Living Well & Finishing Well. Dr. Kenneth Boa 2014 All Rights Reserved.

Transcription

1 Living Well & Finishing Well Dr. Kenneth Boa 2014 All Rights Reserved.

2 The world s purest gold is only dung without Christ. But with Christ, the basest metal is transformed into the purest gold. The hopes of alchemy can come true, but on a spiritual level, not a chemical one. There is a philosophers stone that transmutes all things into gold. Its name is Christ. With him, poverty is riches, weakness is power, suffering is joy, to be despised is glory. Without him, riches are poverty, power is impotence, happiness is misery, glory is despised. - Peter Kreeft, Three Philosophies of Life

3 Many Begin Well, But Finish Poorly Epidemic of believers who drop out of the race Sudden departure Gradual erosion

4 7 Keys to Living Well & Finishing Well 1. Intimacy with Christ 2. Fidelity in the spiritual disciplines 3. A biblical perspective on the circumstances of life

5 7 Keys to Living Well & Finishing Well 4. A teachable, responsive, humble and obedient spirit 5. A clear sense of personal purpose and calling

6 7 Keys to Living Well & Finishing Well 6. Healthy relationships with resourceful people 7. Ongoing ministry investment in the lives of others

7 Movement of the Keys Intimacy Disciplines Perspective Teachability Purpose Relationships Ministry Inside Outside Me Others

8 Loving Others Compassionately Loving Self Correctly Loving God Completely

9 Loving Others Compassionately Relationships Ministry Loving Self Correctly Perspective Teachability Loving God Completely Intimacy Disciplines Purpose

10 1 Intimacy with Christ Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith. Hebrews 12:1-2

11 1 Intimacy with Christ Focus on Jesus, not on circumstances or on other runners

12 1 Intimacy with Christ Do I Know Him: As an ideal? As an inference/deduction? By hearsay? By personal experience?

13 1 Intimacy with Christ Do I Know Him: As an ideal? Propositional Knowledge As an inference/deduction? By hearsay? Experiential Knowledge By personal experience?

14 1 Intimacy with Christ Do I Know Him: As an ideal? Impersonal + distant As an inference/deduction? By hearsay? Personal + intimate By personal experience?

15 1 Intimacy with Christ Do I Know Him: As an ideal? No death to self As an inference/deduction? By hearsay? Daily cross By personal experience?

16 1 Intimacy with Christ Does my desire to know Christ exceed all other aspirations Persons Possessions Positions We tend to sell ourselves cheaply for the empty promises of a fleeting world.

17 1 Intimacy with Christ Tip: Focus more on loving Jesus than on avoiding sin Key Verse: What Do you Seek? John 1:38

18 2 Fidelity in the Spiritual Disciplines Spiritual Disciplines Not ends in themselves Means to the end of intimacy

19 2 Fidelity in the Spiritual Disciplines Anything left to itself tends to decline and decay 2nd Law of thermodynamics Without an infusion of ordered energy, entropy increases

20 2 Fidelity in the Spiritual Disciplines Spiritual Disciplines Prayer Solitude Journaling Silence Study Chastity Meditation Secrecy Fasting Confession

21 2 Fidelity in the Spiritual Disciplines Spiritual Disciplines Submission Celebration Stewardship Worship Simplicity Sacrifice Fellowship Service Guidance Witness

22 2 Fidelity in the Spiritual Disciplines Time in the Word Inextricably linked to our effectiveness in ministry Cost is time and discipline, but the benefits far outweigh the expenditures Shallowness yields superficiality

23 2 Fidelity in the Spiritual Disciplines Balance in the Disciplines No one consistently practices all of these disciplines Some are less meaningful for some people Fidelity will keep us on the path and renewed

24 3 A Biblical Perspective on Life s Circumstances Driving Us to Dependence Without growing desperation, we won t focus on God Loving use of trials and adversity

25 3 A Biblical Perspective on Life s Circumstance Trials and Tribulation Pain causes us to ask, to seek, and to knock (Matthew 7:7-8) Tribulation clarifies our hope (Romans 5:3-5) God comforts us in our afflictions (2 Corinthians 1:3-5) Trials are temporary (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

26 4 A Teachable, Humble, and Obedient Spirit Are You Teachable? A smug, self-satisfied attitude causes people to plateau or decline Drains spiritual vitality

27 4 A Teachable, Humble, and Obedient Spirit Hardening of the Categories Age: The Struggle: Foolishness Lack of Focus Doublemindedness Entanglement Teachability

28 4 A Teachable, Humble, and Obedient Spirit Antidote to Unteachableness Humility and responsive obedience Like Jesus, we must learn obedience through the things which we suffer (Hebrews 5:7-8) Obedience requires risk-taking We must be ready to cooperate not only with graces that console, but with graces that humiliate us. Not only with lights that exalt us, but with lights that blast our self-complacency. - Thomas Merton, Spiritual Direction

29 5 A Clear Sense of Purpose and Calling Purpose and Calling Why am I here? What do I want my life to add up to, and why?

30 5 A Clear Sense of Purpose and Calling Purpose and Calling God has called each of us to a purposeful, risk-filled journey Calling which transcends our occupations and endures beyond our careers Purpose beyond the level of tasks and accomplishments We must trust God for what He is calling us to become.

31 5 A Clear Sense of Purpose and Calling Occasion for Despair, or Opportunity for Hope? Aspirations Capacities Accomplishments Contributions

32 6 Healthy Relationships with Resourceful People Informal Unstructured Spiritual Friendship Reciprocal Spiritual Guidance Formal Structured One-directional Spiritual Mentoring Spiritual Direction Accountability Servant Leadership

33 6 Healthy Relationships with Resourceful People Soul-Care Relationships Are valuable resources to encourage, equip, and exhort us to stay the course Finishers do so with the help of the Body of Christ No lone wolves

34 6 Healthy Relationships with Resourceful People Soul-Care Relationship Benefits Increase our intimacy with Christ Maintain the needed disciplines Clarify our long-term perspective Sustain a teachable attitude Develop our purpose and calling

35 7 Ongoing Ministry Investment in the Lives of Others Christ gave His life for us (salvation) so that He could give His life to us (sanctification) so that He could live His life through us--as us (service)

36 7 Ongoing Ministry Investment in the Lives of Others Spiritual Withering Those who squander the resources, gifts, experiences and hard-learned insights which God has given them by no longer investing them in the lives of others soon wither and withdraw.

37 Barriers to Finishing Well Lack of intimacy with Christ Pride and autonomy Ego-driven ambition Unteachability

38 Barriers to Finishing Well Unsubmissiveness Comparison and envy Pain avoidance strategies Bitterness toward God

39 Barriers to Finishing Well By-products of inner spiritual disintegration: Loss of a clear eye (Matthew 6:22-23) Loss of a pure heart (Matthew 5:8; 1 Timothy 1:5) Declining passion for Christ eventually subverts calling and character

40 The Deterioration Process No man suddenly becomes base. Very few things suddenly happen with regard to deterioration. No church suddenly splits. No child suddenly becomes delinquent. No relationship suddenly ends. No marriage suddenly dissolves. No building suddenly collapses. No tree suddenly falls. It's been a process of time. Degree by degree. Grain of sand by grain of sand. Compromise by compromise. - F.B. Meyer

41 Loving Others Compassionately Relationships Ministry Loving Self Correctly Perspective Teachability Loving God Completely Intimacy Disciplines Purpose