Lesson 11: Forgotten God - Part 4 Mission-Minded Communities

Questions:

(1) Can you describe characteristics of a Supernatural Christian “Discipling” Community?

(2) What continuing signs do we see of Constantine’s influence in the Lord’s Body today?

(3) Watch: Secret Church with David Platt, Part 1 The Gospel, Possessions & Prosperity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eAiArw1MjM What does this video have to do with a Mission-Minded Community?

(4) What did Jesus say would distinguish His Spirit-led Community, the “called out?”

(5) How do “one another” commands support a mission-minded community?

THE MISSION-MINDED COMMUNITY

(1) They know how to prioritize their lives, time, funds, and efforts.

(2) They understand that the Spirit lives within them and God's power is available to accomplish God's mission

(3) They are a community of folks who really love one another, the lost, and their neighbors

(4) Jesus gave us a church family to train and mentor us. We don't have to do it alone.

(5) They work together by "network" fishing"..only God gets the glory for turning the hearts and minds of men to His Plan.

(6) A mission-minded community allows disciples to “practice” discipling in small steps, then following Christ’s example of using a debriefing process that supports and uplifts them.

(7) Power of prayer of agreement – They ask for wisdom and courage to meet the challenges of taking the Gospel to the world. They pray continually.

(8) The Spirit gives to each a special gift needed to support the community of believers. Each uses that gift for the vision of Christ in the world.

(9) They glory only in the Cross. They are not haughty or full of pride. Their identity is in Christ. Their children do not think of themselves as athletes, musicians, doctors, lawyers, or Indian Chefs first. They take pride in the cross and the power of God – All sin is derived from lust and pride. They exemplify humility in Christ and do not speak as if they are citizens of this world.

(10) They practice “one another” day to day, house to house, with the vision of Christ for loving the LOST, LAME, and the LUKEWARM. Those who minister to these are those who are LIVING IT!

(11) They are courageous! For God did not give us a Spirit of timidity! They don't play it "SAFE".

I think you might have guessed why we introduced Study Buddies to you as just a taste of what it would be like to restore N.T. closeness, caring, compassion, sharing, and reliance on a daily basis. We need to take this opportunity to reach out to each other on a daily basis to gain community strength through Christ to meet His vision.

WHY IS IT SO HARD?

As Americans, we are too used to being separated by our cars, our big homes and large yards, selective entertainment, educational opportunities, and value systems. We are not use to having people in our business, on our door steps daily, or involved with us in such intimate relationships just because they are Christians. We are closer to our extracurricular activities friends than we are to our church family. We are closer to our peers at work and rely on them more than we do our church family....in fact, we can hardly say we have a church family...we have church acquaintances.....

"Prefer One Another"

We don’t feel this closeness because we don’t think we NEED to….

If we are going to be a community of disciple makers, we will NEED that closeness with other Christians...or we will not be the Bride that Christ is returning to take to the Wedding Feast –that SUPERNATURAL COMMUNITY

SUPERNATURAL COMMUNITY can put POSSESSIONS, BUDGETS, TIME, TALENTS, and FINANCES into PERSPECTIVE

Listen to Burned Up (3 minutes): https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/10103343/Forgotten_God/Burnedup_Assets.mp3

Our culture has trained us to be consumers while God is looking for loving, sharing, caring disciples!

NETWORK FISHING:

God did not call us to become fishers of men with angling poles (rod & reels). He called us to use our “nets”. Nets require like-minded peers who can assist in helping those who are fishing for men. Christ did not send His disciples one by one. He sent them out in pairs and small groups. God gave us the church to support our efforts as we witness to the world.

How do you know if you are in a community of Spirit-led disciples?

1. Their prayer life is unending, continual, and vital

2. They don't try to "normalize" you, they encourage you to stretch yourself. Being radical is the norm.

3. They infuse you with strength and wisdom - a blood transfusion for the anemia in the spiritual climate of today's world.

4. They witness and share their stories with you so that you see the possibilities and power of God in lives of submitted servants

5. They rely on the power of God. The only way to explain the events and blessings you see in their community is by the power of the Holy Spirit.

What distinguishes a Spirit- led community from a moderately successful church?

Francis Chan asserts and rightly so that anyone can build a moderately successful church by bringing in a talented speaker, good music, fun activities and sustain a crowd for a while. But only those who submit themselves to the power of the Holy Spirit will see the mighty work that God can do. Those who humbles themselves to the glory and honor of God are dedicated to the vision of Christ. Nothing is identified that God is not given the glory. Nothing is done unless the Spirit leads. Prayer before Planning & Implementation becomes critical. Some plant, some water, but the Lord gives the increase.

6. The Spirit-led community is in Love with Jesus...not the world, not things, not prestige, not wealth, not fashion, not popularity.

7. Activity, fervent working & worshipping, boisterous assemblies, and zeal...are not critical characteristics of a Spirit-led church. Rather, being in AWE of His Power and stunned by His Work is the mark of a Spirit-led community.

8. Is it determined precisely who is glorified? Are we impressed by our own performance or seeing the "hand of God'.

9. Do we look more like Elijah rather than the prophets of Baal ( p 213, praying fervently for the Lord to do His work.) or overtly clamoring to impress others.

10. God is a "gentleman"...He will not force Himself upon us. So being a slave of Christ has always been a matter of choice. Choose you this day who you will serve.

A MISSION-MINDED COMMUNITY Prioritizes each moment for the Kingdom

(1) What is the benchmark of a Spirit-lead church? What evidence might you look for?

(2) How do most Christians rectify the discrepancy between what they see in Scripture and what they see in their own Christian walk?

(3) Why is the Holy Spirit vital to our lives today?

(4) What is wrong with the statement: “I want to find a healthy balance between extremes”?

(5) What are the dangers of opening our hearts and lives to His presence and actions more fully than we have ever don before? What are the blessings?

(6) Can you give some illustrations of where you have “cut and pasted” verses together which might need to be re-evaluated?

(7) Why is application of God’s Word vital? How do Spirit-led Christians respond to God’s Word?

(8) In today's world we have come to judge almost everything by our material, consumeristic standards. We judge our success by what "we" have accomplished. We teach our children to judge themselves by the sports "they" can play, the grades "they" make, the talents "they" possess, and by the entertainment "they" have been privileged to participate in.

· How would a Spirit-led family do this differently?

· Resource: http://www.vergenetwork.org/building-a-missional-family/

(9) Why do you think people who have once been involved in a church, leave not only the congregation, but God altogether?

(10) I used to say that "selfishness" (self-centeredness) was the root of all the problems in the world...but that statement did not give hope or a solution. A better way of putting this would be to say that the "lack of submitting to the Holy Spirit" is the root of all problems. How is this demonstrated in our churches? In our lives?

(11)Submitting to the Holy Spirit includes examining our cultural biases. Are you willing to examine every aspect of your faith?

· Give examples of assumptions you have made in the past

· Give examples of cultural norms you have discovered are not pleasing to God

(12) If the Counselor/Comforter exists in our hearts, what supernatural traits should we exhibit on a daily basis?