session 2: Training Materials
Quiet times should include these issues
Fellowship with God
Friendship [Exodus 33:11] - The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.
Marked by communication and closeness
Honesty [Psalm 22:1] - My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?
Depth [Psalm 1:2-3] - but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.
Unhurried attention
[Psalm 46:10] - He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
[Luke 10:38-41] -As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things
Life-changing
[Acts 4:13] - When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
[2 Corinthians 3:18] - And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
Marked by passion
[Psalm 27:4-5] - One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.
Listen and respond to God
God speaks to us through His Word
We speak to God through prayer
Daily insight and direction
Guidance and direction [Psalm 32:8] -I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.
Reflected and given as an example
Christ [Mark 1:35] - Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.
Moses [Exodus 33:11] - The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.
Abraham [Genesis 19:27] - Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord.
David [Psalm 5:3] - In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.
Isaiah [Isaiah 50:4] - The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.
Journaling
Documents insights as God's Holy Spirit has revealed them
What did this Scripture say?
How does this Scripture apply to my life today?
What am I going to do about what I now know?
Recording your insights for future use
Scripture Memory - Why it can be invaluable to you and to others
Disciples, Disciplemakers, & Disciplemaking
Disciples – Defined as ‘People who follow the teaching of someone else’; herein this someone is Jesus
- Make daily choices to honor the One they are following (Jesus) by,
- Considering an undistracted time alone with Jesus as the #1 priority (aka ‘Quiet Times’)
- Choosing to spiritually mature (through church participation and personal lifestyle choices)
- Committing daily to being ‘AWOL’ to God – Available, Willing, Obedient, Loving
- Balance risk-taking with others with degrees of trust in the ‘One’ they are following (Jesus)
- Move from seeing sacrifice as a cost to seeing it more as a personal privilege
- Merge their desire to love God and others with the reality of their lifestyle by,
- Becoming more and more disciplined in their daily living
- Having an accountability partner relationship to help one another maintain that lifestyle
Disciplemakers – People who are lovingly motivated, have spiritually matured, and are sufficiently prepared to come alongside other disciples in order to share life and God’s truths, just as Jesus did by
- Modeling – Showing Others what to do and how to do it
- Investing Time – Nothing happens without investing the time to make it happen
- Teaching Truths – The Bible is the source upon which the truths are made evident
- Asking Questions – Proper equipping requires asking the right questions well
- Depending on Jesus – He is the One who renews the minds and hearts, not the disciplemaker
- Trusting God’s Holy Spirit – He is the revelator who directs and intercedes to help discern truths
- Remaining Dependable – Sees the process of disciplemaking through to the fourth generation and
- Recognizing that even while making other disciples, he/she is and always will be a disciple as well
Disciplemaking – Describes the purpose, principles and process of both the outward reach of introducing Jesus to non-believers (Matt 28:19) and the spiritual growth of other disciples, discipling them so that they will later go and do likewise (Matt 28:20). It is described by, but is not limited to:
- Disciplemaking is caught, not taught as God’s Holy Spirit continues to provide new discoveries
- It was initiated by Jesus and best modeled by Him as He spent time with His disciples,
- It is at the heart of both The Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20) and The Greatest Commandment (Matt 22:37-38)
- It is both relational and intentional (by the disciplemaker) and inspirational (by God’s Holy Spirit)
- Its communication (Matt 4:19 – “Come, Follow Me”) is perceived as being either a calling, an invitation, a command, a privilege or a combination of any of the above
- It is a balance between ‘love’ (1st Cor 13) and ‘tough love’ (John 14:21 – not just ‘abide’ but ‘obey’)
- It is measurably ‘reproducible’ (John :15:5 and 2nd Tim 2:2)
- It requires time, focus (Phil 2’s single-mindedness), intentionality, vulnerability, and sacrifice
- It strives to maintain a healthy balance between developing a personal relationship between the D and DM and the DM’s intentionality of focusing on enhancing the D’s personal spiritual maturity
- Ultimately, it is simply all about love and relational discovery – both vertical and horizontal
- To know Jesus and To make Him known
Credits:
Wes Bailey