Newhile~ DISCIPLESHIP TRAINING (Revised) Bien A. Llobrera BOOK ONE Table of Contents INTRODUCTION NEWLIFE FOUNDATION: Growth Hand EVANGELISM: Gospel Hand FOLLOW-UP: Baby Hand Week 1: Prayer Week 2: Word of God Week 3: Forgiveness Week 4: Fellowship Week 5: Testimony Week 6: Holy Spirit “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, Now that you have tasted that the Lord is good." 1 Peter 2:2,3 NIV Page 2 Page 3 Page 8 Page 15 Page 16 Page 20 | Page 23 | Page 26 Page 29 Page 32,i SER a SO a FOUNDATION: GROWTH HAND. Calling & Service Follow-UpFOUNDATION: GROWTH HAND THE MOST EXCITING JOURNEY DISCIPLESHIP is a journey -- the most exciting journey! It is the journey through life with Jesus Christ. For this journey we need a map. We need to see where we are going and what are the stages we must pass through to get there. This map of discipleship we may put in your hand. We will call this the GROWTH HAND. This will serve as your master key, or rather, your "Master Hand". The GROWTH HAND tells you where you are going and how may get there. Open your hand and look at it very closely. On your palm we put the goal or destination of your Christian journey on earth: your CALLING AND SERVICE. In Philippians 3:12, the apostle Paul says, “I keep going ‘on, grasping ever more firmly that for which Christ has grasped me” (Phillips). When Christ grasped you for salvation, he already had a place of usefulness prepared for you. This place is your CALLING AND SERVICE, and we place this on the palm of the GROWTH HAND. This is the destination or goal of Christian discipleship. How do you arrive at your goal? You have to journey through several stages; these stages will be put on the fingers of your hand. Little Finger. The first stage Is called EVANGELISM, and we put this on your little finger. Your life in Christ begins here. At this stage you come to understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ and you believe in him and receive him as your Lord and Savior. At this stage you are born again spiritually, and you start your journey as a spiritual baby. Ring Finger. The second stage Is FOLLOW-UP, represented by the ting finger. After receiving Christ, you need to learn how to exercise basic disciplines in the Christian life, which will enable you to carry your weight on your own spiritual feet. The basic disciplines of the Christian life will keep you from remaining a baby Christian.Middle Finger. You need to gO on to the tl which is represented by the middle finger. ae oo from the military life. People are recruited to move from chviliag liste soldier life. The civilian can do as he pleases; the soldier submits fi i and without question to his commander. The Same thing Is true in the Christian life. During the beginning stages of the Christian life, you i have the idea that you can do as you please. But a time comes when you realize that you must fully commit your life to Christ as your Commander, to do only his will for your life. You make this commitment at the RECRUITING stage. You stop being a civilian Christian; you commit yourself to become a soldier Christian. During this stage, you also decide that it is not enough that you are able to feed yourself and that you can walk on your own feet. At this Stage, you decide to become a worker for God, who will help feed others and to teach them how to follow the disciplines of the Christian life. Pointing Finger. After you commit yourself to become a soldier and a worker for Christ, you realize that you need to know certain things, to learn certain skills, and to develop certain attitudes. The knowledge, skills and attitudes will be provided by the fourth stage, TRAINING, represented by the pointing finger. During this stage, you need to endure the pain of training and to pay the cost of acquiring knowledge, skills, and attitudes. The cost will primarily be in the form of time and energy spent in training; at certain times, you may be called upon also to invest your material resources. The life of an athlete in training illustrates the Christian during this stage. Your pointing finger points that the way to an effective and useful Christian life is through training. Thumb, Many Christians (among these are church workers and leaders) stop after they attain the training stage. For continued stability and fruitfulness, you must push on to the fifth stage, represented by the thumb: the BUILDING of a truly Christlike character. Character refers to what a person is inside where no one can see; it refers to what a person does when he thinks no one sees him. During the BUILDING stage, you major on developing Christ-likeness in every area of your life; this is the time when deep and solid convictions are lald to serve as foundations for your life. And just as the thumb is used in combination with the other fingers, so is the Christ-like character used in connection with all Other stages of the Christian life. All that you have learned to do from the stages of evangelism, followup, recruiting, and training; and all thatyou will ever attempt to do in the sta ge of calling and ervice will have little power or fruit ~ apart fi ce ohare rom a truly Christtike character, Palm. The sixth and final Stage of Christian discipleship ig your CALLING AND SERVICE, represented by the palm. This is the goal destination of your earthly Christian journey, the highest stage which. you may experience of your Christian life on earth. During the stage of CALLING AND SERVICE, you will discover, develop, and use the gifts which the Holy Spirit has given you. During this Stage, you will discover what type of life-work God has Prepared for you to do. It will be in that life-work that you will use your gifts to the fullest. During this time the Lord will also direct you to a specific place -- or to several places - on earth, where you will serve and love and glorify God most fully. When you come to your CALLING AND SERVICE you will come to know that the place of service is also the Place of greatest blessing. It will be at this stage of your Christian Journey that the promise of the Lord Jesus will be fulfilled in your experience -- you will have the truly abundant life! This abundant life awaits you. This abundant life is Christ's plan for you. Will you begin your upward journey toward the abundant life today? " DISCIPLE’S DISCIPLINES If you are already a Christian, complete the following assignments. Check box after completing each activity. {] 1. When did you become a Christian? (Give approximate date.) Ul 2. In which of the six stages of the Christian life do you think you are? Give one reason why you think so.In one sentence, write a prayer of commitment to the Lord, stating your desire to grow to full spiritual maturity and asking the Lord's help in this. Memorize Philippians 3:12.EVANGELISM: GOSPEL HAND Christ The Christian's Assurance Christ's InvitationEVANGELISM: GOSPEL HAND GOD’S MESSAGE OF LOVE GOD has a message of love for you in the Bible, and this message may be put in an illustration called GOSPEL HAND*. THUMB: GOD'S LOVE The Bible brings the good news that God loves you, and we will make your thumb represent this wonderful truth. We read about God’s love in John 3:16. God loves you so much he wants to give you eternal life. This means that God will put his own life in you and that he will establish a permanent relationship between himself and you. To make eternal life possible for you, God went so far as to give his Son, Jesus Christ. POINTING FINGER: MAN’S NEED. But there is a big problem. Do you see how your pointing finger is “separated” from your thumb? This represents a problem: sin brought a separation between you and God, and sin prevents you from receiving God’s gift of eternal life. We read about this problem in Romans 3:23. What is sin? First, sin means to break the boundaries and limits God set. The Ten Commandments list these boundaries. How many commandments can you remember? Let’s take the commandment, “Do not murder." According to the Bible, how does a person commit murder? Let’s read 1 John 3:15. Based on this verse, do you need to shoot someone or stab someone to commit murder? No; when you hate another person in your heart, you already commit the sin of murder. Or take the commandment, "Do not commit adultery." According to Re how does one commit adultery? Let's read Matthew 5:27,28 a°cording to this verse, do you need to have actual sexual contact with Person in order to commit adultery? No; merely thinking a lustful eo hought is enough to make you guilty of adultery. Therefore, based onthis verse, how many persons do you think hay it adultery? Ve Committed the sin of Still some people insist that they're not reall : i ly bad, t! commit murder or adultery in their hearts. What does patel on say? It says that sin is not only doing bad things; sin is falli h : al 4 falling short of God's glory. Sin is not measuring up to God’s standard. God is not : asking if you are good; he is asking whether you are good enough. Do you measure up to God's standard? What is God's standard? Let’s read Matthew 5:48. The standard is the perfect character of God himself. Who of us can measure to this perfection? How many of us can say that we always do good one hundred per cent all the time? This then is our problem. Sin has caused us to be separated from God, and this brings two tragic results. First, it prevents us from receiving eternal life; second, it brings us eternal death or permanent separation from God in a place of unending punishment. Let’s read Revelation 21:8. This verse !ic*: supe who will suffer the second death or péinaiein separation from God. Do you notice the last person mentioned in the list? Liars. This is a scary thought. You may not be a murderer or adulterer. But even if you're only a liar, your Jot will still be the same -- eternal separation from God in the lake of fire. Sin presents a very big problem. Our question is: Is there a solution or answer to this problem? MIDDLE FINGER: CHRIST'S ANSWER Yes, the Bible has good news for you. There's an answer, and we put this truth on the middle finger of our hand. But, first, we need to realize that you may choose one of two ways to solve the problem of separation from God. As an illustration, there are two ways of building a bridge -- you may build the bridge yourself from your side; or you may trust the person on the other side to build it. In your relationship with God, you may choose to build your own bridge to God; or you may trust God to build the bridge to reach you. 10 aa.Many people have tried to build their own bridge to reach God. For example, some use religion as a bridge; others use their good works; gtill others use education. All these bridges seem good; but each one has one big defect: the bridges are not long enough or good enough. They do not meet God's standard. Remember what we said about God's standard. If you want to use the bridge of good works, you must be not only 99% good, not even 99.99% good -- you must be 100% good. So you see, we cannot build our own bridge. Now, since we cannot build a bridge to reach God, our question is: Did God build a bridge to reach us? Let's read John 3:16 again. Note that the verse says, God loved you so much that he gave Jesus Christ, his Son, to give you eternal life. Here's the good news | told you about earlier. God gave Jesus Christ as the Wav -- the Bridge -- back to God! Since we cannot build a ge 0 God, God himself built a bridge for us. The Bridge is Jesus Christ. Let's read John 14:6. What did Jesus Christ do to become our bridge to God? Let's read 1 Peter 3:18. Sin is a like a debt that must be paid; the payment is death (Romans 6:23). Now note what 1 Peter 3:18 says. Christ, the sinless One, died for us,the sinful ones. Christ paid for our sins with his own death. Because of Christ's infinite value as God’s Son, his one death was sufficient payment for the sins of whole world, including your sins and mine. Christ, however, did not remain dead. On the third day, God raised him up from the dead by the power of his Spirit. Then Christ went back to heaven and took his position at the right hand of God. Christ is alive today, and he stands as the living bridge between God and man. Through Christ the Living Bridge, you may now return to God. RING FINGER: CHRIST'S INVITATION How do we cross the Bridge? We cross by accepting Christ's special invitation. The truth about Christ’s invitation is placed on your Wring finger; this makes it like a marriage proposal. Let's rea Christ’s invitation or proposal in Revelation 3:20. oo Christ pictures your heart as if it were a house or i your heart there is a throne. For a long time you ae pay en throne as a king, living in rebellion against God. But today, Christ the Son of God is knocking at the door of your heart. Will you accept Christ into your heart and give him the throne of your lite? Will you believe in him and receive him as your Savior and Lord? We may also illustrate your life as a car, with you seated in the driver seat as the driver of your life. Christ is asking if you are willing to give him the key to the car and give him the driver seat. Christ is knocking at the door of your heart right now. Where do you want him to be, outside or inside your life? Will you give him the throne of your heart? Will you give him the driver seat of your life? Will receive him as the Lord and Savior who will guide your life from now on? LITTLE FINGER: MAN'S DECISION Perhaps you are asking, “How do | receive Christ?" You receive Christ by prayer, and we place this truth on your little finger. You may pray something like this: “Dear God in heaven, thank you for your great love for me. | admit that | have sinned against you. | thank you that Jesus Christ your Son, died for my sins and rose again to give m2 eternal life. Thank you that Christ is knocking at the door of my heart. 1 do receive Christ now as my Savior and Lord. | do now give Christ the throne of my life and | ask him to take full contro! of my life from now on. | pray this in Christ’s name. Amen." Are you ready to pray this prayer? If you wish, | can lead in the prayer and you follow after me. 12rn asa PALM: THE CHRISTIAN’S ASSURANCE We began this presentation with the truth that God loves you and wants to give you eternal life. The final truth you need to know (represented by the palm of your hand) is this: When you receive Christ as Lord and Savior, you receive God's gift, which includes many wonderful things. First, you have a permanent relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's read Revelation 3:20 again; according to this verse, if you have truly opened your heart to Christ, then he has come into your life, and he promises not to leave or forsake you now and forever (Hebrews 13:5). Second, you have a new relationship with God; he is now your Father. Let's read John 1:12; according to this verse, what do you receive when you believe in Christ? You are given the authority to be called a child of God, and along with this authority you are also given the ability to live as a worthy child of God. You can now call God as your heavenly Father in a real sense. Third, you now have eternal life. Let’s read 1 John 5:11,12; according to this verse, who gives the testimony or record that we have eternal life? Where is this eternal life found? Who has this eternal life? Who does not have this eternal life? Let's use an illustration. Let's make this Bible, which | have in my hand, represent Christ; let's put a piece of paper inside this Bible to represent eternal life. According to 1 John 5:11,12, eternal life is found in Christ. Now, let me ask you to hold this Bible. Since you have Christ (represented by the Bible), what do you also have? When you have Christ, you also have eternal life (represented by the piece of paper inside the Bible). If you do not have Christ (let me take away the Bible from you), what do you not have as well? This is God’s own record and testimony. When you believe and receive Christ in your life, he comes in you, and brings you eternal life. This is the beginning of a brand new spiritual life for you. This is what the Bible calls being born again (John 3:3). You are born as a Spiritual baby in God's family. Right now, let’s Pause and thank the God for his 13gift of new life to you. Next time we meet, we will talk about what you need to do in order to start growing in your new life in Christ. If you recetved Christ today as a result of the GOSPEL HAND. presentation: t a. Obtain a copy of the Bible or New Testament. Start reading one chapter a day from the Gospel of John. t] 2 Pray everyday. Prayer is talking to God, your heavenly Father. Start your prayer this way: “Father in heaven, | come to you in the name of Christ." In your prayer, thank God for his blessings and ask God to supply your needs. End your prayer this way: "This is my prayer, in Christ’s name. Amen." {] 3. Memorize: John 3:16. {] 4. This week, try to meet with your BIBLE STUDY LEADER (BSL), the person who witnessed to you, and he will show you the first steps of the Christian life. * NOTE: The first draft of the “Gospel Hand" in this book was written in 1986 as part of a series originally called HANDS OF A DISCIPLE (eventually called NEWLIFE DISCIPLESHIP TRAINING when published by the Church Growth Department of the FMB-SBC Philippines). In 1987, | was surprised to find that MasterLife Discipleship Training had a similar presentation; and in 1992 | was even more surprised to find that Child Evangelism Fellowship had been using a like presentation many years before either MasterLife or NewLife was published.FOLLOW - UP: Holy Spirit BABY HANDA BABY NEEDS TO CRY WHEN you received Christ, you were b : u Ahrist, orn again as a spirit i God's family. As a spiritual baby you have very fect ee these needs may easily be remembered eee through the BABY HAND On the thumb of the BABY HAND, we place the very first n What do you think the first need of the physical baby is? ict ase a doctor do to the baby first thing after it is born? The doctor holds the baby upside down and gives it a good slap on its bottom to make it cry. Why does he do that to the baby? He does that to make the baby cry in order for the baby’s lungs to start functioning, so the baby can breathe normally on its own. As a newborn spiritual baby you also need to open up your spiritual lungs to start breathing spiritually. To cry out spiritually means to call upon your heavenly Father; this calling or crying out is called prayer. Let’s read Galatians 4:6. According to this verse, at the moment that you became a child of God, God put into your heart the Holy Spirit And the first thing that the Holy Spirit teaches you to de = *. Sui, 10 Cry out, to pray to God as your heavenly Fath=:. ns a cnild of God, you need to learn to pray regularly. How should a child of God pray? Let's read Philippians 4:6. From this verse, note two words: THANKSGIVING and REQUESTS. Just as physical breathing consists of two actions -- inhale and exhale -- so prayer is made up of two actions: THANK GOD and ASK GOD. We “exhale” by thanking God for his blessings; and we “inhale by asking God to supply our needs. Now let’s learn a simple pattern of prayer, which includes these two actions. BEGIN your prayer by saying, “Heavenly Father, | come to you In the name of Christ." Remember, you are now a child of God and whenyou come to God, you come to him as your heavenly Father, who has given you every right to approach him anytime for any need You come in the name of Christ because he is your Way to God; he is your Mediator or Go-between. CONTINUE your prayer by doing the two actions — thank and ask. First of all say, “Father, | thank you for your blessings ...." Spectfically mention blessings you have recently received; or blessings that you continually enjoy. Then, after you have thanked God, say, "Father, | ask you for these things ...."_ Tell God one by one the things that you need. These needs may be immediate or long-term; these may be physical, material, financial, emotional, spiritual; these may be for yourself, for your family, or for other people. Look at Philippians 4:6 again; according to this verse, you may bring to God in prayer anything that causes you to worry. END your prayer by saying, ‘This is my prayer, in Christ's name. Amen." QUESTIONS ABOUT PRAYER let's answer some common questions regarding prayer. Question 1: When should you pray? Pray upon waking up in the morning, before you start doing anything for the day. Pray before eating, to thank God for the food and to ask his blessing on it. Pray before going to bed. Pra’ 'y anytime during the day or night when you face a need or a problem. luestion 2: How should you pray? You may pray silently in your heart; or, if you are alone, you may pray aloud as if you were Conversing with God. You may Pray while sitting, or standing, or kneeling, or walking (with eyes open, of course). Your spiritual attitude dents importance; your physical posture may vary as the situation { luestion 3: How long should aa How long should your conversation ; m as your Father and also your best Fri ‘Ong as you need to, and as often as you with God be if you consider lend? You may talk to God as 2 Prayer is conversing with enjoy doing so. | q f shoalIn conclusion, tet’s emphasize again the point of our lesson today. As a newbom spiritual baby you need to cry or to pray to your heavenly Father. Use the simple pattern of prayer which you learned in this lesson. Start praying regularly beginning today. 6] N Set aside 15-30 minutes every morning to read one chapter a day from the Gospel of John and to pray, using the pattern learned in this lesson. SCRIPTURE - REVIEW: Philippians 3:12; Jonn 3:16 MEMORIZE: Galatians 4:6. Make a prayer list. A prayer list is a list of needs that you pray for (for yourself and for other pecpie), in which you describe briefly the nature of the need; the date when you began praying for the need; and the date when God answered your prayer. A prayer list serves as a diary of God's love and faithfulness to vo Meet with your BIBLE STUDY LEADER (BSL) at least once this week; he will help you to make your prayer list.DAILY PRAYER LIST DATE REQUEST | DATE = 19WEEK 2 / BABY HAND - POINTING. FINGER: WORD OF GOD A BABY NEEDS MILK THE first need of a baby is to cry -- to breathe; Its second ne take milk -- to take food. Even so in the spiritual life, after areas cry in prayer, you need to take your spiritual milk. The Word of God, the Bible, is your spiritual milk or food. The pointing finger of the BABY HAND will remind you of the importance of the Bible as your spiritual milk. Let's study 1 Peter 2:2; from this verse, note the following truths: A MILK. A living baby cries for milk. A person who is truly born again, who has new spiritual life from God, will long for, he will strongly desire spiritual milk. B. THE BIBLE. The Bible is the spiritual milk. It is also. compared to bread (read Matthew 4:4). In other words, God's Word is the Christian’s spiritual food. C. GROWTH Tha Rible ie the | .Jans God nas provided for spiritual growth. Read 1 Peter 2:2 again; read also Acts 20:32. As in the physical life, so in the spiritual life, the more you eat the more you grow. D. PRACTICAL FACTS ABOUT THE BIBLE. To help you take your spiritual food, let’s study some basic facts about God's Word, the Bible. OLD TESTAMENT AND NEW TESTAMENT. The Bible has two major divisions, the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament is God's Word written by the prophets before Christ came to the world. The New Testament is God’s Word written by the apostles after Christ had come to the world. BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. The Old and New Testaments are divided into books; 39 books in the Old Testament, 27 in the New Testament. 20CHAPTER AND VERSE. Every book of the Bible is divided into chapters; and every chapter is divided into verses. DAILY BIBLE READING. In the physical life, the newborn baby has a regular feeding schedule. So in the spiritual life, one excellent “feeding schedule" is DAILY BIBLE READING. The best place to start Bible reading is in the Gospels (for example, the Gospel of John), because as a spiritual baby you need to grow in your knowledge of the Lord Jesus. Read 2 Peter 3:18. PICK ONE VERSE. To make your Bible Reading profitable, pick ‘one verse from the chapter, by asking yourself these questions: What verse stands out in this chapter? What inspiring thought or significant truth is found in this verse? How will this verse help me today? DAILY DEVOTIONAL TIME. Read your Bible and pray everyday. You have been doing these two activities in the past two weeks. Daily PRAYFR o72 2!GLE READING is sometimes called DAILY DEVOTIONAL Twat (DDT) or QUIET TIME (because it is a time of quiet fellowship with God). To grow in your new life in Christ, you must maintain your DDT. To make your DDT effective, iet’s study a few important things about it. A REQUIREMENTS FOR DDT There are a few simpie requirements for an effective DDT. 1 A Bible 2. Notebook and pen — Write down thoughts and truths you discover while reading your Bible. Also, list things you wish to pray for, noting down the date when you start praying for a thing, and the date God answers your prayer. 3. Time and place — As much as possible, have a regular time and place for your DDT. 21B. A PLAN FOR DDT :H Begin with a brief prayer, thank God f . for th and ask His guidance on your devotional time day, Read your scheduled Daily Bible Reading (th assigned in your Daily Steps). 9 (the chapter After reading, pick a verse; write in your notebook ; t thoughts or truths you discovered from the verse, C Proceed to prayer. Pray as the Holy Spirit leads you; and pray for persons and needs in your prayer list. : Do your DAILY DEVOTIONAL TIME (DDT) this week. Start a devotional diary. From your Daily Bible Reading, ay of the pick one verse each day, and write a sum thought of the verse in your devotional diary. SCRIPTURE MEMORY - REVIEW: Philippians 3:12; John 3:16; Galatians 4:6. MEMORIZE: 1 Peter 2:2. Meet with your BSL this week and have DDT with him. 22WEEK 3 / BABY HAND - MIDDLE FINGE! IRGIVENESS A BABY NEEDS A BATH IN the physical life, a baby needs a regular bath. In the spiritual life, a Christian needs to be regularly cleansed from sin. Forgiveness is a Christian's spiritual bath. We place the need for forgiveness on the middle finger of the BABY HAND. When a person receives Christ he receives forgiveness for all the sins he has committed in the past. This does not mean that he will no longer commit sin in the future. When a Christian sins, what then? When a baby gets dirty, what does it get? A bath. When a Christian sins, he must confess his sin to God and receive forgiveness and cleansing for his sin. Let's study 1 John 1:5-2:2. From this passage, note the following truths: GOD IS LIGHT. God is holy and pure. God's plan is for the Christian always to walk in the light; God's ideal is for the Christian not to sin anymore. A CHRISTIAN IS NOT PERFECT. Through ignorance, weakness, and immaturity, a Christian may still fall into sin. When a Christian falls into sin, what is God's provision for his cleansing? A WAY OF FORGIVENESS. God has provided a way of forgiveness for the Christian, which includes the following truths, as explained in 1 John 1:9-2:2: 1. CONFESSION. To receive forgiveness, a Christian must confess his sin sins directly to God. All sins are against God, so we go to Him for forgiveness. Only God has the authority and power to forgive our sins. We confess by telling God exactly what we did. For example, if we told a lie we must say, “Lord, | told a lie; please forgive me." : 2. BLOOD OF CHRIST. God forgives us on the basis of the blood of Christ. The blood of Christ represent His we ork of i i He accomplished once and for all, never to be (posted: Aare eee . , Past, 23present, and future, were paid for by Christ by His if cross. Read Hebrews 9:26. ee deceedah 3. ASSURANCE OF FORGIVENESS. God assures us of forgiveness and cleansing the moment we confess our sins to Him. We do not have to wait until tomorrow or next week to know that we are ° forgiven. SATAN’S LIES There are four dangerous lies of Satan that we must guard against: Lie #1: “Don't confess immediately. It’s very shameful for you to approach God right away after committing a sin." Don't believe this lie. As a young Christian, you are like a child who is learning to walk. When a child falls and gets dirty, is it a shameful thing for him to cry for help? When you sin you are like a child that falls. God wants you to ask Him to clean you up immediately. Lie #2: "You are a bad Christian. God does not love you anymore." This is another big lie. Think of this: When did God stazt foving your While you were still a non-Christian God already loved you (Romans 5:8). Now that you are a Christian, God’s love will never change just because you commit a sin. Lie #3: “You must make sacrifices first before God will forgive you.’ This lie insults Christ because it implies that human effort can add anything to the redemption Christ has done for us. There is only one basis for forgiveness, and this is the death of Christ. Christ’s one death is effective for all your sins, (Heb. 9:26). Lie #4: "Go ahead, keep on committing sins. After all, God will forgive you when you confess to Him." This is the most dangerous lie of all. God’s forgiveness is not a license to commit sin. As a Christian who is learning to walk, you may sometimes stumble and fall. This doesn’t mean that you will keep on wallowing in the mud. The Lord wants you to grow in knowledge and maturity, so that the times you fall become less and less frequent. God promises that He will you make you more and more victorious everyday. If a so-called Christian 24i { i ! continues in sin, the Lord Jesus has a fearful warnin i ir a Read Matthew 7:21-23. 1g against him. TAKE A BATH -- CONFESS YOUR SINI Like a little child, you are still learning to walk, When you stumble and sin, don’t be discouraged. Confess your sin to God and ask for His forgiveness and cleansing. And keep on following Christ! Ul a: Do your DDT. Continue your devotional diary. Every night this week, review everything that happened during day. In your devotional diary, write down sins and failings you have committed during the day; confess these sins to God and claim his forgiveness before you go to bed. If there is a sin that you habitually commit, make a decision to forsake that sin and ask God to help you everyday to avoid doing that sin again. li you fail, don't be discouraged; confess your sin, and keep on claiming God's forgiveness and help. {l 2. SCRIPTURE MEMORY - REVIEW: Philippians 3:12; John 3:16; Galatians 4:6; 1 Peter 2:2. MEMORIZE: 1 John 1:9. {I 3. Meet with your BSL this week and ask his advice about how to overcome habitual sins. 25WEEK 4 / BABY HAND - RING FINGER: FELLOWSHIP A BABY NEEDS A CRIB IN the physical life, a baby needs a crib in which ft can play and rest and stay in safety. For the spiritual baby, the crib symbolizes the fellowship of other Christians and the love and Care that this fellowship gives. Early in your Christian life you need to relate to other Christians for fellowship, and the ring finger of the BABY HAND will remind you of this truth. Let’s study 1 John 1:3,4; from this verse we note the following: 1, We become Christians through the witness of those who were believers ahead of us. This is the meaning of 1 John 1:3. The original disciples of Christ became believers ahead of everybody else; what they have seen and heard of Christ, they also shared with others. This Process continues up to the present. For example, | became a Christian before you did; | shared Christ with you, and as a result you also became a Christian. 2. The result of sharing Christ (witnessing) is that those who become Christians are brought into the fellowship which includes God the Father, Christ and other Christians. By receiving Christ you establish a relationship with everyone else who hee ==. sived Christ. Let’s read John 1:12 again. According to this verse, what relationship do you have with God as a result of your acceptance of Christ? You became a child of God. | myself made the same decision to receive Christ. As a result, what is my relationship with God? | also became a child of God. Now, since you are a child of God, and | am also a child of God; what is our relationship with each other? We are brothers or sisters in God’s family! And all other people who receive Christ are equally our brothers and sisters. Since we are brothers and sisters, we need to have fellowship -- we need to have a meaningful relationship -- with one another. 26Let’s use an illustration. | cut out some paper hearts one heart to each member of the group. This paper iene a give cour heart, our life. Now, let me ask you again: Who is a real Christian? A real Christian is one who has received Christ into his heart as his personal Lord and Savior. Do you have Christ in your heart? Then draw a cross on your paper heart to represent that you have received Christ into your life. Look at your paper heart and look at the other paper hearts; all have Christ in them, right? Now, because Christ is in our hearts, what is our relationship to God? He is our heavenly Father. And because we have the same Father, what is our relationship with one another? We are brothers and sisters in God's family. And this relationship is the basis of our fellowship. According to our hand illustration, this fellowship serves the purpose similar to the purpose of a crib in the life of a baby. The crib provides a safe place for the baby to stay, to play, and to rest. So in the Christian life, when we fellowship with other Christians, we receive many important blessings. 3. Let's note the blessing that this fellowship brings. Let's read 1 John 1:3,4 again. Fellowship means sharing what we have seen and heard, what we have experienced of Christ. What blessing does such sharing give? Sharing in fellowship brings complete joy. This complete Jey vurnes because of the following: First, when we fellowship we learn more from God’s Word as we share with each other our individual discoveries from our personal study of the Bible. Second, when we fellowship those who are weak and discouraged gain new strength and courage from those who are strong and inspired. Remember the illustration of the burning coals? Take away one piece of burning coal from the pile and its fire will soon die out. Bring it back to the burning pile and it will light up again. In the same way, when we come to the fellowship we catch the fire of new zeal and enthusiasm. Third, we serve God more effectively when we do it together. Remember the story of the father who had quarrelling sons? He gave each son a stick to break, which each one did very easily. Then he tied together several sticks and told them to break the bundle of sticks; they 27couldn't. When we fellowship together and unite to serve the become effective, productive, and not easily defeated. Lord, we Therefore, let's remember the fourth need of a Christian -- fell i with other Christians. lowship (l 1. Do your DDT. 0] 2. SCRIPTURE MEMORY - REVIEW: Philippians 3:12; John 3:16; Galatians 4:6; 1 Peter 2:2; 1 John 1:9. MEMORIZE: 1 John 1:3. {1 3. Meet with your BSL this week; share with each other things God has been teaching you from your DDT and SCRIPTURE MEMORY. 28WEEK 5 / BABY HAND - LITTLE FINGER: TESTIMONY A BABY NEEDS TO TALK IN the physical life, a baby needs to learn to talk, though at first, it’s only baby talk. In the spiritual life, a baby Christian needs to talk to others about his faith in Christ, even though his talk may be very simple. The simple personal testimony of a Christian may be considered as spiritual baby talk. We may place this need on the little finger of the BABY HAND. You may say, "Who, me? Talk to others about Christ? But I’m only a young Christian." Yes. As a young Christian you may not be able to say much about God or Christ or the Bible. But you can give a simple testimony. Let's study the simple testimonies of some young believers in the Bible. ANDREW (read John 1:40-42). Andrew had just met Jesus, but he was able to do two things: he told his brother Peter, "We have found Christ’; then he introduced Peter to Christ, and Chirist did the talking to Peter after that. As a young Christian, you can: 1. Tell a relative or a friend, "| received Christ recently.” 2. Introduce your relative or friend to a mature Christian, who will explain the gospel to him. PHILIP (read John 1:45,46). Philip had known Christ only a short time, yet he did two things: he told his friend Nathanael, "We have found Christ"; then he told Nathanael "Come and see." As a young Christian, you can: 1. Tell your relative or friend, "I have received Christ recently.” 2. Invite your relative or friend to a Bible study or church service and say, “Come and listen to God’s Word." 29TWO HEALED MEN (read John 9:24,25; Mark 5:18.20). The bi man did not know much about Jesus. When the religious leaders pole him hard questions, he responded with his simple but powerful : testimony. He said, "One thing | know, once | was blind, now ! see.” The healed demoniac was instructed by Jesus to give a similar simple testimony, "Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.” You can do the same thing that the healed blind man and healed demoniac did: tell your relatives and friends about what the Lord has done for you. Tell them how Christ changed your life, and how Christ solved your problems and supplied your needs. {] 1. Do your DDT. Add to your prayer list ** ames of several relatives and fr'- <<. witn whom you plan to cha.e your ‘baby talk" (simple testimony) sometime soon. i SCRIPTURE MEMORY - REVIEW: Philippians 3:12; John 3:16; Galatians 4:6; 1 Peter 2:2; 1 John 1:9; 1 John 1:3. MEMORIZE: John 9:25. {] 3. Use the little finger of your BABY HAND by doing any of the following -- by yourself or you may ask your BSL to help you: a. Introduce your non-Christian relatives or friends to your Bible study leader, who will witness to them if the opportunity presents itself; b. Invite your non-Christian relatives or friends to a Bible study where they will hear the Word of God; 30a Share your simple testimony with non-Christian relatives and friends. Tell them about what Christ has done for you, and the changes He has brought into your life. 31WEEK 6 _/ BABY HAND - PALM: HOLY SPIRIT A BABY NEEDS A BABY SITTER IN the physical life, babies need baby sitters, persons who take care of them when their parents are away. The spiritual baby has a similar need, not because God, the heavenly Father, leaves the Christian. Rather, as part of his fatherly care, God has sent into the heart of the Christian a Person who will always take care of him. This is the indwelling Holy Spirit; and the palm of the BABY HAND reminds us of this wonderful truth. The truth about the indwelling Holy Spirit has already been noted in Galatians 4:6. To understand this truth more clearly, let's read Romans 8:9; according to this verse, the indwelling Holy Spirit serves as the mark of a true Christian. Without the Holy Spirit a person is not a Christian, he does not really belong to Christ. But how exactly do you know that the Holy Spirit lives in you? Remember the saying, "Where there’s smoke, there’s fire"? “ou can know that the Holy Spirit lives in you vy tne work that he does in you. 14. ASSURANCE OF SONSHIP. When the Holy Spirit indwells you, he will prove his presence by giving you assurance and awareness that you are a child of God. Let's read Romans 8:15, 16. When the Holy Spirit lives in you, you can sense him say to your spirit in a way that is clearer than a speaking voice, “You are now a child of God." Deep in your heart the awareness will come to you that you are no longer the same, that a change has come to your life. 2. LEADING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. When the Holy Spirit indwells you, he will manifest his presence by his leadership. Let's read Romans 8:14. The Holy Spirit will lead and move you to do certain things that you were not in the habit of doing before -- to pray, to read the Bible, to fellowship with other Christians, to tell others about Christ. A Christian will be moved to pray because the Holy Spirit in him is the Spirit of prayer (Romans 8:26,27). A Christian will be moved to read the Bible because the Holy Spirit in him is the Spirit of truth (John 14:26). A 32Christian will be moved to fellowship with other Christians because the Holy Spirit in him is the Spirit of love (Galatians 5:22). A Christian will be moved to tell others about Christ because the Holy Spirit in him is in the world to witness for Christ (John 15:26). 3. CONVICTION OF SIN. The Holy Spirit will give evidence of his indwelling by convicting you regarding sin. He will warn you against committing sin; or, if you have committed sin, he will convict you to confess and forsake your sin. Let's read John 16:8-11. This does not mean that you, as a Christian, are already perfect. No; it means that the Holy Spirit will give you a different attitude toward sin. Let's use an illustration. Compare the attitude of the cat and the attitude of a pig in regard to mud or dirt. You may overpower a cat and throw it into the mud. But the cat hates mud, and it will get out of the mud as quickly as it possibly can. On the other hand, you may wash a pig so clean, even put a ribbon around its neck and pour perfume on its body. But the moment you let it go, and it smells the mud, it will immediately clive ints the mud and wallow in it. The cat represents the Christian. Because of lack of knowledge and lack of strength, the Christian may still commit sin; but, because of the Holy Spirit who dwells in him, he will not stay long in sin. The pig represents the non-Christian who does not have the Holy Spirit; he enjoys committing sin and likes to wallow in it. Here's a very personal question for you: Since the time you received Christ, have you experienced this changed attitude to sin? Remember this truth on the palm of the BABY HAND: as a Christian you have the Indwelling Holy Spirit as your permanent “baby sitter’. You can know his presence in your life by the assurance, leadership, and conviction that he gives.ul Do your DDT. Every night this week, write in your devotional diary instances when you experienced the Holy Spirit's clear leading during the day. SCRIPTURE MEMORY - REVIEW: Philippians 3:12; John 3:16; Galatians 4:6; 1 Peter 2:2; 1 John 1:9; 1 John 1:3; John 9:25, MEMORIZE: Romans 8:16. Meet with your BSL this week, and with his help review the six needs presented in the BABY HAND and evaluate how effectively these needs are being met in your personal Christian life. hilda- 400 -4732 |