Month: December 2008

If you were to ask the average Christian on the street, “Why should you love people?” you probably wouldn’t get the answer, “Because my love for people is a confirmation of my love for God.” Yet, this is the primary reason to love our fellow man. People are created in His image and the way we treat them is a direct reflection of our devotion to God.

For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the LORD and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel. (Ezra 7:10)

Ezra set his heart, studied, and applied the Word of God in His own life. It would seem sufficient for man to handle the Scriptures this way. You would think he would be completely content that he and God had connected. But that was not the case for Ezra. He was a priest and a scribe (Ezra 7.12). He was not only responsible for his personal relationship with the LORD but for the people’s connection as well. He was under obligation to teach the Word. But I have never found obligation to be a lasting motivator for doing what is right. I think Ezra was motivated by his love for God and people.

Now before we relegate the forth component of the restorative power of the Word to the clergy, let me remind us that we are all priests in the New Covenant (1 Pet 2.5,9). And our supreme motivation should also be to love God and people (Mt 22.37-39). But this goes well beyond duty. If we were to take a close look at the affects of teaching on the teacher himself, we would find that he is by far the greater beneficiary of the act of teaching. I have always said “if you really want to learn something, teach it.”

When I say teaching, you may conjure up images of standing in front of a classroom and droning on in a monotone while your poor students stare at you like a deer in the headlights. That may be reserved for the chosen few (thank goodness). I’m simply talking about passing on the information (the Word of God) to another person. I’ve watched young men share one on one with a younger disciple and the transformation in the one teaching is amazing. As they take responsibility in bringing their brother up to speed, they are actually comprehending more, developing deeper convictions, and best of all, growing closer to Jesus themselves. This is one of the greatest secrets to spiritual growth, teach others and reap the greatest benefit.

(Part 1) – The Glory of His Image

(Part 2) – Too Much of a Good Thing

(Part 3) – We Need a Savior

(Part 4) – The Restoration Process: The Father

(Part 5) – The Restoration Process: The Son

(Part 6) – The Restoration Process: Discipleship

(Part 7) – The Restoration Process: Discipleship Continued

(Part 8) – The Restoration Process: One-on-One Discipleship

(Part 9) – The Restoration Process: Tools and Techniques

(Part 10) – The Restoration Process: Dangers

(Part 11) – The Holy Spirit: The Breath of Life

(Part 12) – The Holy Spirit: Indwelling

(Part 13) – The Holy Spirit: His Work

(Part 14) – The Word of God: Essential

(Part 15) – The Word of God: Essential but Neglected

(Part 16) – The Word of God: Setting the Heart

(Part 17) – The Word of God: Intake

(Part 18) – The Word of God: Application

(Part 19) – The Word of God: Passing it On

(Part 20) – Interaction with Others: The Image is not and Island

(Part 21) – Interaction with Others: Intentional Co-Restoration

(Part 22) – Interaction with Others: An Invitation to Restoration

(Part 23) – Interaction with Others: Restoration begins with Explanation

(Part 24) – An Evangelistic Obstacle to Following Jesus

(Part 25) – The Transforming Power of Prayer

(Part 26) – It’s Me, O Lord Standing in the Need of Prayer

(Part 27) – Reproduction: Creative like the Creator

(Part 28) – Reproduction: Helping Others Changes Us

(Part 29) – Reproduction: Changing the World

(Part 30) – Pressing On Toward the Finish Line

(Part 31) – Crossing the Finish Line

(Conclusion) – To Be Like Jesus

For questions or comments drop me a line at charleswood1@gmail.com or click the envelope below to send this post to a friend…

Top Ten Books

1 Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret – Howard Taylor, Geraldine Taylor
2 Master Plan of Evangelism – Robert Coleman
3 131 Christians Everyone Should Know – Mark Galli
4 My Utmost for His Highest – Oswald Chambers
5 The Training of the Twelve – A.B. Bruce
6 More than a Carpenter – Josh McDowell
7 Secrets of the Vine – Bruce Wilkinson
8 My Heart Christ’s Home – Robert Boyd Munger
9 Spiritual Leadership – J. Oswald Sanders
10 Lost Art of Disciplemaking – Leroy Eims

For questions or comments drop me a line at charleswood1@gmail.com or click the envelope below to send this post to a friend…

Chapter 8

For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the LORD and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.
(Ezra 7:10)

As a person sets their heart, they are moved to action and begin to absorb the Word of God. New believers often drink the Scriptures down like milk, devouring chapters and even books on a daily basis (1 Pet 2.2). But, normally the appetite starts to subside. This is a critical time for coaching. At this point there are three important ingredients for successful long term intake of the Word: Strategy, Consistency, and Accountability.

My Strategy is to start small and increase as they gain strength in the Word. I usually start them in the Gospel of Mark (reading about Jesus), one chapter daily. Mark is only 16 chapters long and they can finish it in just over two weeks. As they gain steam, I add portions of the Old and New Testament but encourage them to continue to cycle through the Gospels and keep reading Jesus. In about six months, they can be reading up to four chapters daily (reading through the Bible in a year). Eventually, Bible study and Scripture memory round out their steady diet of the Word and they are being saturated (Deut 6.6-9).

Consistency is more important than quantity over the long haul. Even if they only read a short section of the Bible every day, it is more effective than a “hit or miss” approach (Ac 17.11). Generally, a person will gain enough steam to add more content as they continue on a daily basis.

Finally, I have found Accountability to be the number one encouragement for them to consistently read the Scriptures. I start by enthusiastically sharing my findings in the Word during Bible study or Man to Man time. Then, I begin to ask what God is revealing to them from the Bible. This develops a pattern of mutual sharing and encouragement around biblical concepts and applications (Heb 10.24-25).

I use this illustration to help a person figure out their God given potential and stop comparing themselves to others. It’s also very useful in helping disciplers avoid over or under challenging the men they are working with.

You can copy or print this illustration by right clicking it and following the menu instructions.

For questions or comments drop me a line at charleswood1@gmail.com or click the envelope below to send this post to a friend…

For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the LORD and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.
(Ezra 7:10)

As we have already established, the Word of God is an essential part of restoring one to the original image. It is the instruction manual, the blueprints for being all God intends us to be. One Old Testament hero, Ezra understood this and shaped his life around the Scriptures. The first thing Ezra did was to set his heart.

Chuck,

It was good to talk with you last week. Thanks so much for taking the time to talk with Saul. I know that it helped him with thinking about where he is headed and challenging him to listen to the Lord. I mentioned it last week but I had been reading in John chapter 5 and came across verse 19-24 and it really connected the dots for me with discipleship in regards to what you were teaching us last year from Matthew chapter 8-10. In verse 19 Jesus says that he can do nothing unless it is something he “sees” the Father do. Verse 20 the Father shows the son all He is doing.

It made me think that Jesus showed his disciples what to do before telling them to do it, because that is the example of teaching disciples that the Father had with the Son. I instantly thought of the illustration you taught us about drawing the shapes (The house) and then actually showing the person what to draw. It reminded me to make sure I am functioning in that way with the men I have following me. It also reminded me of some recent things, in which I actually had to show a couple of guys something 2 and 3 times before they got it down. As I read through the gospels, I see how Jesus taught and retaught his disciples in how he ministered to the crowds.

This showed me again that discipleship is a lot of work and that we should not give up on someone who has not quite “got it” yet. I am preparing to preach out of the book of Micah at the end of the month for the church services. Micah 6:8 “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you. But to do justice to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?” The picture of “Walking humbly with God” hit me as someone on a steady pace. Not running, not wandering around, but step after step in a strait path. A steady pace. Jesus led his disciples step by step as they followed him. We must follow Christ step by step and lead others to do likewise.

Paul Taylor
College and Young Adults Pastor
First Baptist Church of Downey, California

For questions or comments drop me a line at charleswood1@gmail.com or click the envelope below to send this post to a friend…