Basic Discipleship Phase 2 Session 10

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Basic Discipleship
Written by Dr. Lester Hutson

This material is copyrighted c2002 and may not be copied or reproduced without the express written permission of the Berean Baptist Church.

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PHASE 2 INITIAL GROWTH

SESSION 10

THE LIFESTYLE GOD’S SPIRIT
WOULD HAVE YOU LIVE

This exercise is closely related to the previous one. Both deal, in part, with the Holy Spirit, although this one is centered more on the practical application of His control of the life of a believer. Here application is stressed over new data.

A main objective of this lesson is to focus the attention of your disciple on separated, holy living, those characteristics which grow spontaneously from Holy Spirit control of one’s life. This kind of lifestyle is the will of God for every believer. The Spirit’s book, the Bible, makes that very clear. A godly, separated life will automatically develop in your disciple the more he submits himself to the Spirit’s control.

The absence of holiness in one’s life testifies against him that he is not submitted to the Holy Spirit. Such a lack destroys one’s testimony and results in many bitter consequences, none of which is God’s intent for His own. This stubbornness and rebellion against the control of the Holy Spirit by a believer is called by the Bible quenching the Holy Spirit. This exercise attempts, in a non-negative way, to bring into focus some things which evidence a deaf ear or resistance of the Holy Spirit.

Discipler, you should work this exercise and carefully evaluate your own lifestyle. It is doubtful that you will see in your disciple a more holy, separated lifestyle than yours. You are-his model, his tangible flesh and blood showcase of how Christianity really works.

Please do not expect too much too soon of your disciple. Growth takes time, as evidenced in children. If you push too hard, you may cause your disciple to back away. You will notice on the discipleship overview circle at the beginning of this manual that the building of character starts here in Phase 2 of this training and progressively develops as we move through these paces.

This exercise is one of several designed to stimulate that character-developing process.Do not squander your time with your disciple. You are in his life to give attention to his spiritual development; not to talk sports or other things. By this point in the discipleship process, you probably have developed a warm relationship. As good as that is, it can derail you from your main purpose. Enjoy each other, but mainly around the Lord. Keep your focus on his discipleship. Constantly evaluate his progress and give your best to his continuing accelerated growth.

As always pray with him. Before you part, give him BD#l1

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We have explored the awesome fact that the Holy Spirit of God lives within you. He’s there to help, to deliver you from the manifold perils of life which can wreck and ruin your life. He, along with the Bible and the church, is one of your three greatest spiritual resources, provisions of God for your protection, success and welfare. Trusting Him for strength and yielding to His written instructions in the Bible is the way to the realization of the fullness of His power in your life. If given the control of your life, He will produce precious fruit. Read Galatians 5:22-23. Name the nine spontaneous results, which the Holy Spirit will produce in your life, once He is given control.

1. Love 4. Longsuffering 7. Faith

2. Joy 5. Gentleness 8. Meekness

3. Peace 6. Goodness 9. Temperance

Wouldn't you like to have these qualities in your life? Yes. Remember, they are spontaneous in lives where the Holy Spirit is in full control. What does spontaneous mean? Meditate on that word in light of The Fruit of the Spirit promised in the Galatians reference.

The Holy Spirit will not trump our own wills and force us to do what He wants us to do. Yielding to Him is a voluntary matter.

We can resist Him and rebel against His direction in our lives. From I Thessalonians 5:19, what is the word the Bible uses to describe resistance to the Holy Spirit’s control of our lives? Quench.

With the fact in mind that the Holy Spirit seeks to direct our lifestyles

through the written instructions set forth in the Bible, work the following exercise, connecting the part of the body with the verse which gives the Holy Spirit’s instructions for its proper use.

THE HOLY SPIRIT’S INTENTIONS FOR YOUR BODY

1. Eyes ( 4) James 4:8

2. Mouth ( 1) Proverbs 4:25

3. Feet ( 8) I Thessalonians 4:3

4. Hands ( 2) Ephesians 4:29

5. Tongue (10) I Peter 3:3-4

6. Ear ( 3) Proverbs 4:26

7. Bowels ( 5) James 3:2-10

8. Sex organs ( 9) I Timothy 2:9-10

9. Dress code ( 7) I John 3:17

10. .Emphasis in life ( 6) James 1:19

Grade yourself on the above exercise. On a scale of one to ten, in light of the scripture, give yourself an individual number on each of the ten items. Then add the ten numbers to get your score. What was your score? _______. Do you see a connection between your score and The Fruit of the Spirit in your life?

TWO VERY IMPORTANT WORDS FOR YOUR SUCCESS

“SANCTIFY” AND “HOLY”

Look up "sanctify" in your dictionary and write the definition here _______________________________________________________________________________________________.

Look up "holy" in your dictionary and write the definition here _______________________________________________________________________________________________.

To help you better understand the words "sanctify" and "holy" from God's perspective, read the following verses and fill in the blanks.

HOLINESS

1. I Peter 1:16. God is holy, and we should be, too.

2. Malachi 2:11-12. Describe God's attitude about unholiness.

3. II Corinthians 7:1. We are to perfect holiness in our lives.

4. Ephesians 4:22-24. We're to be known for holiness.

SANCTIFICATION

1. II Timothy 2:19-22. How useful are unsanctified vessels?

2. I Peter 3:15. In a practical sense, who does the sanctifying?

3. John 17:17. How do we sanctify ourselves? By obeying His Word.

4. II Corinthians 6:14-18. The key idea here is separation.

RATE THE FOLLOWING PRACTICES IN TERMS OF HOLINESS

Sexual Infidelity