a bible driven church

8/10/2019 A Bible Driven Church

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All quotations are taken from the New American StandardVersion unless otherwise indicated.

2014For republication please [email protected]

For more booklets in this series go toguineafield.blogspot.com

or graceofforesthills.com


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Table of Contents

LESSON Glorifying God 1-11

LESSON 2 Proclaiming Christ 12-24

LESSON 3 Utilizing Scripture 25-45

LESSON 4 Praying Always 46-63

LESSON 5 Maturing Members 64-77

LESSON 6 Shepherding Leadership 78-91

LESSON 7 Loving Others 92-103

LESSON 8 Maintaining Unity 104-118

LESSON 9 Joining Grace Baptist Church 119-127


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What drives you? The Harvard Business School is

writing a series of books entitled The Results Driven

Manager. 1 What do we mean by being driven? When

we say someone is a driven person, we are usually

referring to their motivation. They are a motivated

person. They are quick to get up and get going. So

when Harvard Business School entitles a series of

books The Results Driven Manager what they are

saying is that the results are motivating the manager.

Results are what drive much of the business world a

product must sell or it is set aside. Therefore, much of

the business world is bottom-line driven. What are

other secular motivations in life? Education systems

can be driven by achievement test scores. In an

improper setting, the test scores can become the

motivation for all that is done in the classroom even to

the point of placing learning aside.

1 Making Smart Decisions: The Results-Driven Manager Series (2006);Retaining Your Best People: The Results-Driven Manager Series (2005);Harvard Business Press.

Bible-Driven Church

LESSON 1 GlorifyingGod

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According to Hall of Famer, Joe Montana, desire is

what drives people to excellence. 2 So whether it is

success, results, fear, or desire we are all driven bysomething.

What should drive a church? What is our motivation at

Grace Baptist Church? Sadly, many churches follow

the business pattern and are quick to incorporate

anything into their regular practice that will bringresults. Results often meaning bigger numbers

more bodies, bucks and buildings. Or perhaps a

church might be driven by the fear of appearing

mediocre to other ministries. Believers should never

be tempted by these motivation; they are wrong for a

church and a believer.

We must not be driven by any secular motivation; our

drive must be God. We must find Him as our end and

beginning and our all in between. As Romans 11:36

teaches, For from Him and through Him and to Him

are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. Our

drive, or our motivation, according to the Bible,

should be the love of God (2 Corinthians 5:14). Our

love to Him and His love to us must be the motivating

factor behind Grace Baptist Church.

2 Desire drives us to discover just how good we can be. The WinningSpirit: 16 timeless principles that drive performance excellence By JoeMontana, Tom Mitchell; Random House

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So how does the love of God and our desire to Glorify

Him relate to being Bible driven? Driven is not just

referring to our motivation, it is also our roadmap todoing things Gods way. It shows the way we drive,

where we are to drive, as well as what should drive

(motivate) us. A church that loves God will not do just

anything and everything that comes along. They will

be careful to listen to Gods Word to know what to do,

how, and when to do it in a church.

So a Bible driven church is motivated (driven) by the

glory/love of God and drives a ministry the way God

desires. Stated on an individual basis - A person who

is Bible driven is motivated (driven) by the glory/love

of God and drives their life the way God desires (as

revealed in the Bible).

Bible Driven Church Living

This booklet will define what a Bible driven church

looks like. We will highlight eight different facets of aBible driven church. These are the eight activities that

God wants a local church to make their emphasis. As

you will see they are taken straight from Scripture.

This is our DNA at Grace Baptist Church. We believe

that God has declared what He wants a church to focus

on and we are responsible to head that direction in our

ministry philosophy. They are each included in our

church purpose statement:

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The purpose of Grace Baptist Church will be to glorify

God by being Bible-driven:In its message - Proclaiming Christ to those who

believe and to those who do not believe.

In its means Praying Always and Utilizing

Scripture to build Mature Members who have

been equipped by shepherding leadership to do

the work of the ministry building the body to . . .. . . Love Others

. . Maintain Unity

We did not pick these eight principles from a hat.

We actually took hours studying the entire NT gleaning

these themes from a detailed study of Scripture. The

original study included over 600 principles of church

ministry. These hundreds of principles were organized

into the above eight Bible themes for what a local

church should highlight. This is why we say this is a

Bible-driven church. It began with a study of what God

wants in church ministry. Not what others said, what

the church leadership thought practical or important

or what church growth gurus said was essential.

Instead, we went to the NT and discovered what God

wants in His church. That is why we say Grace is Bible

driven. These the eight themes were clearly

prominent when it came to the Bibles instruction on

church ministry.

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As we walk through each of these essential principles

we will not only turn the search light of Gods Word toexamine our own fellowship at Grace Baptist Church,

but we will also search out our own individual lives as

well. These principals are essential to the individual

believer as well as the entire church body. Lets begin

with the first theme.


God by being Bible-driven :

Theme 1 Glorifying God

If we are not existing for Gods glory then we are not a

Bible driven church. The glory of God must be

preeminent. We must make God great in others eyes.

This is the first theme in our purpose statement for a

reason. It is the biggest concept from which all the

others flow. The remaining themes of our purposestatement above are organized below this major

purpose.

The beginning of the Westminster Catechism teaches

children this all important foundational truth in the

form of a question. Believers have been teaching/using

this formula for centuries since it was first used in the

mid 1600s:

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Question: What is the chief end of man?

Answer: To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

Take a moment to read through several passages of

Scripture that teach this principle.

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly

beyond all that we ask or think, according to thepower that works within us, to Him be the glory in

the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations

forever and ever. Amen (Ephesians 3:20-21).

Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking

the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as

one who is serving by the strength which God

supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified

through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory

and dominion forever and ever. Amen (1 Peter

4:11).

to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be

the glory forever. Amen (Romans 16:27).

to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ

our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority,

before all time and now and forever. Amen (Jude

1:25)

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Gods glory is indeed a weighty matter. In fact,

weight is one way to define the word glory. The O.T.

term that is translated glory is also used to refer toweight (as in a very plump priest - Eli I Sam. 4:18).

Gods weightiness, His greatness, is above the

greatness of anything else. This is His holiness. He is

great beyond our comprehension. All the truths we

teach about God (His attributes) expound one aspect or

other of His glory how He is greater and bigger thananything we can imagine. Each of these attributes are

like a ray of light from His glory staggering and

enlightening our simple minds. Our ultimate job as a

church and as an individual is to make more people

understand how big and how great (how weighty) God

is.

One of the greatest ways that the church can show that

God is weighty/great is by listening to Him. If

someone says that the Lord is very weighty but they do

not listen to Him then they are mistaken. The first

step in being a church that glorifies God is to examine

the Bible to see what God wants the church to do, to

find out how He wants the church to look, to worship,

to organize itself. That church must understand what

His priorities are. In fact, the degree to which we give

attention to His instructions demonstrates the degree

to which we truly see His instructions as being

weighty in our decisions. A church or individual that

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says they live to the glory of God without seriously

considering Gods Words is deceived.

Below are some other principles in our study of the

church and church ministry that reflect how and why

the church exists to Gods glory.

1. God owns and dwells in the church (I Corinthians

3:9; His Family Ephesians 2:19; His Temple Ephesians 2:20-21; His Flock I Peter 5:2).

2. God chooses the church (Romans 8:29-30;

Colossians 3:12) and loves the church (Colossians

3:16)

3. God the Son is the Head (Ephesians 1:22; 5:23;

Colossians 1:18), Redeemer/Savior (Acts 20:28;

Ephesians 5:23-26), and Pattern (Ephesians 4:15;

Colossians 3:16-17; 2 Thessalonians 1:12) of the

church which waits for His return (I Thessalonians

4:18; I Peter 1:13; Jude 21).

4. God and His Word (Acts 19:19-20) are the source of

the churchs strength (2 Timothy 2:1), growth (Acts

2:47; 14:26-27; 1 Corinthians 3:4-7, 10; Colossians

2:19), service (I Peter 4:11), and protection (Acts

20:32).

5. God the Spirit is the source of the churchs

ministry functions (spiritual gifts) and how they are

organized (Acts 1:8; 13:52; I Corinthians 12:4-6).

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Johann S. Bach (1685-1703) is considered one of the

greatest composers of all time. His complex pieces

involved a beauty that typifies the Baroque period. As

Music Director of St. Thomas church in Leipizig,

Germany, Bach was challenged to compose a new piece

of music every week for the church. His tireless efforts

reflected his desire to work not just for men but for God.

In fact Bach is well known for writing SDG at the bottom

of many of the pages of music that he composed. These

initials stood for Soli Deo Gloria which was one of the

five Solis of the Protestant Reformation To God

alone be the glory.

Our lives should be like a piece of music - each note a

moment that brought together composes a day, a page

of time. At the end of each day we should be able to

write at the bottom SDG to God alone be the glory for

this day. In fact, that would be a good prayer at the

beginning and end of each day. May all our days be

book ended with these two notes Lord I pray that this

day and all that I do and say would be to your glory.

And as we close the sheet of music may we be able to

say with Bach, Lord, to you alone be the glory for all

that you have done through me today.

SIDE LIGHT: Living for Gods Glory

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1. There are two ways that we use the word

driven. Describe the two ways that this term

is used in our philosophy statement (see page

2).

2. What are some practical ways a church

demonstrates being Bible driven? What are

some practical ways an individual demonstrates

being Bible driven?

3. How does Gods glory correspond to being Bible

driven as a church or individual?

QUESTION AND ANSWER

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God by being Bible-driven :By Proclaiming Christ to those who believe and

those who do not believe.

The second theme in our church purpose statement is

proclaiming Christ. This is another major theme of

the New Testament (N.T.). It is closely related to thenext theme (Utilizing Scripture) as He is the Word of

John 1:1. But in a narrower sense, we are to proclaim

Christ Himself in the Gospel. To get a good

understanding of what the Bible says about this theme

we will answer three different questions.

1. What is proclaiming Christ?

2. To whom do we proclaim Christ?

3. How should we proclaim Christ (in what

manner)?

Bible-DrivenChurch LESSON 2Proclaiming Christ

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1. What is proclaiming Christ?

To answer this question, we will examine the exampleof the early church as recorded in the NT History book

(Acts). Then we will look at what this practice is

equated with and lastly why God desires that we focus

on this as a Church.

The Early Church Example

It is clear that the disciples proclaimed Christ boldly

and unapologetically as the early church grew. Lets

follow the storyline of the early church. In Acts 1:8,

the Lord tells them that they will receive power once

the Holy Spirit comes on them and then they will beHis witnesses. They will testify to Him.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has

come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both

in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even

to the remotest part of the earth (Acts 1:8).

This is exactly what they did as they went out. In fact

this word, testify or the related word witness is used

repeatedly throughout the rest of Acts to describe the

activity of the Apostles. This is one of the first

activities that Peter engaged in at Pentecost once he

had received the power of the Holy Spirit:

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"Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the

Nazarene . . . this man, delivered over by the

predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, younailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and

put Him to death. But God raised Him up again . . .

This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all

witnesses (Acts 2:22).

That word witness means someone who testifies foranother. Jesus left a life as a legacy and everyones

future destiny is based on Who they judge Him to be.

We are to proclaim Christ to testify what is true of

Him. These words (testify/witness) both come from

the Greek word martureo this is the word from which

we get our word martyr. This shows the common

result in the early church to their testimony about

Jesus. Their witness did bring persecution. However,

they did not stop. In fact, instead of asking the Lord to

stop the persecution, they prayed for boldness to

continue to proclaim the good news of Jesus.

As they proclaimed the truth about Jesus, local

churches sprung up like plants in spring. God uses

faithful people proclaiming Christ to plant churches.

Examine below this vital pattern: 3

3 If you are not convinced, or if you just would like to enjoy afascinating subject study, look up the following passages aswell. These follow Pauls church planting journeys Acts13:5, 6, 10, 12, 15-16, 43-44, 48-49; 14:1, 3, 6-7, 20-21, 24-25;

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But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he

passed through he kept preaching the gospel to allthe cities until he came to Caesarea (Acts 8:40).

After they had preached the gospel to that city and

had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra

and to Iconium and to Antioch (Acts 14:21-22).

And according to Pauls custom, he went to them,

and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them fromthe Scriptures, explaining and giving evidence that

Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead,

and saying This Jesus Whom I am proclaiming to

you is the Christ (Acts 17:2-3).

Preaching Christ Equals Preaching the Word

As you look at the verses highlighting the early

churchs example for starting new churches you see

that the words proclaiming Christ and preaching the

Word are nearly synonymous.

We know from John 1:1 that Jesus is the Word in flesh.

The message about Him is the Word. The Gospel is the

words about the Word, Gods Son.

15:35, 36; 16:10, 13; 17:2-3, 10-11, 17; 18:4-5, 28; 19:8, 9-10,19:20, 20:17-21.14


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So, when they had solemnly testified and spoken

the word of the Lord, they started back to

Jerusalem, and were preaching the gospel to manyvillages of the Samaritans (Acts 8:25).

God tells us to proclaim Christ/preach the Word

throughout the rest of the NT instruction to the

church. Paul set this as his example to the Corinthian

church above other possible facets of church ministry, but we preach Christ crucified When writing to

Timothy and Titus to give instruction on how churches

should be organized, Pauls constant mantra is to

preach the Word, preach Christ. Preach the word; be

ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke,

exhort, with great patience and instruction.

Bible-driven churches give careful attention to Bible

preaching. We must carefully examine Christ and His

glory through the systematic preaching of the Bible;

and as we do this the church grows. There are many

helpful as well as many silly ideas on how to promote

church growth. But the primary church growth tool

clearly directed in Scripture is proclaiming Christ.

Lets look briefly at why this is the case. Why did God

choose to use preaching to build His church? You may

be shocked.

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Why Did God choose Preaching?

At times we have a false view of the effectiveness ofpreaching. It is not effective because it is intrinsically

the most effective way of communicating a message.

There are other ways to communicate messages

through drama, art, big productions great signs or

miracles, etc. Everyone sitting down and listening to

one person talk about the greatness of another

Persons death, burial and resurrection may sound a

little foolish. And that is exactly why God chooses to

use it.

For the word of the cross is foolishness to those

who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it

is the power of God For since in the wisdom of

God the world through its wisdom did not come to

know God, God was well-pleased through the

foolishness of the message preached to save those

who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and

Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ

crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles

foolishness, but to those who are the called, both

Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the

wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is

wiser than men, and the weakness of God is

stronger than men (1 Corinthians 1:18-25).

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When the exclusive Gospel of Jesus is proclaimed

openly and boldly there is often persecution. We

should not be surprised or intimidated by this.

The Greek word testify is our word martyr and

often the testimony is what causes martyrdom.

Take Stephen for example he was publicly

stoned for his testimony for Jesus. Stephen is the

first recorded martyr of the church (beginning in

Acts).

Throughout church history, others were martyred

for what we might consider minor issues of

doctrine. Because Thomas Helwys believed he

should be able to worship openly as a Baptist in

England, he was imprisoned for years till death.

God chose preaching because it was foolish. For this

reason we should not try to change Gods method or

water down His message. Cultures change but at alltimes what is done in the preaching of the Gospel will

appear to be a little foolish. However, God wants to

use that foolishness to save those who are lost.

SIDE LIGHT: Witnesses

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He wrote a pamphlet that stated people should be

able to worship openly according to their

conscience. Not only did he try to hand hispamphlet to King James but when he did not

succeed in this effort he sent a signed copy to the

King. John Stilman publicly spoke against

worshiping and praying to images (icons) and was

burnt to death by the Roman Catholic Church. For

centuries men and women have boldly proclaimed

their faith and were ready to die because their

conscience was bound to the objective truths of the

Gospel.

This concept is foreign to the twenty first century

US church. In fact, our churches are comfortably

cushiony. So much so, that some churches shy

away from teaching the faith because it might not

be what people want to hear. What a difference

this attitude is from past generations. Not just

different from past generations, however, believers

all over the world are persecuted for their faith.

Across this globe believers are persecuted every

day for their testimony for Jesus with a settled joy

that they are dying as witnesses to Jesus Who died

for them. And it is that testimony that spreads the

faith The blood of the martyrs is the seed of thechurch.

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2. To whom do we proclaim Christ?

According to the philosophy statement we are toproclaim Christ to those who believe and to those

who do not believe. Often when we think of

preaching the Gospel we focus our attention solely on

how the Gospel applies to unbelievers. How someone

initially has their sins forgiven. However, the Gospel is

just as needy for the believer as the unbeliever. We

must always believe in the Gospel. Our sins are

washed away once and for all. But if Satan or our

conscience accuses us we need to be believing in the

Gospel. We need to proclaim the Gospel to ourselves

to remember again that our sins are washed away and

we stand complete in Jesus Christ. This is the way

Paul preached the forgiveness of sins in Acts.

Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that

through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to

you, and through Him everyone who believes is

freed from all things, from which you could not be

freed through the Law of Moses (Acts 13:38-39).

The word believes is in the present tense means the

one who is believing is freed . . . There is never a time

when our faith should not be steadfastly fixed to the

good news of Jesus. As the Hymn writer said Tis

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grace that led me safe this far, and grace will lead me

home.

If you study the word Gospel in the NT, you willnotice that the Gospel is used in connection with

believers. It is the Gospel that continues to establish

us (Romans 16:25). And the believer stands in the

Gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1). The word establish in

Romans 16:25 is used of the activity that Paul

endeavored to do when returning back to the churcheshe had planted to disciple the believers.

And having spent some time there , he left and

passed successively through the Galatian region and

Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples (Acts

18:23).

So the same Gospel that Paul used to bring people to

the faith is the Gospel that would establish them in

that Faith. It is the same for you, believer. The good

news of Jesus not only brings you to faith but builds

you in the faith. He is the milk of the Word and the

meat of the Word. The Gospel does not just include

justification (being declared to be like Jesus in heaven);

it also includes sanctification (progressively growing to

be more like Jesus on earth). It is the Gospel that

motivates us to live a life that is pleasing to God. The

Bible teaches that we are not saved by our good works

but we are saved unto good works (Ephesians 2:8-10).

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This is confirmed in I Corinthians 15:1. We stand in

the Gospel if we hold fast our believing it. As believers

we must always remember that our standing beforeGod is always based on Jesus. If we ever slip into

thinking that our standing before God is based on how

I am performing for Him today we are destined to fail

every day. Our standing is in Christ. The Galatian

believers were fooled to believe that after they believed

in Jesus they had to do certain things to maintain thatrelationship to God. Paul calls this a different Gospel

(Galatians 3:1-3).

3. How in what manner) should we proclaim the

Gospel?

Much more will be said about our manner of speech in

later studies but it is important to outline some of the

themes that come up when considering the

proclamation of the Gospel.

Speak the Gospel Boldly.

"And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and

grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your

word with all confidence (Acts 4:29).But after we had already suffered and been

mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the

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boldness in our God to speak to you the gospel of

God amid much opposition (1 Thessalonians 2:2).

Speak the Gospel Clearly.

Praying at the same time for us as well, that God

will open up to us a door for the word, so that we

may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I

have also been imprisoned; that I may make it clearin the way I ought to speak (Colossians 4:3-4).

Speak the Gospel Lovingly.

To the weak I became weak, that I might win theweak; I have become all things to all men, so that I

may by all means save some. I do all things for the

sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow

partaker of it (1 Corinthians 9:22-23).

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1. How could you summarize early church planting

efforts in different cities (Acts 8: 40; 14:21; 20:24)?

2. What is Gods primary tool for church growth?

3. Why is the manner in which we proclaim Christ

important?

QUESTION AND ANSWER

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God by being Bible-driven :By Proclaiming Christ to those who believe and

those who do not believe.

Utilizing Scripture

We demonstrated in the last lesson how important it is

that a church Proclaims Christ. In doing so we saw

that proclaiming Christ is synonymous with

proclaiming the Word. Our third theme develops this a

little further showing how the Word is necessary to a

healthy church. God will use His Word. Lets take a

minute to examine how the early church made this a

priority. And then we will highlight eight reasons why

using Gods Word is essential to our church ministry at

Grace.

The Early Church Prioritized Utilizing Scripture

Lets look at the practice of the early church to see how

they utilized Scripture. The common word in Greek

Bible-DrivenChurch LESSON 3Utilizing Scripture

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for word is logos . This is used more times in the book

of Acts than any other book in the New Testament (65

times). This shows how important utilizing the Wordof God was to the early church. They made the Word a

priority.

They were continually devoting themselves to the

apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking

of bread and to prayer (Acts 2:42).Now at this time while the disciples were

increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part

of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews,

because their widows were being overlooked in the

daily serving of food. 2 So the twelve summoned the

congregation of the disciples and said, "It is not

desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order

to serve tables. 3 "Therefore, brethren, select from

among you seven men of good reputation, full of

the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in

charge of this task. 4 "But we will devote ourselves

to prayer and to the ministry of the word" (Acts 6:1-

4).

But when Silas and Timothy came down from

Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely

to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that

Jesus was the Christ (Acts 18:5).

Summarize what these verses teach in relation to the

early churchs example of making the Word not just an25


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activity among other activities, but made it their

priority:

There are many good ministries to be involved in. And

many churches are able to do extensive good and

profound help in their community by giving to those

with physical need. These ministries may be known for

one or another of these good moral activities. As a

compassionate community we (the church) are

naturally going to love others and that love will bedemonstrated by taking care of peoples physical

needs. However, a problem can come when this

becomes the churchs main priority. Taking care of a

citys homeless, or a communities lepers are Christ-

like activities; and yet, if they are not means to a

greater end then they fall short of the churchs main

ministry. Our priority must be the Word of Christ

sharing the truths of the Bible that will transform

people to love and worship the one true God. If we fall

short of this, then our ministry, no matter how helpful,

is not Christian ministry in the truest sense.

What if you were to develop a cure for an acute type of blindness that took the site of 20 million people

worldwide? Someone close to you lost their site to this

SIDE LIGHT: Priority inMinistry

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disease so you were motivated to dedicate your life to

find a cure. Years of painstaking research and

collaboration finally brought you to the point where youwere confident of a cure that was inexpensive and readily

treatable. Would you not be considered a fool if you then

decided to give the rest of your life to helping those with

this disease feel comfortable in their current condition?

Instead of giving them the solution, you hid it away and

thought that the compassionate thing to do was to care

for them in their blindness. People would doubt your

compassion to care for the needy. You had a solution!

And if you did not prioritize your efforts to administer

the remedy to the blind you would be considered

heartless indeed.

We too have a remedy that opens the eyes of thespiritually blind. And this is the ministry that the church

must see as their greatest priority. All our humanitarian

efforts must be to point humans to a gloriously loving

Savior Who will satisfy all of their longings with Himself.

Even taking care of humanities physical pain and

suffering must be a means to the end of opening their

spiritual eyes to the need of spiritual life. So let us not

forget to care for the needy, but only that our caring may

bring them to the One Who can truly take care of their

physical and spiritual needs for now and for eternity.

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Reasons to Utilize Scripture

So it is very clear that the early church prioritizedusing Scripture in their ministry. Why would that be

the case? For the remainder of this lesson we are

going to answer that question by giving 8 reasons why

we should utilize Scripture at Grace Baptist Church.

Reasons 1-3

The first three reasons are taken from one passage of

Scripture that is extremely important to grasp. Read

the verses and explanation below. Then fill in the

blank to complete the first three reasons to utilizeScripture.

And that from childhood you have known the

sacred writings which are able to give you the

wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which

is in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is inspired by God

and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for

correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that

the man of God may be adequate, equipped for

every good work (2 Timothy 3:15-17).

From a youth Timothy had been taught Scripture by

his mother and grandmother. The word used for

Scripture here is not the common word logos as28


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considered earlier. It is a special word that is only

used when referring to the specific texts of written

Scriptures that we know as the Word of God (Forfurther study compare John 19:24 with Psalm 22:18;

John 19:28 with Psalm 69:21; and John 19:37 with

Zechariah 12:10). Paul goes on to tell Timothy that the

Scripture he was taught ( Tanach ) was able to lead

Timothy to salvation. Notice that the salvation Paul is

referring to is not by works but through faith in ChristJesus.

In verse sixteen Paul makes a new Greek word that

fuses two separate words into one. They are the words

God ( Theos ) and wind or breath ( Pneuo ). Combined

together they make the word Godbreathed. Each

word found in your Bible is breathed out by God like a

musician would breathe out music through a trumpet.

The sound is the musicians completely but he uses a

musical instrument. The words of Scripture are all

Gods words but He uses a human instrument to write

these words. That is a very important reason to utilize

Scripture. Reason 1 The Bible is the Word of God.

Paul goes on to tell four very practical uses for

Scripture (verse 16). Because it is God-breathed, it is

profitable to hearers in special ways. It teaches,

reproves (tells us when we are on the wrong path),

corrects (tells us how to get back on the right path),

and trains in righteousness (it walks us carefully on29


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throughout life). Lets summarize reason number

three this way - Reason 3: The Bible is profitable for

teaching, reproving, correcting, and training believers.

Paul finishes his instruction to Timothy on the value of

Scripture by saying the end result of someone who has

utilized Scripture to the four purposes mentioned in

verse 16. The end result is that the person becomes

complete and fully equipped. This word equipped isused to refer to a room that is completely furnished

and ready for company. We want to be completely

prepared for any work the Lord gives us. We want to

be complete and that is what Scripture will do. And

that is why Grace Baptist Church must utilize

Scripture.

Lets summarize the first three reasons before we

move on to our next passage of Scripture and the final

five reasons we must utilize Scripture.

Reasons 1: The Bible is the Inspired Word of God.

Reason 2: The Bible is profitable for teaching,

reproving, correcting, and training believers.

Reason 3: The Bible will prepare me to be

adequately equipped for any good work.

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John Newton (Author of Amazing Grace) loved and

pursued the same woman his entire life. He waited

years till he was able to marry her and lived devotedly

to her until her death. John expressed his love to his

wife Polly through love letters. Polly expressed herlove by saving these letters and after both of them died

the letters were published in a widely celebrated

collection in the 1700s.

Consider another example. I found one of my friends

late one night burning some papers in a bonfire.

What are you doing? I asked. Its over. He said,with a wry smile on his face. And with that he emptied

the contents of a little box of love letters into the fire.

This was his way of burning his bridges and getting

over a difficult ending to a long relationship. There

was no chance to get them back and although he was

the one that was let go this was his chance of getting

back at her.

When was the last time you picked up the God-

breathed letter to you? If you never pick it up and read

it then you may as well be my buddy by the fire. That

really signifies the respect and love you have for Gods

love letter to you. We should be like Polly Newton,

devotedly saving and pouring over every word. That is

the person that will benefit from the Word of God.

That is a person in love.

SIDE LIGHT: Priority inMinistry

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Reason 4

How do you know what is right and what is wrong?How do you know what is true about God? How do

you know God? How do you know that you are right

with God? Your answers to these questions should be

tied in some way to the Word of God. However, it is

tempting to answer those questions with some life

experience outside of Scripture that relates to those

questions. This is a natural response because we see

God active and alive in our lives every day. These

experiences are very real and help confirm to us what

we read in the Bible.

But we must use lifes experiences as an additional

confirmation to what we already believe to be true

from Scripture and not use our lifes experiences to

direct what is true from Gods Word. Our lifes

experiences must always be subservient to what we

know to be true to Gods Word. Consider the following

differences between Gods Word and lifes experiences

below:

GODS WORD LIFES EXPERIENCES

REMAINS FIXED FLUCTUATE

ETERNAL TEMPORAL

OBJECTIVE SUBJECTIVE

HAS ONE CORRECT

INTERPRETATION.

CAN BE INTERPRETED

WRONGLY AND IN

MULTIPLE WAYS.

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In 2 Peter 1:16-21, Peter states that Gods Word is more

reliable to him than the Transfiguration experiencewhere only three men (Peter, James, and John) saw

Jesus brilliantly glorified before then speaking with

Moses. Even that mountaintop experience, was less

reliable to Peter than the Words of Scripture.

For when [Jesus] received honor and glory fromGod the Father, and the voice was borne to him by

the Majestic Glory, This is my beloved Son, with

whom I am well pleased, we ourselves heard this

very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him

on the holy mountain. And we have something

more sure , the prophetic word, to which you will do

well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark

place, until the day dawns and the morning star

rises in your hearts (2 Peter 1:16-20, ESV, emphasis

mine).

So, a fourth reason why we must utilize Scripture in

our daily life is that the Bible is more reliable than

human experience.

Reason 4: The Bible is more reliable than human

experience.

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What about when our human experiences seem to

conflict with Gods Truth revealed in the Bible? At

times this can happen. Matthew Hoskinson knew the

words found in Romans 8 All things work together

for good. But when he was just over thirty years old

he was told that his shortness of breath and nagging

cough were actually due to a much more serious

disease. He had Lymphoma. Throughout 2008 and

2009 Matthew wrestled through chemotherapy and

radiation often being left with no strength at all. How

could God allow a young pastor and father of three

children go through such a debilitating and painful

experience? In the darkest times of that experience

perhaps it was difficult to see Gods good hand in

cancer.

This is why our view of God must be directed by His

Word and not just our lifes experiences. Because

Matthew had his view of God based on the Bible and

believed passages like Romans 8:28 to be true he was

able to go through the experience of cancer and see

Gods hand at work during the darkest hours. The

Lord brought Matthew and his family safely through

that experience and he was able to share his testimony

in a message entitled, The Mercy of God in Cancer.

SIDE LIGHT: SeeingExperience in Light of theBible

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Reason 5

For you have been born again not of seed which is

perishable but imperishable, that is, through the

living and enduring word of God (1 Peter 1:23).

Being born again refers to having spiritual life by faith

in Jesus Christ. All those who have placed their trust

in Jesus are born again and will live forever. Peter

states in this passage that there is an amazing

relationship between the Bible and the process of

becoming born again. Did you pick it up when reading

verse 23 above? How do we become born again? How

are we born spiritually? We are born spiritually by the

spiritual seed of the Word of God. Gods Word is the

In this testimony Matthew shared, The Lord brought

cancer to me. He did not just allow cancer, but He

brought it to me.

Among other ways that Matthew demonstrated how

God was good in giving him a difficult life

experience, was that God uses suffering to change us,

to shape us, to mold us, and to conform us into the

image of Christ and we can rejoice in it. As we live lifewe must strive to interpret our experiences based on

the Word of God rather than interpreting the Word of

God based on our lifes experiences.

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seed that generates us. It is the spiritually germinating

seed in the soil of our hearts.

Another passage from the Bible that clearly teaches

this is Romans 10:9-17. Paul describes the necessity

for someone to share the Gospel (preach), in order for

someone to hear the Gospel, in order for someone to

come to faith in the Gospel. He concludes with this

statement:

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the

word of Christ (Romans 10:17).

Gods Word brings us to faith in the Gospel. This is

incentive to utilize the Word it is essential to any

spiritual life. You rely completely on Gods Word to

instil spiritual life in an unbeliever. Without this seed

being sown, you are wasting your time. The Word of

God is essential to the beginning of every persons

spiritual life.

Reasons 1: The Bible is the Inspired Word of God.






experience.

Reason 5: The Bible produces spiritual life.36


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Reason 6

Not only is the Bible life giving, it is also the Godordained way that you will grow in your spiritual life.

These are words that sustain our spiritual growth as

believers. Notice this truth from the following three

passages of Scripture.

Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth

(John 17:17).

You are already clean because of the word which I

have spoken to you (John 15:3).

As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the

word, that you may grow thereby (1 Peter 2:2, NKJ).

The way you can be clean, set apart, and grow is

through taking in this Word. What a primary reason to

utilize Scripture at Grace. The third passage above

gives an effective picture of our need for Gods Word.

A full nursery of babies with empty tummies is not a

great place to be. In the same way, a church with many

baby believers who are not fed Gods Words is not a

great place to be. The moment the Word generates

spiritual life in someone, they should begin feeding

Gods Words so that they can grow. A church that

does not prioritize utilizing Scripture will not be

strong long-term.

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Reason 7: The Bible enables Gods spiritualblessing.

Our Christian culture is enamored with blessing, at

times perhaps even to an idolatrous position. Some

blessing seekers long for Gods blessing more than

they long for God. That is sad. Believers should long

for Him more than His blessing knowing that having

Him is a greater blessing than any of His gifts. AnneCousins put this so well

The bride eyes not her garment,

But her dear Bridegrooms face;

I will not gaze at glory

But on my King of grace.

Not at the crown He giveth

But on His pierced hand;

However, the Bible also states that Gods Word,

walking in His Word secures His blessing in life.

Although His blessings are not always the same

blessings we have in mind. Looking back on a life

spent in Gods Word utilizing Scripture we will realize

that this is the best way to live.

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the

counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of

sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! 2 But his

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delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he

meditates day and night. 3 He will be like a tree

firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields itsfruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And

in whatever he does, he prospers. 4 The wicked are

not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives

away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the

judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the

righteous. 6 For the LORD knows the way of therighteous, But the way of the wicked will perish

(Psalm 1:1-6).

"This book of the law shall not depart from your

mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night,

so that you may be careful to do according to all

that is written in it; for then you will make your way

prosperous, and then you will have success (Joshua

1:8).

Reason 8: The Bible is our sole authority for faith

and practice.

God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the

prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 in

these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom

He appointed heir of all things, through whom also

He made the world. 3 And He is the radiance of His

glory and the exact representation of His nature,

and upholds all things by the word of His power.

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When He had made purification of sins, He sat

down at the right hand of the Majesty on high . . .

For this reason we must pay much closer attentionto what we have heard, so that we do not drift away

from it . 2 For if the word spoken through angels

proved unalterable, and every transgression and

disobedience received a just penalty, 3 how will we

escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it

was at the first spoken through the Lord, it wasconfirmed to us by those who heard, 4 God also

testifying with them, both by signs and wonders

and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy

Spirit according to His own will (Hebrews 1:1-3;

2:1-4).

Preach the word (2 Timothy 4:2).

Contend earnestly for the faith which was once for

all handed down to the saints (Jude 1:3).

Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those

who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to

the teaching which you learned, and turn away from

them. 18 For such men are slaves, not of our Lord

Christ but of their own appetites; and by their

smooth and flattering speech they deceive the

hearts of the unsuspecting Romans 16:17-18).

We must realize that we have one standard that will be

the measure of what we believe at Grace Baptist

Church, and will determine how we function as a body.

This measure is Scripture. Scripture is the faith once40


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for all handed down to the saints for which we must

contend. This Scripture was given to us accompanied

by signs and wonders through Jesus, Gods Son andHis Apostles. Hebrews shares this revelation as the

climax, the zenith of Gods revelation of Himself. He

can get no more personal than His Son.

So Scripture stands as the only authority. As no other

authority can replace that which is the zenith, thehighest point, namely Himself. We are not seeking

fresh revelation or a new word from the Lord. We have

His Words and His words are enough as they give us

the Living Word Who is sufficient for all.

CONCLUSION:

How does this change the way Grace Baptist Church

operates? Since the early church made the Word of

God an essential part of their ministry and made the

Word of God their priority we should as well.

Also, highlighting these eight reasons why we should

utilize Scripture at Grace Baptist Church should

motivate us to keep the Word of God central to our

weekly functions as a body. How are these truths

evidenced on a regular basis at Grace?

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1. We highlight the public reading of Scripture.

2. We maintain the careful teaching and preaching of

Scripture.

3. We encourage church members to regularly digest

Scripture for themselves in private worship.

4. We instruct the youth at Grace in Scripture through

childrens and teen classes.

5. We rely on the distribution of Scripture in our

neighborhood to win others to the Gospel.

Why be Bible driven?

Reason 1: The Bible is the Inspired Word of God.






experience.

Reason 5: The Bible produces spiritual life.

Reason 6: The Bible produces spiritual growth.

Reason 7: The Bible enables Gods spiritual

blessing.

Reason 8: The Bible is our sole authority for faith

and practice.42


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1. What were Peter and the disciples eyewitness to (2

Peter 1:16) and to what event are they referring(Matthew 17:2)?

2. What does Peter say is more sure than that

experience (2 Peter 1:18)?

3. What activity of God is the author referring to in

Hebrews 1:1?

QUESTION AND ANSWER

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4. How has God done this in the past? And what do

you think this is referring to?

5. What is Gods final and perfect Revelation (1:2)?

6. How did God continue to reveal Himself through

His Son (2:4)?

7. According to 2:1, what must we be sure to do in

response to God speaking to us through His Son

(the New Testament)?

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God by being Bible-driven:

In its message - Proclaiming Christ to thosewho believe and to those who do not believe.


Scripture to build Mature Members who

have been equipped by shepherding

leadership to do the work of the ministry

building the body to . . .. . . Love Others

. . Maintain Unity

The next essential to a Bible driven church is that we

are a church that is Always Praying. It has been said

that, prayer is the Christians vital breath. This is

very true. A Christian that is not praying is dead or is

at least as good as dead. This truth is not limited to an

individual. A church body that is not praying is dead,

or at least as good as dead. The reason for this will be

clear from what we learn in this lesson. We will

examine below the example of prayer, the nature of

prayer, and the importance of prayer.

Bible-DrivenChurch LESSON 4Praying Always

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The Exam ple of Prayer

If you want to know what a church should prioritize,you should examine the example of the early church in

Acts or instructions given to the early church in the

Epistles. We are going to begin our understanding of

the importance of prayer by examining the early

churchs practice of prayer.

Look first at Acts 2:42. This is a verse that we have

highlighted in our study already. This is necessary

because of the how clearly it highlights the priorities of

the early church.

They were continually devoting themselves to the

apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking

of bread and to prayer (Acts 2:42).

Here Luke records the priorities of the early church

just hours after its beginning. In order to learn from a

church practicing its duties without any interference

from traditional additions we would have to start here.

Notice the fourth activity they prioritized prayer.

The following verses really demonstrate how this was

evident throughout the history of the early church:

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1. The leadership of the early church saw the need to

give up other necessary duties in order to give

more time to prayer (Acts 6:1-4).2. The early church prayed for grace to continue to

minister boldly during persecution (Acts 4:29).

3. The early church prayed during times of great

distress, bringing pressing requests to the Lord

(Acts 12:5-12; 9:40).

4. The early church prayed when beginning a largeendeavor or spiritual challenge (Acts 13:1-3; 14:23;

20:36; 21:1-5)

GROUP ACTIVITY: Match the above circumstances in

the lives of the early believers with situations that you

may face. Right the proper number above

corresponding to the situation below:

A father takes his son out on a special weekend

camping trip to spend some extra time together in

prayer before he goes off to college (principle #

from above ).

You are deliberating on whether or not to put a

Tract in your Christmas card to your Uncle who has

been openly against religion in general, so you

spend a morning in prayer asking for the boldness

to put the card in your Christmas card. (principle #

from above ).

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You have to eat quickly at lunch to carve out 20

minutes to pray in your car (principle # from

above_ ). Your spouse has just been told that they have a life

changing illness so you ask your friends to take a

meal the next week to pray specifically for your

spouses condition (principle # from above ).

After moving to a new neighborhood a young lady

prays and ask the Lord for grace to be a goodexample to her neighbors in her new apartment

building (principle # from above ).

The Nature of Prayer

We will look at the nature of prayer from two separate

teachings of Jesus. Prayer and Abiding, and the

Pattern Prayer.

Prayer and Abiding

The last night that Jesus was with His disciples He

shared with them a very important principle when it

comes to prayer.

"I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides

in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apartfrom Me you can do nothing (John 15:5).

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Abiding Positionally

Our access to the Father in prayer, is only valid as weare connected to the Son. We must be in Christ to be

heard by God at all. You must have this attitude in

prayer. You recognize your position in Gods

household is only because of His perfect Son Jesus.

Without Him we are nothing and can do nothing.

Abide in Him through understanding our spiritualposition. All we have before God is only because of

Jesus work on our behalf. Our spiritual vitality is only

as real as it is in Jesus. Just like a withering branch,

detached from a vine, is useless, so a Christian left to

himself is useless outside of Christ.

Jesus is teaching here that if someone is not in Christ

then they will not have their prayers answered. And a

person who is not having prayers answered is a useless

Christian. They are bearing no fruit. You have to

realize that in order for you to come before the Lord in

prayer you must be in Christ. You must be relying on

Him for your acceptance before God. Those that are

in Christ through faith will be bearing the fruit of

answered prayer.

Abiding Continually

Outside of understanding this truth positionally, we

must recognize it as a daily reality. It is only as we are49


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daily, moment by moment feeding off our union with

Christ that we have the ability to stand be spiritually

alive. We must keep in front of us that our access tothe Father only comes through Jesus. Consequently,

we must abide in Him through daily communion. We

spend time speaking to Him and remaining in His

presence through Bible reading. It should be clear to

others that we have been with Jesus (Acts 4:13).

The Christians Pattern Prayer

Dr. John Dreisbach was a medical missionary in Africa

for over fifty years sacrificially giving his life to the

people he lovedunreached people groups. He

hungered to share the Gospel in villages and hutswhere the Name of Jesus had not been known. And

the Lord used his medial skills to bring many people to

Christ as Savior.

He tells the story of a man that he met while

ministering in a Muslim village who had never heardthe gospel. Dr. Dreisbach had to go out in the middle

of the night on an emergency medical call and was

returning in the early morning before the sun was up.

As he walked along the path in the chilly morning, he

could see his breath in the air. Suddenly he overheard

a man in a nearby hut passionately praying.

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He went to see the man because he knew him and had

seen him praying often. When the man came out to

greet him he was perspiring with the intensity ofprayers in spite of the cold temperature of the

morning air. Later, Dr. Dreisbach asked the Muslim

man what he had been praying. He showed Dr.

Dreisbach the passage but told him that he did not

know how to translate the passage. He had been

praying so fervently and yet did not know the Arabictranslation for what he was saying.

How sad it is for someone to be so involved in praying

what they do not even know. How thankful we are that

the One true God of heaven actually hears our prayers

and is interested in communication with Him, not

competition for His attention.

And yet, this Muslim man pictures how many

Christians treat the Lords Prayer. They recite Jesus

words as a scripted prayer over and over without

giving any thought to how to use this prayer on a daily

basis or even what the prayer actually means. But

Jesus told us to Pray, then, in this way (Matthew 6:9).

Jesus pattern prayer is not something to repeat

aimlessly, but to use as a pattern for individual private

prayer.

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The Background to the Pattern Prayer

Jesus instruction regarding prayer was probably givenseveral times. The one recorded by the Gospel writer,

Matthew, is the one we will examine was given during

His famous Sermon on the Mount. This occurred

fairly early in Jesus public teaching ministry.

Jesus gave this particular sermon on the hillside risingup from the Sea of Galilee. You can picture a pleasant

day, perhaps in the Spring. The people are gathering

from every village and as the sermon gets longer, the

crowd gets larger and larger. You have to keep as

silent as possible to hear every word to the Rabbi from

Nazareth. And everyone in the crowd of several

hundred is straining in the same way. He teaches with

such authority! As One Who is the Word of God.

The Motivation of the Pattern Prayer

No doubt you have heard of the Sermon on the Mount.

It has some of Jesus most familiar teachings like The

Beatitudes, The Wise Man and the Foolish Man, and

The Golden Rule. However, you may not be familiar

with the section where Jesus teaches us how to pray.

One theme Jesus taught throughout the Sermon is that

our righteousness must be internal not merely external

(in contrast to the practice of the Pharisees). He warns52


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in chapter 6 of Matthew that our religious duties (like

praying, giving, and fasting) should not be done to be

seen by others. This internal righteousness wouldonly be attainable by Him. Through faith it would be

available to those who in the future would accept His

forgiveness through His death on the cross. So our

prayer at Grace are not to brag about our attainments,

but to praise Gods ability.

Three Principles from the Pattern Prayer

Lets turn now to three principles from the Lords

Pattern Prayer to help us as a body incorporate Jesus

Pattern Prayer in our individual and corporate prayer

life.

Our Father Who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.

Your kingdom come.Your will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation,

but deliver us from evil (Matthew 6:9-13).

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"Who is in heaven..." God is transcendent. He is

above His creation and infinite in His being not limited

by time or space.

Praise God for He is holy (Isaiah 6:2-3; Habakkuk

1:13).

Praise God for He is powerful (Jeremiah 51:15;

Matthew 19:26).

Praise God for He is sovereign (Daniel 4:35; Psalm47:8).

Praise God for He is incomprehensible (Romans

11:33-36; Colossians 2:2).

Praise God for He is just (Deuteronomy 32:4; John

5:22-23).

2. Prioritize Gods Priorities in Prayer

Hallowed be Your name.Your kingdom come.

Your will be done,On earth as it is in heaven.

The petition of our prayers too, individually and

corporately, should be focused on the Lord. We must

seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. Our

church requests should prioritize the spiritual needs of

community and Gods work in the spiritual lives of

believers at Grace and unbelievers who are acquainted

with our ministry.

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Ask things in His Name your requests will be

subservient to His will and the values of His kingdom

(His Name). This is an important principle becauseprayer is only as powerful as the Person to Whom or

through Whom we are praying. Some people speak of

prayer as something that changes things. Only the

true God of creation changes things and He uses our

prayers. Dont consider for a moment that the positive

thinking involved in prayer changes things. Even folksthat have no relationship with Jesus would say that

they pray. However, if that prayer is not offered to the

God of the Bible through Jesus it is not effectual.

Positive thinking apart from Jesus accomplishes

nothing. Prayer in Jesus name can accomplish all

things.

3. Pray for Necessities

Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation,

but deliver us from evil

The second half of Christs pattern prayer turns the

attention to where our prayers often naturally fall

our own needs. But notice that the personal petitions

are focused on necessities. As we pray we pray for

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"Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic

and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire

and often into the water.16

"So I brought him toYour disciples, but they could not cure him." 17

Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and

perverse generation, how long shall I be with you?

How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to

Me." 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came

out of him; and the child was cured from that veryhour. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately

and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" 20 So Jesus

said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for

assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a

mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move

from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing

will be impossible for you. 21 "However, this kind

does not go out except by prayer and fasting

(Matthew 17:14-21).

1. Why were the disciples not able to cast the demon

out?

2. Are there things in life that are impossible if not

done through God answering prayer?

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Applications:

1. Church times of prayer are more important thantimes of work.

2. People that may not be able to be active in the

visible aspects of church ministry or even be

bedridden yet they can play a more important role

than

3. A Bible driven church must make prayer a priorityin ministry endeavors.

4. The pastors of the church should give priority to

praying for each person in the church on a regular

basis.

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Hiebert in his book Working with God through

Intercessory Prayer gives a great illustration of this

point. In 1872 D. L. Moody made a short trip to

England for rest, having no intention of preaching

while there. While he was in London, however, a

Congregationalist minister asked him to preach in his

church. Moody consented. The Sunday morning

service was marked by smug, stolid drowsiness,

making Moody rue his acceptance of the invitation.

Following his message in the evening service when

Moody asked all those who would decide for Christ to

rise, hundreds did so. He was surprised, and thinking

that they had misunderstood him, asked them to be

seated. He repeated his invitation more clearly and

again hundreds stood. As a result of the meetings

which followed, that church received four hundred

new people into its membership.

Moody began to make inquiries as to the secret.

Finally he learned of a bedridden girl, a member of

that church, named Marianne Adlard, who had prayed

that God would send Moody to her church for revival.

She had read of his work in Chicago and, putting that

report under her pillow, began to pray that God would

send him to their church in London. When her older

sister returned from the morning service and told her

SIDE LIGHT: Working withGod in Prayer

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Of course, even if we did not understand the reasons

outlined above in our study of prayer we should still

make it a priority at Grace because it is commanded in

the Lords instructions throughout the N.T. As we

close this lesson, read through the clear commands in

Scripture that compel us to work with God through

prayer.

Now He was telling them a parable to show that at

all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart

(Luke 18:1).

that a man named Moody from Chicago had preached

that morning, the girl knew that her prayers were

being answered. Moody visited her, and she askedhim to write his name in her birthday book, promising

that she would pray for him every day.

More things are wrought by prayer

Than this world dreams of. Wherefore, let thy voice

Rise like a fountain for me night and day.

For what are men better than sheep or goats

That nourish a blind life within the brain,

If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer

Both for themselves and those who call them friend?

For so the whole round earth is every way

Bound by gold chains about the feet of God.

Poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson

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Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

Be kindly affectionate to one anotherpatient in

tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer(Romans 12:10-12).

With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the

Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all

perseverance and petition for all the saints

(Ephesians 6:18).

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayerand supplication with thanksgiving let your

requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of

God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard

your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus

(Philippians 4:6-7).

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it

with thanksgiving (Colossians 4:2 ESV).

Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and

pray for one another so that you may be healed. The

effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish

much (James 5:16).

The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound

judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of

prayer (1 Peter 4:7).

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God by being Bible-driven:

In its message - Proclaiming Christ to those

who believe and to those who do not believe.


Scripture to build Mature Members whohave been equipped by shepherding

leadership to do the work of the ministry

building the body to . . .

. . . Love Others

. . Maintain Unity

In this lesson, we will examine the primary function of

the church. Of course, we exist ultimately to glorify

God; that is our primary purpose. But Jesus provides

for us a mission that helps quantify what glorifying

God is for a church our function. The can besummarized in this way - to make mature followers of

Jesus. Lets highlight this mission together by looking

Bible-DrivenChurch LESSON 5MaturingMembers

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at two different passages. The great commission and

the great blueprint for the great commission.

The Great Commission MakeDisciples

How will Grace Baptist Church glorify God on earth? -

by making disciples. The passage where Jesus really

highlights this command is usually entitled the Great

Commission because it is the final command Jesus

gave His followers when he left his earthly ministry.

The General gives us His marching orders.

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, All

authority has been given to Me in heaven and on

earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the

nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father

and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to

observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with

you always, even to the end of the age (Matthew

28:18-20).

There is one major command here. It is the second

sentence Go therefore and make disciples. The

phrase preceding the command gives us the authority

for accomplishing the command. That which followsgives the steps to take to obey the command. And the

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final sentence gives comfort in obeying the command.

Lets take a moment with each of these sections below.

The Authority to Make Disciples

How does the church have the authority to tell people

to follow Jesus? Well that is explained when Jesus

states, All authority has been given to Me in heavenand on earth. Since Jesus has all authority to tell

anyone what to do, and He has told us to make

disciples of all nations, then we know that we have the

same authority. It is His command carrying His

authority. You have a message from the King of

heaven telling earth to follow Him. When asked howyou can tell people to follow Him we can simply tell

them that Jesus commands them to.

What comfort this brings when considering all the

things that a believer may face when stating the truth

about Jesus. Persecution and loss are not a hindrancefor us. His authority trumps every other authority. As

long as we are obeying His command we can go

forward with confidence.

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The Command to Make Disciples

The command is simple enough. Make disciples ofthe nations. What is a disciple? A disciple is simply a

learner. Now, this was a specific type of learner in the

first century. Its closest reference is the ancient

rabbinical tradition of the Rabi and his Talmudim . The

local rabbi would accept only those who were serious

about studying Tanach (OT Scriptures) with him to be a

part of his followers (His Talmudim). These followers

were committed disciples. What Jesus wants us to do

is make others follow Him. Look at the authority

illustrated in Jesus commanding others to follow Him.

Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He

saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and

Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for

they were fishermen. And He said to them, Follow

Me, and I will make you fishers of men.

Immediately they left their nets and followed Him

(Matthew 4:18-20).

As we approach others with the Good news of Jesus,

we ask them to leave all and follow Him. With all the

authority of Jesus Himself, we tell others to leave all

and follow Him.

Notice that we are to command all nations to be

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followers of Jesus. This was a different tune. To this

point Jesus reached out only to Jewish people. It was

uncommon to have Gentile followers. Now Jesus statesa revolutionary idea. I want you to reach all the world.

I want to have a Talmudim filled with all the people of

the world.

The Steps in the Comm and

Accompanying the command, Jesus gives the two steps

involved in obeying His command to make disciples.

These are wonderful. They are the two ing words

that follow the command to make disciples. You can

circle them in the verses above.

Baptizing

The first is baptizing. We are not able to go through

everything involved in baptism (see the booklet on theordinances of the local church). This was essentially a

practice that signified that a person was becoming a

follower. In the Jewish culture it had reference to

cleansing. When someone is baptized, they are

declaring to all that Jesus has forgiven them of their

sins and is their Lord and Savior.

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In the first century this was the way people professed

faith in Jesus. It was their proclamation of their faith.

It was extremely unlikely for anyone who was not atrue believer to be baptized. They would not threaten

to lose everything (which often happened after

identifying with the early Christian Church). When

they were baptized they were committing themselves

to a new life. These are people who are committing

themselves to Christ new believers.

Teaching

The second step includes much, much more! Those

who become believers in Jesus are not to be left on

their own. As we encourage people to follow Christ weare then to actually bring them along in that faith

through teaching everything that Jesus has said. This

is a huge goal. We find the summary of Jesus teaching

in the New Testament. This is the churchs mission.

As we seek to complete this mission we will find belowthe blueprint for how this works best. But lets make

one point clear from this passage. Giving a huge

section of our morning worship service to teaching

carefully through a specific passage of New Testament

Scripture is purposeful. It is not just that we enjoy it.

Or not just because of the benefits of it outlined in the

previous lesson. It is also commanded by Jesus in the

Great Commission.

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The Co mfort Included in the Comm ission.

We can do anything with the Lord. If He is with usaiding us than we are confident as we go forward.

Jesus gives us this assurance at the end of the passage.

I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

You are not alone. The church can take comfort in the

fact that Jesus is with us and will enable us to

accomplish His will to make disciples of all the

nations.

The Blueprint for the Great

CommissionWith such a huge commission, we surely need help in

carrying it out. The blueprint is given in Pauls letter

to the Ephesian believers. In this passage Paul uses the

illustration of a body. This is the illustration that we

pick up in our philosophy statement. We must makemature members of Christs spiritual body. As the

body grows in maturity it will better function for Gods

glory.

And He gave some as apostles, and some as

prophets, and some as evangelists, and some aspastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the

saints for the work of service, to the building up of

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responsible to equip others in the body. This whole

series is designed to do just that. We want everyone at

Grace to grow to the place where they are not justgrowing in Christ but also growing others in Christ.

The M inisters in the Blueprint

So who are the ministers/builders? If you continue to

read verse 12 in Ephesians 4, the ones who serve in building up the body are those equipped by church

leadership. Thats you! You should be involved in

helping others become more like Christ. One very easy

way to do this is to connect with another person and

begin to go through our series of discipleship booklets.

Begin with the booklet What is the Message of theBible? Then, move on to the next study in the series.

You dont need to know everything to begin building.

But you have to begin building.

Believers must be building (edifying). Believers must

be making disciples of other believers. 4 You areneeded. Perhaps you are feeling a lack of deeper

purpose in life today. Well, connect yourself with this

greatest mission of all time. Your life is about bringing

glory to God by making others more like Jesus through

intentional Christian discipleship. Yes, it takes

planning, purpose, and effort. And yes it is part of the

4 Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity withoutChrist. Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Christian Discipleship.

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cosmic plan of Christ for His church. It is His

blueprint that is your purpose. That gives greater

purpose to your life than just pushing a pencil ordigging ditches.

The End G oal of the Blueprint

Ephesians gives us the end goal as well to our

Discipleship. Open up the blueprint and spread it outin front of you so you can see the concept building

pictured for us in Ephesians 4:15.

Until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of

the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man,

to the measure of the stature which belongs to thefullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:15).

What a goal! And the Lord will enable us through His

Spirit using His Word to equip and to disciple with that

goal in mind. In short, we are to continue to

evangelize and disciple till everyone is as mature asJesus. That is the measure of the standard, Christ

Himself.

You may have had a doorpost growing up where the

children marked out their progress in growth. You

stood as straight and tall as possible as a sibling

marked your progress on the doorpost. As you

stepped away you were either surprised or

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disappointed at your progress. In the Christian family,

we are all comparing ourselves with Christ in every

area of our life. We are desiring to become like Christ,meeting His stature in every way (hence the word

Christian). We strive to grow as tall as Christ in our

patience, in our meekness, in our stand for truth, in

our love for others. Of course we all fall far short, but

He is the full grown (mature) image that we are trying

to represent.

This is quite a goal for us as a church, so we better get

to work! So each one must get to work properly,

laboring for others in love, until we all look like Jesus.

The blueprint of Ephesians 4 shares one primary way

that our maturity is evidenced-we are people who are

unaffected by false teaching. As we are built up in the

faith and the knowledge of Christ we are not fazed by

those who turn away from the faith.

As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed

here and there by waves and carried about by every

wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by

craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the

truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into

Him who is the head, even Christ (Ephesians 4:14-

15).

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Scripture continually warns against false teachers.

Jude describes them as clouds without water,

carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit,

doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea,

casting up their own shame like foam; wandering

stars, for whom the black darkness has been

reserved forever (Jude 12-13). Often false teachers

are described as using their teaching for personal

gain. They often have great speech abilities to sway

crowds. But the end result of their life (their fruit)will demonstrate that they do not preach the truth.

The false teacher comes within a church like a wolf

in sheeps clothing. In 1817 William Adam came to

Bengal as a missionary to help William Carey in

India. While in Calcutta, Adam came under the

influence of Rammohan Roy a Hindu Scholar to

whom Carey and his colleagues had been preaching

the Gospel. Carey and Roy had a common aim to

overthrow the practice of sati (where a widow is

burnt with her husband) and infanticide. However,

he had serious questions about the Deity of Christ,

the Trinity, the Authority of the Bible, and the

False Teachers

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