A) Our Conversation (Titus 3:9-11)
“But shun foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and disputes about the Law; for they are unprofitable and worthless. Reject a factious man after a first and second warning, knowing that such a man is perverted and is sinning, being self-condemned” (Titus 3:9-11).
What are the two main verbs used in this section?
How are they related to each other?
What are the four things that we are to avoid in our conversations with others?
Is it good to reason with others about the truth? If so, why does he seem to ask them to refrain from it?
Is it helpful to argue for the truth with others? Why or why not?
What is the place of apologetics in discussion with others?
What guidelines should we observe in our conversations from this passage?
Do you get involved in ‘heated’ arguments with others about the truth? What aspects of this lesson do you need to apply to your life?
Satan works hard at keeping God’s Word away from us. In this situation he used these issues to hold back a real understanding and love for the truth. How else has Satan held back the truth from God’s people, whether in the past or present day?
B) Our Relationships (Titus 3:12-14)
“When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, make every effort to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. Diligently help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way so that nothing is lacking for them. And let our people also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, that they may not be unfruitful” (Titus 3:12-14).
What three groups of people are mentioned in Titus 3:12-14?
What was special about the first group? What was Paul trying to do through them?
What about the second group? They apparently were the official carriers of the letter ‘Titus.’ Why else might Paul have sent them?
What about the third group? What was Paul asking them to do? How might we apply this to our own lives?
How has God equipped you to help other Christians grow? What area would you like to get involved in? Does it require special training? If so, what is that training?
C) Loving Goodbyes (Titus 3:15)
“All who are with me greet you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all” (Titus 3:15).
What are the three last statements Paul makes?
What does the first statement, “ All who are with me greet you” say about Paul’s ties with the people where he is at?
Why might Paul have written the second phrase like that? Would you have written it that way? Why or why not?
What special insight is provided to us about this letter from the last statement. Compare with Titus 1:4.
Are you part of a community of God’s people? What is easy or hard about it?
Summary
Even from these few verses, we see how Paul is emphasizing the closeness of the community of God’s people by closely caring for it.
Discerning Conversations (Titus 3:9-11)
We need to focus on developing relationships and bringing the truth of God into the lives of people. Talking about anti-truth just will not help.
Right Relationships (3:12-14)
We, like the apostle and Jesus, need to show our value for our coworkers, family, brothers and sisters by the way we aid and train them.
Loving Goodbyes (Titus 3:15)
We need to be part of a community of God’s people. They need to be dear to us. We need to be committed to them, the church of God.
Showing posts with label Quiet Time. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Quiet Time. Show all posts
Friday, October 29, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Friday, October 8, 2010
The Importance of Daily Time with God - Ken Smith
How do we find the Answers to our Problem?
• Answers to our problems lay with knowing God better
How do we get to know God BETTER?
• To spend time with him
How do we get to spend time with Him?
• Spend a regular daily “Quiet Time” with God
How do we do “Quiet Time” with God?
• Read the Bible
• Pray
• Meditate and reflect on the passage you read
• Apply them to your life
Why bother doing all of this?
• We have the privilege of spending time with the One who created the entire universe.
• He is willing to listen to our concerns, fears, and desires
• He also could intervene in our behalf.
2. Because You Will Get to Know Him Better
3. You Will Get to Know What He Wants You to Do
4. You Will Have Confidence in Making Decisions
Where Should I Spend My Quite Time?
• There is NO SINGLE answer to this question!
• There are some important consideration to be made when choosing the place where you will meet with God:-
1. It should be a QUIET PLACE where we are unlikely to be disturbed or interrupted! Example: A Public Library, a desk at home or office (not areas like Subway, in a car, etc).
2. Look for a location that is CONVENIENT TO YOU every weekday at the SAME TIME so that you can establish the routine of being there consistently!
When Should I Have My Quite Time?
• This question is often asked and the best answer is to answer with another question!
• “When do YOU think GOD wants YOU to have the Quiet Time with HIM?” The real answer lies in knowing when God want us to spend QUALITY TIME WITH HIM!
• Many people think that early morning is the preference! Jesus clearly rose up early just to pray BUT He did not limit to just mornings!
• There is a big difference between spending Quality Time and Ordinary Time with God! We need to carve out time to spend with no one but God and this can certainly be achieved when we are most mentally alert!
• We need to ascertain WHEN THAT IS (mentally alert)! This time slot should be reserved for Quality Time with God!
• Morning is still by far the highest quality time and we should try to spend it doing the things that are most important to us – Spending Time with God!
• Isaiah 40:31, says that those who “wait upon the Lord” will soar with wings of eagles! To “wait” on the Lord is to spent time with Him! It’s really very simple: If we want to soar with the eagles, we must spend time with God!
How Much Time Should I Spend with God?
• Think about how much time we really have! In a month? In a week? In a day?
• There are 168 hours (24 hours x 7 days) in each week! Subtract the time spent sleeping (assuming 8 hours), 168 – 56 (8 hours x 7 days) = 112 hours left!
• Assuming if we want to give one-tenth 1/10 of the 112 hours, that would ideally be 11.2 hours or 11 hours and 12 minutes!
• Now assuming we go to Church on Sunday, attend Bible Study Group, Prayer and praise and other church/Bible related events, we 11 hours could easily be swallowed up!
• Assuming we can get to the point of spending only 15 minutes a day for 7 days, that would only be 105 minutes or 1 hour 45 minutes or 1.75 hours out of 168 hours, that is only 1%! Is that really enough?
• So I would like to propose, how about 1 hour a day? That is only 7 hours a week! Good luck!
What Should I Do During My Quiet Time?
• There are many things we could be doing during our Quiet Time, but we must at least include the 5 ways we could start with! Prayer, Bible Reading, Listening to God (meditation), Bible Study, and Memorizing Scripture!
• Prayer
o Have an Agenda
o A helpful acronym, A-C-T-S (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication!)
1. Adoration and acknowledge Him for who He is! We need to worship and praise Him (Psalm 22:3), He inhabits the praises of His People!
2. Confessed our disobedience and to ask for His Mercy and Forgiveness. Here we need to let God show us what we need to do to be reconciled with those around us whom we have offended!
3. Thanksgiving is where we thank God for all the things He gave us and for His answers to past requests. (Try listing your requests on a computer or a prayer diary or a prayer journal and start ticking it off when God answers! That would show you how much love and gifts He has in stored for us if we are walking closely with Him!)
4. Supplication (also known as petitioning) involves making our request known to Him because He is concerned about every aspect of our life, on down to the minutes of details! We need to continue to pray for each of those items on a regular basis, until God answered accordingly (sometimes he answered not to our way!)
o God will teach us to look beyond our self and start praying for other people around us.
o God will also teach us to pray for strangers and people we do not know.
• Bible Reading
o Since we spend time reading the Bible, we should also let the Words speak to our heart!
o As we read, we allow our self to bask in God’s promises to His People.
o See how the Scriptures apply to you personally and understand that you are reading a message from a friend (who happens to be God the Creator of the entire Universe).
o How much we read each day is entirely up to us! Normally the prayer part would indicate to us anyway.
• Listening to God (meditation)
o No matter how much time we spend in talking to God, unless we establish the habit of LISTENING to what He may have to say (either on His own initiative or in response to what you have said to Him) we are NOT GOING to get much out of the conversation or the relationship with HIM!
o God does not impose Himself on us, (not that He can’t make Himself heard when He Wishes) but He usually speaks with a still, small voice, and we may hear Him only if we are LISTENING INTENTLY!
• Bible Study
o How much time should we dedicate to Bible Study? Answer: Up to us and as God directs us!
o Develop our own studies and also use those developed by others!
• Memorizing Scripture & Why should we memorize the Scripture?
1. It will enhance our devotion and prayer times. We will be able to communicate with Him according to His Word at any time of the day or night, even if we do not have a Bible with us!
2. Bible study will become more meaningful to us if we have the ability to recall passages of God’s Word from memory!
3. It will arm us for occasions of temptation and spiritual struggle. The ability to immediately recall the Word of God at a time in which we are in need of His instruction and encouragement is extremely helpful. This is how Jesus was able to defeat Satan during a period of intense temptation (Matthew 4:1-11)
4. It will increase our effectiveness and confidence in sharing the gospel with others.
5. Our mind will be occupied with good things from God (Philippians 4:8), which will in turn have a purifying effect upon our life (Ephesians 5:26).
Practice The Presence of God
1) How much time daily do you believe God would like you to spend with Him?
* ___ minutes?
* ___ hours?
* Morning time?
* Lunch time?
* Evening time?
* Before sleeping?
2) Make a list of things you need to bring before God.
* Personal life challenges? Health? Addiction problem? Spiritual challenges? Habits?
* Family relationship topics?
* Work relationship topics?
* Financial related topics?
3) Develop a tentative plan for reading the Bible (two pages a day? one chapter a day? a book a week?)
* Alone? or with another brother/sister in-Christ?
* Using own study schedule? or from other people's study materials?
4) Of your total quiet time, how much should be devoted to quietly listening for His input (ideas, thoughts, flashes of insight)?
5) Ask God whether He wants you to sign the following pledge:
--Start of Pledge--
I will, with God's help, spend at least ____ minutes per day, five days per week, with God in prayer, Bible reading, and meditation.
I will begin this discipline on ______________.
Your Signature: _____________________ Date: _______________
• Answers to our problems lay with knowing God better
How do we get to know God BETTER?
• To spend time with him
How do we get to spend time with Him?
• Spend a regular daily “Quiet Time” with God
How do we do “Quiet Time” with God?
• Read the Bible
• Pray
• Meditate and reflect on the passage you read
• Apply them to your life
Why bother doing all of this?
• We have the privilege of spending time with the One who created the entire universe.
• He is willing to listen to our concerns, fears, and desires
• He also could intervene in our behalf.
1. Because He Expects It
• Scripture is clear, God expects us to spend quality time with Him on a daily basis
• This would allow us to remain spiritually strong, so that our heart is never far from the Lord because we spends time with Him Daily
2. Because You Will Get to Know Him Better
• When we spend time with God regularly, we learn to recognize His voice
• We become more familiar with HOW He communicates with us
• We also gain insight into how He operates the universe, especially our part of universe and the world we are in
3. You Will Get to Know What He Wants You to Do
• In spending daily time with God, we will come to see that He has a PERFECT PLAN FOR OUR LIFE!
• It is essential to know this concept of a perfect plan for our life, because the plan existed before we were born and He also anticipates every possible mistake we will ever make, yet allow us to go through them.
• The difference is when we go through them on our own is very much different to when we go through them closely with God!
• When problems and challenges that would produce discouragement come our way, we need to understand that the answer does not lie in us solving that problem OURSELVES, but rather in us discovering WHAT GOD’S PERFECT PLAN IS for us in that situation!
• We cannot discover the plan if we do not spend time with Him, letting Him reveal it to us.
• God always has the BEST ANSWER and our job is to discover what GOD’S ANSWER is by consistently spending regular time with Him.
• Once we walk with Him regularly through our “Quite Time”, we know in advance whatever obstacle comes our way we can be assured that it will be resolved with God being part of the solution.
• It is this foreknowledge that will provide us freedom from anxiety, or “the peace... that transcends all understanding” (Philippians 4:7).
4. You Will Have Confidence in Making Decisions
• By spending enough time with God on a regular basis, we can know what God wants us to do ahead of time instead of just running to Him for a quick answer in a time of crisis!
• Analogy:- Adult (God) reaction to a busy child (us) who just do not want to listen to the best advice
1. He will wait until the child slows down long enough to hear Him.
2. In fact, He might even slow the child down.
3. He might also have to stand in the corner for a while until the child (us) is willing to listen to Him!
• It’s one thing to ask for direction and then hope that everything will turn out fine. • It is quite another thing to know that we have gotten the direction or that we have made our self available and He has not had anything to say! • Question:- How do we know what to do when we have heard absolutely nothing from Him – when we have spent time with Him, we have sought direction and we have not heard Him say a thing in reply?
1. Assurance only grows out of the habit formed when spending at least a time a day in Bible reading and prayer!
2. Part of the Prayer Time is DEVOTED to listening!
3. We seek His way as we need direction for a particular decision through spending ENOUGH TIME WAITING for an answer so that if we do not (or do get one we will go forth in confident) get one, we can rest in the knowledge that He did not give us one!
4. We should not make a decision unless it is imperative. We should permit the status quo to be maintained! Since we do not decide more than we need to decide to take care of the situation; but rather than let the indecision become our decision, we must take the initiative then we must! We must learn also to await the result(s) made from this particular decision made on our own initiative because it may lead to another decision.
5. Time and circumstances take care of the matter without us having to decide or do anything! The combination of listening and being patient will produced within us the freedom from anxiety that have been halting us from making the right decision!
• God will take the RIGHT TIMING to direct our steps, so be assured when you spend time with Him! Start now! It is never to late!
3. He might also have to stand in the corner for a while until the child (us) is willing to listen to Him!
• It’s one thing to ask for direction and then hope that everything will turn out fine. • It is quite another thing to know that we have gotten the direction or that we have made our self available and He has not had anything to say! • Question:- How do we know what to do when we have heard absolutely nothing from Him – when we have spent time with Him, we have sought direction and we have not heard Him say a thing in reply?
1. Assurance only grows out of the habit formed when spending at least a time a day in Bible reading and prayer!
2. Part of the Prayer Time is DEVOTED to listening!
3. We seek His way as we need direction for a particular decision through spending ENOUGH TIME WAITING for an answer so that if we do not (or do get one we will go forth in confident) get one, we can rest in the knowledge that He did not give us one!
4. We should not make a decision unless it is imperative. We should permit the status quo to be maintained! Since we do not decide more than we need to decide to take care of the situation; but rather than let the indecision become our decision, we must take the initiative then we must! We must learn also to await the result(s) made from this particular decision made on our own initiative because it may lead to another decision.
5. Time and circumstances take care of the matter without us having to decide or do anything! The combination of listening and being patient will produced within us the freedom from anxiety that have been halting us from making the right decision!
• God will take the RIGHT TIMING to direct our steps, so be assured when you spend time with Him! Start now! It is never to late!
Where Should I Spend My Quite Time?
• There is NO SINGLE answer to this question!
• There are some important consideration to be made when choosing the place where you will meet with God:-
1. It should be a QUIET PLACE where we are unlikely to be disturbed or interrupted! Example: A Public Library, a desk at home or office (not areas like Subway, in a car, etc).
2. Look for a location that is CONVENIENT TO YOU every weekday at the SAME TIME so that you can establish the routine of being there consistently!
When Should I Have My Quite Time?
• This question is often asked and the best answer is to answer with another question!
• “When do YOU think GOD wants YOU to have the Quiet Time with HIM?” The real answer lies in knowing when God want us to spend QUALITY TIME WITH HIM!
• Many people think that early morning is the preference! Jesus clearly rose up early just to pray BUT He did not limit to just mornings!
• There is a big difference between spending Quality Time and Ordinary Time with God! We need to carve out time to spend with no one but God and this can certainly be achieved when we are most mentally alert!
• We need to ascertain WHEN THAT IS (mentally alert)! This time slot should be reserved for Quality Time with God!
• Morning is still by far the highest quality time and we should try to spend it doing the things that are most important to us – Spending Time with God!
• Isaiah 40:31, says that those who “wait upon the Lord” will soar with wings of eagles! To “wait” on the Lord is to spent time with Him! It’s really very simple: If we want to soar with the eagles, we must spend time with God!
How Much Time Should I Spend with God?
• Think about how much time we really have! In a month? In a week? In a day?
• There are 168 hours (24 hours x 7 days) in each week! Subtract the time spent sleeping (assuming 8 hours), 168 – 56 (8 hours x 7 days) = 112 hours left!
• Assuming if we want to give one-tenth 1/10 of the 112 hours, that would ideally be 11.2 hours or 11 hours and 12 minutes!
• Now assuming we go to Church on Sunday, attend Bible Study Group, Prayer and praise and other church/Bible related events, we 11 hours could easily be swallowed up!
• Assuming we can get to the point of spending only 15 minutes a day for 7 days, that would only be 105 minutes or 1 hour 45 minutes or 1.75 hours out of 168 hours, that is only 1%! Is that really enough?
• So I would like to propose, how about 1 hour a day? That is only 7 hours a week! Good luck!
What Should I Do During My Quiet Time?
• There are many things we could be doing during our Quiet Time, but we must at least include the 5 ways we could start with! Prayer, Bible Reading, Listening to God (meditation), Bible Study, and Memorizing Scripture!
• Prayer
o Have an Agenda
o A helpful acronym, A-C-T-S (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication!)
1. Adoration and acknowledge Him for who He is! We need to worship and praise Him (Psalm 22:3), He inhabits the praises of His People!
2. Confessed our disobedience and to ask for His Mercy and Forgiveness. Here we need to let God show us what we need to do to be reconciled with those around us whom we have offended!
3. Thanksgiving is where we thank God for all the things He gave us and for His answers to past requests. (Try listing your requests on a computer or a prayer diary or a prayer journal and start ticking it off when God answers! That would show you how much love and gifts He has in stored for us if we are walking closely with Him!)
4. Supplication (also known as petitioning) involves making our request known to Him because He is concerned about every aspect of our life, on down to the minutes of details! We need to continue to pray for each of those items on a regular basis, until God answered accordingly (sometimes he answered not to our way!)
o God will teach us to look beyond our self and start praying for other people around us.
o God will also teach us to pray for strangers and people we do not know.
• Bible Reading
o Since we spend time reading the Bible, we should also let the Words speak to our heart!
o As we read, we allow our self to bask in God’s promises to His People.
o See how the Scriptures apply to you personally and understand that you are reading a message from a friend (who happens to be God the Creator of the entire Universe).
o How much we read each day is entirely up to us! Normally the prayer part would indicate to us anyway.
• Listening to God (meditation)
o No matter how much time we spend in talking to God, unless we establish the habit of LISTENING to what He may have to say (either on His own initiative or in response to what you have said to Him) we are NOT GOING to get much out of the conversation or the relationship with HIM!
o God does not impose Himself on us, (not that He can’t make Himself heard when He Wishes) but He usually speaks with a still, small voice, and we may hear Him only if we are LISTENING INTENTLY!
• Bible Study
o How much time should we dedicate to Bible Study? Answer: Up to us and as God directs us!
o Develop our own studies and also use those developed by others!
• Memorizing Scripture & Why should we memorize the Scripture?
1. It will enhance our devotion and prayer times. We will be able to communicate with Him according to His Word at any time of the day or night, even if we do not have a Bible with us!
2. Bible study will become more meaningful to us if we have the ability to recall passages of God’s Word from memory!
3. It will arm us for occasions of temptation and spiritual struggle. The ability to immediately recall the Word of God at a time in which we are in need of His instruction and encouragement is extremely helpful. This is how Jesus was able to defeat Satan during a period of intense temptation (Matthew 4:1-11)
4. It will increase our effectiveness and confidence in sharing the gospel with others.
5. Our mind will be occupied with good things from God (Philippians 4:8), which will in turn have a purifying effect upon our life (Ephesians 5:26).
Practice The Presence of God
1) How much time daily do you believe God would like you to spend with Him?
* ___ minutes?
* ___ hours?
* Morning time?
* Lunch time?
* Evening time?
* Before sleeping?
2) Make a list of things you need to bring before God.
* Personal life challenges? Health? Addiction problem? Spiritual challenges? Habits?
* Family relationship topics?
* Work relationship topics?
* Financial related topics?
3) Develop a tentative plan for reading the Bible (two pages a day? one chapter a day? a book a week?)
* Alone? or with another brother/sister in-Christ?
* Using own study schedule? or from other people's study materials?
4) Of your total quiet time, how much should be devoted to quietly listening for His input (ideas, thoughts, flashes of insight)?
5) Ask God whether He wants you to sign the following pledge:
--Start of Pledge--
I will, with God's help, spend at least ____ minutes per day, five days per week, with God in prayer, Bible reading, and meditation.
I will begin this discipline on ______________.
Your Signature: _____________________ Date: _______________
--End of Pledge--
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