Discipleship Final Exam

Spiritual Disciplines 

Two Assumptions: 

1. Know Christ personally. 

2. Show Christ as we live. 

2 Peter 1:10 

• It’s going to be work. Work that benefits you in confidence of your salvation. 

• Not a promise we will never stumble again but promise we will stumble less. 

2 Timothy 3:17 

• Scripture is for reproof and teaching so we may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 

Ten Questions to Diagnose your Spiritual Health: 

1. Do you thirst for God? 

1. “Spiritual good is of a satisfying nature; and for that very reason, the soul that tastes, and knows its nature, will thirst after it, and a fullness of it, that it may be satisfied” (Johnathan Edwards). 

2. Once you have had the real deal, you do not want to go back. 

2. Are you governed increasingly by God’s Word? 

1. “The sum and substance of the preparation needed for a coming eternity—is that you believe what the Bible tells you, and do what the Bible bids you.” (Thomas Chalmers). 

3. Are you more loving? 

1. “The more a person loves the closer he approaches the image of God” (Martin Luther). 

4. Are you more sensitive to God’s presence 

1. “The greatest of all spiritual and eternal blessings is the presence of God. On this our hearts strongest desires ought to be fixed” (John Stevenson). 

5. Do you have a growing concern for the spiritual and temporal needs of others? 

1. “There is nothing in which men resemble God more truly than in doing good to others” (John Calvin). 

6. Do you delight in the bride of Christ? 

1. “Delight is much more than fancy. True delight must be expressed” (Donald Whitney). 

2. Do you truly love the church, and do you show it? 

7. Are the spiritual disciplines increasingly important to you? 

1. “The disciplines are the bellows and the iron poker. Tools in God’s hands through which He stokes and blows upon the eternal fire He Himself ignites in His people” (Whitney). 

2. Do you sense God working in your heart in that way? 

8. Do you still grieve over sin? 

1. “The closer one comes to Christ, in one sense, the more miserable he becomes” (John Hannah).  

9. Are you a quick forgiver? 

1. “The unforgiving spirit is the number one killer of spiritual life” (James Coulter). 

10. Do you yearn for heaven and to be Jesus? 

1. “You may judge of a man by what he groans after” (Charles Spurgeon). 

1 Timothy 4:7 

Greek translations for the word train: 

• Agonia- agony 

• Gumnasia- gymnasium; going to the gym and working out for the sake of spiritual disciplines. Exercising  

Proverbs 23:12 

• Apply your heart 

• Make the decision because it is hard. 

1 Corinthians 9:24 

• Run for a purpose. 

• “The goal determines the preparations” (Whitney). 

-Most books on spiritual disciplines today are focused on just one. Historically it would be on all disciplines and authored by catholic monks. 

-Some debate over what the disciplines are. 

-Beck argues that journaling is not a spiritual discipline. 

-Encourage people to do it and it is a tool, but not spiritual discipline. 

Joshua 1:1-9 

Scripture Intake 

1 Peter 2:2 

• Scripture is vital for spiritual growth. It is essential for growth. 

Hebrews 5:11-14 

• Scripture is also essential for spiritual maturity. 

2 Timothy 3:16-17 

• Bible intake vital 

God has given us the Bible for our use. 

Bible Translations 

3 Types of Translation 

Literal translation 

• Goal to be closer as original writer as possible 

• RSV 

• ESV 

• NKJ 

• NASB 

• CSB* 

The Dynamic Equivalent 

• Essentially thought for thought. Translating word for word and making it more understandable. 

• NIV 

• Sorta CSB 

The Paraphrase 

• Idea for idea. They start with word for word and take it to be more readable. 

• NLT 

• The Message 

Readability is the issue. 

• Literal- 11^th grade reading level  

• Dynamic- 7^th grade reading level 

• Paraphrase- 5^th grade reading level 

Pick the translation of the Bible the person you are appealing to.  

Picking a translation also depends on what you want to do with it. 

• Devotion- any translation 

• Scripture memorization- literal 

• Evangelism- literal maybe dynamic 

• In depth study- literal 

• Children- pick a lower level with goal of them eventually reading a harder translation 

• The goal is always to bring them up, not leave them where they are. 

Hermeneutics; the science of biblical interpretation 

Living By the Book- Howard Henrickson 

3 Step process: 

1. Observation; What does it say, what does it not say, context, repetitions, emphasis. Let the text tell you what is important. 

1. Exegesis not eisegesis. Let the text tell us what it means. 

2. Interpretation; context and genre; some literature is symbolic 

3. Application; if you know what it means, do it 

Scripture Memorization 

• Guide them, require it 

• Psalm 119:11 

Scripture Listen 

• 1 Timothy 4:13; Let the Bible change them 

• 2 Timothy 4:2; Preach the word 

• Expectation- year-round Timothy sticks with the Word 

• Not just let it wash over them but let it sink in. 

• Teach your disciples how to listen intentionally. 

• Recommend- read ahead to prepare 

• Don’t just show up and hope show up and expect 

• Teach your disciples to listen worshiply 

• Worship attitude if you go into it to it wanting to follow God’s will 

• Teach your disciples to listen purposefully 

• Come in wanting to learn 

• Teach your disciples to listen actively 

• Reading along, taking notes 

• If not listening actively, your mind is wandering 

• Teach your disciples to listen carefully 

• What is the application? 

Prayer 

• “Your prayer life is a barometer of your spiritual life” (Edwards). 

• Prayer according to Paul is about relationships. Galatians 4:6 

• If you are not praying, your relationship is not close 

• Prayer is a relationship God initiates and sustains 

• This is why Jesus says true Christians will be praying 

• Matthew 6; you are going to be praying, and because you are praying pray like this  

• Unbelievers can talk at God but not with 

• Proverbs 3:7 

• Micah 3:4 

• You got to nourish and feed a relationship 

• Pray without ceasing. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 

• Believe that God hears.  

• Must teach people how to pray 

• Luke 11:1; If the disciples need to be taught and they are with Jesus all the time, I am pretty sure we need to be taught. 

Types of Prayers 

• Responding prayers. 

• Something about God or you revealed to you, and you are responding to it. 

• Praise 

• Confess 

• Thanks 

• Asking prayers 

• Petition; asking for yourself 

• Supplication; praying for others 1 Samuel 12:25 

Hybels 

• Started church in suburb of Chicago 

• Wanted to build a church where non church people could feel comfortable 

• So good at bringing lost in not very good at discipling them. 

• Mile wide and not an inch thick. 

• Prayer Acronym 

• Adoration 

• Confession 

• Thanksgiving 

• Supplication 

• Ultimate model of this is the Lord’s prayer 

• Matthew 6:9-13; entirely God centered prayer. Not man centered at all. 

• Why? Prayer does not change God. God knows what you need before you ask. Prayer changes us. Prayer may give praise to God, but it is for our benefit 

• Philippians 4:6-7 

• 1 Peter 5:7; Give Him the burden 

04.03.24  

Worship 

 Dr. Beck’s last question, where most start 

How are we to worship? 

• Who is the audience? 

•  Singing to God, or about God? 

• Settle your theology first. 

• Do not really care about contemporary or traditional. Care about the words. Do you believe them? Does it work without music? Are the words biblically sound? 

• How are you saying it?  

Evangelism 

Many don’t understand what evangelism is. 

“Evangelism is nothing more than one beggar telling another beggar where to find food” (martin Luther). 

Euangelion  

• Eu: Good 

• Angel: Message 

Martureo 

• to make a witness 

• Being a martyr is not about being killed, but about being a witness. 

Kerusso 

• to preach or to declare. 

• Not standing in a pulpit but speaking boldly 

Matheteuo 

• To make disciples 

• Most complete word in NT for evangelism 

Why God has us to do evangelism? 

1. Christ commands it. 

• If you love me, obey my commandments. 

2. Man needs it 

• Romans 5:12-21 

3. No one will be saved without it. 

4. God uses evangelism 

• Jonah in Nineveh 

5. God is glorified by it. 

• 1 Cor. 10:31 

• Good news not that you get out of hell, but that you get God in you.  

Evangelism is an act of worship. So, to refuse to do it is denying God the glory He deserves. Make it about God not you. 

How to get ready to do evangelism: 

1. Prepare your heart 

• Spiritual preparation 

• Reading the Bible; looking for examples 

• Persistent in prayer 

• We talk about things that are most important to us. 

• Walking in holiness 

• Quit being a hypocrite; Are you consistent? 

     2. Prepare your head 

• Be intentional 

• Make a decision 

• Be spiritually aware 

• Listen for openings 

• Be ready to defend your faith; apologetics 

• Study; Read and research in advance 

Acts 17:22-34; Paul addresses the Areopagus 

How Paul evangelized: 

-Talking to gentiles; appeals to them in their language. 

-v 29 making clear nothing material we should worship 

1. Distinction between the one true God and the false God they are worshipping.  

2. This God is not unknown; He has made himself known. 

3. Creation;  

4. This God is self-sufficient and sustains all things. 

5. God is the giver of life. The identity He attends for us. 

6. God is personal and near 

7. Even your poets recognize that we are made from One divine being 

8. Repent; God is the judge of all 

9. Resurrection of the dead 

4.08  

Stewardship 

• A steward is someone who takes care of the properties of someone else. 

• Acting as an ambassador of something. Someone else owns it and you are in charge of taking care of it. 

What does the Bible say about stewarding God’s fiscal resources? 

• How much do I have to give? 

• Not an explicit command to tithe. Other than hell, Jesus teaches about money more than anything else. 

• Tithe- tenth. As a tithe, 19 times in OT, 2 times in NT. Tithes 14 in OT and 4 in NT. Tithing once.  

• Almost always used in reference to a tax taken up for the temple. 

• Offering is usually used in reference to the law as well 

• Gift. Giving used in NT twice. Give used 3 times in NT. 

• Matthew 6:2-3 

• Expectation is you are giving. What is your motive? 

• Mark 12:41-44 

• The rich gave for others to see, the widow gave all she had. 

• 2 Corinthians 9:7 

• It does not matter how much you give; just give out of the proportion you have been given.  

• 10% as a starting point. 

• Giving to support the church  

• Give to church first, then other ministries and charities 

• You are giving out of thanksgiving not out of compulsion 

• If you are a steward, it is actually God’s money anyway. 

04.10 

Stewardship Cont. 

Whole life stewardship: 

• You can and should steward your health.  

• 1 Corinthians 10:31  

• Think about the consequences of your choices 

• Steward your talents 

• 1 Timothy 4:14 

• If you have a gift, use it. 

• Steward your time wisely 

• Ephesians 5:15-16 

• Think about how much time you waste. 

• Do you even give God 10% of your time? 

• May have to give account one day 

• Steward your home 

• Hebrews 13:2 

• 1 Peter 4:9 

• All people called to be hospitable 

• Stewardship of the environment 

• Genesis 1:28 

• Creation care. Use it all now, you won’t have it later. 

• Steward the Gospel 

• 1 Corinthians 4:1 

• Romans 1:14-15 

• We will be held accountable for what we do with the Gospel. 

• You will be judged by how you steward. 

Contemplation 

• The discipline of learning 

• Stewardship of the mind 

• You can’t do Jesus without doing theology 

• Romans 12:2; 

•  Be transformed by the renewing of your mind 

• Mark 12:29-30 

•  Addition of the mind from the verse in Deuteronomy. 

• John 4:23 

• Worshiping in Spirit and truth 

• Engage our brains in worship 

• 1 Corinthians 14:20 

• Proverbs  

• statements about the wise men 

• Failure to do so is a sin. 

• Hosea 4:6 

• Ignore the law, God rejects them.  

• Can’t fully please Me if you do not know what I want. 

• How do we steward learning? 

• Reading 

• Spend time reading the Bible. Meditating on it. 

• Reading books about the Bible. 

• Commentaries, Theology books, The Classics 

The Goal of Stewardship: 

• Inform our heads, change our hearts, and alter our affections.  

• Goal is not indoctrination. Goal is to own the confession for yourself. Goal is education. 

• Orthodoxy leads to orthopraxy 

• Ezra 7:10 

04.12 

Romans 12:1-2 

• Marks transition from theological to practical. Move from orthodoxy to orthopraxy.  “Therefore” 

• Present your body as a living sacrifice. Do this by stewardship of the mind.  

• Not being a living sacrifice, then you are not being obedient. 

04.15.24 

Silence and Solitude  

Mark 1:35  

• Jesus doesn’t command it but he models it all the time. 

•  He’s so busy doing so much ministry, He’s tried to find solitude and rest and they followed Him so he served them all day.  

• Even outside the crowd, He always has a small crowd around Him.  

Benefits of silence:  

• Restoration (rest). Note: If you can’t be quiet without falling asleep, it probably means you’re exhausted. This is shutting down your brain as a discipline and focusing on something else.  

• Be still a know. To hear God.  

• Worship. Stop and smell the roses, ponder the creation.  

• One of the keys is meditation. (Some think yoga is meditation- it’s forgetting about the distractions and your body b/c it’s painful).  

• TV and radio playing are also not silence  

• Silence in prayer to let God speak  

What should you meditate upon? (YOU)  

• The ways of God. Why He does what He does.  

Spend time thinking about the names of God:  

• ELOHIM- Hebrew for God  

(What is it like to be pre-existent… etc).  

• YAHWEH- LORD  

(Who do I tell God is? Tell them He is the Lord your God. What does it mean to be in a relationship with God?)  

• Abba Father  

(What does Father mean? Why’d the author choose that word to describe God?)  

• Lowercase lord  

(master, boss, owner)  

• JEHOVAH________  

·         Jehovah Rophe (The Lord my healer... Think what is hurting and all the examples of God healing).  

·         Jehovah Nissi (The Lord is my banner/the covenant God is your banner. This is war language. When you go into battle, you follow the flag. God’s in front, leading you into battle. All your problems, God’s in front. He’s your banner, your representative, the one you’re following).  

·         Jehovah M’Kaddesh (The Lord my sanctifier. He’s fixing it, He’s purging the sin, He’s making you more like Jesus, He’s filling you with the spirit). 

·         Jehovah Shalom (The Lord my peace. Communicates the language, in one sense, of being still. David’s in trouble in Psalm 3, surrounded by enemies, then he lifted up his concerns to God and surrendered and then he laid down his head and slept. He gave it to God and went to sleep. This is when you’re comfortable, when you’re at peace. Can you change your problem overnight? Probably not. Don’t ruin the moment. Don’t let an assignment distract your worship. If God really is your peace, give it to Him and move forward).  

·         Jehovah Rohi (The Lord is my shepherd. Think how many times the Bible portrays God this way. Jesus, claiming to be God, says “I am the shepherd.” A shepherd feeds, protects, waters… sheep don’t like to drink from fast flowing water or muddy water that’s why “He leads me beside still waters.” Lost sheep is a parable. It’s not lost b/c God knows where and led there. Nothing happened to Job that God didn’t permit or ordain. Are you gonna trust Him because of who He is and what He’s promised?) 

·         Jehovah Tsidkenu (The Lord is our righteousness).  

·         Jehovah Shammah (The Lord is there. Adam lost the presence of God. The rest of the scriptures are about getting back into the presence of God. You aren’t alone. You don’t find God. He’s already there. What you need is God to open your eyes and ears so you can hear Him).  

·         Jehovah Jireh (The Lord is my provider. He’s with you. “I shall not want.”) 

·         El Shaddai (El is the shortened form of God from Elohim and Shaddai is almighty. God almighty. Who do you pray to? A God who can do it).  

So, where can you do this?  

• True silence and solitude is when you go away. Go for a walk.  

Why is this a discipline other than just something we could do?  

• It’s hard. You have to make yourself do it.  

• Exercise yourself and see if it works for you. 

04.17.24  

Fasting 

• Fasting is the self-denial of any good for spiritual benefit. 

• Limit to things that you actually need. 

Fasting Food 

Luke 5:35 

• Fasting kicks in after Christ is gone. 

Matthew 6:16-18 

• It is expected 

• When you fast, not if 

How long should we fast? 

• One day fast- Judges 20:26 

• One night fast- Daniel 6:18-24 

• 3 Day Fast- Acts 9:9 

• 7 Day fast- 1 Smauel 13 

• 14 Day Fast - Acts 27:31-34 

• 21 Day Fast- Daniel 10: 3-13 

• 40 Day Fast- Jesus in the Wilderness 

• Any length if doing it for the right reasons. 

Types of Fast 

Normal 

• Go without food 

Partial Fast 

• You give up a food item  

• Daniel example of abstaining from meat 

Absolute Fast 

• Food and drink 

Regular Fast 

• Regularly on a schedule, fast 

Occasional Fast 

• Fasting for a specific reason 

Congregational/ Nation Fast 

• Call together the people to fast 

Biblical Purposes of Fasting 

Strength in Prayer life 

• Nehemiah 1:4 

Seeking God’s guidance 

• Acts 14:23 

To express Grief 

• 2 Samuel 1:22-23 

Seeking deliverance/Protection 

• Esther 4:16 

Expressing Repentance 

• Job 2:12 

To humble oneself 

• Psalm 35:16 

To express concern for the will of God 

• Daniel 9: 3 

To serve others 

• Isaiah 58:8  

Overcoming Temptation 

• Jesus in the wilderness 

• If you cannot control it, turn it off. 

To express love and worship 

• Luke 2:37