The New Millennium Edition SAM2003

Transcription

1 The New Millennium Edition SAM2003 SONSHIP for Africa by John Wade Long, Jr. - Copyright World Harvest Mission USA Africa - All Rights Reserved

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3 AUTHORSHIP, COPYRIGHT AND TRADEMARK INFORMATION SONSHIP for Africa by Dr. John Wade Long, Jr., B.A., M.Div., D.Min. Copyright World Harvest Mission All rights reserved SONSHIP for Africa was written in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Ministry degree awarded by Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary USA. No part of this manual may be translated, reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording to any information storage and retrieval system without the prior permission of World Harvest Mission. Any permissions granted by World Harvest Mission or its agents for the reproduction of this manual or any portion thereof carries this stipulation: These materials may not be altered in any way, and the authorship and copyright information must always be clearly displayed. For your convenience, the required information has been printed in the text of each lesson. Thank you for honoring this request. JWL SONSHIP TM is an internationally registered trademark for the Christian training materials produced by World Harvest Mission. This work is dedicated to the honor and glory of Jesus Christ and is distributed by World Harvest Mission on a purely non-profit basis World Harvest Mission 101 West Avenue - Suite 305 Jenkintown, PA USA Tel. (215) FAX (215) Website: info@whm.org Africa Renewal Coordinator World Harvest Mission Rev. Dr. Johnny Long johnwadelong@gmail.com Website:

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5 he presence of the Holy Spirit within us reminds us of our sonship the spirit of adoption whereby we cry, ABBA, Father! That is our relationship to God, and the moment we realize it, it transforms everything. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

6 The Purpose of SONSHIP Training Learning to Live and Minister by Grace t t The GOAL of this course is to bring glory to God the Father by our growing transformation into the likeness of His Son, Jesus Christ. The MEANS of this transformation is faith our simple, childlike dependence on Christ our Great High Priest the one who atoned for our sins, clothes us in his righteousness, so that in conscious union with him, the Holy Spirit enables us to bear fruit for his praise, honor and glory. t The FRUIT of this transformation will be an increasing intimacy and integrity in our relationship with God and others, the humility to confess and forsake our sins, a readiness to love, serve, and forgive others from the heart, ministry that flows from selfless motives, and all done with a passion for the glory of God rather than our own, in reliance on the power of the Holy Spirit rather than our own. The Value of SONSHIP Training Three Noted Authors Speak Up t t t Jerry Bridges The Navigators The Sonship teaching has been a tremendous blessing to me personally. It has helped me to understand what it means to live by the Gospel everyday. This material...needs to be widely distributed among Evangelicals. Bridges, a Board Member of World Harvest Mission, is the former Corporate Vice President of the Navigators, and author of The Pursuit of Holiness, Trusting God, Transforming Grace, The Disciplines of Grace, and other titles. Dr. Larry Crabb Christian Psychologist No ministry today more effectively communicates the love of Christ to people. God is using it to do a deep work in many lives. Dr. Crabb, an eminent Christian Psychologist is the author of Inside Out, Men and Women, Encouragement Key to Caring, Finding God, and other titles. Dr. Richard Lovelace Professor of Church History I have reviewed this carefully, and find here a great horde of edifying material, enriched by popular, persuasive illustrations. I must rejoice to find so many of my own perceptions embedded in a powerful discipling movement on the growing edge of world Christianity. Dr. Lovelace is Emeritus Professor of Church History at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts, USA. He served as the author s doctoral mentor from 1995 to Arguably, he is Christendom s foremost authority on spiritual renewal, and the author of the classic, Dynamics of Spiritual Life, and its condensed version, Renewal As a Way of Life, and other titles. To progress in the Christian life is to be always beginning again in the Gospel. Martin Luther, 1521 ii

7 TWO DISCIPLESHIP METHODS Compared and Contrasted THE MAIN FOCUS The Method Many of Us Learned (Seen at its worst and done poorly.) Behaving (the outside of the cup); Change at the fruit level; Getting your act together SONSHIP (Seen at its best and done well.) Believing (the inside of the cup); Change at the root level; Obedience from the heart THE CHIEF GOAL Discipline Love (I Tim. 1:5; Gal. 5:6) THE POWER Human effort (Gal. 3:3); Moral will-power; To obey, try. Faith in Jesus gives the Spirit (Gal. 3:5); To obey, trust. THE DYNAMIC Try harder. Get committed. You are a disappointment. Believe more. Submit. You are God s child. THE PRINCIPLE Obedience to God leads to a relationship with Him. A relationship with God leads to obedience to Him (Jn. 15:5). THE MOTIVATION Doing ones duty; Guilt; I must be right and look good. Love for God; A passion for Him to look good (get glory) HOLINESS IS Doing more and doing it better; Keeping the rules Believing the Gospel more; Loving like Christ (Rom. 13:8ff) THE FLESH Assumes that it can be conquered through discipline Warns that it never loses its power. We fight it by faith. THE DISCIPLER Models success and competence; Wants to appear strong. Models Repentance; Strength is made perfect in weakness. THE DISCIPLE Dudley Do-Right & Suzie Sunshine perfect models of how to do more and do it better The Chief of Sinners (1 Tim. 1:15); A Big Repenter loving, bold, gracious, and full of faith THE DANGER 2002 World Harvest Mission by Dr. John W. Long, Jr. SONSHIP for Africa May glory in the flesh and degenerate into legalism. Can grow proud of its success with a consequent lack of love May abuse freedom and degenerate into cheap grace. Can grow proud of its repentance with a consequent lack of love In The Compelling Power of Love, Jerry Bridges explains why we need to practice discipleship in the in the atmosphere of the Gospel the discipling strategy of SONSHIP for Africa. (p. iv) iii

8 THE COMPELLING POWER OF LOVE by Jerry Bridges PICTURE in your mind a time line of your life from birth to death. Put on that line only one point the day you trusted Christ as your Savior. That point divides your life into two segments you as an unbeliever and you as a believer. Now think of one word that summarizes the message you needed to hear as an unbeliever. I suggest that word would be Gospel. The Gospel that is the power of God for salvation. As unbelievers, the one message we needed to hear and respond to was the Gospel. (Rom. 1:16) What about the second segment of our lives as believers? Is there one word that, more than any other, summarizes the message we need to hear as believers? Probably several words might come to mind, but I suspect they could all be captured under the word discipleship. After all, Jesus did commission us to go and make disciples of all nations. Under discipleship I would include the spiritual disciplines of the Christian life such as a daily quiet time, Bible study, prayer, attendance at church, fellowship with other believers every activity that helps us grow spiritually. I would also include worship of God and obedience to Him. Finally, we should include service or ministry evangelism, discipling others, and using our spiritual gifts in the body of Christ. That s a full plate, but the one word, discipleship, captures them all. That is the typical way we view the Christian life the Gospel for the unbeliever, and the challenges of discipleship for the believer. I have come to realize, however, that way of looking at the Christian life is inadequate. It doesn t produce joyful, whole-hearted believers who know what it means to live by God s grace every day of their lives. Instead it tends to produce dutiful, but somewhat guilt-laden disciples, who know they fail to live up to all the challenges of their calling. Or worse, it produces modern day Pharisees who are selfrighteous because they are disciplined. If our typical Gospel for the unbeliever and discipleship for the believer paradigm (pattern) is inadequate, what is the better way? I believe the most important message we need to hear as believers is the Gospel. This doesn t mean we don t need challenge and instruction in the various expressions of discipleship. It means we need to practice discipleship in the atmosphere of the Gospel. Someone has said, Discipline without desire is drudgery. What is it that puts desire into the discipline of discipleship? What is it that will motivate us to joyously follow Christ? It is the Gospel; the Good News that all our sins are forgiven through the death of Christ, and that His perfect righteousness has been [and is being] credited to us. The Apostle Paul teaches us this in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 when he says that Christ s love compels us...to live no longer for ourselves but for Him who died for us. The love of Christ was the compelling motivation for Paul. It forced him to live, not for himself, but for Christ. This should also be our motivation. It is the Gospel that keeps the love of Christ before us. To the degree that we live daily in the atmosphere of the Gospel to that degree will we be compelled by Christ s love. If we are going to be motivated by Christ s love as Paul was, then we must put away the thinking that the Gospel is primarily for unbelievers.. We must learn to live everyday in the atmosphere of the Gospel, and in the joy and motivation that brings. Then we will go forth to be even more committed disciples of Him who loves us and freed us from our sins... [Rev. 1:5] Jerry Bridges has been with the Navigators since 1954 and has been a valued member of the Board of Directors of World Harvest Mission ( the Sonship people ). Jerry is the author of The Pursuit of Holiness, Transforming Grace, Trusting God, The Disciplines of Grace and other titles. This article was first published in the Winter 1993 Harvester, a quarterly publication of World Harvest Mission (edited for SONSHIP for Africa). iv

9 SONSHIP FOR AFRICA: The Discipleship Course for Disciplers Authorship, Copyright and Trademark Information Epigraph The Purpose and Value of Sonship Training The Uniqueness of Sonship Training The Compelling Power of Love - J. Bridges Table of Contents PART I. THE GOSPEL AND SONSHIP Lesson - Page cover i ii iii iv v S-01 Orphans vs. Sons - The Terms Orphan and Son Defined Orphans vs. Sons: A Spiritual Safari from Orphanhood to Sonship S1-1 Orphans vs. Sons List S1-9 Orphans vs. Sons Workshop S1-11 The Siberian Humility Test - H. Dockery S1-12 The End of the Struggle - S. Voke S1-13 Sonship Testimony - J. Long S1-15 The End of My Struggle: A Workshop S1-17 Materialism and Heresy Plague Churches: Nigeria (Christianity Today) S1-18 The Tongue Assignment S1-19 S-02 A Daughter Becomes a Son A Perfect Mess: Sonship Testimony - R. Long S2-1 My Time Line S2-5 Christians Come in Flavors - J. & R. Long S2-7 Sonship is for Daughters Too! - J. Long S2-9 My Father s Shirt S2-11 S-03 Walking in Fellowship with Our Father: Using the Means of Grace Joe & Jesus - B. Manning S3-A Walking in Fellowship with Our Father: Using the Means of Grace S3-1 Part 1 - Private Worship: The Christian s Devotional Life S3-4 Notes on Prayer - J. Miller S3-11 A Prayer Workshop (Small Group) & Personal Prayer Planning Worksheet.... S3-14 Part II - Public Worship: A Primer - It s Purpose (Heart) & Parts S3-15 PART II. JUSTIFICATION AND SONSHIP Table of Contents S-04 Law, Legalism and the Gospel Law, Legalism & the Gospel at War - Chart S4-1 Law, Legalism & the Gospel Compared - Chart S4-2 Solving the Mystery: What is True Holiness? (Three Levels of the Law - Chart)... S4-3 The Look of Love: Authentic Christlikeness (The Love Pyramid - Chart) S4-4 Love Fulfills the Whole Law (Matthew 22:40 Illustrated) S4-5 Law, Legalism & the Gospel: Discussion & Workshop S4-6 Sonship for Africa & the Moral Law ( The Sum of Saving Knowledge) S4-7 S-05 Understanding the Sinfulness of Sin The Sinfulness of Sin: Sin, Law & The Gospel in the Daily Life of the Christian.... S5-1 The Sinfulness of Sin Workshop S5-3 Worksheet for the Sinfulness of Sin Workshop (Scripture References) S5-5 S-06 Active vs. Passive Righteousness - An Ethiopian Proverb Active vs. Passive Righteousness: Finding our Resting Place in Christ S6-1 An Outline of Galatians & Study Questions - J. Miller S6-11 v

10 Lesson - Page PART III. THE MEANS OF SANCTIFICATION S-07 How to Change & Lead Others to Change How to Change & Lead Others to Change: Introduction - J. Long S7-1 How to Change & Lead Others to Change: Chart & Quotes S7-5 Law & Letter vs. Gospel & Spirit: Sound Advice for Gospel Preachers - M. Luther... S7-7 Sanctification by Faith: A Workshop S7-9 S-08 The Normal Christian Life - A 17th Century Nun s Prayer The Role of the Spirit in Sanctification - J. Long S8-1 Two Ways to Live: In the Flesh or By the Spirit S8-3 Imitation Fruit & the Fruit of the Spirit S8-4 Keeping in Step with the Spirit & A Walking in the Spirit Workshop S8-5 S-09 Doing Battle with Our Sinful Nature - The Context of Holiness - J. I. Packer The Paradox of Growth in Holiness: An Introduction to the Cross Chart S9-1 The Cross Chart: The Paradox of Walking in the Light S9-3 Why Our Eyes Are Not Fixed on Jesus S9-4 A Romans 7 Q&A S9-5 Who Am I? Self-Awareness & The Gospel S9-6 How to Act Like a Son S9-7 PART IV. THE FAITH-ACTIONS of SONS & DAUGHTERS - Sonship in Shoes Life in the Family, The Church and Before a Watching World S-10 Repentance as a Way of Life Repentance as a Way of Life S10-1 Repentance - C. H. Spurgeon S10-10 Repentance Workshop S10-10 Proud People vs. Broken People S10-11 Walking in the Light: One Ugandan Pastor s Powerful Testimony S10-13 S-11 The Love Project: Aiming to Love the Imperfect People In Your Life The Love Project: Aiming to Love the Imperfect People in Your Life S11-1 S-12 Forgiveness as a Way of Life The Cruelty of Apartheid & the Wonder of Amazing Grace - J. Krabill S12-A Forgiveness as a Way of Life - Lesson - Discussion & Workshop S12-1 The Rwandan Genocide & Radical Forgiveness (YWAM) S12-11 I m Still Learning to Forgive - C. ten Boom S12-12 S-13 Constructive Conflict - African Proverbs on Conflict The Daily Nation: Worshippers Hurt in Fight at Church - M. Warindi S13-A Constructive Conflict: Learning to Fight Like Christians so that God Wins S13-1 The Conflict Project S13-9 Becoming Nothing: A Painful Example of Constructive Conflict S13-11 The Daily Nation: News Reports of Church Conflicts S13-13 S-14 Law vs. The Gospel in Our Home & Family Relationships Law & the Gospel in Our Home & Family Relationships S14-1 Five Levels of Communication S14-11 Naughty Nicholas - Law vs. Gospel Parenting S14-13 S-15 Gospel Manners: Christian Love & African Culture Gospel Manners: Christian Love & African Culture - J. Long S15-1 S-16 Brokenness: A New Model for Your Future Ministry Brokenness: A New Model for Your Future Ministry (A Reading) - J. Long S16-1 An Effective Servant of God - P. Brewer S16-17 Five Dangers of Becoming a Sonship Expert S16-18 APPENDIX 1: Your Testimony, Feedback and Personal Information A-1 APPENDIX 2: Authorship and The Africa Renewal Team of World Harvest Mission A-3 vi