Spiritual Disciplines

Question 1

What is “Walking with God”

Answer 1

It is the basic word picture of Christianity that a child can understand and is at the heart of being a Christian and a human.

Question 2

What are the Biblical expressions about the godly walk?

Answer 2

Uprightly (Psa 84:11)
Humbly (Micah 6:8)
In newness of life (Rom 6:4)
In the Spirit (Gal 5:16)
In the Light (1 John 1:7)
Unity, light, wisdom (Eph 4-5)

Question 3

What is Walk before God?

Answer 3

Genesis 17:1 - speaking to Abram
-Activity: Walk, steady progress over a long hall to go a distance (godliness is a consistent lifestyle)
-Attitude: Before Me “in my eyes”, walk with conscious awareness of God’s examination
-Accomplishment: Then you will become blameless, walking in God’s gaze will bring us to be people complete in Christ

Question 4

What is Walk with God?

Answer 4

Gen 5:22, 24 (Enoch) and 6:9 (Noah)
-Staying on God’s path: because we trust his destination (not Right or Left)
-Staying at God’s pace: because we trust His itinerary- what He wants to show us along the way (humbly accept what he has planned by His wisdom)

Question 5

What does walking with God mean? (verse)

Answer 5

TRUST
Proverbs 3:5-6
-Trusting with all heart (mind, feelings, will)
-Not depending on what I can do
-In all ways acknowledge
-Obedience
-Trust

Question 6

What are the implications of walking with God for our lives?

Answer 6

1. Learning God’s direction (giving him the slate blank and listen)
2. Adopting God’s desires (He knows our hearts better than us)
3. Enjoy God’s delight (experience spirit-to-spirit relationship companionship we were created for)

IDEA: staying in step with God transforms us so that we become more and more like Him

Question 7

What must believers do when faced with many definitions of the gospel?

Answer 7

Be Bereans. Our authority is the word of God not the fallible words of man

Question 8

What are the aspects of the gospel?

Answer 8

1) Conversion (personal)
2) Completion (personal)
3) Consummation (global)
-Must proclaim all of the gospel
-There are many ways to share the gospel
(teaching others about completion is sharing the gospel)

Question 9

What is the acronym for a balanced prayer life?

Answer 9

Adoration
Confession
Thanksgiving
Supplication

Question 10

What is the Adoration part of prayer?

Answer 10

Praise for what God is (great, merciful, wise…)
-Where we must start
-Psalms of Adoration: Call to Praise, Cause for Praise, Conclusion

Question 11

What is the Confession part of prayer?

Answer 11

Admitting sins I have done
“to agree with” - say same thing about sin as Go does
-Unconfessed sin creates a barrier that God will not hear through
-Penitential Psalms: teach how agree & confess
-Consider all aspects: words, thoughts, deeds, intension, desires, ambition, motives

Question 12

What is the Thanksgiving part of prayer?

Answer 12

Praise for what God has done
-Declarative Praise Songs: Call for praise, report of deliverance, praise

Question 13

What is the Supplication part of prayer?

Answer 13

Asking God to meet specific needs
(God deserves better than starting with this)
-Lament Psalms: invocation (take to LORD), complaint, confession of trust, petition, praise (by faith)

Question 14

What does Paul have to say about prayer in Ephesians?

Answer 14

(18)
At all times (regular practice)
In the Spirit (submit God’s will)
With all perseverance (God’s time may not be now)
For all the saints (not limit to friends/family)
(19-20)
Specifically

Question 15

What is the IDEA of Psalm 32 on Confession?

Answer 15

True happiness comes from confessing my sins and accepting God’s forgiveness

Question 16

What kind of Psalm is 32 and what are the sections?

Answer 16

It is a declarative praise Psalm about confession
1. Pleasure of Forgiveness
2. Process of Confession (Deny, heavy guilt, confess (specific), forgiveness, freedom)
3. Praise for God’s Forgiveness

Question 17

What is the pattern of forgiveness we should follow?

Answer 17

1. Stop ignoring or denying the problem of our sin
2. Honestly confess our sin to God and to those you’ve wronged (using prudence)
3. Accept the blessing of God’s forgiveness and the happiness that His forgiveness brings

Question 18

What are the Biblical Principles for Work or Leisure?

Answer 18

Work is a good thing, it existed before the fall. After the fall work is often toil-this is what frustrates us.
God commanded work (6) and rest (1)
The sluggard always finds reasons not to start
We must accept reasonable risk and get started
Serve as though serving Christ
Must be responsible: If we want to eat, we need to work. This is how it works

Question 19

What is the idea of implementing a Sabbath?

Answer 19

Sabbath is a gift made for man. God created mankind to function optimally with periods of rest. Take 24 hours off.

Question 20

What is the idea of margin?

Answer 20

Have time in your day to be available for God and others.
If you cram your day God and others become inturruptions

Question 21

What are the aspects of contentment with what I have?

Answer 21

God + contentment = great gain, it’s not about what we have but how we feel about it
A. Positive: what contentment produces
B. Negative: what discontentment produces

Question 22

What does Contentment produce?

Answer 22

1. Spirit of humility (Prov 16:19- better little with humility than a lot with pride)
2. Moderation (Prov 25:16, 27) enjoys what is good without turning it into greed

Question 23

What does discontentment produce?

Answer 23

1. Theft: Prov 12:12, seize what belongs to someone else
2. Cheating: Prov 13:11 - get in trouble to get something faster
3. Fanaticizing: dreaming what you don’t have (stay away from magazines & malls)
4. Overwork: making more becomes the driving force of life Prov 23: 4-5 diminishes God’s part and increases our part to earn blessings

Question 24

What are the aspects of contentment with where I am?

Answer 24

A. Relationship Status: Prov 5:15-18, having or not having a person is not the solution
B. Structure: Prov 24:21-22, live under authority structure cheerfully
C. Responsibility: Prov 27:18
Put effort into all aspects of the responsibility God has given you now instead of wishing something to be different

Question 25

Why is contentment uncommon in today’s world?

Answer 25

1. We are told we need more of everything
2. Competition; we are told we must be the best
3. Evaluation by performance; relentless pressure to do better and more

Question 26

What is God’s revolutionary alternative to this world’s pressure?

Answer 26

Godliness with contentment
-Thankful for what we have
-Satisfied with where we are
-Yielded to what God values

Question 27

What is the key of contentment?

Answer 27

Where you choose to focus:
-Cannot do/have/be –> bitterness & discontentment
-Can do/have/be –> contentment & joy

Question 28

What are the views on ambition?

Answer 28

World: be all you can be, pressure for high status/income
Christian version: Do something great for God
Biblical: Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: faithfulness, godliness, and Christ-likeness

Question 29

In a world in which ambition is so alluring, we must commit to the uncommon virtue of contentment.

Answer 29

-Dr. Daniel Estes