Getting in your place

Prep: Slide - 2

P.R.A.Y.

Praise

Repent

Ask

Yield

Last Weeks Recap and Verse

The Nature of our Nurture: Slide - 3

Where do desires come from?

Some are natural bodily desires: Food, water, air.

most of the rest of the things we desire we learn from our surroundings.

Ephesians 2:3 “among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

Can we unlearn these desires? Yup...see fashion trends

Where is the source of our temptations? from within

James 1:13–15 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), 1 Co 10:13.

The Masks of Rebellion

Assertive Rebels

May do the following:

What do assertive rebels say? “I won’t obey. Nobody is going to tell me what to do.”

Cooperative Rebels

Two Types

compliant at best: they are obedient but drag their feet, dawdle, are intentionally inefficient, slam doors, punish others by their attitude (pouting, sullenness), and think,

What might they say? “I’ll do what I have to do to get what I want, but I don’t agree with this and don’t want to do it.”

appears to be driven by a sense of duty: as children they are often described as “really good kids,” seem to go out of their way to be helpful, never seem to be a problem, are sometimes perfectionistic and legalistic, and think,

What might they say? I’ll do my best because I have learned that life works best this way” or “I’ll do my best because I like the image of being a great kid.”

Passive Rebels :

Three types

“I can’t obey,”

“I forgot to obey,”

“I didn’t know to obey.”

The Reason for Hope: Slide - 4

1 Corinthians 6:9–10 “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. “ The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), 1 Co 6:9–10.

1 Corinthians 6:11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), 1 Co 6:11.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), 2 Co 5:17.

Galatians 5:19–21 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Ga 5:19–21.

Are there any problems God’s word doesn’t address?

Conclusion: Slide - 5

Explain why the rebellion of our own way manifests itself differently in each of us?

Recognize different kinds of rebel ways evidenced in your own life and in the lives of those with whom you live and to whom you minister

Know why there is hope for any of us who wish to make biblical change

Bible Memory - Lesson 3: Slide - 6

James 1:14–15 “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death."

Introduction: Slide - 7

Jeremiah 2:12–13 “Be astonished, O heavens, at this, And be horribly afraid; Be very desolate,” says the Lord. “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.”

Although Scripture is clear that our own way will not work, symbolized by the broken cisterns in the Jeremiah passage, the fact that it won’t work is God’s secondary concern—the second evil. Forsaking God is the first and the more wicked of the two evils God enumerates here. We must understand that to look to anything apart from God to make life work is to forsake God.

Dependent by Design: Slide - 8

Creation inherently demands dependency.

Space shuttles, houses, automobiles, and superhighways do not make themselves. Because none is self-created, none is self-sustaining. They depend on their creators to refuel them, service them, and make repairs. Subordination and dependence are inherent for everything that is made by someone else: a river “cannot rise higher than its source.” Jim Berg

Sin is believing the lie that you are self-created, self-dependent, and self-sustained. Saint Augustine of Hippo

If God had made us humans to be mere machines we would not have the power of self-determination. But since He made us in His own image and made us to be moral creatures, He has given us that power of self-determina-tion.17 A. W. Tozer

There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus. Blaise Pascal (French Scientist, Polemicist and Christian Apologist)

Any attempt to make us creatures who can live independently from God is doomed to failure.

We can no more joyfully and peacefully live independently from God than we can fly by flapping our hands. Jim Berg

God, who needs nothing, loves into existence wholly superfluous creatures in order that he may love and perfect them. C. S. Lewis; John Piper

Any change that will ultimately help us must move us away from autonomy and toward dependence on our Creator.

Creation Inherently demands dependency

Colossians 1:16–17 “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”

The destructive nature of our natural bent toward self-sufficiency

Daniel 4:29–37 “At the end of the twelve months he was walking about the royal palace of Babylon. The king spoke, saying, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?” While the word was still in the king’s mouth, a voice fell from heaven: “King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.” That very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws. And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever: For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom is from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven And among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand Or say to Him, “What have You done?” At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and splendor returned to me. My counselors and nobles resorted to me, I was restored to my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added to me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down.”

Humility - The Hallmark of the Dependent Creature: Slide - 9

Humility is simply [man’s] acknowledging the truth of his position as creature [man] and yielding to God His place - Andrew Murray

No one who has been humbled before God is self-justifying, self-protective, or self-confident

2 Corinthians 3:5 “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God,”

2 Corinthians 4:7 “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.”

Live the Christian Life the same Way You Got It: Slide 10

Humility is not only the start of the Christian life; it is the start of everything godly in the Christian life.

Matthew 5:3 ““Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Colossians 2:6 “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,”

The only change that will ultimately be for our good and for God’s glory begins with humility

1 Peter 5:5 “Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.””

What are some characteristics of the contemporary “successful person”?

Being clothed with humility

1 Peter 5:5 “Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”

Why do we have an aversion to the idea of humility? It testifies to the poverty of our understanding of God’s ways

Why don’t we feel like we can humble ourselves and submit to God?

I felt that if I surrendered all to God, he would make me be poor the rest of my life. I would not be able to drive a nice car or live in a decent house, and I would have to wear outdated clothes.

I was afraid that if I made the choice to give my life to God, he would make me confront my friends about their sinful lifestyles. I didn’t want to lose the approval of my friends.

I thought that if I let God run my life, he would make me marry some Christian fanatic whose zeal would always embarrass me or that he would not let me get married at all.

Having to give up my sensual music and movies kept me from surrendering to Christ. I felt that he was determined to make my life miserable and that I wouldn’t have any fun.

I couldn’t imagine what I would do if God were running my life. I thought it meant that I would do nothing but sit around reading the Bible all the time. I guess I feared most that he would call me into the ministry or to the mission field somewhere.

The idea that God needs our permission to make our lives miserable is the opposite of the truth

We need not fear that in seeking God only we may narrow our lives or restrict the motions of our expanding hearts. The opposite is true. We can well afford to make God our All, to concentrate, to sacrifice the many for the One.3

A. W. Tozer

How Does God Humble Us?: Slide 11

The Problems We Can’t Handle Expose Our Helplessness.

2 Kings 5 Naaman has leprosy and Elisha can cure him. Elisha didn’t speak to him and sent him to the Jordan to dip in it 7 times. Not what Naaman was expecting

The Commands We Won’t Obey Expose Our Self-Centeredness

2 Kings 14:25 “He restored the territory of Israel from the entrance of Hamath to the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which He had spoken through His servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet who was from Gath Hepher.”

The Outcomes We Can’t Control Expose Our Sinfulness

2 Sam 11-12 David and Bathsheba

The God We Can’t Comprehend Exposes Our Finiteness

Job 1:21 “And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.””

What Is Your Next Step?

Isaiah 55:6–7 “Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.”

Colossians 3:9 “Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,”

1 Peter 5:5 “Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.””

Romans 12:1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”

“What is going on between you and God?”

Discussion: Slide - 12

What application does the parable about the bike have for your dependence on God?

Having read this chapter, how would you define humility?

Do you have any areas of your life that you are asking God to change? Like Naaman, do you think God ought to be handling a situation in a different way from how he apparently is? Is he asking you to humble yourself in some way, and are you insisting that change come about some other way? If so, describe what is happening.

Jonah apparently felt he was doing pretty well as God’s official prophet in Israel—until God exposed his self-centeredness by giving Jonah a command he refused to obey. Is God perhaps doing the same for you at this time? Are there any “Ninevites” in your life—people who are hard to love—whom God is commanding you to love? Are there ministries in your church that you are avoiding because they would involve working with certain children, teens, or adults who are hard to love? Write down examples you can think of and how they are challenging to you.

Conclusion: Slide - 13

Explain why a continual sense of dependence characterizes the Christlike believer.

Explain why humility is the hallmark of the believer’s sense of dependence upon God.

Identify several ways God humbles His children.

Application: Slide - 14

Being able to define “biblical humility”

Committing yourself to letting God teach you the dependency of your “creatureliness” so that you will get in your place under God’s headship and stay in your place.

More quickly recognizing when God is trying to teach you Christlike dependence and humility through the various circumstances in your life.

Bible Memory - Lesson 3: Slide - 15

Colossians 1:16–17 “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”