Come Follow Me Part 3: Making Jesus Lord 24 studies looking at what it means to live under Christ s Lordship in everyday life By Ian Malins
Contents Introduction...3 V. The dangers of discipleship... 7 Study 37. Spiritual warfare...9 Study 38. Truth and integrity... 11 Study 39. Put on the armour... 13 Study 40. Ready for battle... 15 Study 41. Self-dependence... 17 Study 42. Don t leave your back uncovered!... 19 Project 9 Dealing with the past... 21 Study 43. Unhealed wounds... 23 Study 44. Failure... 25 Study 45. False comparisons... 27 VI. Living under Christ s Lordship...29 Study 46. Jesus is Lord anyway!... 31 Study 47. Christ s Lordship over my life... 33 Study 48. The first hindrance - unconfessed sin... 35 Study 49. he second hindrance - my own will... 37 Study 50. The third hindrance - the will of others... 39 Study 51. Jesus, Lord of my personal life... 41 Study 52. Jesus, Lord of my money... 43 Project 10 Faithful stewardship... 45 Study 53. Jesus, Lord of my single years... 47 Study 54. Jesus, Lord of my family life... 49 Study 55. Jesus, Lord of my daily work... 51 VII. Living the Spirit-filled life...53 Study 56. Prepared but powerless... 55 Study 57. Be filled with the Spirit... 57 Study 58. How to be filled with the Holy Spirit... 59 Study 59. The marks of the Spirit-filled life... 61 Study 60. Live by the Spirit... 63 A Final Word... 65 Memory verses... 67 Other books etc... 69 3
STUDY 38 Truth and integrity READ: Acts 1:3-9 MEMORIZE: Acts 1:8 Susan was a secretary who often handled money for her boss. It would be easy for her to take small amounts of money for herself and nobody would know. It would also be easy to take some of the office supplies for her own use at home (like other girls working in the office often did!). But she determined to be totally trustworthy and honest in even the little unimportant things. So she constantly refused these temptations. Susan was facing a test of integrity. Would she live in a way that was consistent with her convictions about honesty? She had made a decision that no matter what temptations faced her she was going to live in truth. 1. Integrity - what is it? Integrity has to do with the consistency of your life. Are you the same inwardly as you appear to be outwardly? Are you true and faithful in your inner life to the values and beliefs that you outwardly say you believe and hold to? Someone has said Integrity is what you are in the dark. Integrity is what you are on your own when no-one is watching you. Integrity means holding to certain core values and living by them whether other people are watching you or not. Your inner life is consistent with your outer life. You practice what you preach. You are sincere, authentic, honest, and dependable. There is no deceit, no double standard, no hypocrisy in your life. You are living in inner truth (Psalm 51:6). 2. Integrity tests As a disciple of Jesus you will face integrity tests of many kinds. Satan will come to challenge your hold on what you know is right and true before God. He will tempt you to think that little things about honesty and purity of life don t matter. He will encourage you to relax your grip on what you know is right and true and pure. Satan always works through lies, deception, and a distortion of truth. This is how he tricked our first parents in the Garden of Eden, and that is the way he stills tricks and trips up people today. So the starting point in standing against Satan is to wear the belt of truth. This means holding on to God s revealed truth and living this truth inwardly. The belt of truth may not seem a very important part of our protection, but it is absolutely essential before the rest of the armour can be put in place. 3. Live in integrity Integrity is an essential requirement of any disciple of Jesus. If you are to be entrusted with greater responsibilities, you must first be found faithful and trustworthy in little things. Jesus said, Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much. (Luke 16:10-12). Integrity is a test of your character and an important requirement of leadership. If you pass these tests you will grow stronger and become a more faithful and dependable disciple of Jesus. But if you fail these tests, danger is ahead! Like wood termites starting to eat out the inside of a post, you may look good and strong on the outside, but on the inside you are getting weaker and will finally collapse. Walking in truth starts with your relationship with Jesus. To walk in the light with Jesus means to live in a transparent openness before Him. Everything you see, think and feel is brought before Him. You hide nothing and want to do nothing that will spoil that relationship with Him. Honesty before God and others is the start of your defense against Satan. Is your belt of truth securely in place? 11
Explore Further 1. Think about the illustration at the start of the study. What is integrity? How would you describe it? In what ways do you most commonly face tests of your integrity? 2. Wearing the belt of truth does not just mean knowing God s truth (in the Bible) with your head. What else does it mean? Psalm 25:20-21 Psalm 51:6 Ephesians 4:25 3. Think about the following examples: Simon, is often angry, impatient, unkind and harsh in the way he treats his wife and children at home, yet on Sundays is warm and friendly towards others, and teaches a Bible-class about the importance of being gentle, kind and loving in family life. What do Simon s actions show? Tony was by himself at home and was watching a TV program with immoral sex-scenes in it. If his family was at home he would not watch this kind of program, but would it matter now? Rather than go against his conscience and what he knew was right and pure, he turned off the TV and read a book instead. What do Tony s actions show? 4. What does Luke 16:10-12 say to you? What are some of the little things that you need to be faithful in? Apply these words of Jesus to your own life (and memorize verse 10). 5. Are you living in truth? Check off the following questions: Are you holding on strongly to God s revealed truth and living by it? Are you living in inner truth (being honest with yourself )? Are you living in integrity (faithful in the little unseen things)? Are you careful to speak the truth at all times (rather than covering up with half-truths, exaggeration, or lies)? Yes Mostly Partly No Is the belt of truth securely in place? What is God saying to you about the above areas of truthfulness? 12
PROJECT 9: Dealing with the Past This project follows on from the last 2 studies on spiritual warfare. It is designed to provide you with a checklist to make sure you have not left any ground under the enemy s control that he can use against you. Destroy enemy strongholds 1. Work slowly through the following checklist, and ask God to show you any areas from the past that you have not already dealt with which you need to confess, renounce and ask God s forgiveness for:- (Tick any that may apply) worshipped or prayed to other gods? taken part in the ceremonies of pagan temples? taken part in Easterm religions or in pagan practices? own occult or pagan artifacts or religious objects? practised meditation in other religions? been involved with religious sects (eg. Mormons, J.W. s etc.)? been a member of a secret society (eg. Freemasons)? been involved in Satan worship or related activities? been part of spiritism, seances, or played Dungeons and Dragons? made sacrifices or prayed to spirits of the dead? used a ouiji board or crystal ball to contact the spirit world? consulted a medium, fortune-teller, palm reader etc? read and taken notice of horoscopes? owned or looked at material on occult or pornographic subjects (through books, tapes, records, videos or TV)? taken mind-controlling drugs, or been hypnotized? been involved in witchcraft or black magic? used and believed in charms for luck or protection? This list isn t complete and the Holy Spirit may bring other things to your mind that you need to deal with. Write these down. 2. These are danger areas that the Bible clearly warns us to keep away from (See Deuteronomy 18:9-13, Galatians 5:19-21). If you have been a part of any of the areas listed above (whether often or just once), this is what you should do:- R ep ent of each area carefully and specifically. Tell God you are sorry for entering these danger areas (even if done in ignorance); Seek God s forgiveness and cleansing (1 John 1:9); Renounce (or firmly speak against) your involvement in each area, and make a clear decision to break totally from it; Ask God to set you free from these things. Do you need to do what the converts at Ephesus did? (See Acts 19:18-19). Write down what you think you should do. 21
3. Are there any areas of your life that control you, or habits that you cannot break? Write these down. Repent of the habit concerned and ask God to set you free. (You may need to ask another Christian to pray or counsel you about these matters). Remove any idols 4. Is there anything in your life that is taking a more important place than your relationship with God? What is it? desire for money; family/ relatives; work/ business; a special friend; your home; your wife/ husband/ children; material possessions; watching TV/ videos; sport/ activity; your computer; hobby/ entertainment; social activities; car/ boat; your church or ministry; some other thing: What do you need to do in order to surrender these areas afresh to Christ and give Him the central place in your life? Broken relationships 5. There may be spoiled, broken, or wrong relationships in your life. It may not have been all your fault. You may have been least to blame, but God may be saying to you that you should at least do your part to put right what you can. Do you need to do any of the following? Say sorry or apologise? Write a letter? Confess your wrongs? Make payment or return something? Put something right? Forgive another person or ask for forgiveness? Break off a wrong relationship? (See 2 Corinthians 6:14, Ephesians 5:3) Something else: What is God telling you to do? (Come to your next group meeting ready to share any of these areas where you may be struggling. Be open and honest with each other. Encourage each other to work through these areas in the right way and pray for one other.) 22
STUDY 51 Jesus, Lord of my personal life READ: Romans 12:1-2, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 MEMORIZE: Philippians 4:8 I give part of my money to the church, attend services regularly and teach in the Sunday School. I also try to read my Bible and pray every day and live by Christian standards at home and at work. Isn t that all that is expected of me? Isn t that what it means to live as a Christian? Christ s Lordship over my life means allowing Him to be Master over the whole of my life, not just a part of it. Christ must be Lord over my eating, my sleeping, my working, my relaxing, my dress, my money, my friends, my sport, my books, my education, my marriage, my family, my thoughts and my plans. There must be no part of my life that is closed to His presence and His influence. But what does this mean in practice? We will look at just two of these areas more closely. 1. Jesus, Lord of my body (1 Cor 6:19-20) As a Christian my body has become the dwelling place of God s Spirit. It is now of great value. It is sacred. It is a temple. It has been bought by Christ at a great cost. It is no longer my own to do as I like with. It now belongs to Him. So I will no longer let my natural desires master me. I will keep my body holy and pure. I will look after it properly. I will be careful in what I eat, how I dress, the exercise I have and the kind of sport I play. In everything I do, my one desire will be to use my body so as to bring glory to the One to whom I belong. For when I finally appear before Christ my Maker, I must give account of what I have done with and in my body (2 Corinthians 5:10). 2. Jesus, Lord of my thought-life (2 Cor 10:5) Jesus must not only be Lord of my body, but He must also be Lord over my mind. My thoughts must come under His control too. In fact, He cannot be properly Lord over my b o d y ( m y actions) until He has become Lord over my thinking first (the start of those actions). For Jesus made it clear that s i n d o e s n t begin with wrong actions. It begins with wrong thoughts (Matthew 5:27-28). An important part of God s work within me is the renewing of my mind (Romans 12:1-2). So I must be careful about the books I read, the TV programs or videos I watch, and the conversations I listen to. I must turn off any programs that are unclean or unhealthy for my thought-life. And when wrong, negative, or critical thoughts enter my mind, I must not let them stay there. I will bring them under control by turning my mind to think about other things instead. I train my mind to think about true, pure, lovely and worthy things (Philippians 4:8). Meditating regularly on God s Word not only helps keep my mind clean, but it will help me take every thought captive to obey Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). As you offer your body to Christ like this and allow Him to become Lord of your thought-life too, you will start to experience the inner change that He can bring when He is Lord. You will discover that His way and His will is always good, acceptable and perfect. 41
Explore Further 1. What value does your body have according to 1 Corinthians 6:19-20? How does this truth apply to your life in such things as: what you eat and drink: (1 Corinthians 10:31) smoking: exercise and rest: sex outside of marriage: (1 Corinthians 6:15-18) 2. Romans 12:1 tells you what you must do daily if Jesus is to be Lord of your body and your life. What is it? What does this mean? 3. Some people say What you eat is what you are. But the Bible says What you think is what you are (Proverbs 23:7 RSV). Why is it so important then that Christ s Lordship comes over your mind? (See Matthew 5:27-28 and Romans 12:2). 4. What do you think Paul means when he says you must...take every thought captive to obey Christ? (2 Corinthians 10:5) How can this be done? Suggest ways: Psalm 119:9,11 Philippians 4:8 5. How does 2 Corinthians 10:5 and Philippians 4:8 apply to such things as: the kind of books you read: the TV or video programs you watch: the idle thoughts you allow: 6. What must you do to let Christ s Lordship come more completely over your thought-life? [Don t forget to memorise Philippians 4:8 and check your progress on page 67] 42