In Your Bible Read This
1 Tim. 6, 3-21, Daniel 4,28-37, 1 Kings 19.
Here Is Your Memory Verse
Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of
Christ Jesus.
No-one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs,
he wants to please his commanding officer. Similarly, if anyone
competes
as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless
he competes according to the rules. 2 Timothy 2, 3-5
Afterwards Talk About
This
Divide into two and ask each other the questions
of integrity.
Something To Do Before
Next Time
Bring from your home any magazine, book, video,
idols and
anything
else that should not be there and burn them together in Jesus’
name.
Written Diploma Work
Write one page on how the temptations could
possibly affect
you
Meditate Word By Word On
This Verse
2 Timothy 2.20-21
- Spend
a Minute to Change the World
- Pray For England -
46,000,000 secular people in serious spiritual decline
- Many hope for another
revival, lots of churches in renewal
- Be
sure to teach this lesson to others.
- Always
pray and prepare well adding
your own verses and stories to bring it to life.
God's plan is always to raise leaders who
will faithfully serve him for a lifetime but Satan’s plan is
to strike the shepherd so that the sheep are scattered. We should
not be ignorant of his schemes which present us with dangers like
these, Zechariah 13.7, 2 Cor. 2.11.
Temptations
In the wilderness Satan tempted Jesus to
abuse his position and spiritual power to provide for himself,
then tempted him to take a short cut to avoid suffering and
finally Satan suggested self-promotion. Jesus said No every time!
A decision taken by you now may save your life later.
Another set of temptations that leaders
face is called ‘girls, glamour and gold.’
- Girls, (Or Guys !) A Misuse Of
Sexuality
- Allowing sensual words and pictures into the
eye can all too easily lead to sex outside of marriage, especially in
times of loneliness, stress or travel. A fall damages ministry,
marriage and the trust of many. Prov. 6,20-35; 5, 7-14
-
- Glamour, A Misuse Of Position
- You hear pride boasting about what "I" have
done, instead of honouring God. Pride caused Satan’s downfall and has
deceived a host of leaders since.
- Daniel 4, 28-37. Proverbs 16.18, 29,23.
-
- Gold, A Misuse Of Money
- Envying big houses, limousines, gold watches,
fine fashions and first class travel inevitably leads to debts, abusing
the giving of God’s people and fatal financial pressures. 1 Timothy 6,
6-10
-
- Best Of All - Don’t Fall!
- Be aware of the deceitfulness of your own
heart, Jeremiah 17.9
- Fix your eyes on Jesus, Heb. 12.2
- Humble yourself before God, lest Satan
humbles you, 1 Peter 5,5-6
- Stay close to God, Job 33.14
People say, "There but for the grace
of God go I." There is a grace from God, so be sure to take
full advantage. 2 Timothy 2.1. Have a friend to talk to, one who
is honest with you. Get him or her to ask you these following
seven questions often ~
The Questions
Of
Integrity
- Have you been with a woman (or a man)
anywhere in the past week that might be seen as compromising?
- Have any of your financial dealings lacked
integrity?
- Have you exposed yourself to any sexually
explicit material?
- Have you spent adequate time in study and
prayer?
- Have you given priority time to your family?
- Have you fulfilled the mandates of your
calling?
- Have you just lied to God, me or yourself?
Blessed Or
Stressed?
After Satan the next great enemy of the
leader is himself, for example Elijah. By 1 Kings 19 he has
stopped the rain to bring economic ruin to the nation, raised a
dead child, called down fire from heaven, slain 400 false
prophets, returned the rain and ran faster than a chariot. What a
man! But now when Jezebel threatens him, all of Elijah’s
emotional energy is exhausted. He cannot face one more
confrontation or prophetic performance, not one more issue. He
cannot even face seeking God again for his word.
- Elijah Has Had Enough
- He leaves his servant, runs away from the
problem and ends up alone in a dry place asking God to take his life.
Moses prayed much the same thing, Numbers 11.15, and it can happen to
anyone. A leaders own concerns about family, finances, church and
future can lead to overload, emotional burn-out and even a breakdown. 1
Kings 19, 3-5.
-
- What Were God's Answers?
- There was no rebuke from God, only mercy and
some good food, drink and rest. God's teases out the unbelief and self
pity and leads Elijah into a new encounter with him. 19.5-9. After the
wind, shaking and fire God gently whispers to Elijah that he is not
finished yet and sends him back the way he came to anoint two new
leaders and to find another 7,000 believers! He obeys the Lord and his
ministry goes on in power. 2 Kings 1 & 2.
Beating The
Burnout
When a spring is stretched too far it has
to be melted down and re-made. Just like us if we push ourselves
over the limit. Beating the burnout now will save months of being
re-made.
How To Guard
Heart And
Mind
Stress is all to do with hearts which sink
under one more pressure, and minds which overload and then cannot
make good decisions.
- Paul in Philippians 4, 2-9 says that the God
of peace and the peace of God will guard your heart and your mind when ~
-
- You attend to stressful relationships through
humility and repentance.
- You keep rejoicing in the Lord, as an act of
your will.
- You are gentle, not irritable, because the
Lord is near, and there is hope.
- You are not anxious about anything, but tell
God and thank him,
- You choose to think about what is actually
true, not what is threatened.
- You reflect on positive things not dark
negatives.
God promises you a way out of every trial,
1 Cor. 10.13. That may involve dealing with practical issues of
managing time, finances and debts, and saying No to some people,
projects and papers.
To Close Pray For The
World's Most Unreached Peoples By Name
Taken from the
Joshua
Project Unreached Peoples List these people have no
churchand as yet no cell, church or mission has committed themselves
to prayer, adoption or church planting among this people.
Qatar
|
People
Name
|
Language
|
Population
|
Persian
(Irani)
|
Farsi,
Eastern
|
65,600
|
Urdu Speakers
|
Urdu
|
28,000
|
|