaster, the only one that could be found, and the other on a magazine. She sat down beside Nicky, looked her in the eyes and said, "We are all very new to all of this Nicky." Nicky began to shed a tear, "I know." Then she lowered her head to her hand in order to more easily wipe her eyes. "I was talking to Martha about Kevin and me yesterday on the phone." Nicky looked up now, excited to here that help maybe close after all.
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"She was explaining to me that even though I have a new relationship with Jesus, a lot of the old ways are still embedded in my mind. I have been renewed, but I still need to be 'renewing my mind' constantly. All my habits still linger ..." She paused briefly, "I need to change them." "How Janny?" she pleaded, again breaking into tears. She had plenty of those bad habits herself, but her tears were more for Bill than herself. He has been 'care free' so long; she knew that it has to be so hard for him to just suddenly stop being that way. She wanted so badly to be there with him, to help him through, but she couldn't even talk with him. Of course, maybe that's for the best. She would probably just yell at him, and an argument at the beginning of a relationship is never good. "Well, I can't talk for Bill, although I would assume it is the same, but for me the first thing I really need to do is to gain a good understanding of what sin really is. Only after I can see that sin is harmful and hurtful, can I begin to change my attitude toward it." Again Nicky's innocence was teaching Jan a lesson. Some say that the best way to learn is to teach what you are trying to learn. Jan was now finding out how true that really was. Nicky saw that what her aunt said was true. She could see it in her own life, as well as in Bill's life. Although she wanted to see it in Bill's life first, she knew that she must instead look at her own 'sins,' the ones that she holds dear, and see the truth concerning them. Then she could rid her life of them and be able to that much more help her friend in need.
Introduction Sin is an awful thing. It separates us from a holy God. Sin is like a disease, once we allow one sin into our lives, it will spread and grow until we are consumed with sin. But this isn't what God has planned for believers. God has made a way for us to live above sin, and to live our lives holy and blameless before God. But let's talk about what sin is for a moment. What is Sin
NIV
1 John 3.4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.
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Sin is classified as anything that breaks God's law. God gave us His law to help us live our lives. His law is not something hard and oppressive, but is a guide to help us show our love for Him. When we overstep those boundaries though (disobeying what God says), we sin. According to this verse, what is sin equated with? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
NLT
2 Samuel 12.9-10 Why, then, have you despised the word of the LORD and done this horrible deed? For you have murdered Uriah and stolen his wife. From this time on, the sword will be a constant threat to your family, because you have despised me by taking Uriah's wife to be your own.
David, King of Israel, saw a woman bathing one day and so decided that he wanted her. When he did this, she ended up pregnant. In order to hide it, he called her husband back from the war (her husband was one of his best and most loyal soldiers), but he wouldn't sleep with his wife because all he could think about was the battle. Since this didn't work, David wrote a death letter, telling the general to put this man in the front lines. He then sealed it and gave it to the man to give to his commander. David new every step of the way that he was doing something wrong. He was willfully sinning against a known law of God. God calls this despising God and despising God's word. When you do something that you know you shouldn't do, it means that you hate God and you hate everything that He says. You , in a way, spit in God's face and say that you will do whatever you want. According to this passage, what does God call it when you willfully sin? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
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Where did sin come from?
NIV
Genesis 2.16-17;3.6 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." ... When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
When God first created the world, around six thousand years ago, He created two people, named Adam and Eve. Everything was perfect. There was no death, not even animals died. There was no pain. Everything was literally perfect, that is what God planned for us. But Adam and Eve disobeyed the one restriction that God placed on them. ... They sinned. And as God promised, they died a spiritual death, because sin separates us from God. Because Adam sinned, everything that God made and gave to Adam (the universe) was cursed and now we live in a world of death and pain. The first man's sin was an infection, that spread to the whole creation. How many 'laws' did God give to Adam and Eve? What happened to the world after Adam and Eve sinned? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
NIV
1 Corinthians 15.22a For as in Adam all die ...
Because of Adam's sin, death has ruled over all of us. Because of Adam's sin, now we are all born into sin. We are born with a selfishness already inside us, a bent toward sin. Because of Adam's sin, what happened to us? What are we born with that eventually motivates us to sin? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
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NIV
Ezekiel 18.20 The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him.
Even though we are born with a bent toward sin, we are not judged to separation from God and eventually Hell because of Adam's sin. We are not judged because of the sin of our fathers. We are eventually judged though on the basis of our own sin. That's what is meant by the soul who sins is the one who will die. Are we judged for Adam's sin? Are we judged for our own sins? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
NIV
Romans 5.12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned--
Because Adam stained this world with sin, and since we were all born with a bent toward sin, it turns out that all people sin. Remember, sin separates us from God. And so now all people are separated from God. And therefore all people deserve to be punished for their sin. God, being a just God, must give equal judgment for the crime. The bad news is that since even one sin separates us from God, even one sin will send us to Hell. But God says that human blood has to pay the penalty for human sin. But God doesn't want us to be separated from Him, and so He made a plan. Jesus literally became a human and lived for about 30 years, doing the same things we do (He ate, He slept, He even used the bathroom). God created Jesus inside his human mother's womb without an act of sexual intercourse. He was born without a human father. He was human, except Jesus lived His life without sinning, even once. He was perfect, and since He was perfect, He alone could be offered as a sacrifice that would cleanse the sin of the whole world. We are not judged for our father's sins, but we are judged for our own sins. Now everyone has sinned and so everyone deserves punishment. Have you ever sinned? What do you deserve
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How can sin be avoided?
NIV
Romans 6.6-7 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin-- because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
Christians can avoid sin. When we accept the gift of salvation that Jesus gave to us, the Bible says that we were crucified with Christ, and so we died. Not a physical death, but our old life died, our old ways and lifestyle is killed. The 'body of sin', that means sin's control over your body, is taken away and we are no longer slaves to sin. This means that we can live without sinning! Sin is a choice. You only sin everyday if you decide to sin everyday. When we accepted salvation from Jesus, what happened to sin's control over our body? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Do we have to sin everyday? Why or why not? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
NKJV
1 John 3.6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.
This literally means, 'Whoever is remaining in Jesus is not committing sin'. If you are a Christian it is not your normal practice to sin. If it is your normal practice of willfully sinning regularly (despising God and His word), then you need to forsake that life and give yourself to the Lord and ask Him to cleanse you and put you back in a right relationship with Him. When this passage says whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him, it literally means that if you were a Christian, and now you are living a life of willful sin, the results of Jesus saving you can't be sin in your life anymore. You are acting like Jesus never saved you, how horrible!
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According to this verse, is it a normal thing for a Christian to commit a willful sin? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ What does this verse mean when it says, whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
NIV
1 John 2.1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense-- Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
Although it is not our normal practice to sin all the time, God knows that we may sin sometimes. He doesn't want us to, it is wrong, but sometimes we do slip up and make mistakes. When this does happen, take it to Jesus, ask Him to forgive you and to help you not do it again. He will forgive you of your sin. Although it isn't a normal practice, sometimes we do slip up from time to time, what should we do if this happens? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
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Chapter 6
Making the Next Step
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Chapter 6 Making the Next Step The Story
Bill awoke the next morning with a headache big enough to stop a small rhino, but that wasn't even half of his worries. He had stayed out so late that he had slept entirely through his first class, and halfway through his second. On top of that, he had quite a few text messages and voicemails from a young lady whom he would really rather not speak to at that moment. He knew that he had blown it with Nicky. She tried so hard to take care of him, but he wouldn't let her. He knew that she wasn't going to be there, yet he still stayed to see if she would eventually come by. By the time he had honestly realized Mac lied to him, he had already had too much to drink. He knew it wouldn't be easy explaining this to Nicky. After a few attempts to roll himself out of bed, he finally hit the floor. He was still wearing the same clothes that he had on the night before, only now he was stinky, dirty, and sweaty. He pushed himself to finally clean up and head out the door. Luckily for him, he had made it such a habit to plug in his phone every night that it had been easy to plug it in last night, after repeated tries of course. Unfortunately for him, Nicky was still worried for as soon as he had walked out the dormitory and into the bright sunlight he was startled by the ringing and vibrating of his phone in his pocket. "Hello Nicky," he sounded as if he was half dead. "Hi Bill," although upset, she held her calm. "Listen," he started, "I am so sorry about last night." He had said that so many times that now he had to stop himself and actually think about what he would say. "I mean ... I'm sorry." He could say nothing else at the moment. "I know," she said back, but nothing more. "I didn't want to go," he begged mercy in his speech, "I wanted so bad not to go, but then when Mac told me that you were going, I thought that it must be all right." He struggled to find some reason other than his own selfishness as to why he followed along. "If I had gone, would that have made it okay for you to go?" she questioned? Bill thought for a moment then answered, "No, it wouldn't have."
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"I was up all night praying for you," she offered this as a medicine for his heart, but instead it merely pinched the hurt harder. "Nicky," he began with urgency, "the entire time I felt horrible. If this is it, if this is what it means to be a Christian, falling back all the time I mean, then I don't know if I am cut out for it." "What do you mean?" she honestly didn't understand. "I mean, is this the normal Christian life, always falling back into the same old habits you had before, always hoping to beat it but never really defeating your own self?" "Bill," she spoke as a teacher and friend, "I wanted to go last night; I really did. I missed being with all my friends. I wanted to go with you and hang out and have fun, but after I really thought about it, I realized all the trouble I could have gotten into. I would have drank. I would have had fun, if you can call that fun, and I probably would have ended up in a situation that I really wouldn't want to find myself in." Bill listened intently, but was afraid to hear what else she might say. "I really wanted to go, but after prayer and asking God, He helped me to fight through that temptation and I didn't." "What do you mean," he spoke somewhat insulting at first, but apologized and asked again in true honesty and integrity. "Falling back into sin is not the norm for a Christian. If it was, then I would have fallen as well." At this moment she realized that what she was saying was cutting deep into him, she was hurting him. "I ... I didn't mean to hurt you." 'Your right," he said in return, "you are absolutely right." "You know what, why don't we skip the rest of our classes today and go to talk to the pastor at Dr. Andrews' church," she offered this as a cure for his wounds. "Thanks Nicky, but I really can't miss this next class." He paused for a moment to think than asked, "I still have forty-five minutes before my next class though, do you think we could meet together and pray for each other?" Nicky smiled so big that she feared that he might be able to see it on the other end of the phone, and he could see ... in her voice, "That would be great. I'm only about five minutes away, where do you want to meet?"
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"We could go to my dorm room?" he said innocently. "No," she answered, "I don't trust myself enough to be alone with you like that. If we go somewhere it has to be somewhere public." Bill's eyes widened at what she had said. He really liked Nicky, but wasn't sure exactly how she felt for him, yet now she made a remark that sounded a lot like dating ... a real date ... and moral too! He found himself speechless, but tried to play it off as if he was just trying to think of another spot to read and pray. Finally he said, "Why don't we just meet on the south lawn?" "All right," her smile grew at the fact that he didn't try to get out of meeting after what she said, "I'll bring a blanket for us to sit on; that way you can just go straight to your class afterward. I've still got a few hours before my next class." The two of them met and laughed together for a few minutes before starting. Both of them were quite nervous because they both felt as if they were on a date, yet different somehow. Neither one of them was expecting anything from the other. Neither of them was selfish, but instead looked to the other's interest first. This was some sort of grand exposure to true moral dating; they didn't want it to end. After joking for a few minutes, and Bill's being very careful when touching her (he didn't want even the slightest hint of sexual stimuli to be involved), they opened their Bible to Romans chapter 6 and read that chapter. Nicky told Bill that she found that chapter the night before, almost if the Holy Spirit had led her there. Bill did his best preacher impersonation as he tried to explain what he had gleaned from the passage. Of course, as any girl newly in love, she laughed at his 'cheesy' jokes, which provoked him to say more 'cheesy' jokes. Afterward, they prayed together. Bill led them in prayer. It wasn't a magnificent prayer, but it was true and from the heart. He prayed that they might make the next step in their walk with Christ, surrendering their will to His. He mentioned what he had learned previously about true discipleship and said that they desire that relationship. It may have not been the most theologically accurate prayer, but God still heard it, and was able to decipher it.
Introduction The Christian life isn't as bumpy as most people make it seem. We aren't called to live our lives constantly struggling, always trying to do things our way. As we grow, we learn more and more. Eventually we come to a point in our lives that we know we need God to take complete
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control of our lives. From the time that we were saved, we have been following God. It is like driving in a car. When Jesus says to turn left, we turn left. If He says to turn right, we turn right. But there comes a time when you must surrender full control of your life over to Jesus. It's time to tell Him, “Jesus, you can drive.� Instead of just taking orders, let's allow Him behind the wheel, let's let Jesus be completely in charge.
NASB
1 Thessalonians 5.23-24 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.
This next step in the Christian walk is called Entire Sanctification (sanctify you entirely). God has called every Christian to be entirely sanctified. He wants us to grow, closer and closer to Him. God knows that we need entire sanctification to help us to grow. We can't live the Christian life to its fullest unless God is completely in charge. What do we call the next step of the Christian life? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
What is entire sanctification?
NASB
Psalm 51.7 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Well, one aspect of entire sanctification is the cleansing work of the Holy Spirit. At salvation God saves you and cleans out your heart from the sins you have committed. But there is still a selfishness lurking within you. This selfishness is what comes up time from time and makes you want your way and not God's way. Have you ever felt like that? All of us have. But when you finally give God full control of your life, no matter what, then there is no room for selfishness. David, the person who wrote this psalm asks God to purify his heart. He even asks God to make it whiter than snow. God cleanses your heart of the disease of selfishness. Does this mean that after entire sanctification you can never be selfish again? No, you may want to take back control of your life again at some point, but you mustn't. Can you sin after being entirely sanctified? Yes, you sin if you want to sin. It is a conscience choice. You must maintain this life of complete holiness and devotion to God.
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What does entire sanctification cleanse within you? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
NIV
2 Corinthians 7.1 Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
These Christians, who were already saved and God already cleansed their heart from the sins they committed (1 Cor 1.2 says that they were 'holy ones' and 'sanctified', but this verse shows that they were not entirely sanctified), we’re told that they needed to purify themselves, and to perfect holiness out of reverence for God. They needed to become entirely sanctified. This is just one more example of the fact that God wants us to be purified and cleansed from our selfishness. Were the Corinthians already Christians? According to this passage, what did they need to do? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
NIV
Romans 12.1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-- this is your spiritual act of worship.
Another aspect of entire sanctification is God's complete control of our lives. This verse tells us that Christians are to fully surrender themselves to God. We need to offer ourselves (the word offer means to yield or dedicate) to God as sacrifices. Paul, who wrote this book, is talking about an Old Testament sacrifice called a burnt offering. The Jewish people would bring a sacrifice to God and put the entire thing on the altar. They would do this to symbolize allowing God to have complete control of their lives. We, who have been made alive and who are holy and pleasing to God (that means that we are saved), are to surrender ourselves to God and let Him sit in the driver's seat of our lives.
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What does it mean to fully surrender to God? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
NASB
Ephesians 5.18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.
This is the classic verse defining the Holy Spirit's control over us. We are commanded not to be drunk with wine. Wine is a controlling agent. When someone is drunk, they lose control of their senses and of their will. God is telling us that we are not to be controlled by wine, but we are to be controlled by the Holy Spirit. We are to allow Him to have complete control of our lives. What is this verse telling us? Who is to be in control of us? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
NIV
Acts 1.8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
When we surrender our whole being to God, He gives to us the strength and power we need to do His will. If we are going from this point on to do whatever God wants us to do, it only makes sense that would empower us to do what He wants us to do. Right?
When we turn our lives over completely to God to do whatever He wants us to do, what does God do in return to help us carry out His will? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
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NIV
Ephesians 3.16-19 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
This passage shows four key elements of entire sanctification. One of which we have already seen in other passages, that is that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. The word dwell is the word that means to take up permanent residence. Our hearts are not hotel rooms for Jesus, but a place for Him to stay forever. The second aspect is that in entire sanctification God will empower us to do His service. God gives us the strength to do his will to the fullest. Another aspect is that we experience the full love of God that no one can explain. That is what is meant in to know this love that surpasses knowledge. To know literally means, to know through experience. And fourth and final aspect of this passage is that you will be filled up to all the fullness of God. When you become entirely sanctified, you have all of God's fullness running through you because now you have given God the right to work in your life in any way He pleases. What are the four aspects of entire sanctification found in this passage? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
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Chapter 7
Making a Full Surrender
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Chapter 7 Making a Full Surrender The Story
Lights buzzed by the windshield of the maroon 2002 Nissan Altima. The high pitched scream of the engine was a sure sign that however fast that car was going, it was probably too fast. The tires screeched at each turn, sometimes the car actually slid sideways a bit, but that didn't stop them. It was a high speed game of chase; except they weren't chasing anyone ... I'm not even sure if they knew where they were going. Mac was driving, if you could call it that. I suppose you could say that he wasn't driving, for normally driving involves doing something. Mac wasn't necessarily doing anything. He spent more time looking within the vehicle than without. He wasn't alone though, Chris and two others were also in the car with him. All of them were drunk, Mac more so than the rest. There was a lot of laughing. Although they weren't paying attention, what happened next was unexpected to them. A loud hum and a lot of vibration came from the left tire. They were back on the highway now and of course this was the sound of them going off the road. Like any normal person would have done, Mac understood this sound and pulled the car to the left to get back on the road. What he didn't realize was that he was in the left lane and when he jerked the wheel, for drunken people very seldom ease the wheel back on the road; he pulled himself completely off the road and into the grass. The wetness of the early morning dew caused the car to immediately lose control. Every person there in a flash became aware of what was happening. At first they fish-tailed, then up became down and down became up several times until they saw two very bright lights coming toward, a horn, and then no more. ~~~~ Bill pushed the small off-white colored doorbell outside an average middle class home. He waited for a few seconds and when he heard no movement inside, pushed the button again. The door opened to Dr. Andrews, "Hi Bill, glad you could make it." Dr. Andrews stepped aside and held the door open, waving Bill to enter.
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Bill thanked the doctor and as he walked in said, "Sorry I'm late, I was waiting for Nicky to meet me so we could come together, but she never showed." "That's all right, we can wait a few more minutes for her to get here," he walked ahead of Bill into the kitchen, "actually, you’re the first one here." This caught Bill off guard. "I am?" he said out loud, but spoke more to himself than Dr. Andrews. "Yeah, Jan hasn't shown up yet. I just sent Martha next door to see if Jan needed help bringing anything over. She said she wanted to make some brownies for today's small group." By this time, Bill had already pulled out a chair at the table and made himself comfortable. He placed his hardly worn Bible on the table in front of him and looked up at his professor, as if he was preparing for a lecture. Bill had gotten quite comfortable with Dr. Andrews. Not quite comfortable enough to call him Jeff, as Jan did, but comfortable enough to sit in his house and listen to him. For the past several weeks now Bill and Jeff had become quite acquainted. This helped Bill to slowly change his style. He didn't 'hang out' with the same crowd. Actually the last time he really talked to any of them was at the frat' party. "Let me call Nicky real quick to see where she is. I tried calling earlier but she never answered," he said this in a way that the professor simply nodded his approval but Bill had already started. After a few rings, her voicemail picked up and so he hung up. "Nothing," he said. About that time, Martha walked in wearing a very pretty long dress. It reminded Bill of a dress that Nicky wore a few days before, probably because Nicky, Jan and Martha all went shopping together. Nicky said that she wanted to look more feminine, which made little sense to Bill but he didn't care. "Hi Bill," Martha smiled when she saw him at the table. Then looking around the kitchen and into the living room asked, "Where's Nicky?" Uncertain where she was but not wanting Nicky to look bad for not telling anyone she wasn't going to show he said, "I guess she couldn't make it today." "Oh, I'm sorry," she instantly frowned when Bill said what he did then turning to her husband said, "I don't think Martha is coming either. Her car wasn't there; she must have had to go to work again today. She hates working on Saturdays, but at least the bank is only open 'till noon."
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Jeff looked at his watch as most people do when they hear a time of the day. It was now a quarter past ten; they were fifteen minutes late at starting so he told the other two, "Well, I guess we might as well get started." The others agreed and instinctively bowed their heads as Dr. Andrews led them in prayer. It wasn't a long prayer, but Bill noticed quite a few key phrases that he still didn't understand. Although he felt bad afterward for not 'praying along' with Jeff, he still had to ask a few questions. "I'm sorry sir, but in your prayer you said something about entire sanctification ...,"he paused a moment to see if the professor was following along with what he said, wondering if he had gotten the wording right. "Last time we met you said that entire sanctification was just a fancy word that means that we are to surrender everything we are to God. ... Didn't I surrender my all to God when I asked Him into my life?" "Actually," he began, "that is what I wanted to talk about today. Unfortunately, I think you might have to hear it twice if no one else shows up." "I don't mind," Bill rattled off quite quickly. Jeff opened his Bible and began to re-explain what it meant to be sanctified completely. He turned from passage to passage; Bill followed every word that his science professor spoke. Jeff got excited as he spoke to Bill. This was a subject far more important to him than Bill at this point realized. He gave Bill examples in his own life and the lives of others through the centuries. Martha also encouraged Bill by telling her story of how she studied one day the meaning of entire sanctification and afterward decided that she too must give her all to Christ. As she said, "It isn't really that special of a thing to do, it is simply the next logical step in your Christian walk." Bill heard all of this, and soaked every little bit of it into his mind, trying to weigh it in his own mental balances. Finally, after a few moments of quiet, he asked, "So how do I become entirely sanctified?"
Introduction The Christian life is full of it's ups and downs. It isn't a bed of roses! Sometimes God will call on us to do things that seem impossible. Sometimes He will call on us to do things that seem weird. But God is God. He knows everything. God knows what is best in every situation. He knows what we ought to do, and so calls us to do it. Some people think that giving your life completely over to God seems both impossible,
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and ridiculous. But God calls us to this with a high and holy calling. He desires to work through us. He wants us to grow more and more in love. He wants to see us slowly transform and change into the image of Christ. Now the question arises. Will you let Him change you? Will you allow God to have complete control over your life? Let's take a look now at how to become entirely sanctified?
NIV
Ephesians 3.17b-19a And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge.
In the passage we looked at above, we find one more truth about entire sanctification. And that is that it is available only to those who are saved. This is available to those who have already been rooted and grounded in love. He is saying, now that you have the foundations of love, let's go on and get the full deal. Is there a pre-requirement to becoming entirely sanctified? What is it? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
NIV
Isaiah 64.6 All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
Before salvation, we have nothing to offer God. Everything that we have and do is utterly disgusting. But don't we offer our ourselves to God at salvation? Well, yes we do. But we offer our rebellion to God. We tell Him that we no longer wish to rebel against Him. Then, as we will see in the next verse, God gives us life when we were dead in sins! He places us in Christ (Ephesians 1)! In Christ we are made alive, because He is alive. In Christ, we are made holy, because He is holy. In Christ, we are made pleasing, because He is pleasing. When you enter into a relationship with Christ, you now have something to offer God. Do we have anything worthy to offer God before salvation? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
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The Offering
NIV
Romans 12.1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-- this is your spiritual act of worship.
Here again we see that this offer is to Christians only. Because in order to become entirely sanctified you must be a living, holy, and acceptable sacrifice. We are alive because God has brought us from spiritual death unto life through salvation. And because we are in Christ, we are both holy and acceptable (pleasing). But what else does it say? It says that we must make a full surrender. Based on all the mercy that God has ever shown us, it just seems to make sense that we would offer our bodies as sacrifices to God. God has already made the preparations for the sacrifice, all you have to do is give it. What does this verse tell us we must do with the living, holy, and pleasing life that God has given to us? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
NASB
Ephesians 5.18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.
We are commanded to allow the Holy Spirit to control us. We are commanded not to be drunk with wine. Wine is a controlling agent. When someone is drunk, they lose control of their senses and of their will. God is telling us that we are not to be controlled by wine, but we are to be controlled by the Holy Spirit. We are to allow Him to have complete control of our lives. So will you let Him? Who is this person that we are supposed to let control us? What does this mean in your life? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
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NIV
Romans 6.6-7 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin-- because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
Did you remember that Christians can avoid sin. When we accept the gift of salvation that Jesus gave to us, the Bible says that we were crucified with Christ, and so we died. Not a physical death, but our old life died, our old ways and lifestyle is killed. The 'body of sin', that means sin's control over your body, is taken away and we are no longer slaves to sin. This means that we can live without sinning! Sin is a choice. You only sin everyday if you decide to sin everyday. When you become a Christian, what happens to sin's control over your body? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ The Two Keys
NASB Romans 6:11-13,16 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?
This passage tells us that there are two keys that you must have to become entirely sanctified. You must have the key of faith (consider yourselves) and you must surrender yourself (present yourselves) to God. This is simple enough. Do you believe that you are dead to sin? That sin no longer controls you, and that the only time you sin is when you want to and decide to sin? Do you believe that God is able to entirely sanctify you? Have faith! Believe what God says! He is not a liar. He is telling you the truth. Your life has been bought by the blood of Jesus. You are not a slave to sin. When Christ died on the cross, you died with Him. Sin has no control of you. When Christ rose from the grave, you rose to a new life! You do not have to sin! Believe this. Now, since that is true, why don't you right now turn yourself over to God. Present your whole self to Him. Yield control of your life and give it to God.
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What are the two keys to become entirely sanctified? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
Now, here is the biggest question. Are you ready to live your life totally for God? Do you want to become entirely sanctified right now and let God have control of your life? If you want to ... now is the time. Get on your knees, right now, and tell God that you do believe that you are free from sin. And then offer yourself to Him. Give yourself completely over to God. This new entirely sanctified life will be different. It is a life that must be maintained. That means every morning you must commit yourself afresh to God. And then just let Him speak to you, through His word, and through the Holy Spirit. Let God lead you where He will. It's a bit scary, but always remember that God is in control. He knows what’s best in every situation. He will never lead you wrong. He will never lead you to do something that He doesn't believe that you can't do. He is our precious God. He loves us.
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Epilogue
The Story
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"Hello?" Bill answered his cell phone. He had just gotten back from his small group with Martha and Dr. Andrews. He was a bit startled by the call, he was very much preoccupied with what Dr. Andrews had explained to him; he was preoccupied with what he had just gone through. There, at that kitchen table, Bill Johnson asked the Holy Spirit to completely consecrate his life; he fully surrendered to his Lord. Bill, who before this was walking quite rapidly down the sidewalk from his car to his dorm building, now suddenly stood completely motionless. Busy students quickly jogged or walked around Bill as he turned his body to try to get better reception. He stuck his finger in his opposite ear of the phone to better hear, thinking this would somehow help, which of course it never really does. "I'll meet you there," he told the person on the other end of the phone. All of his glee had just like that changed to sorrow. He slowly walked back to his car and all he could think about was the very short time he had known her. Yes he had known for a while, but her new change of life made her so much different. Now, as he drove to the hospital all he could do is ponder the fact that now both of them were dead, killed in a head on collision by a drunk driver. "Oh Bill," Nicky's tears began to pour down afresh now. Nicky spotted him before he was ever through the sliding doors. As he walked through, he put his arms out to embrace her. "I'm sorry Nicky, I didn't know." The two of them sat down and the pastor of Dr. Andrews' church walked up and sat down beside them. "How are you two doing?" he asked. Nicky broke down again and fell into Bill's arms. After holding Nicky for a quick moment he asked the pastor, "What happened?" After looking to Nicky to make sure it was all right to continue, he told Bill, "She was coming back from picking up Kevin from his father's house. She normally didn't let him stay the night, but this time she did. According to Mike, Kevin called his mom and asked to come home early this morning. ... That's when it happened." Bill dropped his eyes to the floor. "She just died?" he asked but already knew the answer. "About an hour ago," the pastor reached out his big hand and put it on Bill's shoulder to let him know that he was there for him, then did the same to Nicky. "I feel so bad," Bill confessed.
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Nicky, looking up now with a confused look said, "Why? You didn't know. There is nothing you could have done." "I know," he swallowed hard, "but I had such a great day today while you were here ... holding her hand. You needed me." "But your here now?" she added. Knowing that what she needed most was not his presence, but God's, he held her hand, closed his eyes and began to pray out loud. As soon as Bill started the pastor closed his eyes and placed one hand on each of the two there. "Almighty God," his voice cracked and he began to stumble through the rest of his prayer, "We know that you are the creator God who made us from nothing. In your wisdom you decided to allow two of your children to be taken from us." Nicky sobbed just a bit. "We don't understand why, Lord. None the less, give us the strength to accept it. Help us and heal us. Lord, we give you ours lives, together, and ask you to lead us and guide us in the next several months as we follow you through these extra hard times. Give us your grace. Amen." "Amen," the pastor agreed in his deep weathered voice. Nicky looked up into the eyes of the man should had grown to admire these past few weeks. He had changed since that first day she met him. Her friends had taken her to a bar to 'have fun,' little did they know that she would eventually find someone who would help her in her new life in Christ.
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Lenski, R.C.H. Commentary on the New Testament. 12 vols. Wartburg Press, 1943. Hendrickson Pub, Inc., 2001. Miley, John. Systematic Theology. 2 vols. New York: Eaton and Mains, 1894. New English Translation Bible. Biblical Studies Press., 1996-2001. Nicoll, W. Robertson, ed. The Expositor’s Greek Testament. 5 vols. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Pub. Group, 1974. Oden, Thomas C. Systematic Theology. 3 vols. Peabody: Prince Press, 2001. Taylor, Richard S. The Disciplined Life. Minneapolis: Bethany House Pub., 1962. Tozer, A. W. The Knowledge of the Holy. HarperSanFrancisco, 1961. Warren, Rick. The Purpose Driven Life. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002. Water, Mark. Bible Study made easy. Peabody: Hendrickson Pub., Inc., 1998. Yohannan, K. P. Living in the Light of Eternity. Grand Rapids: Chosen Books, 1995. Zuck, Roy B. Basic Bible Interpretation. Colorado Springs: Victor Pub., 1991.
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