1. The Starting Point is Relationship with God
The Abundant Life Series
How would you like to:
1. Hear when God is speaking to you
2. Be able to identify what God is doing in and around you
3. Have an ever growing relationship and knowledge of God as He works in and through you
I. There are 2 kinds of knowledge
• Knowing about something gained through books or instruction
• Knowing about something because of experience (refer to the illustration of the apple)
• God desires that we know Him, not because of what we have read or told, but through personal experience as He works in and around our lives.
II. In the Old Testament someone’s name reflected that person’s character. That is why through out the Old Testament we see new names for God as people experienced Him working in and around their lives.
• God Almighty (El Ahaddai) Gen 17:1
• The God of all Comfort 2 Cor 1:3
III. What the Lord desires - He wants you to experience a unique intimate love relationship with Him that is real and very personal.
V. Things that may hinder that relationship:
• One must be born again
• One must not be holding onto unconfused sin or bitterness
• Their understanding of who God is … Most of us develop their concept of God based on their relationship with their physical father
• Lack of complete – absolute surrender to God
2 Understanding God’s Nature
The Abundant Life Series
Most of us view God based on our relation ship with our physical father. However good that relationship was and how wonderful your father was, God far surpasses that relationship.
We need to take off that which hinders us from seeing Him for who He really is.
I. God is Holy Isaiah 6:1-3, Rev 4:8
• Holiness is the most dominant characteristic aspect of His nature
• What is Holiness? – set apart, dedicated, consecrated, to be different, to be pure
• There are 3 aspects to a Christian’s holiness
o Imputed holiness – 2 Cor 5:21
• Implications:
o His ways and will are always best and right
o His intensions are always pure
II. God is Love 1 John 4:8,16
• The Greek word used for Love – agape
• The Lord’s command are for our good – 1 John 5:3 The commandments and us are like the relationship between a train and the train tracks.
• Implications:
o His will is always best.
o His will for you will never be expressed outside of His Love.
o View the commandments of God as a source of protection and a means of giving you freedom.
o When you are absolutely convinced of His love for you, then yieldedness, trust and obedience will be a natural result.
o You can trust Him, even when He leads you to do something beyond your comfort zone.
o Never view your circumstances outside of the context of God’s love for you and the cross – His love for you never ever changes.
III. God in All-Knowing – Rom 11:33
• God created time so He is not subject to times limitations. He knows the past present and future as though they are the present.
• Implications:
o When God gives you an assignment, He has considered every factor.
o Even when His directions do not seem to make sense, He sees the big picture and knows what is best and right. (story of airport)
o When He gives an assignment and has not revealed everything He has in mind, do not assume what He wants and trust in your own understanding to carry out the assignment. Wait on the Lord and allow Him to further reveal what He wants.
IV. God is All-Powerful – Matt 19:26; Phil 4:13
• He is all-powerful; He created the universe out of nothing. He is able to accomplish He purposes through us.
• Implications:
o Even when He asks you to do something that you feel totally incapable of doing, He will give you the ability to carry our His will as He works through you.
o He will never have you do something that He cannot accomplish through you.
o He will equipe you to do everything He asks you to do.
o Your knowledge of Him will grow as He works through you doing those things that only He can do.
3 Understanding and doing God’s will Ephesians 5:15-18
The Abundant Life Series
I. The Will of God for my Life
• Most have a me centered perspective of God’s will – it needs to be God centered not me centered
• God’s will has more to do with character than actions Eph 5: 17-18
o Be filled – supper saturated with the Holy Spirit
o Give to Him each room of your house
II. The Will of God, a Daily Approach Eph 5:15-16
• Be intentional about starting the day surrendering your will to Him
• Give Him your day and ask Him to reveal to you opportunities for service for that day
• Ask Him to give you the sensitivity to see the opportunities that He provides
• Be intentional about allowing the Holy Spirit to fill you for service and control your life that day.
• During the day the opportunities for service are God’s invitation for you to serve Him and allow the Holy Spirit to work through you.
• Be obedient when He gives you the opportunities to serve
III. The will of God on a Bigger Scale
• Allow the Holy Spirit time to speak to you as you study the Bible and pray.
o Have times of quiet allowing Him the opportunity to speak to you.
o Meditate on Him and His Word
o Worship Him
• He may give you glimpses of some of the bigger things that He has planned for your life – remember He will give you the abilities to accomplish His will as He works through you.
• He may reveal something that He wants for you to do that may require a major adjustment in your life.
• If you need added guidance and assurance; then ask Him for clarification, observe the circumstances, and ask other mature Christians.
• Some things require immediate obedience.
• Sometimes He reveals what He intends to do so that you can prepare.
• As He works through you then your personal experiential knowledge of Him will grow
4 Being a Servant Philippians 2:1-8
The Abundant Life Series
I. Jesus Came as a Servant
• He was foretold to come as the "Suffering Servant" – Isa 50:6, 52:13-53:12
• He "did not come to be served, but to serve" - Mt 20:28
• We are called to follow Jesus’ example Phil 2:5-8
II. Being a Servant is a Great Honor
• The title of "servant" was what many great men in the O.T. were called
o Abraham, Isaac, Jacob - Deu 9:27 ("Thy servants")
o Moses - 1 Kin 8:53 ("Thy servant")
o Joshua - Josh 24:29 ("Servant of the Lord")
o Caleb - Num 14:24 ("My servant")
o Job - Job 1:8 ("My servant")
o Isaiah - Isa 20:3 ("My servant")
o The prophets - Jer 7:25 ("My servants")
• New Testament writers referred to themselves as "servants"...
o James - Ja 1:1
o Paul - Ro 1:1; Ph 1:1
o Peter - 2 Pe 1:1
o Jude - Ju 1
o John - Re 1:1
• It is the greatest compliment one can receive from the Lord Matt 25:21
III. What it Means to be a Servant Matthew 20:25-28
• It means total surrender to Him and His will Luke 14:27, 33; Gal. 2:20
• It means always being considerate of others people’s needs Phil 2:4
• It means loving others as you love yourself (even those who you consider unworthy) Matt 22:39
• It means putting others before yourself Phil.2:3
• It means serving others without expecting a reward Matt 6:3-4
• There is a difference between a human servant and a servant for God.
5 God Speaks through the Bible
The Abundant Life Series
I. What He Intends to Communicate
• Teaching – to show us the right way to live
• Rebuking – to show us when we get off the right path
• Correcting – to help us get back on the right path
• Training – endurance to go the entire distance
• His overall objecting for the Bible is that we be equipped to live abundant lives with the ability to live lives honoring to Him and make a difference in others people’s lives
II. The Objectives of Bible Study
• Thinking God’s thoughts after Him
• Transformation not information 1 Cor 8:1
• Seek to Interpret the Scripture before you move toward application ask the questions: who, what, where, why, and so what (application)
III. How to Hear His Voice as you Read the Word
• You will not be able to understand or properly apply the Scripture without the help of the Holy Spirit 1 Cor 2:10-14
• Just don’t simply read the word of Scripture as a task to be done or checked off on a list. Take the time to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you.
• The Holy Spirit speaks as He draws application of the truth to our lives
• The Holy Spirit as the words of Scripture seem to jump off the page into you heart
• As you meditate on the truths of Scripture and you see the relevance of the Scripture to your life and situation
• It is critical that as He speaks we need to make the necessary adjustment in our lives – yield to Him and be obedient to what He has reveled to you.
6 We Communicate with God through Prayer
The Abundant Life Series
There is a direct correlation between relationship and communication.
I. The purpose of prayer:
• The purpose is relationship
o God is omniscient and as such knows everything
o He know what we will pray before we pray
o He still wants us to pray because we need to pray
o Surrender your burdens to Him Matt 11:28-30; 1 Pet 5:7
II. Prayer Suggestions:
• View prayer as communing with the one who loves you the most and is the passion of your life.
• Prayer is one of the most important privileges a child of God can enjoy in this life
• Have short intimate communion throughout the day. 1 Thess 5:17
• Take time to wait on God in prayer, and let Him talk to you.
• Let the focus of the prayer time be God and not your requests.
• Establish in your heart and mind the priority of a personal prayer time.
• Designate a time and place for your prayer time.
• Just don’t pray about something once and stop praying about it, as long has you have the burden then pray. Matt 7:7-8
• Follow the ACTS format during your prayer time.
o Adoration
o Confession
o Thanksgiving
o Supplication
III. Prayer Promises:
• Delight yourself in the Lord - Psalm 37:4
• Ask in Jesus name - John 14:13-14, 15:16, 16:23-26
• Ask according to His will - 1John 5:14-15
• Believe - Matthew 21:22
7 Taking Prayer to the Next Level – Fasting
The Abundant Life Series
I. What is Fasting?
• The voluntary giving up of something for a particular amount of time to show your concern or to demonstrate the intensity of your burden about something to the Lord. Usually what is given up is food, but it can involve depriving ourselves of anything that being us enjoyment.
II. Why fast?
• Fasting was an expected discipline in both the Old and New Testament. For example, Moses fasted at least 2 recorded 40 day periods, Jesus fasted 40 days before His temptation, and when Jesus spoke to His disciples He said "when you fast" not “if you fast. Matt 6: 16-17
• Fasting is a Scriptural means to humble yourself before God. David said that he had “humbled myself with fasting.” Ps 35:13
• It can intensify your prayer time. During the times that you feel the desire for the thing given up, turn the desire God-ward and pray. The desire will intensify your prayer giving it new power.
• Through fasting you show your sincerity concerning your requests. 2 Sam 12:16, Ezra 8:21, 23
• Fasting is often used in conjunction to a call to repentance and revival. 1 Sam 7:6, Joel 2:12
• It can help when making important decisions Acts 13:1-3, 14:21-23
III. How should one fast?
• Do it in such as way so as not to draw attention to yourself. Matt 6:16-18
• Fast demonstrating the sincerity of your heart and not just as a religious activity. Isaiah 58:3-14
IV. A Practical example for fasting at lunch.
• On the day of the fast, eat a breakfast that you would normally eat.
• Consume nothing but water during the day until you get home for dinner; during dinner eat as you would normally eat.
• During lunch time, go to a place where there is quiet and use the time to pray.
• During the day as you feel hungry, pray for the requests you have a burden for, you will find that your prayers will have a new intensity.
• Do not tell others that you are fasting, your objective is not for others to think you are a super Christian, but your desire is to intensify you prayer time and communicate to the Father the sincerity of your heart.
8 Being a Witness
The Abundant Life Series
INTRODUCTION
1. The importance of sharing the goodnews of salvation with others cannot be over-emphasized...
a. Jesus wants everyone to hear the good news of salvation - 2 Pet 3:9
b. He has provided the gospel as God’s power to save all who receive the free gift of salvation
- Ro 1:16
2. But what is the most effective way to reach people today? The Institute For American Church Growth asked over 10,000 people this question: "What was responsible for your coming to Christ and this church?" Their replies were:
• I had a special need - 3%
• I just walked in - 3%
• I liked the minister - 6%
• I visited there - 1%
• I liked the Bible classes - 5%
• I attended a gospel meeting - 0.5%
• I liked the programs - 3%
• A friend or relative invited me - 79%
3. The obvious point of the survey is this: If our churches are to grow and people are to come to Christ then it will be through the efforts of individual!
I. What the church Can do:
• Be a caring congregation, it is our love for one another that the Lord intended to convince the world that we are truly His disciples! Jn 13:35
• Be hospitable to visitors
• What we are planning for Palm Sunday and Easter.
II. What we can do as individuals:
• Pray at the beginning of each day that the Lord will bring someone into you day in whose life you can make a difference.
• Be sensitive to the opportunities the Lord gives you during the day, remember those opportunities are God initiation to you to allow Him to work through you and to make a difference. Col 4:3-6
• Make a targeted list of at least 3 people of those you would like to see to come to know Christ
o Think of those who are close to you: [Family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, relatives of fellow church members regular visitors to the services of the church, casual acquaintances (mailman, store clerk, etc.)]
o Then ask the Lord who you should put on your list.
o Husbands and wives could probably have one list and could make it a joint effort
o Keep this list where you will see it daily
o Pray for those on your list daily
o That the Holy Spirit will work through you:
o Do things that demonstrate your love and concern for them - It has been said: "People don’t care how much we know or what we have to say until they know how much we care!"
o Invite them to the church services
o Provide for them an opportunity to hear the goodnews
9 Worship – The Crown Jewel of the Abundant Life
The Abundant Life Series
I. The meaning of Worship
A. Hebrew – To prostrate oneself, to bow down. The Old Testament idea is the reverential attitude of mind and body.
Ps 95:6-7 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if you hear his voice,
B. Greek - To kiss (the hand or the ground) toward the object being worship.
Re 4:10-11 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."
II. The activity of Worship
A. Adoration of God for who He is
B. Thanksgiving to God for what He has done
C. To be from the heart and empowered by the Holy Spirit
John 4:24 God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth."
Matt 15: 8 "`These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
III. The outworking of Worship – being a servant
Hebrews 13:15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that confess his name.
16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
IV. Suggestions for Worship
A. Prepare your hearts for worship
1. Seek to come to worship with a clear conscience
2. Put your problems and struggles either behind you or at the cross so He can be your focus
B. Make the atmosphere conducive for worship
C. Celebrate being in His presence
