INTRODUCTION: In one sense, this study is the most important one, because diligent application of it will lead to a victorious, fruitful Christian life, where there will be much growth. The Christian who does not grow is a Christian whose salvation is in jeopardy; not because of the part God plays in salvation, but because God has called us to "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." The student needs to understand that, although salvationis by grace, there are definite principles he must set in motion in his life. If the principles are not followed, he can expect that unconquered "giants" will remain in his life that will eventually overcome him.
Feel free to use your own examples in this study, ones that you know apply specifically to your student. If you know that he came out of the "hippie" drug life, or out of a legalistic denomination, etc., make this a personal study for the student. Deal directly with his life.
The key to a healthy heart.
A healthy heart is what keeps us in our daily life with Christ. Explain that the "heart" is the basis and motivation of our lives. It refers to what our true motives are and the true basis of our actions.
- God has set high standards for us.
Read: Hebrews 12: 14, 2 Corinthians 7: 1, 1 Thessalonians 4: 7
What kind of life does God expect us to live?
Read: Galatians 5: 22
What are the fruits of the Spirit that God wants in our lives?
Read: John 14: 15
We are to keep Gods's
.
Read: 2 Corinthians 3: 18
We are to be changed into the
of God.
Read: 2 Peter 3: 14, Philippians 1: 10
We are to be found wihout
and
.
Read: Ephesians 5: 26-27, 4: 22, 1 Peter 1: 16, and 1 John 2 :6
We are not to have
or
: we should be
and without
.
Read: Revelation 21: 2
God is preparing us to be the
of Christ.
- In order to become Christ-like, we must have it in our hearts to do so.
Read: Proverbs 23: 7
As a man thinketh in his
, so is he.
Read: Ephesians 6: 6
We are to be as slaves, doing the will of God from our
.
Read: Luke 8: 15
The one with the good and honest heart bears much
.
Read: Luke 8: 17, Proverbs 4: 23
What is in a man's heart will be
.
Read: Luke 6: 45
A good heart brings forth
, and an evil heart brings forth
.
A man
that which is in his heart.
Lost some examples and discuss them.
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Discuss these examples with your student. Stress that as the fruit of the Spirit is manifested in the student's life (i.e. his heart) it will be evident from what he speaks.
- Developing a heart for God.
Read: Jeremiah 24: 7
Ask God to give you a heart to do His will. If he promises to give the children of Judah a "heart" for Him, He will do it for you, too.
Read: Matthew 6: 19-21
We should be laying up
in heaven.
- Guarding our hearts.
Read: Proverbs 4: 23
We are to
or
our hearts with all diligence.
Read: Philippians 4: 4-8, Romans 12: 2, Ephesians 4: 23-24, Romans 8: 5-8, James 1: 14-15
What we allow to remain in our
will get down into our hearts.
Read: Philippians 3: 19
The end of those who set their minds on earthly things is
.
Read: Philippians 4: 8, 2 Corinthians 10: 5
We guard our hearts by guarding what is consuming our time and our thoughts. List some things that are healthy for our hearts, some things that are neutral, and some things that will give us "heart trouble."
| Healthy Heart |
Neutral |
Heart Trouble |
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- Flesh man and spirit man.
Emphasize the fact that each individual holds decision-making power. Everything one does is based on what his free will decides to do. The choice is between feeding the flesh man and feeding the spirit man. The end result will be based on what the free will decides to do.
In Romans 7: 14-25, Paul talks about a struggle that goes on in our lives. This battle wages between the "flesh" and the "spirit." You, no doubt, have already been in this battle, not knowing exactly what was going on. There is a spiritual part of us that wants to serve God, and thee is also a part of us that Paul refers to as our "flesh" that only is interested in our own selfish desires. This "flesh man" is continually trying to drag down our "spirit man."
If we continue to feed upon the unhealthy food listed above, that which gives us "heart trouble," the flesh man will become as strong as a heavy-weight champion. But the spirit man will starve to death.
INSERT HERE, CARTOON MEN WITH A BOXER'S GLOVE
ONE WITH MUSCLES ANOTHER, SKINNY WITH A POT BELLY
Caption to the right:
In this illustration, we find a person who is very miserable, not enjoying the peace, happiness, and joy of the Lord because he always finds himself yielding to the desires of the flesh.
But, the more we feed upon healthy food, that which causes us to have a healthy heart, the stronger and healthier our spirit man will be; our fless man will become puny and sick.
INSERT HERE, CARTOON MEN - FLESHMAN IS SKINNIER,
SPIRIT MAN IS STRONG.
Comments to the Right of the cartoons:
The Christian in this illustration is a happy, victorious one. He has the peace of the Lord in his heart; and God is changing him from glory to glory.
Which one of these do you want to be?
Living the resurrected life.
- How not to overcome the problems in our lives that are robbing us of the resurrected life.
- The legalistic approach: This Christian attempts to overcome these problems in his own strength. He tries to "get hold" of himself, and get the problems taken care of.
- This approach leads to self-righteousness, because anything that might be accomplished is done by self, not by God.
Briefly explain legalism. It is a) setting of high standards for oneself and expecting everyone else to keep them; then judging them if they do not. And b) going beyond the Word of God; i.e. demanding that one dress, talk, and live by set rules tha the Bible does not expressly teach.
Explain the difference between holiness and legalism. Pure motives from the heart produce holiness. Two people may live by the exact same standards (e.g. in dress, talk, lifestyle, etc.).
The one who does it so that he can be righteous and holy is involved in legalism. The one who does it because he loves Jesus and wants to please Him is walking holy before God.
- The "it doesn't matter" approach: This Christian does not really care about changing. He feels that, if God wants anything different in his life, He will somehow automatically change him.
- This person never does change much. He ends up being a sloppy Christian and is often a poor testimony. He has a very good chance of completely backsliding and being completely separated from God.
NOTE: Both of these approaches are a deep ditch on either side of the road. We want to be careful to stay in the middle of the road -- God's way.
- God's way for us to conquer problems and be changed from glory into the image of God, so we can live the resurrected life.
-
The most important thing we will ever have to learn in this matter is that we must be
to change. We will never change anything in our life unless we are first
to change. You could not have been saved unless you were
to surrender your life to God.
- We may know that something is very wrong or bad for us, and yet we will not stop doing it unless we become willing to stop.
-
For example, the person who smokes knows that he has a much greater chance of getting cancer than the non-smoker. Also smoking causes problems in his circulatory system, thus he is more apt to have a heart attack. He knows that it makes himself, his car, his clothes, and his home smell bad. He is aware of how much money it is costing him. But, if he is not
to stop, he never will. His judgment tells him it would be better to stop, but if he is not
he will never make the change.
- List some other examples and discuss them.
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-
-
-
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We can know that something would be very good for us, yet if we are not
we will not start doing it.
-
For example, a Christian can know all the reasons why he should spend time in prayer. He knows that he will feel the presence of God more readily, that he will be a more effective witness, and that he will have more of God's power; that he will be more sensitive to God's leading, and that he will be more effective in his ministry. But, if he is not
, he will not do it.
- List other examples and discuss them.
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A person's judgment tells him that it would be the right thing to do, but if he is not
he will never do it. Read Leviticus 26. Notice how God says, "if you will" and "if you will not." We can see that cursings or blessings are dependent upon our wills. This was recorded as a lesson to us. We can enjoy God's blessings, the resurrected live, "if" we are
!
- Repentance.
If the area in your life you are now dealing with is sin, such as hate, jealousy, bitterness, criticalness, strife, or som external type of sin, you need to
. You need to name that thing for what it is;
. Do not make excuses for what you have done; God will not forgive excuses, but he will forgive confessed sin. (1 John 1:9) You must have the channel between you and God completely open and clear. This is done by repenting -- confessing sin and letting God scrub you clean.
If you have been the victim of someon else's wrongdoing, you need to forgive them. Ask God to forgive you for holding something against them. Repent of it. Then begin to pray for that person. Ask God to put a love in your heart for him or her. Start thanking Him for the love He is putting in your heart for this individual. Continue to do this until such love is a reality. (Matthew 6: 14-15).
This act of repentance will free your spirit and remove oppression. Now you are ready for the next step to the resurrection life.
- Now that I am williing . . .
At this point a step of action is necessary. Without this step, nothing will happen. You must now make a definite
, so the change in your life can actually begin. For example, if you are aware of something in your life that is not pleasing to God, and you, therefore, want to get rid of it, nothing will happen until a firm decision has been made. The more firm this decision is, and the more total the committment, the easier it will be for you. Remember, we said earlier that this must be from the heart in order to be a lasting decision. We can ask God to put our decision down deep in our heart. We must also realize it is God who is going to do that changing, but it is necessary for us to be willing, to make a heart decision, and then to guard our heart.
For example, let's say that you have a tendency to suffer from self pity. Through a sermon, God speaks to your heart about this and you realize it is a thing of the flesh and it is robbing you from living a joyful, resurrected life. You now have a problem.
All the facts run through your mind and are submitted to your judgment. Your judgment says, "Quickly, give up the self pity; it is making you miserable." Logically, this is what we should do, but our flesh wants to fight that decision.
It wants to reserve the right to feel sorry for itself. Remember the struggle between the flesh man and the spirit man? Now you are in the middle of it. If the flesh wins, you will continue to be miserable; if the spirit man wins, you will move on from glory to glory and enjoy the wonderful blessings of God -- the resurrection life.
You finally decide to be willing to give this problem over to God's cleansing, delivering, power. Then you confess it as a sin and receive God's forgiveness. Make a decision to do it that very moment. Ask God to plant your decision deep in your heart. It is vitally important that you realize that the battle is now God's. You have turned this whole area over to Him for His cleansing and deliverance. (Remember what happens to the legalist!)
Trusting:
If we have given a problem to God, we must then trust that He, in fact, is delivering us from the problem. But how do we do this? How did you trust Him for your salvation? You did it by believing His Word (1 John 1: 9) and confessing your salvation. (Romans 10: 9) You trust for deliverance from self pity in the same way. (John 8: 36) "Lord, You have set me free from this self pity; and I thank You and praise You for it. I thank You, Lord, that my self pity was nailed to the cross." (Romans 6: 6) The more you confess this, the stronger you will be and the deeper it will go down into your heart.
Reckon, or consider, it, done.
Realize that when Christ died on the cross, your old sinful flesh man died with Him. You buried your flesh when you went down in the waters of baptism. It is not something that we accomplish, it is something that Christ accomplished for us. All we need to do is realize it, accept it, and act upon it, as described above. We walk the new resurrection life by believing. Walking by faith is God's way; it is what makes Him happy. He wants to know that it is all in Him, (John 15: 5) and by ourselves we can do nothing. We only need to accept and act upon the grace of God. when we do, it delights God's heart, and we are set free.
Read: Romans 6: 2 and Colossians 3: 3.
We
dead to sin
Read: Romans 6: 4-5.
We
buried with Him, that we should walk in
of life. This is the resurrected life we have been talking about.
Read: Romans 6: 6.
It says: "
this, that our old man
was, in Greek"
crucified with him . . . " God wants us to know that the work has already been done.
Romans 6: 6 also says: ". . . henceforth we should not serve sin." Christ's dying on the cross has liberated us from the bondage of sin.
Read: Romans 6: 7.
It says that we are
from sin.
Note: It says we "are," not "shall be." The work has already been done on the cross.
Read: Romans 6: 11 and Colossians 3: 5.
It says to
consider"
it done.
Read: Romans 6: 13
It says that we yield unto God by dealing with each area of our life that needs changing, according to the way this study tells us to.
Read: the entire chapter of Romans 6.
Read: Romans 8: 2
We are already
from the law of sin and death.
Read: Romans 8: 3
Christ has already
your sin.
Read Romans 8: 13
It is by
that we mortify the deeds of the body.
Testing time:
What about when the test comes, when old thoughts of self pity hit me? Then you must do what Jesus did. Read: Matthew 4: 4, 7, 10. Immediately say (out loud, if possible), "I have given this problem completely over to God, and, by the work done on the cross. (Romans 6: 6), God has completely set me free from it." (John 8: 36) Then, begin to praise God for the wonderful work he has done in this area of your life.
If you do it this way, you will experience wonderful deliverance fro God, enjoy His blessings, and live the resurrected life.
Let's list some other possible problem areas and discuss them.
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It is important for you to realize that "giving it a try" will never work. A try is not a firm decision or total commitment, and God will never back you up in it. That type of attempt does not last.
How do I avoid falling into temptation?
- By making decisions ahead of time. The moment you are confronted with a temptation is not the time to decide what you are going to do with it. At this point, the flesh may be weak. Sooner or later you will yield to the temptation.
For example, knowing that God said we should not be unequally yoked together, the young person needs to fortify himself ahead of time. This is done by settling the matter in the heart -- by making a decision. The young lady who makes the decision that she will not date an unsaved man, will not have to give it a second thought when the nice looking, but unsaved, young man comes up and asks her for a date. The decision was made long before, and it is deep in her heart. If the decision is not yet made, she will have to decide each time she is asked what she is going to do, she will most likely yield to the temptatin in a weak moment. Indecision also brings confusion and frustration. A firm decision brings freedom and peace in the heart.
Let's list some possible temptations we can make decisions on, now, and discuss them.
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- What if I fall?
If it happens that in a moment of weakness you fall into any sin, whether it is in an area in which you have made a decision or not, confess it to God righ away. You do not have to live with guilt or condemnation for even five minutes. As soon as you realize that you have sinned, repent of it and accept God's forgiveness. Then go your way in the joy of the Lord. Fortify yourself against doing that sin again, and walk with God.
Read: 1 John 1: 9, 2: 1.
How do I know what to deal with in my life?
- Problems you are aware of.
If you are aware of a problem in you life, the best time to deal with itis now. Why settle for less when you can live the resurrected life? You know how to deal with your problems, so go right ahead and do so.
- What about problem areas I am not aware of?
If you begin looking within yourself -- searching, digging, scrutinizing analyzing, and hunting -- you will focus on yourself. This will bring you into bondage and condemnation. Introspection is certainly not God's way. He wants you to look to Jesus and be free. Read: John 10: 10, 8: 36.
You should ask God to search your heart, trust Him that He will do it, rest in Him, and and walk on, free in the Lord. Read: Psalm 139: 1, 23-24
Read: Philippians 1: 6 and 1 Peter 5: 10.
Read: Philippians 2: 13.
God is working in you both to
and to
of His good pleasure.
Read Philippians 3: 13-14.
We are to
about our pst life and yesterday's mistakes and keep our eyes and heart on what lies ahead.
Read: Philipians 3: 15.
Here we find that God
to reveal these things to us.
Read: the entire chapter of Philippians 3.
Note how Paul is saying that we should not have any confidence in our own flesh. We should trust totally in God.
Read: Philippians 1: 11
The fruit of righteousness comes
.
Read: Philippians 4: 13
We can do all things
.
Note: When God does put His spot-light on an area He want syou to deal with, it is best that you do it immediately. Let's deal with these things as they come along and live in the victory -- the resurrection life.
Read Romans 8: 31-39
In all things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him. Amen!