Nouwen's In the Name of Jesus
When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, the three temptations he faced were...
The temptation to be relevant (to turn stones into bread)
The temptation to be spectacular ("Throw yourself from the parapet of the temple and let the angels catch you and carry you in their arms" ...the temptation to prove himself; to demonstrate that he had something worthwhile to say [to prove that he was somebody]).
The temptation to be powerful ("I will give you all the kingdoms of this world in their splendor...")
The Christian leader faces the same three temptations. In response to the first temptation, Nouwen suggests...
"The question is not: How many people take you seriously? How much are you going to accomplish? Can you show some results? But: Are you in love with Jesus?"If there is any focus that the Christian leader of the future will need, it is the discipline of dwelling in the presence of the One who keeps asking us, 'Do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me?'"
In response to the second temptation (to be spectacular), he suggests...
"When you look at today's church, it is easy to see the prevalence of individualism among ministers and priests. Not too many of us have a vast repertoire of skills to be proud of, but most of us still feel that, if we have anything at all to show, it is something we have to do solo."
"Somehow we have come to believe that good leadership requires a safe distance from those we are called to lead... But how can we lay down our life for those with whom we are not even allowed to enter into a deep personal relationship? Laying down your life means making your own faith and doubt, hope and despair, joy and sadness, courage and fear available to others as ways of getting in touch with the Lord of life."
"The mystery of ministry is that we have been chosen to make our own limited and very conditional love the gateway for the unlimited and unconditional love of God."
"Confession and forgiveness are precisely the disciplines by which spiritualization and carnality can be avoided and true incarnation lived. Through confession, the dark powers are taken out of their carnal isolation, brought into the light, and made visible to the community. Through forgiveness, they are disarmed and dispelled and a new integration between body and spirit is made possible."Finally, in response to the third temptation (to be powerful), Nouwen suggests...
"What makes the temptation of power so seemingly irresistible? Maybe it is that power offers an easy substitute for the hard task of love. It seems easier to be God than to love God, easier to control people than to love people, easier to own life than to love life."
Monday, June 29, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
In Christ 2
Where do you find your identity?
Why do these words matter?
Do you believe them?
How does this relate with abiding?
With transformation?
Sources: Julie
Why do these words matter?
Do you believe them?
How does this relate with abiding?
With transformation?
Sources: Julie
Where are you in cultural adjustments
Which person in the picture are you in terms of cluture shock?
Why?
Sources: CAI Field Orientation
Why?
Sources: CAI Field Orientation
Cultural Difference in France
Disclaimer: Transparency/Confidentiality – all participate
Opening Question – differences?
Cultural sensitivity GREETINGS: French men allow women to initiate in greetings, re-bonjour, may assume you are English – shake hands, expectations on people speaking English, you have some extra latitude by being American, DIFFERENCES: French high outer walls and American low outer walls, COMMUNICATION: volume level, don’t like the phone, off limits to French are questions about your job and maybe what is deemed as too personal questions, off limits to Americans are how much you paid for things, religion and politics, INVITATIONS: more comfortable initially at cafes, aparo great way to start
EXPECTATIONS (blocked goals leads to depression)
Observations
Symptoms
Qustions – how would you define culture shock?
Give definition later: “Psychological disorientation most people experience when they move for an extended period of time to a different culture.”
“Short termers” will experience all of the same symptoms potentially but in a shorter time period.
Chart
Choices chart
Fog----------------------------------------------------------------------------deal
Loss/Gain:
Loss: Support (family,friends,school,church)
Familiar ways of communicating /relating to people
Knowing how to act/what is expected
Familiar setting that provides security/self-worth
Gains: New setting (sights,smells,tastes)
New acquaintances
New language,pattern of speech,nonverbal cues
New roll/identity
Coping Mechanisms
Questions: What helps you deal?
“We cannot underscore the power of adjusting well. Cross cultural adaptation will “squeeze” issues out of you. If you “deal” with them you will grow, if you don’t you really are missing a real growth opportunity and putting yourself at risk of lasting psychological and emotional problems..”
Sources: Andi
Opening Question – differences?
Cultural sensitivity GREETINGS: French men allow women to initiate in greetings, re-bonjour, may assume you are English – shake hands, expectations on people speaking English, you have some extra latitude by being American, DIFFERENCES: French high outer walls and American low outer walls, COMMUNICATION: volume level, don’t like the phone, off limits to French are questions about your job and maybe what is deemed as too personal questions, off limits to Americans are how much you paid for things, religion and politics, INVITATIONS: more comfortable initially at cafes, aparo great way to start
EXPECTATIONS (blocked goals leads to depression)
Observations
Symptoms
Qustions – how would you define culture shock?
Give definition later: “Psychological disorientation most people experience when they move for an extended period of time to a different culture.”
“Short termers” will experience all of the same symptoms potentially but in a shorter time period.
Chart
Choices chart
Fog----------------------------------------------------------------------------deal
Loss/Gain:
Loss: Support (family,friends,school,church)
Familiar ways of communicating /relating to people
Knowing how to act/what is expected
Familiar setting that provides security/self-worth
Gains: New setting (sights,smells,tastes)
New acquaintances
New language,pattern of speech,nonverbal cues
New roll/identity
Coping Mechanisms
Questions: What helps you deal?
“We cannot underscore the power of adjusting well. Cross cultural adaptation will “squeeze” issues out of you. If you “deal” with them you will grow, if you don’t you really are missing a real growth opportunity and putting yourself at risk of lasting psychological and emotional problems..”
Sources: Andi
Fill in the Bland- What We're Up Against
A Dark Kingdom
The Kingdom of the Kosmos (of the World)
What is it?
1. ________________________________________________ such as ____________(I Cor. 3:19 ), ______________ (I Cor. 2:12), ______________ (I Cor. 7:31) and _________________ (Titus 2:12) of the world.
2. _____________________ toward _____________ and ________________.
1. I Cor. 1:21 - the world ______ God
2. Jn. 7:7 - the world's works are ______________.
3. Jn. 14:17 - the world cannot receive ______________.
4. Jn. 15:18 - the world ___________________________.
3. The men who have alienated themselves from God by _____________ to this kingdom. (Heb. 11:38; Jn. 14:17; Jn. 15:18)
What does Christ says about the Komos?
1. Jn. 18:36 - My kingdom is ____ of this Kosmos.
2. Jn. 16:33 - I have ________________ the world.
3. Jn. 12:31 Now is the _________ of this Kosmos.
In addition:
II Pet. 1:4; II Pet. 2:20 – The world is _______________.
4. James 4:4*- __________________ with the world is enmity with God
5. I Jn. 2:15*- If anyone _________ the world, the love of the Father ________________.
6. I Jn. 5:4 - our __________overcomes the world.
What’s behind the world system?
1. I Jn. 5:19*- the whole world lies in the power of the evil one
2. Jn. 12:31; Jn. 14:30; Jn. 16:11 - the ruler of this world
3. For our struggle is not against____________________, but against rulers, authorities, __________ in the darkness around us, and evil _______ forces in the heavenly realm.
We are to be ____ the world but not _____the world.
Do not ___________any longer to the pattern of this world, but _____________ by the renewing of your mind. Then you will _________ to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
In what areas of your life have you conformed to the pattern of this world?
Are all things in the Kosmos evil?
In what ways have you noticed that the Kosmos is against God?
Sources: Watchman Nee
The Kingdom of the Kosmos (of the World)
What is it?
1. ________________________________________________ such as ____________(I Cor. 3:19 ), ______________ (I Cor. 2:12), ______________ (I Cor. 7:31) and _________________ (Titus 2:12) of the world.
2. _____________________ toward _____________ and ________________.
1. I Cor. 1:21 - the world ______ God
2. Jn. 7:7 - the world's works are ______________.
3. Jn. 14:17 - the world cannot receive ______________.
4. Jn. 15:18 - the world ___________________________.
3. The men who have alienated themselves from God by _____________ to this kingdom. (Heb. 11:38; Jn. 14:17; Jn. 15:18)
What does Christ says about the Komos?
1. Jn. 18:36 - My kingdom is ____ of this Kosmos.
2. Jn. 16:33 - I have ________________ the world.
3. Jn. 12:31 Now is the _________ of this Kosmos.
In addition:
II Pet. 1:4; II Pet. 2:20 – The world is _______________.
4. James 4:4*- __________________ with the world is enmity with God
5. I Jn. 2:15*- If anyone _________ the world, the love of the Father ________________.
6. I Jn. 5:4 - our __________overcomes the world.
What’s behind the world system?
1. I Jn. 5:19*- the whole world lies in the power of the evil one
2. Jn. 12:31; Jn. 14:30; Jn. 16:11 - the ruler of this world
3. For our struggle is not against____________________, but against rulers, authorities, __________ in the darkness around us, and evil _______ forces in the heavenly realm.
We are to be ____ the world but not _____the world.
Do not ___________any longer to the pattern of this world, but _____________ by the renewing of your mind. Then you will _________ to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
In what areas of your life have you conformed to the pattern of this world?
Are all things in the Kosmos evil?
In what ways have you noticed that the Kosmos is against God?
Sources: Watchman Nee
What We're Up Against
A Dark Kingdom
The Kingdom of the Kosmos (of the World)
What is it?
1. The underlying qualities or patterns which animate the world such as the wisdom (I Cor. 3:19 ), the spirit (I Cor. 2:12), the ways (I Cor. 7:31) and the lusts or desires (Titus 2:12) of the world .
2. The hostility of the world system toward God and Christ.
1. I Cor. 1:21 - the world knew not God
2. Jn. 7:7 - the world's works are evil
3. Jn. 14:17 - the world cannot receive the spirit
4. Jn. 15:18 - the world hated Christ
3. The men who have alienated themselves from God by belonging to this kingdoms (Heb. 11:38; Jn. 14:17; Jn. 15:18)
I Jn. 2:15 – love of the things of that are in the world
II Pet. 2:20 –defiled by the world.
What does Christ says about the Komos?
1. Jn. 18:36 - My kingdom is not of this Kosmos
2. Jn. 16:33 - I have overcome the world
3. Jn. 12:31 Now is the judgement of this Kosmos
In addition:
4. James 4:4*- Friendship with the world is enmity with God
5. I Jn. 2:15*- If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
6. I Jn. 5:4 - our faith overcomes the world
D. This is because there is a mind behind the system.
1. Jn. 12:31; Jn. 14:30; Jn. 16:11 - the ruler of this world
2. II Cor. 4:4 - the god of this world (the term here is not Kosmos, but ho seon houtos which is a synonym but contmeplates the world system from the aspect of time, or age, rather than space as does Kosmos. See also Rom. 12:2 and #6).
3. Eph. 2:2 - the prince of the power of the air
4. I Cor. 2:8 - the demons are the rulers of this age or this world
5. Eph. 6:12 - the demons are the world rulers (Kosmoskraters) of this darkness
6. I Jn. 5:19*- the whole world lies in the power of the evil one
7. For our[i] struggle is not against flesh and blood (or human opponents) ,[j] but against rulers, authorities, cosmic powers in the darkness around us,[k] and evil spiritual forces in the heavenly realm.
E. The believer is not to withdraw from the world system.
(Jn. 17:15, 16; I Cor. 5:9,10; Phil. 2:15; Mt. 5:13-16; Jn. 16:33)
Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
World is in the power of the evil one. I have a choice to believe God or the world.
Sources: Watchman Nee
The Kingdom of the Kosmos (of the World)
What is it?
1. The underlying qualities or patterns which animate the world such as the wisdom (I Cor. 3:19 ), the spirit (I Cor. 2:12), the ways (I Cor. 7:31) and the lusts or desires (Titus 2:12) of the world .
2. The hostility of the world system toward God and Christ.
1. I Cor. 1:21 - the world knew not God
2. Jn. 7:7 - the world's works are evil
3. Jn. 14:17 - the world cannot receive the spirit
4. Jn. 15:18 - the world hated Christ
3. The men who have alienated themselves from God by belonging to this kingdoms (Heb. 11:38; Jn. 14:17; Jn. 15:18)
I Jn. 2:15 – love of the things of that are in the world
II Pet. 2:20 –defiled by the world.
What does Christ says about the Komos?
1. Jn. 18:36 - My kingdom is not of this Kosmos
2. Jn. 16:33 - I have overcome the world
3. Jn. 12:31 Now is the judgement of this Kosmos
In addition:
4. James 4:4*- Friendship with the world is enmity with God
5. I Jn. 2:15*- If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
6. I Jn. 5:4 - our faith overcomes the world
D. This is because there is a mind behind the system.
1. Jn. 12:31; Jn. 14:30; Jn. 16:11 - the ruler of this world
2. II Cor. 4:4 - the god of this world (the term here is not Kosmos, but ho seon houtos which is a synonym but contmeplates the world system from the aspect of time, or age, rather than space as does Kosmos. See also Rom. 12:2 and #6).
3. Eph. 2:2 - the prince of the power of the air
4. I Cor. 2:8 - the demons are the rulers of this age or this world
5. Eph. 6:12 - the demons are the world rulers (Kosmoskraters) of this darkness
6. I Jn. 5:19*- the whole world lies in the power of the evil one
7. For our[i] struggle is not against flesh and blood (or human opponents) ,[j] but against rulers, authorities, cosmic powers in the darkness around us,[k] and evil spiritual forces in the heavenly realm.
E. The believer is not to withdraw from the world system.
(Jn. 17:15, 16; I Cor. 5:9,10; Phil. 2:15; Mt. 5:13-16; Jn. 16:33)
Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
World is in the power of the evil one. I have a choice to believe God or the world.
Sources: Watchman Nee
WE SAY: GOD SAYS:
WE SAY: GOD SAYS:
"It's impossible."
"What is impossible with men is possible with God." (Lk. 18:27) (See Gen 18:14)
"I'm too tired."
"Come to me…and I will give you rest." (Matt. 11:28-30) (See Jer. 6:16; Heb. 4:1)
"Nobody really loves me."
"God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son..." (Jn. 3:16)
"I can't go on."
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Cor.12:9) (See Exo. 4:10-15; Josh. 1:9; Isa. 43:2; Jer. 1:6-9; I Cor. 10:13; Heb. 4:16
"I can't figure things out."
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." (Pro. 3:5, 6)
"I can't do it.
"I can do everything through him who gives me strength." (Phil. 4:13)
"I'm not able."
"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." (2 Cor. 9:8)
"I can't forgive."
"If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness…" (Psa. 130:3, 4) (See Matt. 6:14, 15; 18:23-35; Jms.. 2:13; Eph. 4:32)
"I can't manage."
"My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." (Phil. 4:19) (See Psa. 23; 84:11; Isa. 40:31; 2 Cor. 4:7-10; 9:8; 1 Thes. 5:24)
"I'm afraid."
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (2 Tim. 1:7 NKJ) (See Lk. 1:74, 75; Act. 20:24; Rom. 8:15; 1 Jn. 4:18)
"I'm always worried and frustrated"
"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." (I Pet. 5:7) (See I Sam.
"I'm not smart enough."
"…You are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God…" (1 Cor. 1:30) (See 1 Chron. 22:1, 2; Pro. 2:3-6; 8:5; Jms.1:5)
"I feel all alone."
"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." (Heb. 13:5) (See Dt. 31:6-8)
"In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Rom. 8:37)
What have you been saying this week?
What does God say?
Sources: Julie's Dad
"It's impossible."
"What is impossible with men is possible with God." (Lk. 18:27) (See Gen 18:14)
"I'm too tired."
"Come to me…and I will give you rest." (Matt. 11:28-30) (See Jer. 6:16; Heb. 4:1)
"Nobody really loves me."
"God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son..." (Jn. 3:16)
"I can't go on."
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Cor.12:9) (See Exo. 4:10-15; Josh. 1:9; Isa. 43:2; Jer. 1:6-9; I Cor. 10:13; Heb. 4:16
"I can't figure things out."
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." (Pro. 3:5, 6)
"I can't do it.
"I can do everything through him who gives me strength." (Phil. 4:13)
"I'm not able."
"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." (2 Cor. 9:8)
"I can't forgive."
"If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness…" (Psa. 130:3, 4) (See Matt. 6:14, 15; 18:23-35; Jms.. 2:13; Eph. 4:32)
"I can't manage."
"My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." (Phil. 4:19) (See Psa. 23; 84:11; Isa. 40:31; 2 Cor. 4:7-10; 9:8; 1 Thes. 5:24)
"I'm afraid."
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (2 Tim. 1:7 NKJ) (See Lk. 1:74, 75; Act. 20:24; Rom. 8:15; 1 Jn. 4:18)
"I'm always worried and frustrated"
"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." (I Pet. 5:7) (See I Sam.
"I'm not smart enough."
"…You are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God…" (1 Cor. 1:30) (See 1 Chron. 22:1, 2; Pro. 2:3-6; 8:5; Jms.1:5)
"I feel all alone."
"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." (Heb. 13:5) (See Dt. 31:6-8)
"In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Rom. 8:37)
What have you been saying this week?
What does God say?
Sources: Julie's Dad
Christian Development- Hud
Believers have Blind Side issues we need to get rid of. –not dark side- old man is dead. New man must learn to live.
Both a light and a dark side to all stages
0. Behavior-Human Doing
a. Relational but not making deep connections.
b. We hold on to a life that can not bring life
c. Behavioral change will not drive the change your soul longs for.
d. At this stage, peace to us is the absence of conflict.
e. Usually there is a deep sense of need
f. We are moving from being worthless to being worthy, if God is working in us.
1. Acknowledging that God exists
a. We think:
i. That we are too bad to be loved. “If you really knew me, if you really saw my heart, you wouldn’t love me. If we are abused by our caretakers/parents we think the reason they treat us bad is because we deserve it.
ii. Without faith, it is impossible to please God
iii. If I please God, then I will have his love
iv. I’m too good to be loved; I don’t need it. I’m in charge.
b. Motivations can be fear, comparison, competition, guilt, or striving. Most people can’t get past the fact that we are truly loved.
c. Loving God for self’s sake
d. Learn the way
2. Rules and dependency
a. Discipline + Discipleship
b. Power by association –teacher/listener
c. Trying to get it right
d. Look for systems
e. Attractional—association with a place
f. Argues out of righteousness
g. Listening
h. Study
i. Children built to play—do we make them study before relationship?
3. Production + Serving
a. Doing
b. Power by achievement
c. Programs
d. Not ok to be vulnerable
e. Performance
f. Perfection
g. Tired and proud
h. 85% of people don’t get past here
i. Motivation by winning and competing
j. Goal of personal success
Now we move to:
Human Being
Taking out the trash in our lives
We don’t start here unless we believe God is absolutely good.
We don’t naturally jump into 4-6.
We need to create an environment around ours and other people’s 4-6.
We can’t create a program for 4-6.
You are being drawn.
Motivation- Cease striving. If you loose your life for my sake you get it back.
In the garden we wanted to be independent. That will try to get in the way. We are moving from independence to dependence on God.
We can’t make this leap based on experiences. Experience causes us to believe that we are in an impossible situation. Trust over doing. How do react if our experience does not line up with what we expect. We have been faithful, why is God doing this??
We need to know what God is doing and why in order to trust Him and that is backwards.
Inner growth and maturity takes place here. Here peace loves anxiety.
Start to understand that I breathed my last breath because God is pleased to do so.
None of these steps come naturally.
Ego is removed in 4-6. We are still not confident and don’t believe that we are truly loved by God.
No one is in just one stage. We move all the time. Like manna it rots the next day. We need our daily bread.
Disciplines- We sometimes want to use the disciplines on the 2-3 side as a vehicle to push us through the others. Should do 1 thing to us: give us presuppositions. (I think to create space for God to move too) Legalism reigns here.
We will never be in a circumstance where we cannot love.
The transformative change comes from the Spirit of God working in us.
4. Inner Work
a. Unsettling stage, answers are no longer satisfactory
b. We have to give up the dream that 1-3 will bring us life.
c. Motivators are Hope and Holiness
d. We must let go of what we look at as success—not a failure to have anxiety
e. This is where shame, fear, guilt, hurt, and pride are disarmed. Some people call it the dark night of the soul, but that’s not a good name for it.
f. Refining
g. Exploring the unresolved psychological and theological things in our lives
h. Disarming shame, fear, guilt, hurt, pride
i. Relies on grace
j. Needs to be reminded of God’s unconditional love
k. Grief starts the process
l. Anxiety is embraced for peace
m. Moving from independence to dependence
n. Inner growth + maturity take place here
o. Let the interior questioning come
p. Spirit working in the heart and mind
q. Praying through desert experiences
r. Pruning and refining
s. Making pure
t. Sanctifying
u. Purging
v. A key step to maturity
w. Identifying core lies
x. Returning between 2 shores
y. Most people turn around ½ way and retreat to familiar territory
z. Don’t try to bring up trash, it will come up w/out us looking for us (if we shelter ourselves, it comes up quicker)
aa. We don’t have anything that we shouldn’t put into the light
bb. We have this wellspring of things inside of us just waiting to get out
cc. I Timothy 4:4 Redeeming and not getting rid of ourselves
dd. We think God breaks us, but that is not how He operates. He won’t give us anything we can’t handle.
ee. Circumstances don’t make or break you, they reveal you
Healing is necessary for our souls. In this stage, we start outward again. The power is the power of purpose. Our calling is to Jesus not a place or an action or talent. We need to be independent from our circumstances. Powered by purpose. If our purpose is to further the kingdom why can’t we yield to something bigger than us. We are also to bow to marriage and not have marriage bow to us.
5. Healing
a. Yielding to God for kingdom transformation
b. Reliant on God’s goodness
c. Wholeness
d. Surrender, submit, slave,
e. Many people call this transformation.
f. Power by purpose
g. Empathy
h. God is good
i. Uncompromisingly, He is the center
j. Motivator- to empower others.
k. We move from being worthy to being unworthy.
l. Gratefulness.
m. More substance in relationships
n. Have others in mind
o. Quiet waters run deep
p. No striving
q. A calmness to people in this area
r. Serve because we have been served and God’s grace is sufficient
s. Serving from purpose and wholeness
t. Bringing trash to the Cross
u. Embracing truth and disarming lies
v. Purified
6. Learning how to love
a. Humor—The ability to laugh at yourself is the most unmistakable behavioral characteristic of humility
b. Joy- a perspective i.e. death, you face blindside issues (the believer does not have a dark side, he or she has a blind side)
c. Confronts most issues without anger
d. Power by wisdom
e. Motivation is peace
f. Inside-out
g. By faith, not by sight
h. Trust
i. Compassion
j. Contentment
k. Open hand-All is God
l. His presence
m. Calmness
n. John 14: We don’t have to strive to know the Spirit. God is present—a call to awareness of His presence
o. We choose to draw and influence and encourage, as opposed to forcing and coercing and demanding
p. Job- not about suffering, about trust
q. We need to gain the confidence that God is able to care for us
r. Your obedience needs to come on basis of relationship
s. We need to learn to be a drawn by the Spirit
t. Peace
u. We are most like God in how we think and least like God in what we can do
v. Discovering true self
w. Working out of the image of God in us
x. Boundaries- love waits, not controlling, depends on the other person to move forward
y. God is not a child abuser; he won’t make us do things that are bad for us
z. cf. Henri Nouwen’s In the Name of Jesus or Moving from Solitude to Community to Outreach (look for his references to healing)
aa. From a healed place we start outward again
Source: Hud Mcwilliams Field Orientation
Both a light and a dark side to all stages
0. Behavior-Human Doing
a. Relational but not making deep connections.
b. We hold on to a life that can not bring life
c. Behavioral change will not drive the change your soul longs for.
d. At this stage, peace to us is the absence of conflict.
e. Usually there is a deep sense of need
f. We are moving from being worthless to being worthy, if God is working in us.
1. Acknowledging that God exists
a. We think:
i. That we are too bad to be loved. “If you really knew me, if you really saw my heart, you wouldn’t love me. If we are abused by our caretakers/parents we think the reason they treat us bad is because we deserve it.
ii. Without faith, it is impossible to please God
iii. If I please God, then I will have his love
iv. I’m too good to be loved; I don’t need it. I’m in charge.
b. Motivations can be fear, comparison, competition, guilt, or striving. Most people can’t get past the fact that we are truly loved.
c. Loving God for self’s sake
d. Learn the way
2. Rules and dependency
a. Discipline + Discipleship
b. Power by association –teacher/listener
c. Trying to get it right
d. Look for systems
e. Attractional—association with a place
f. Argues out of righteousness
g. Listening
h. Study
i. Children built to play—do we make them study before relationship?
3. Production + Serving
a. Doing
b. Power by achievement
c. Programs
d. Not ok to be vulnerable
e. Performance
f. Perfection
g. Tired and proud
h. 85% of people don’t get past here
i. Motivation by winning and competing
j. Goal of personal success
Now we move to:
Human Being
Taking out the trash in our lives
We don’t start here unless we believe God is absolutely good.
We don’t naturally jump into 4-6.
We need to create an environment around ours and other people’s 4-6.
We can’t create a program for 4-6.
You are being drawn.
Motivation- Cease striving. If you loose your life for my sake you get it back.
In the garden we wanted to be independent. That will try to get in the way. We are moving from independence to dependence on God.
We can’t make this leap based on experiences. Experience causes us to believe that we are in an impossible situation. Trust over doing. How do react if our experience does not line up with what we expect. We have been faithful, why is God doing this??
We need to know what God is doing and why in order to trust Him and that is backwards.
Inner growth and maturity takes place here. Here peace loves anxiety.
Start to understand that I breathed my last breath because God is pleased to do so.
None of these steps come naturally.
Ego is removed in 4-6. We are still not confident and don’t believe that we are truly loved by God.
No one is in just one stage. We move all the time. Like manna it rots the next day. We need our daily bread.
Disciplines- We sometimes want to use the disciplines on the 2-3 side as a vehicle to push us through the others. Should do 1 thing to us: give us presuppositions. (I think to create space for God to move too) Legalism reigns here.
We will never be in a circumstance where we cannot love.
The transformative change comes from the Spirit of God working in us.
4. Inner Work
a. Unsettling stage, answers are no longer satisfactory
b. We have to give up the dream that 1-3 will bring us life.
c. Motivators are Hope and Holiness
d. We must let go of what we look at as success—not a failure to have anxiety
e. This is where shame, fear, guilt, hurt, and pride are disarmed. Some people call it the dark night of the soul, but that’s not a good name for it.
f. Refining
g. Exploring the unresolved psychological and theological things in our lives
h. Disarming shame, fear, guilt, hurt, pride
i. Relies on grace
j. Needs to be reminded of God’s unconditional love
k. Grief starts the process
l. Anxiety is embraced for peace
m. Moving from independence to dependence
n. Inner growth + maturity take place here
o. Let the interior questioning come
p. Spirit working in the heart and mind
q. Praying through desert experiences
r. Pruning and refining
s. Making pure
t. Sanctifying
u. Purging
v. A key step to maturity
w. Identifying core lies
x. Returning between 2 shores
y. Most people turn around ½ way and retreat to familiar territory
z. Don’t try to bring up trash, it will come up w/out us looking for us (if we shelter ourselves, it comes up quicker)
aa. We don’t have anything that we shouldn’t put into the light
bb. We have this wellspring of things inside of us just waiting to get out
cc. I Timothy 4:4 Redeeming and not getting rid of ourselves
dd. We think God breaks us, but that is not how He operates. He won’t give us anything we can’t handle.
ee. Circumstances don’t make or break you, they reveal you
Healing is necessary for our souls. In this stage, we start outward again. The power is the power of purpose. Our calling is to Jesus not a place or an action or talent. We need to be independent from our circumstances. Powered by purpose. If our purpose is to further the kingdom why can’t we yield to something bigger than us. We are also to bow to marriage and not have marriage bow to us.
5. Healing
a. Yielding to God for kingdom transformation
b. Reliant on God’s goodness
c. Wholeness
d. Surrender, submit, slave,
e. Many people call this transformation.
f. Power by purpose
g. Empathy
h. God is good
i. Uncompromisingly, He is the center
j. Motivator- to empower others.
k. We move from being worthy to being unworthy.
l. Gratefulness.
m. More substance in relationships
n. Have others in mind
o. Quiet waters run deep
p. No striving
q. A calmness to people in this area
r. Serve because we have been served and God’s grace is sufficient
s. Serving from purpose and wholeness
t. Bringing trash to the Cross
u. Embracing truth and disarming lies
v. Purified
6. Learning how to love
a. Humor—The ability to laugh at yourself is the most unmistakable behavioral characteristic of humility
b. Joy- a perspective i.e. death, you face blindside issues (the believer does not have a dark side, he or she has a blind side)
c. Confronts most issues without anger
d. Power by wisdom
e. Motivation is peace
f. Inside-out
g. By faith, not by sight
h. Trust
i. Compassion
j. Contentment
k. Open hand-All is God
l. His presence
m. Calmness
n. John 14: We don’t have to strive to know the Spirit. God is present—a call to awareness of His presence
o. We choose to draw and influence and encourage, as opposed to forcing and coercing and demanding
p. Job- not about suffering, about trust
q. We need to gain the confidence that God is able to care for us
r. Your obedience needs to come on basis of relationship
s. We need to learn to be a drawn by the Spirit
t. Peace
u. We are most like God in how we think and least like God in what we can do
v. Discovering true self
w. Working out of the image of God in us
x. Boundaries- love waits, not controlling, depends on the other person to move forward
y. God is not a child abuser; he won’t make us do things that are bad for us
z. cf. Henri Nouwen’s In the Name of Jesus or Moving from Solitude to Community to Outreach (look for his references to healing)
aa. From a healed place we start outward again
Source: Hud Mcwilliams Field Orientation
Reality check
Good News
All who are justified experience reconciliation with the Father, full remission of sins, transition from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light (Jesus declares the present reality of the kingdom of God), the reality of being a new creature in Christ, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. They enjoy access to the Father with all the peace and joy that this brings.
The heart of the Gospel is that our holy, loving Creator, confronted with human hostility and rebellion, has chosen in his own freedom and faithfulness to become our holy, loving Redeemer and Restorer. The Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world (1 John 4:14).
Through the Gospel we learn that we human beings, who were made for fellowship with God, are by nature--that is, "in Adam" (1 Cor. 15:22) --dead in sin, unresponsive to and separating from our Maker.
Yet God in grace took the initiative to reconcile us to himself through the sinless life and vicarious death of his beloved Son (Eph. 2:4–10; Rom. 3:21–24).
Father sent the Son to free us from the dominion of sin and Satan, and to make us God’s children and friends. Jesus paid our penalty in our place on his cross, satisfying the retributive demands of divine justice by shedding his blood in sacrifice and so making possible justification for all who trust in him (Rom. 3:25–26). The Bible describes this mighty substitutionary transaction as the achieving of ransom, reconciliation, redemption, propitiation, and conquest of evil powers (Matt. 20:28; 2 Cor. 5:18–21; Rom. 3:23–25; John 12:31; Col. 2:15). It secures for us a restored relationship with God that brings pardon and peace, acceptance and access, and adoption into God’s family (Col. 1:20, 2:13–14; Rom. 5:1–2; Gal. 4:4–7; 1 Pet. 3:18). The faith in God and in Christ to which the Gospel calls us is a trustful outgoing of our hearts to lay hold of these promised and proffered benefits.
This Gospel further proclaims the bodily resurrection, ascension, and enthronement of Jesus as evidence of the efficacy of his once-for-all sacrifice for us, of the reality of his present personal ministry to us, and of the certainty of his future return to glorify us (1 Cor. 15; Heb. 1:1–4, 2:1–18, 4:14–16, 7:1–10:25). In the life of faith as the Gospel presents it, believers are united with their risen Lord, communing with him, and looking to him in repentance and hope for empowering through the Holy Spirit, so that henceforth they may not sin but serve him truly.
God’s justification of those who trust him, according to the Gospel, is a decisive transition, here and now, from a state of condemnation and wrath because of their sins to one of acceptance and favor by virtue of Jesus’ flawless obedience culminating in his voluntary sin-bearing death. God "justifies the wicked" (ungodly: Rom. 4:5) by imputing (reckoning, crediting, counting, accounting) righteousness to them and ceasing to count their sins against them (Rom. 4:1–8). Sinners receive through faith in Christ alone "the gift of righteousness" (Rom. 1:17, 5:17; Phil. 3:9) and thus be come "the righteousness of God" in him who was "made sin" for them (2 Cor. 5:21).
As our sins were reckoned to Christ, so Christ’s righteousness is reckoned to us. This is justification by the imputation of Christ’s righteousness. All we bring to the transaction is our need of it. Our faith in the God who bestows it, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, is itself the fruit of God’s grace. Faith links us savingly to Jesus, but inasmuch as it involves an acknowledgment that we have no merit of our own, it is confessedly not a meritorious work.
The Gospel assures us that all who have en trusted their lives to Jesus Christ are born-again children of God (John 1:12), indwelt, empowered, and assured of their status and hope by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 7:6, 8:9–17). The moment we truly believe in Christ, the Father declares us righteous in him and begins conforming us to his likeness. Genuine faith acknowledges and depends upon Jesus as Lord and shows itself in growing obedience to the divine commands, though this contributes nothing to the ground of our justification (James 2:14–26; Heb. 6:1–12).
By his sanctifying grace, Christ works within us through faith, renewing our fallen nature and leading us to real maturity, that measure of development which is meant by "the fullness of Christ" (Eph. 4:13). The Gospel calls us to live as obedient servants of Christ and as his emissaries in the world, doing justice, loving mercy, and helping all in need, thus seeking to bear witness to the kingdom of Christ. At death, Christ takes the believer to himself (Phil. 1:21) for unimaginable joy in the ceaseless worship of God (Rev. 22:1–5).
Salvation in its full sense is from the guilt of sin in the past, the power of sin in the present, and the presence of sin in the future. Thus, while in foretaste believers enjoy salvation now, they still await its fullness (Mark 14:61–62; Heb. 9:28). Salvation is a Trinitarian reality, initiated by the Father, implemented by the Son, and applied by the Holy Spirit. It has a global dimension, for God’s plan is to save believers out of every tribe and tongue (Rev. 5:9) to be his church, a new humanity, the people of God, the body and bride of Christ, and the community of the Holy Spirit. All the heirs of final salvation are called here and now to serve their Lord and each other in love, to share in the fellowship of Jesus’ sufferings, and to work together to make Christ known to the whole world.
We learn from the Gospel that, as all have sinned, so all who do not receive Christ will be judged according to their just deserts as measured by God’s holy law, and face eternal retributive punishment.
We affirm that the doctrine of the imputation (reckoning or counting) both of our sins to Christ and of his righteousness to us, whereby our sins are fully forgiven and we are fully accepted, is essential to the biblical Gospel (2 Cor. 5:19–21).
We deny that we are justified by the righteousness of Christ infused into us or by any righteousness that is thought to inhere within us.
We affirm that the righteousness of Christ by which we are justified is properly his own, which he achieved apart from us, in and by his perfect obedience. This righteousness is counted, reckoned, or imputed to us by the forensic (that is, legal) declaration of God, as the sole ground of our justification.
We deny that any works we perform at any stage of our existence add to the merit of Christ or earn for us any merit that contributes in any way to the ground of our justification (Gal. 2:16; Eph. 2:8–9; Titus 3:5).
We affirm that, while all believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and are in the process of being made holy and conformed to the image of Christ, those consequences of justification are not its ground. God declares us just, remits our sins, and adopts us as his children, by his grace alone, and through faith alone, because of Christ alone, while we are still sinners (Rom. 4:5).
We deny that believers must be inherently righteous by virtue of their cooperation with God’s life-transforming grace before God will declare them justified in Christ. We are justified while we are still sinners.
We affirm that saving faith results in sanctification, the transformation of life in growing conformity to Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. Sanctification means ongoing repentance, a life of turning from sin to serve Jesus Christ in grateful reliance on him as one’s Lord and Master (Gal. 5:22–25; Rom. 8:4, 13–14).
We reject any view of justification which divorces it from our sanctifying union with Christ and our increasing conformity to his image through prayer, repentance, cross-bearing, and life in the Spirit.
We affirm that, although true doctrine is vital for spiritual health and well-being, we are not saved by doctrine. Doctrine is necessary to inform us how we may be saved by Christ, but it is Christ who saves. We deny that the doctrines of the Gospel can be rejected without harm. Denial of the Gospel brings spiritual ruin and exposes us to God’s judgment.
Who are you?
Do you believe a part of you is more than material?
What does it mean to be created in God’s image?
How does God act in this world?
Can God move in people’s lives who don’t have the Holy Spirit?
What happens when we are justified?
What God doing now in you?
In the world?
What do you believe will happen after death?
Sources: Christianity Today- 'The Gospel: A Call to Evangelical Unity'
All who are justified experience reconciliation with the Father, full remission of sins, transition from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light (Jesus declares the present reality of the kingdom of God), the reality of being a new creature in Christ, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. They enjoy access to the Father with all the peace and joy that this brings.
The heart of the Gospel is that our holy, loving Creator, confronted with human hostility and rebellion, has chosen in his own freedom and faithfulness to become our holy, loving Redeemer and Restorer. The Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world (1 John 4:14).
Through the Gospel we learn that we human beings, who were made for fellowship with God, are by nature--that is, "in Adam" (1 Cor. 15:22) --dead in sin, unresponsive to and separating from our Maker.
Yet God in grace took the initiative to reconcile us to himself through the sinless life and vicarious death of his beloved Son (Eph. 2:4–10; Rom. 3:21–24).
Father sent the Son to free us from the dominion of sin and Satan, and to make us God’s children and friends. Jesus paid our penalty in our place on his cross, satisfying the retributive demands of divine justice by shedding his blood in sacrifice and so making possible justification for all who trust in him (Rom. 3:25–26). The Bible describes this mighty substitutionary transaction as the achieving of ransom, reconciliation, redemption, propitiation, and conquest of evil powers (Matt. 20:28; 2 Cor. 5:18–21; Rom. 3:23–25; John 12:31; Col. 2:15). It secures for us a restored relationship with God that brings pardon and peace, acceptance and access, and adoption into God’s family (Col. 1:20, 2:13–14; Rom. 5:1–2; Gal. 4:4–7; 1 Pet. 3:18). The faith in God and in Christ to which the Gospel calls us is a trustful outgoing of our hearts to lay hold of these promised and proffered benefits.
This Gospel further proclaims the bodily resurrection, ascension, and enthronement of Jesus as evidence of the efficacy of his once-for-all sacrifice for us, of the reality of his present personal ministry to us, and of the certainty of his future return to glorify us (1 Cor. 15; Heb. 1:1–4, 2:1–18, 4:14–16, 7:1–10:25). In the life of faith as the Gospel presents it, believers are united with their risen Lord, communing with him, and looking to him in repentance and hope for empowering through the Holy Spirit, so that henceforth they may not sin but serve him truly.
God’s justification of those who trust him, according to the Gospel, is a decisive transition, here and now, from a state of condemnation and wrath because of their sins to one of acceptance and favor by virtue of Jesus’ flawless obedience culminating in his voluntary sin-bearing death. God "justifies the wicked" (ungodly: Rom. 4:5) by imputing (reckoning, crediting, counting, accounting) righteousness to them and ceasing to count their sins against them (Rom. 4:1–8). Sinners receive through faith in Christ alone "the gift of righteousness" (Rom. 1:17, 5:17; Phil. 3:9) and thus be come "the righteousness of God" in him who was "made sin" for them (2 Cor. 5:21).
As our sins were reckoned to Christ, so Christ’s righteousness is reckoned to us. This is justification by the imputation of Christ’s righteousness. All we bring to the transaction is our need of it. Our faith in the God who bestows it, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, is itself the fruit of God’s grace. Faith links us savingly to Jesus, but inasmuch as it involves an acknowledgment that we have no merit of our own, it is confessedly not a meritorious work.
The Gospel assures us that all who have en trusted their lives to Jesus Christ are born-again children of God (John 1:12), indwelt, empowered, and assured of their status and hope by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 7:6, 8:9–17). The moment we truly believe in Christ, the Father declares us righteous in him and begins conforming us to his likeness. Genuine faith acknowledges and depends upon Jesus as Lord and shows itself in growing obedience to the divine commands, though this contributes nothing to the ground of our justification (James 2:14–26; Heb. 6:1–12).
By his sanctifying grace, Christ works within us through faith, renewing our fallen nature and leading us to real maturity, that measure of development which is meant by "the fullness of Christ" (Eph. 4:13). The Gospel calls us to live as obedient servants of Christ and as his emissaries in the world, doing justice, loving mercy, and helping all in need, thus seeking to bear witness to the kingdom of Christ. At death, Christ takes the believer to himself (Phil. 1:21) for unimaginable joy in the ceaseless worship of God (Rev. 22:1–5).
Salvation in its full sense is from the guilt of sin in the past, the power of sin in the present, and the presence of sin in the future. Thus, while in foretaste believers enjoy salvation now, they still await its fullness (Mark 14:61–62; Heb. 9:28). Salvation is a Trinitarian reality, initiated by the Father, implemented by the Son, and applied by the Holy Spirit. It has a global dimension, for God’s plan is to save believers out of every tribe and tongue (Rev. 5:9) to be his church, a new humanity, the people of God, the body and bride of Christ, and the community of the Holy Spirit. All the heirs of final salvation are called here and now to serve their Lord and each other in love, to share in the fellowship of Jesus’ sufferings, and to work together to make Christ known to the whole world.
We learn from the Gospel that, as all have sinned, so all who do not receive Christ will be judged according to their just deserts as measured by God’s holy law, and face eternal retributive punishment.
We affirm that the doctrine of the imputation (reckoning or counting) both of our sins to Christ and of his righteousness to us, whereby our sins are fully forgiven and we are fully accepted, is essential to the biblical Gospel (2 Cor. 5:19–21).
We deny that we are justified by the righteousness of Christ infused into us or by any righteousness that is thought to inhere within us.
We affirm that the righteousness of Christ by which we are justified is properly his own, which he achieved apart from us, in and by his perfect obedience. This righteousness is counted, reckoned, or imputed to us by the forensic (that is, legal) declaration of God, as the sole ground of our justification.
We deny that any works we perform at any stage of our existence add to the merit of Christ or earn for us any merit that contributes in any way to the ground of our justification (Gal. 2:16; Eph. 2:8–9; Titus 3:5).
We affirm that, while all believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and are in the process of being made holy and conformed to the image of Christ, those consequences of justification are not its ground. God declares us just, remits our sins, and adopts us as his children, by his grace alone, and through faith alone, because of Christ alone, while we are still sinners (Rom. 4:5).
We deny that believers must be inherently righteous by virtue of their cooperation with God’s life-transforming grace before God will declare them justified in Christ. We are justified while we are still sinners.
We affirm that saving faith results in sanctification, the transformation of life in growing conformity to Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. Sanctification means ongoing repentance, a life of turning from sin to serve Jesus Christ in grateful reliance on him as one’s Lord and Master (Gal. 5:22–25; Rom. 8:4, 13–14).
We reject any view of justification which divorces it from our sanctifying union with Christ and our increasing conformity to his image through prayer, repentance, cross-bearing, and life in the Spirit.
We affirm that, although true doctrine is vital for spiritual health and well-being, we are not saved by doctrine. Doctrine is necessary to inform us how we may be saved by Christ, but it is Christ who saves. We deny that the doctrines of the Gospel can be rejected without harm. Denial of the Gospel brings spiritual ruin and exposes us to God’s judgment.
Who are you?
Do you believe a part of you is more than material?
What does it mean to be created in God’s image?
How does God act in this world?
Can God move in people’s lives who don’t have the Holy Spirit?
What happens when we are justified?
What God doing now in you?
In the world?
What do you believe will happen after death?
Sources: Christianity Today- 'The Gospel: A Call to Evangelical Unity'
Stretched scripture
S t r e t c h e d !!
Culture Shock (use tree)
Cultural Differences
Who we are (spirit > body) in Christ
World vs Kingdom in
Our souls (lies, fruit, Sanctification)
Inner Work (Hud development)
True faced (vital friends)
Character Matrix (what comes out in times of stretching)
Abide in me, and I will abide in you. Just as the branch cannot produce fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 5I am the vine, you are the branches. The one who abides in me while I abide in him produces much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.
John 15 :4-5
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
2Cor 3:18
From the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.
2 Thessalonians 2:13
They exchanged the truth of God for a lie
Romans 1:25
Culture Shock (use tree)
Cultural Differences
Who we are (spirit > body) in Christ
World vs Kingdom in
Our souls (lies, fruit, Sanctification)
Inner Work (Hud development)
True faced (vital friends)
Character Matrix (what comes out in times of stretching)
Abide in me, and I will abide in you. Just as the branch cannot produce fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 5I am the vine, you are the branches. The one who abides in me while I abide in him produces much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.
John 15 :4-5
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
2Cor 3:18
From the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.
2 Thessalonians 2:13
They exchanged the truth of God for a lie
Romans 1:25
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