YOURSELF LIVING BEYOND BETH MOORE EXPLORING THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT

Transcription

1 LIVING BEYOND YOURSELF EXPLORING THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT BETH MOORE 1998 LifeWy Press. Permission is grnted to store, print, nd distribute this document for its intended use. Distribution for sle is strictly prohibited. Address requests for dditionl permissions in writing to Ledership nd Adult Publishing; One LifeWy Plz; Nshville, TN

2 About the Author Beth Moore relized t the ge of 18 tht God ws climing her future for Christin ministry. While she ws sponsoring cbin of sixth grders t missions cmp, God unmistkbly cknowledged tht she would work for Him. There Beth conceded ll rights to the Lord she hd loved since childhood. However, she encountered problem: lthough she knew she ws wonderfully mde, she ws ferfully without tlent. She hid behind closed doors to discover whether beutiful singing voice hd mirculously developed, but the results were trgic. She returned to the pino from which yers of fruitless prctice hd stremed but found the noise to be joyless. Finlly ccepting tht the only remining lterntive ws missions work in foreign country, she struck mrtyr s pose nd wited. Yet nothing hppened. Still confident of God s clling, Beth finished her degree t Southwest Texs Stte University, where she fell in love with Keith. After they mrried in December 1978, God dded to their household two priority blessings: dughters Amnd nd Meliss. As if putting together puzzle pieces one t time, God filled Beth s pth with supportive persons who sw something in her she could not. God used individuls like Mrge Cldwell, John Bisgno, nd Jennette Cliff George to help Beth discover gifts of speking, teching, nd writing. Twelve yers fter her first speking enggement, those gifts hve spred ll over the ntion. Her joy nd excitement in Christ re both contgious; her deep love for the Svior, obvious; her style of speking, electric. Beth s ministry is grounded in nd fueled by her service t her home fellowship, First Bptist Church, Houston, Texs, where she serves on the pstor s council nd teches Sundy School clss ttended by more thn two hundred women. Beth believes tht her clling is Bible litercy: guiding believers to love nd live God s Word. Living Beyond Yourself: Exploring the Fruit of the Spirit grew from her fervent desire tht women know greter intimcy with God. Foreword I met Beth Moore by phone while I ws serving on stff t Green Acres Bptist in Tyler, Texs. We met personlly t the tping of the first women s discipleship study LifeWy published in 1995, A Womn s Hert, God s Dwelling Plce. Little did we know then wht would hppen with these God-inspired studies, how women s lives would be chnged, how some would come to know Him s personl Svior, how the studies would be ctlyst for beginning or revitlizing women s ministries in churches cross the country. Beth hs become sweet friend nd co-lborer in Kingdom ministry. Her hert for teching God s Word to women is so evident, with ll glory going to Him. God continues to use Beth s obedience to write nd tech s you will see through this study. Biblicl discipleship studies re prt of lrger picture of women s enrichment ministries in churches tody. Wht is hppening in your church? Are women being reched nd discipled for Christ? Wht privilege we hve s women to be used by God to touch the lives of other women. As you study, I pry His fruit will become more nd more evident in your life. Chris Adms Women s Enrichment nd Minister s Wives Specilist LifeWy Christin Resources

3 CONTENTS ( Introduction WEEK 1 Free t Lst! Mny Hrdships Plesing God Crucified Credited Righteousness Abb, Fther WEEK 2 To Live by the Spirit Three in One An Eternl Gurntee Led by the Spirit Flesh vs. Spirit Spiritully Mture WEEK 3 Gretest of These Is Love Eros: Grsping Love Philos: Friend Love Agpe: Cring Love More About Agpe Agpe in Action WEEK 4 The Joy of the Lord Is Our Strength Joy s Bedrock Surprised by Joy Restortion Joy Abiding Joy My Joy nd My Crown WEEK 5 Pece Be with You Life Without Pece The Price of Pece Portrits of Pece More Portrits of Pece Prerequisites of Pece WEEK 6 A Composite of Peculir Ptience A Divine Hope Be Still, Be Filled Lest You Be Judged Hve Mercy A Clen Slte WEEK 7 The Kindness nd Goodness of God A Nurturing Prent Cords of Kindness A Tenderherted Svior His Goodness No Pin, No Gin WEEK 8 Keep Believin Fith Tht Abounds Those Who Believe A Pinful Delivernce Fight the Good Fight He Is Fithful WEEK 9 Gentle Gints Scrificil Submission Selfless Humility A Techble Spirit A Lerning Experience The Ultimte Techer WEEK 10 The Crucible of Self-Control Tht s Enough Two Exmples Chsing the Wind An Exercise in Control Victorious Living Christin Growth Study Pln

4 Introduction Welcome to Living Beyond Yourself: Exploring the Fruit of the Spirit. In the next few weeks I pry tht you will lern bout, but much more importntly, grow in nd experience the work of the Holy Spirit. We will be studying the wonderful Book of Gltins, concentrting on Gltins 5: Living Beyond Yourself ws published originlly s print-only resource in 1998, nd I cn t tell you how excited I m to see this study from different perspective nd from severl yers lter! It s one of my fvorite studies. While we will concentrte our study on Gltins 5:22-23, lwys remember tht John 14 tells us tht God gives us the Holy Spirit to be in us Christ in us, the hope of glory. God wnts to spek to you through this study. God is still working in you. He hs timed this messge for your needs nd concerns even though you my be studying this yers fter I wrote it! He knows you intimtely. Ly your life before Him nd let Him spek. Perhps you re fmilir with A Womn s Hert: God s Dwelling Plce, A Hert Like His: Seeking the Hert of God Through Study of Dvid, or To Live Is Christ: The Life nd Ministry of Pul. You will find Living Beyond Yourself to be similr to these studies in formt but quite different in content. All four Bible studies re 10-week interctive courses tht invite your personl involvement. Ech week contins five lessons which ech require minutes to complete. If you spend this kind of time in the Word of God, I ssure you, He will chnge your life. I urge you not to miss single lesson. Ask God dily wht He wnts to sy to you personlly. Idelly, these courses re trgeted for group prticiption ech week. An 11-session video set will gretly enhnce your experience. Prticipting groups will meet weekly to view the (pproximtely) 60-minute video nd join in discussion of the previous week s study. The listening guide for ech video segment is locted t the end of ech week s study. In Living Beyond Yourself ech week s introduction includes five Principl Questions. Ech Principl Question is derived from one of the five lessons for the week nd is mrked with lef symbol in blck (l). Discussing the nswers to these questions weekly in smll group will help ensure your bsic understnding of the mteril. In ddition to these five content-oriented questions, you will find Personl Discussion Questions in ech lesson. These questions pper in color nd re mrked with colored lef (l). These lerning ctivities help group members personlly pply the mteril to their own lives. These re lso formtted for discussion ech week; therefore, the weekly smll-group discussion my consist of five Principl Questions nd five Personl Discussion Questions designed to further enrich ech person s experience. Your smll-group fcilittor lso hs been provided the option of introducing enrichment ctivities to enhnce the week s lerning. These principles will help you review nd reflect on the truths tht the Holy Spirit illuminted for you during your dily personl study. You will be invited to shre in your smll group, but no one will ever be expected to shre personl experiences with the group. Shring with your smll group is strictly voluntry, nd I hope no one will shre nything cusing herself or others discomfort. Plese nswer the questions in ech lesson whether or not you choose to shre them in smll group. Any questions you skip will reduce the study s effectiveness in your personl life. I wnt you to get the very most out of this journey! God will do mzing things mong us if we grnt Him full ccess to our minds, wills, nd emotions! Ech dily lesson is introduced by Scripture clled Tody s Tresure. Your dily tresure is the Scripture best representing the theme of the lesson. I encourge you to join me in memorizing the selected Scriptures. Choose t lest one of these tresures to 6

5 memorize ech week. Try writing the Scriptures on three-by-five-inch crds nd tping them to the mirror or refrigertor. Crry them with you to review in the cr or s you wit in line. Jesus sid tht the Holy Spirit will remind you of everything I hve sid to you (John 14:26). Ech lesson will invite your full prticiption through Bible reding nd vrious kinds of questions nd ctivities. You will find multiple choice exercises, yes/no ctivities, fill-in-the-blnk sttements, cretive thinking exercises, hypotheticl situtions, or strightforwrd questions which you will nswer in your own words. These interctive exercises re designed for your ske. I don t wnt you to simply red my journey through Scripture: I wnt this book to become your journey. Your full prticiption will gurntee God s freedom to ccomplish fresh nd wonderful work in your life. In Living Beyond Yourself I primrily use the New Interntionl Version of the Bible. If you do not own one, you will still be ble to nswer virtully every question without significnt confusion. However, if you re ble to get your hnds on n inexpensive pperbck NIV, I think you would be blessed by n esy-to-red version which, in my opinion, does not compromise the text. Allow God to do fresh work in your life for the next 11 weeks. Let every journey through His Word be new experience new opportunity. Resist comprisons to other studies. Welcome chnges. Invite Him to hve His perfect wy. I conclude ech lesson with mrgin question sking you to consider how God wnts you to respond to wht He showed you tody. I encourge you to expnd your lerning beyond the pges of Living Beyond Yourself. Keep your own personl journl. Record wht God does nd teches you s you pursue this journey. If you hve Internet ccess, you might enjoy going on-line for deeper study. By going to LifeWy.com nd clicking on Bible Serch Tool, you cn explore different Bible versions, use commentries, nd ccess devotionls, dictionries, nd Strong s word studies. My you hve joy in God s Word s you study! Living Beyond Yourself resources include Leder Guide which offers step-by-step instructions for fcilitting 11 group sessions, using the member book nd the video ( X); Leder Kit which contins one member book, one leder guide, nd 11 video sessions on 6 DVDs ( ); Member Book tht includes personl interctive study five dys week plus viewer guides for the group video sessions ( ); nd n Audio CD Collection which provides udio portions of Beth Moore s video sessions on 11 udio CDs nd includes one listening guide tht is not sold seprtely ( ). Resources by Beth Moore include: Believing God: Experiencing Fresh Explosion of Fith* Beloved Disciple: The Life nd Ministry of John Breking Free: Mking Liberty in Christ Relity in Life A Hert Like His: Seeking the Hert of God Through Study of Dvid Jesus the One nd Only Living Beyond Yourself: Exploring the Fruit of the Spirit* Living Free: Lerning to Pry God s Word To Live Is Christ: The Life nd Ministry of Pul When Godly People Do Ungodly Things: Arming Yourself in the Age of Seduction Whispers of Hope A Womn s Hert: God s Dwelling Plce For more informtion or to order: write LifeWy Church Resources Customer Service, One LifeWy Plz, Nshville, TN ; FAX order to (615) ; E-mil customerservice@lifewy.com; phone (800) ; order online t or visit the LifeWy Christin Store serving you. *Also vilble by Internet study t LifeWy.com 7

6 Dy 1 Tht s Enough Dy 2 Two Exmples Dy 3 Chsing the Wind Dy 4 An Exercise in Control Dy 5 Victorious Living Week 10 The Crucible of Self-Control Lst but not lest we consider the finl component of this wonderful fruit the Spirit develops in the lives of His children. The finl chrcteristic is selfcontrol. Any womn or mn is mighty wrrior if he or she hs self-control. Any person without self-control is either n ccident looking for plce to hppen or slve in chins. Only through the self-control developed by the Spirit cn we ever fulfill the promise of Jesus: Then you will know the truth, nd the truth will set you free (John 8:32). In this finl week together we will exmine self-control. We will see exmples of men who hd it nd men who did not. We will discover principles for growing in self-control, nd we will end our time with look t dy lived in the self-control of the Spirit. Principl Questions Dy 1: Why do we need self-control? Dy 2: Wht ws the difference between Dniel s ttitude towrd the king s food nd Smson s ttitude towrd the honey? Dy 3: Wht hppens when we ttempt to serve both God nd money? Dy 4: Wht type of person is never t fult in wht he sys? Dy 5: Wht does God do for the blessed person? 199

7 Living Beyond Yourself LTody s Tresure: Like city whose wlls re broken down is mn who lcks self-control (Prov. 25:28). Dy 1 Tht s Enough The hedline on the front pge of the Houston Post red: Violent youths would s soon kill you s look t you. Newsppers nd tbloids overflow with hedlines nd rticles bout the drug-relted deths of populr young ctors nd rock strs. From the buse of power to the buse of substnce, one theme is crystl cler: our society is in corporte crisis cused by individul indulgence. Lck of self-control kills self respect, friendships, mrriges, creers, nd ministries. Not one of us cn bost tht we ve lwys voided its clutches. How wonderful it would be if slvtion nd self-control were simultneous, but they re not. The believer s struggle for self-control is ongoing, but, prise God s powerful nme, He mkes it vilble nd ttinble! Tody we begin our study of the ninth nd finl qulity of the fruit of the Spirit. How pproprite tht the list of qulities begn with love nd ends with self-control. Love keeps us flot, nd self-control keeps us nchored. Love lends us liberlity, nd self-control provides the boundries within which love cn be unleshed. The Greek word for self-control is egkrtei which mens continence, tempernce, self-control. 1 It mens restrining pssions nd ppetites. 2 The ntonym or opposite of egkrtei is krsi. It mens excess, self-indulgence. 3 Tody we consider just how importnt self-control is to the believer in Christ. How do you feel bout this topic of self-control? (Check one or more.) Dred I don t even wnt to think bout it. Excited I wnt to lern more bout living self-controlled life. Confused I thought we were supposed to be Spirit-controlled. Condemned I feel guilty every time I even think bout the topic of self-control. Other Perhps your thoughts re like those of someone else in God s Word. Red Acts 24: Notice tht the subject mtter of Pul s sermon to Felix nd Drusill ws fith in Christ Jesus (v. 24), but it ws expressed in three-prt outline. Record ech prt of the outline below

8 Week 10/ The Crucible of Self-Control Mrk ech of the following descriptions of Felix rections to Pul s sermon either true or flse. Felix fered becuse of Pul s words. Felix sent Pul wy. Felix tried to hve Pul executed. Felix sid he d see Pul t more convenient time. The ncient historin, Josephus, described Felix s mn of lust, pride, greed, nd selfish mbition. If the sermon topic hd been nnounced in dvnce, he would hve conveniently missed this service! There is never convenient or comfortble time to consider the issue of self-control. No doubt ech nd every one of your toes will feel stepped on before this week is complete. I suspect you ll hve moments when you my wnt to shelve it like Felix nd sy, Tht s enough for now, but now is exctly the time God hs chosen for you nd for me. We re going to lern to turn those four negtive words from the mouth of Felix into four positive words from the mouth of God, becuse self-control is knowing when to sy, tht s enough for now. Beloved, we re desperte for self-control, nd in its bsence, we re drowning in self-defet. Which of the following most clerly sttes the key to self-control found in 1 Corinthins 6:12? I will choose to be free in Christ rther thn to be cptured by my desires. I hve freedom in Christ, so I do not hve to live by rules. Since I m free in Christ, I cn do wht I wnt. Look bck over those lst few words crefully: I will not be mstered by nything. The Greek word for mstered is exousizo. It mens to be ruled by or be under the power of, to be in bondge to. Its root word is exousi which mens uthority, right nd power. 4 The key to self-control is the refusl to llow our enemies (the flesh, the world, or Stn) to rule or hold us cptive in ny wy. Wht does self hve to do with the issue of control? Christ hs given us the victory over our flesh, our world, nd our ccuser. Only self cn re-extend uthority to one of these three enemies. They cnnot presume uthority over us. In the life of believer, they cn rule only where they re invited. Self mkes the choice over the issue of control. The Spirit-led self holds the power of five key words: no, yes, nd not right now. Self-control is s much bout sying yes nd not right now s it is bout sying no. Sometimes self-control is not bout wht? but how much? nd not when? but why? Self-control is n issue of mstery, of uthority, of boundries. l Why do we need self-control? Tody s Tresure explins it perfectly. Prphrse Proverbs 25:28 in the spce below: 201

9 Living Beyond Yourself Without self-control, we re like city with broken-down wlls! To understnd the significnce of such terrible dilemm we must remember crucil chrcteristic of ncient rchitecture: city ws only s secure s the wlls which surrounded it. A city s wlls were its fortifiction. Archeologists estimte tht three chriots could ride side by side on the wll of Nineveh. The wlls of Bbylon were so wide tht six chriots could ride brest on them! 5 Their wlls lent the reputtion tht they were prcticlly impenetrble. Red Deuteronomy 1: How did the spies describe the cities in the promised lnd? (Check one or more.) The rmies re huge nd the wlls re impenetrble. The cities re lrge with wlls tht rech up to the sky. We cn conquer the cities with the Lord s help. The Hebrew word for wlls in Proverbs 25:28 sys it ll. The word chowmh simply mens wll of protection. 6 Anything of vlue hd to be protected. Wht were the first structures Solomon built fter He ws crowned king? (1 Kings 3:1) God demnded wlls in every dwelling plce He chose to grce. Even the tberncle in the wilderness hd portble wll to provide security. Where does the Holy Spirit dwell tody? (1 Cor. 6:19-20). It is no ccident tht these verses reside in the very sme chpter s our definitive phrse for self-control: I will not be mstered by nything (v. 12). We re the temple of God nd self-control is our wll of protection! It fortifies ll tht is within. The qulity of self-control is tht which secures our freedom to love, to experience joy, to know pece, to respond with ptience, to hve kind disposition, to ct out of goodness, to step out in fithfulness, nd to gree with gentleness. How? Becuse self-control is the bility to mke choices which invite nd enhnce the uthority nd filling of the Holy Spirit. Self-control is the decision to remin within the boundries of victory! According to the following Scriptures, wht hppens when the wlls of fortifiction re broken down? Ezekiel 26:

10 Week 10/ The Crucible of Self-Control Ezekiel 38:11 l Cn you think of wy in which the enemy hs stolen victory from you through broken-down wll in your life? Any out-of-control re in our lives, no mtter how big or how smll, is n open invittion to the enemy. Believe me, he hs memorized every strength nd every wekness in our lives. He is lwys on the lookout for tht one crumbling section of your protective wll tht one out-of-control re where he will enter nd ply hvoc in your life. His wepons re your gretest tempttions. Your wounds re guilt, shme, frustrtion, nd filure; his gol is to hold you cptive for s long s possible. I know. I ve been there. Are you prisoner of wr? Hve you been in cptivity? Do you deeply desire n end to your defet? Do you wnt to know the protection nd dily victory of self-control? Red Nehemih 2:1-20. God s Word will tell you how to begin. Check off the steps you hve lredy tken. Pry bout the steps you need to tke. I set out with few men (v. 12). Enlist few ccountbility prtners! I went out exmining the wlls of Jeruslem, which hd been broken down (v. 13). Perform n honest self-exmintion. In wht res do you lck self-control? Come, let us rebuild the wll of Jeruslem, nd we will no longer be in disgrce (v. 17). Admit tht you hve experienced internl or externl disgrce in your res of self-indulgence. They replied, Let us strt rebuilding. So they begn this good work (v. 18). Don t put it off ny longer. Begin immeditely to cooperte with God s diligent work with you in your res of cptivity. God my work through structured process such s support group or counselor. The God of heven will give us success (v. 20). Give it to God, then keep giving it to God over nd over until you hve overcome. You cn succeed! After 20 yers of bttling this ddiction? Yes! After 50 yers of living out of control? Yes! Red 2 Corinthins 2:14. If you follow Christ, you ll hve to mrch to success. It s the only direction He s going! Does it seem like too huge tsk? Hve you tried too mny times before? Hve those old hbits been round lifetime? Then you need to red Isih 58:12. Write Isih 58:12 on note crd nd begin to memorize it. God lwys hs the bses covered, doesn t He? How does God wnt you to respond to wht He showed you tody? 203