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Week of July 1, 2001
CHRIST'S JOY
In John 17:13 we discover that the joy Christ prays for us to have is really His joy. In order that we understand this condition called joy and how to make it our own, we must ask the question, "What is the source of Christ's joy?"
PERSONAL REFLECTION
Have you ever felt totally satisfied? What were the circumstances? What in your life gives you the most pleasure, the greatest sense of purpose?
BIBLE STUDY
Read the following scriptures and write out the key thought for each concerning Christ's attitude.
John 14:31
John 5:34
John 5:41
What do the following verses say about the source of Christ's joy?
Hebrews 12:2
John 15:9-11
In your own words, based on the scriptures above, describe what you think brings Christ pleasure.
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According to John 17:26, what is Christ's continued source of joy?
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Joy, as defined in Strong's Concordance, is exceeding gladness. If we are to experience the exceeding gladness that is ours in Christ, we must make Christ's passions our own.
PERSONAL APPLICATION
Go back to the personal reflection. After doing the Bible study, what kind of adjustments do you think you need to make in order to experience more of the joy of Christ?
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Which scripture(s) did God use to speak to you in this week's study?
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How does this scripture apply to you and your life at this time?
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Reword the scripture into a prayer and spend some time talking to God about this condition called joy.
Week of July 8, 2001
THE JOY OF THE SABBATH
Old testament believers honored the Sabbath on the seventh day of the week, which is Saturday, because God rested from all His work on the seventh day. After Christ's resurrection, believers began to honor the first day of the week, Sunday, as the Lord's Day, because that was the day Christ rose from the dead. In setting aside one day in seven, God established for His people a pattern for work and rest. So important was the command to follow this pattern, that God included it as one of the Ten Commandments.
PERSONAL REFLECTION
What is your attitude about taking a Sabbath rest? How do you honor the Sabbath? What do you think is okay and not okay to do on the Sabbath?
BIBLE STUDY
Read Exodus 20:8-11, 31:12-17 and answer the following questions.
What specifically does it mean to keep the Sabbath day holy?
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Who specifically should not work on the Sabbath?
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What was the penalty for breaking the Sabbath?
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What is the reason God commands His people to keep the Sabbath day holy.
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The Sabbath is to be a sign indicating what?
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Read Matthew 12:1-14 and answer the following questions.
What kind of activities did Jesus perform on the Sabbath?
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Who is Lord of the Sabbath?
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According to Mark 2:27, who is the Sabbath for?
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Read Isaiah 58:13-14. Write down the specific blessings associated with the Sabbath.
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PERSONAL APPLICATION
Go back to the Reflection section of this study and answer those questions again. Has anything changed in your thinking about the Sabbath?
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Which scripture(s) did God use to speak to you in this week's study?
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How does this scripture apply to you and your life at this time?
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How do you think God wants you to respond to this study?
Week of July 15, 2001
THE JOY OF WORSHIP
You were born to worship God; that is your primary vocation. There is great pleasure in doing what you were created for. The Psalmist says: Shout for joy all the earth, worship the Lord with gladness, come before him with joyful songs (Psalm 100).
To paraphrase AW Tozer, worship is admiration of the excellency of God, fascination with the greatness of God, and adoration of the holiness of God with all the power that lies within us. It also requires a bowing down in our hearts, before the One we are worshipping.
BIBLE STUDY
Look up the following scriptures and identify the posture of the worshipper.
Matthew 1:11
Revelation 1:17
Psalm 149:1, 3
Psalm 145:1 says, "I will praise your name for ever and ever." One of the ways we worship God is through praising His name. In Isaiah 56:6 God says to those who love His name and worship Him, He will give joy. Read the following scriptures and write down the names of the Lord found there.
Isaiah 9:6
Revelation 1:8
Revelation 1:17
Revelation 5:12
Revelation 19:11
Revelation 19:13
Revelation 19:16
Revelation 22:13, 16
The magi bowed down before the Christ child, Peter fell on his face before Jesus, and John fell like a dead man at His feet. When you worship, you are bowing down in adoration and offering yourself as a living sacrifice to God Almighty because He is worthy of all your praise and adoration. Corporate worship is part of the fellowship we enjoy with the Holy Spirit and one another. But God also wants us to have a private audience with Him. Make sure that you have a special place to go where you can pour out your heart, offer up praises, sing a new song, and dance, if you desire, before the Lord. We all need the time and the freedom to offer God what He is worthy of, which is our worship, in spirit and in truth.
PERSONAL APPLICATION
Now spend some time with the Lord. Take the names of the Lord that you have written down and spend some time just meditating on them and praising each of His names. Consider the posture of your heart as you spend time worshipping your God.
Week of July 22, 2001
TRIALS AND JOY
FINDING THE JOY IN TRIALS
It is only by abandoning himself to the Lord that Paul could make the hearty connection between trials and joy. Consider it pure joy my brothers when you face trials of many kinds...James 1:2. Why did Paul consider trials pure joy?
BIBLE STUDY
Read James 1:2-4 and fill in the blanks in the following statements
A trial or temptation is a _________ of your faith.
A testing of your faith develops ______________.
Perseverance or patience makes you __________ and ___________.
Read Ephesians 4:11-14 and answer the following questions.
What is maturity or completeness in Christ (vs. 13)?
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When we attain the fullness of Christ we will no longer be
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_______ (vs. 14
According to vs. 14, what is it like to be a spiritual infant?
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Read John 15:2. Jesus uses the allegory of a gardener cutting and pruning his vines in the same way that Paul speaks of trials producing joy. What does Jesus say in verse 2 is the purpose of the pruning?
Read John 15:8. What is God's will for you?
PERSONAL APPLICATION
What was the most meaningful scripture that you read in this week's study?
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What do you sense God is asking you to do in response to this study?
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Reword your statement or scripture above into a prayer to God
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Week of July 29, 2001
MAKING YOUR JOY COMPLETE
We've already seen how Christ's joy was made complete by being completely one in spirit and purpose with His Father. So our joy too will be complete from having a passion to do God's will. In Isaiah 56:6 God promises that those who bind themselves to Him in service will experience His joy.
PERSONAL REFLECTION
On a scale of 1 to 10, how much joy do you experience in your relationship with the Lord? Is there anything else in your life that brings you considerably more joy than your relationship with God?
BIBLE STUDY
Read the following scriptures and write down the key thought related to each one.
Ezekiel 33:31-32
Jeremiah 2:13
Deuteronomy 6:5
What do the above scriptures tell us about what our attitude should be towards the Lord versus what it typically is?
Read 2 Corinthians 8:1-5
From verse 2, what two things welled up out of the trial of the Macedonian church?
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From verse 4, what did they plead with Paul about?
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From verse 5, what does Paul say the Macedonians did that was not expected?
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From verse 1, what is the primary cause of the Macedonians generosity?
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Binding yourself to the Lord and holding fast to His covenant requires you to abandon yourself to Him. It means making loving God and being in relationship with Him the highest priority in your life and believing that the reward of doing so will be sweeter than anything you abandoned to serve Him and Him alone. When you do this, not out of a sense of duty to uphold the law, but out of a sense of love for all God has done for you, God's will becomes your will. Nothing else matters after that. Charles Spurgeon says,
"When a man has eaten all he can eat, you may set whatever you like before him, but he has no appetite for it. When a person is forgiven by God and knows that he is saved, the joy of the Lord enters his soul. "You may take all other joys and do what you like with them. I have my God and my Savior, and I want no more." Then the ambition ceases, lust is quiet, covetousness is dead, and desires that once roamed abroad now stay at home. The saved one says, "My God you are enough for me; what more can I require?"
Joy is a condition of the heart that is anchored in our relationship with Christ.
PERSONAL APPLICATION
What was the most meaningful scripture that you read in this week's study?
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What do you sense God is asking you to do in response to this study?
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Reword your statement or scripture above into a prayer to God
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