Sunday School Lesson 2009 04 18

A Singular Calling

Sunday School Lesson
April 19th, 2009

Brushy Creek Baptist Church 4999 Old Spartanburg Road, Taylors, SC

The Spiritual Life

New Mature
Believer Believer


What are the
characteristics of a new
believer?


The New Believer
• John 3:3

• 1 Corinthians 3:1

• 1 Peter 2:2

The New Believer
“I tell you the truth, no one can
see the kingdom of God unless
he is born again.”
John 3:3


The New Believer
“Brothers, I could not address
you as spiritual, but as
worldly – mere infants in
Christ”
1 Corinthians 3:1


The New Believer
“Like newborn babies, crave
spiritual milk, so that by it you
may grow up in your
salvation.”
1 Peter 2:2


The New Believer
• Infantile
• Worldly perspective
• Hungry


What are the
characteristics of a
mature believer?


The Mature Believer
• Galatians 5: 22 - 26

• 1 Corinthians 13: 1 – 13

• James 1: 2 - 15

The Mature Believer
“But the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, and
self –control”
Galatians 5: 22 - 26

The Mature Believer
“1If I speak in the tongues of men
and of angels, but have not love, I
am only a resounding gong or a
clanging symbol.”

1 Corinthians 13:1-13


The Mature Believer
“2If I have the gift of prophesy and
can fathom all mysteries and all
knowledge, and I if I have faith
that can move mountains, but I
have not love, I am nothing.


The Mature Believer
“3If I give all I possess to the
poor and surrender my body
to the flames, but have not
love, I gain nothing.”


The Mature Believer
“4Love is patient, love is kind. It
does not envy, it does not boast, it
is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is
not self-seeking, it is not easily
angered, it keeps no record of
wrongs.”


The Mature Believer
“6Love does not delight in evil but
rejoices with the truth. 7It always
protects, always trusts, always
hopes, always perseveres.”



The Mature Believer
“8Love never fails. But where there are
prophesies, they will cease; where
there are tongues, they will be stilled;
where there is knowledge, it will pass
away. 9For we know in part and we
prophesy in part.”


The Mature Believer
“10but when perfection comes, the
imperfect disappears. 11When I was a
child, I talked like a child. I thought
like a child, I reasoned like a child.
When I became a man, I put childish
ways behind me.”


The Mature Believer
“12Now we see as but a poor
reflection in a mirror; then we
shall see face to face. Now I know
in part; then I shall know fully,
even as I am fully known.”


The Mature Believer
“13And now these three remain:
faith, hope and love. But the
greatest of these is love.”



The Mature Believer
“2Consider it pure joy, my brothers,
whenever you face trials of many
kinds, 3because you know that the
testing of your faith develops
perseverance. 4Perseverance must
finish its work so that you may be
mature and complete, not lacking
anything .”
James 1:2-15

The Mature Believer
“5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should
ask God, who gives generously to all
without finding fault, and it will be
given to him. 6But when he asks, he
must believe and not doubt, because
he who doubts is like a wave of the
sea, blown and tossed by the wind. .”
James 1:2-15

The Mature Believer
“7That man should not think he will
receive anything from the Lord;
8
he is a double-minded man,
unstable in all he does. 9The
brother in humble circumstances
ought to take pride in his high
position.”
James 1:2-15

The Mature Believer
“10But the one who is rich should take
pride in his low position, because he
will pass away like a wild flower.
11
For the sun rises with scorching
heat and withers the plant; its
blossom falls and its beauty is
destroyed. In the same way, the rich
man will fade away even while he
goes about his business.”
James 1:2-15

The Mature Believer
“12Blessed is the man who
perseveres under trial, because
when he has stood the test, he will
receive the crown of life that God
has promised to those who love
him.”

James 1:2-15

The Mature Believer
“13When tempted, no one should
say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For
God cannot be tempted by evil,
nor does he tempt anyone; 14but
each one is tempted when, by his
own evil desire, he is dragged
away and enticed.”
James 1:2-15

The Mature Believer
“ 15
Then, after desire has conceived,
it gives birth to sin; and sin,
when it is full-grown, gives birth
to death.”

James 1:2-15


The Mature Believer
• Character of love
• Perseveres in trials
• Prays amidst confusion
• Eternal perspective
• Doesn’t blame God

Why do people fail to
grow spiritually from
being a new believer to a
mature believer?


Cultivating Growth
• Matthew 13: 1 - 8

• Matthew 13: 18 - 23


Cultivating Growth
”1That same day Jesus went out of the
house and sat by the lake. 2Such large
crowds gathered around him that he
got into a boat and sat in it, while all
the people stood on the shore. 3Then
he told them many things in
parables, saying: "A farmer went out
to sow his seed.”
Matthew 13:1-8

Cultivating Growth
“4As he was scattering the seed, some
fell along the path, and the birds
came and ate it up. 5Some fell on
rocky places, where it did not have
much soil. It sprang up quickly,
because the soil was shallow. 6But
when the sun came up, the plants
were scorched, and they withered
because they had no root.”
Matthew 13:1-8

Cultivating Growth
“7Other seed fell among thorns,
which grew up and choked the
plants. 8Still other seed fell on
good soil, where it produced a
crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty
times what was sown.”

Matthew 13:1-8

Cultivating Growth
18
"Listen then to what the parable
of the sower means: 19When
anyone hears the message about
the kingdom and does not
understand it, the evil one comes
and snatches away what was
sown in his heart. This is the seed
sown along the path.
Matthew 13:18-23

Cultivating Growth
The one who received the seed
20

that fell on rocky places is the
man who hears the word and at
once receives it with joy. 21But
since he has no root, he lasts only
a short time. When trouble or
persecution comes because of the
word, he quickly falls away.
Matthew 13:18-23

Cultivating Growth
22
The one who received the seed that fell
among the thorns is the man who hears
the word, but the worries of this life and
the deceitfulness of wealth choke it,
making it unfruitful. 23But the one who
received the seed that fell on good soil is
the man who hears the word and
understands it. He produces a crop,
yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times
what was sown."
Matthew 13:18-23

Cultivating Growth

Why do people fail to
grow spiritually?


Cultivating Growth
“There is no one
righteous, not even one.”

Romans 3:10


How do we make bad soil
into good soil so that the
seeds of faith will take
root and flourish?


Cultivating the Soil
• Irrigate: Critical to the plant
becoming established & continued
growth
• Fertilize: Compensate for
deficiencies
• Remove the weeds: Prevent
nutrient loss

What are the ingredients
necessary to achieve
spiritual grounding for
the seeds of faith?


Spiritual Grounding
• Receiving assurance of salvation
• Developing a consistent devotional
life
• Understanding the basics of abundant
Christian living
• Integrating into the life of a local
church
• Learning to share his faith with others


Spiritual Grounding

How can the new believer
achieve spiritual
grounding?


Spiritual Grounding
Group
Fellowship

Personal Personal
Follow-up Study


Spiritual Grounding
Why can’t we just rely upon
group fellowship and personal
study to achieve spiritual
maturity? Why do WE need to
engage in personal follow-up?
Matthew 28:19 John 21:15-17


Cultivating Growth
19
Therefore go and make converts of all
disciples
nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them
to obey everything I have
commanded you. And surely I am
with you always, to the very end of
the age."
Matthew 28:19-20

Christ’s Commission
• When they had finished eating,
15

Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon
son of John, do you truly love me
more than these?"
"Yes, Lord," he said, "you know
that I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."

John 21:15-17

Cultivating Growth
16
Again Jesus said, "Simon son of
John, do you truly love me?"
He answered, "Yes, Lord, you
know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Take care of my
sheep."

John 21:15-17

Cultivating Growth
17
The third time he said to him, "Simon
son of John, do you love me?"
Peter was hurt because Jesus
asked him the third time, "Do you
love me?" He said, "Lord, you know
all things; you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my sheep.”

John 21:15-17

Personal Follow-up
Personal follow-up: Assuming
of a one-to-one relationship by
a mature believer with a new
Christian for the purpose of
nurturing the new Christian’s
spiritual growth.

Why Personal?
• The new Christian is vulnerable
• The new Christian has a tremendous
potential for change
• Disciples are produced most
effectively through personal follow-up
• Personal follow-up is the most
effective way to achieve spiritual
multiplication

Vulnerability
• Victory against Satan’s
deceptions is only to be
found in the truth of God’s
word
–Matthew 4:1-11
–Luke 4:1-13


Potential for Change
• The old has gone, the new has
come (2 Cor 5:17)
• Putting off the old self
–Ephesians 4
–Colossians 3
• Avoiding developing wrong life
patterns

Disciple Defined
A disciple is a Christian growing
in conformity to Christ, is
achieving fruit in evangelism,
and is working in follow-up to
conserve his fruit.


Christ’s Example
“Follow Me and I will make you
fishers of men”

Matthew 4:19


Paul’s Challenge
“Follow my example, as I follow
the example of Christ.”
1 Corinthians 11:1
“Whatever you have learned or
received or heard from me, or
seen in me, put it into practice…”
Philippians 4:9

Spiritual Multiplication

“And the things which you have
heard from me in the presence
of many witnesses, (1) these
entrust to faithful men, (2) who
will be able to teach others
also.” (3)
2 Timothy 2:2


“The work of evangelism is
never complete until the one
evangelized becomes an
evangelizer”
-Herschel Hobbs


Year Disciples Evangelism

First year 2 50
2 years 4 100
4 years 16 400
6 years 64 1600
8 years 256 6400
10 years 1024 27600


Homework Questions
• Where am I on the spectrum of
spiritual growth?
• Do I believe in the biblical
example of spiritual follow-up?
• Am I willing to spend the time to
be discipled or disciple others and
create a spiritual heritage?

Questions?


Sunday School Lesson 2009 04 18

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Sunday School Lesson 2009 04 18