Recipe For Faithfulness Lesson Eight

1. Recipe For FaithfulnessLesson Eight • Introduction Up Until This Point We Have Studied Passages Of Scripture That Tell How Much God Loves You And How He Sent His Son As A Perfect Sacrifice For Your Sins. "God Loves You"

2. Precious Gift Of His Grace • The Scriptures Also Reveal How God Would Have You Respond To The Precious Gift Of His Grace Offered To You Through Jesus Christ. • When You By Faith Surrender Your Life To Him In Baptism, He Forgives Your Sins, And His Spirit Is Given As A Guarantee Of Your Eternal Inheritance. • This Is Just The Beginning Of An Amazing Journey.

3. Remaining Faithful To God • As Important As This Initial Response Of Obedient Faith Is . . . • It Is Just As Important To Remain Faithful To God, Growing In Your Faith And Becoming More Like Him Everyday.

4. Remaining Faithful To Your Commitment • Your Changed Life And Being Faithful To Your Commitment Will Bring Glory And Honor To Him. • This Lesson Will Focus On The Need For, And The Way To, Faithfulness.

5. Satan Will Try To Reclaim You • When You Decide To Follow Jesus, Satan Is Going To Try To Get You Back. • Being Faithful To Your New Commitment Will Not Always Be Easy, But It Is Very Necessary. • If You Remain Faithful Unto Death, He Will Give You The Crown Of Life (Rev. 2:10) “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life”.

6. A Way To Faithfulness • We Will Start By Looking Again At Acts 2. • Remember That This Is The Day The Apostles, Empowered By The Holy Spirit, Preached To Thousands In Jerusalem. • About Three Thousand Were Baptized That Day. • Notice What These New Disciples Did From That Day Forward. Acts 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

7. A Recipe For Faithfulness • Think Of Acts 2:42 As A Recipe For Faithfulness. • All Of The Things Stated In The Verse Are Very Important. • If You Leave Out An Ingredient When Baking Something, The End Result Is Not What Was Desired. • The Disciples Devoted Themselves To Four Necessary Activities That Spiritually Fed Them And Strengthened Their Faithfulness. All Ingredients Are Needed “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer”. (Acts 2:42)

8. The Four Necessary ActivitiesListed In Acts 2:42 • Apostles’ Teaching • Fellowship • Breaking of Bread • Prayer Let's Examine Each One

9. The Apostles’ Teaching • The Apostles Teaching Is Something That Should Be Important To You. • As Recorded In John Chapters 14-16, Jesus Told The Apostles The Night Before His Crucifixion That He Must Go Back To Heaven And Send The Holy Spirit. • The Holy Spirit Was To Teach Them All Truth And Remind Them Of All That He Had Said. • When We Read What The Apostles Were Inspired By The Holy Spirit To Write, We Are Looking At The Truth.

10. What Convinced Them? • Two Things Convinced The Early Christians That What The Apostles Taught Was True: 1 The Old Testament Documents (Acts 17:11) 2 And The Miraculous Signs That Accompanied Their Message (Mark 16:20; Acts 4:29-30; 5:12-16; 8:6)

11. Like A Healthy Tree • The First Psalm Mentions How A Tree Gains Nourishment. . . • Like A Healthy Tree, We Must Put Our Roots Down Deep Into The Word Of God In Order To Grow. . .

12. Babies In Christ • New Christians Or Babies In Christ, Must Have Proper Nourishment Or They Will Die. 1 Peter 2:2 “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,” • When You Are Hungry Or Thirsty, You Crave Something. • We Should Have That Same Desire For The Word Of God. • By It We Will Grow Up In Our Salvation.

13. How Does Faith Come? Romans 10:17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. • If We Listen To What The Apostles Were Inspired To Write, We Take In Spiritual Food By Which Our Faith Grows. • People In The First Century Spent Much Time Listening To And Understanding What The Apostles Were Teaching. • God In His Infinite Wisdom Knew We Needed These Timeless Truths For Our Faith To Grow Today.

14. He’s Given Us All We Need 2 Peter 1:3 “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” • God Has Given Us Everything We Need To Become Like Him . . . • It Is Through The Word That We Gain Knowledge Of Him. • Jesus Told The Apostles That He Would Guide Them Into All Truth. All + Zero = All

15. Devoted To Study • We Need Nothing More Than What The Apostles, Inspired By The Holy Spirit, Wrote And Taught. • No Wonder These Early Disciples Devoted Themselves To Studying What The Apostles Taught!

16. Fellowship • The Second Ingredient In The Recipe For Faithfulness Is Fellowship (Acts 2:42) • Fellowship Comes From The Greek Word koinonia, Which Means “Lives Interwoven Together, Interdependent On Each Other.” • Christians In The First Century Were Of Constant Encouragement To One Another. • The Same Should Be True Of Christians Today, That We Build Each Other Up And Spur Each Other On. (Hebrews 10:23-25)

17. As We Look For The Return Of Christ, We Need To Be Growing Stronger, Not Weaker. We Gain This Strength From Mutually Encouraging Each Other And From God’s Word. Christians Should Hold One Another Accountable To The Commitment They Have Made In Christ. Hebrews 10:23-25 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Fellowship – (continued)

18. Hebrews 3:12-14 See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. Take Note Of The Warning That Is Given To Believers Concerning Falling Away. Without The Encouragement From Other Believers, It Is Possible For Us To Develop An Unbelieving Heart. To Prevent This, God Knew That We Needed Daily Encouragement. Faithfulness Is Necessary For Us To Receive Our Eternal Reward. Continuing With Fellowship

19. Continuing With Our Fellowship Study Sharing With One Another • Acts 2:44-46 “All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,”

20. They Shared Their Blessings • Believers Trusted And Encouraged Each Other Every Day. • They Had All Things In Common. • They Shared Their Blessings With One Another. • Their Lives Were Interdependent And Interwoven. • This Is What Helped Them Remain Faithful To The Lord. Interwoven

21. Breaking Of Bread • The Third Ingredient In This Recipe To Faithfulness Is Breaking Of Bread. (Acts 2:42) • This Term Is Used To Speak Both Of Common Meals And The Very Special Meal Jesus Instituted On The Night Before His Death. • The Context Helps Us Understand What Is Being Talked About In Individual Verses.

22. Breaking Of Bread (continued) • Jesus Knew That We Would Need A Constant Reminder Of The Price Of Our Salvation. • He Took The Bread And Wine Of The Passover (The Jewish Feast Reminding The Jews Of Their Release From Egyptian Bondage) • And Made It A Memorial Feast For His Disciples To Remember Him.

23. “Jesus Took Bread” • Matthew 26:26-29 “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body." Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom."

24. 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 • 16 “Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? • 17 Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.”

25. About The Lord’s Supper • Paul Explained To The Corinthian Christians What The Lord’s Supper Is All About. • By Our Mutual Participation In This Simple Meal, We Are Reminding Each Other Of Jesus’ Sacrifice.

26. Taking The Lord’s Supper • Paul Continues To Encourage The Corinthian Christians To Be Taking This Meal For The Right Reason. (1Corinthians 11:23-29) • He Says It Is To Remember The Death Of Jesus And To Proclaim His Return. • Partaking Of The Lord’s Supper Is A Time Of Self-examination. • This Is What Christians Are Supposed To Be Doing When They Gather Together As A Church On The First Day Of Every Week (1 Corinthians 11:18; 16:2).

27. When They Came Together • Again We Find The Christians Meeting On Sunday For The Purpose Of Breaking Bread (Lord’s Supper). • This Weekly Reminder Of Jesus’ Sacrifice Is Something That God Knew That We Would Need. • This Is An Important Element To Our Faithfulness. Acts 20:7 7 “On the first day of the week we came together to break bread.”

28. Prayer • The Fourth Ingredient In The Recipe For Faithfulness Is Prayer (Acts 2:42). • The Christians Were Known As People Of Prayer. • God Has Opened His Throne Room And Made It Accessible To Us Through Jesus (Hebrews 10:19. • Prayer Is Our Communication With God.

29. Pray For Others • Praying For Others And Knowing Others Are Praying For You Is Very Important To Your Faithfulness. • God Wants You To Depend On Prayer

30. He Says That Prayer Has Great Power • James 5:13-16 13 Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

31. Our Assurance 1 John 5:14-15 14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him.

32. What Prayer Is Not! • Prayer Is Not Coming To God With A Long List Of Our Requests And Asking Him To Agree With Us. • Rather, Prayer Is Seeking To Understand And Submit To God’s Will. • Prayer Is Our Expression Of Dependence On God. • He Knows What We Need Even Before We Ask (Matthew 6:8). • Yet He Still Wants Us To Open Our Hearts To Him.

33. Jesus In The Garden • Matthew 26:39 “Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."

34. The Night Before His Crucifixion • Jesus Is Praying On The Night Before His Crucifixion. • He Knows What God Has Planned For Him To Do And That Doing It Is Absolutely Necessary For Our Salvation. • However, Being Human, He Wants To Avoid The Pain And Humiliation Of The Cross If At All Possible. • Jesus Did Not Neglect To Bring His Request Before God; However, God’s Will Was More Important Than His Own.

35. Prayer Attitude • When You Pray, You Need To Have The Same Attitude As Jesus. • God Wants You To Make Your Requests Known But At The Same Time To Recognize That He Knows What You Need Better Than You Do. • Your Must Surrender To His Will (Isaiah 55:8).

36. Jesus Taught About Prayer • Jesus Taught About Prayer Several Times. • On One Occasion He Taught His Disciples How To Pray (Matthew 6:5-15). Mathew 6:5 "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.”

37. Don’t Make A Show Of Your Prayers • Jesus Is Not Saying It Is Wrong To Pray In Public Places. • However, Your Motive Should Not Be To Be Seen By Others, That They Might Think More Highly Of You. • You Should Not Think That Praying Big, Fancy Words Will Impress God. • God Desires Simple, Honest, And Open Communication From Your Heart.

38. Jesus Gave An Example Prayer To His Disciples • Matthew 6:9 "This, then, is how you should pray: "'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'

39. Pray To The Father • When You Pray, Address Your Prayers To The Father And Express Your Praise Of Him. • Surrender Your Requests To God By Asking His Will To Be Done. • Praying For Daily Needs Expresses Your Constant Dependence On Him.

40. Your Greatest Need! • Forgiveness Of Your Sins Is Your Greatest Need, But His Forgiveness Of You Depends On Your Willingness To Forgive Others. • Depend On God’s Guidance And Strength To Overcome Temptation. • Satan Wants You As His Disciple.

41. Your Enemy • 1Peter 5:8-9 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. • God Knows His Enemy Better Than You Do. • You Must Trust God And Rely On His Guidance.

42. Conclusion To Lesson Eight • The Christian Life Is Like A Race, Not A Sprint, But A Marathon. • Your Faithfulness To The End Is Vital To Your Eternal Destiny. • Seeking Godly Teachers And Strong Christian Fellowship Is Crucial; Otherwise, You Could Be Deceived And Led Away From God.

43. Conclusion - continued • Peter Discussed The Deceptive Nature Of False Teachers And How Worthless They Are. 2 Peter 2:17-22 These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity--for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.

44. Conclusion - continued • Peter Points Out That False Teachers Are Like Springs Without Water Or A Storm Without Rain. • He Goes On To Say That They Like To Promise New Christians Freedom While They Themselves Are Slaves To Sin. • They Could Lead You Away From God. 2 Peter 2:21-22 “It would have been better for them (New Christians) not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit," and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud."

45. Conclusion - continued • God Wants Your Life To Change To Be More Like Him Every Day. • Satan Wants You To Continue To Live In Sin. • Faithfulness To Your New Commitment Is Very Important If You Want To Spend Eternity With God. What Will It Be For You?

46. Conclusion - continued • Hebrews 10:26-27 “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.” • Your Devotion To The Four Ingredients Mentioned In This Lesson (Teaching, Fellowship, Breaking Of Bread, Prayer) Will Help You To Live A Faithful Life That Will Bring Glory And Honor To God. • The Next Lesson Will Focus On The Changed Life Of A Christian.

47. End Of Lesson Eight