Gateway Community Church
On a Mission
Growing At Gateway
Stage 2
Tools for Growth
I. God Gives Us Tools for Growth
A. As a plant needs sun, water and soil, those who follow Jesus need prayer, study and relationships to grow into maturity, and to be productive contributors in the church.
B. The end results of practicing Christian disciplines are
1. Knowing God
2. Receiving God’s blessings
3. Godly living
4. Preparation for serving others
5. Contributing to the community
C. Our Tools for Growth, or Christian disciplines, say more about what we need, than what we deserve. They are not ends in themselves, nor are they ways to earn God’s favor. Rather, they put us in a place where we can receive from God.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3
D. In the early church, “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostle’s teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Acts 2:42
E. The life of Peter teaches that Christian disciplines begin first with vision. Jesus’ first words to Peter were, “Follow me and I will make you a fisher of men.”
F. In Tools for Growth, we will study
1. Prayer
2. Study
3. Worship
4. Giving
II. Prayer
A. Prayer releases blessing, and unlocks God’s power. Ephesians 1
1. Paul catalogs a list of blessings God freely gives to His people. 1:1-14
2. Prayer moves people from merely observing truth, to actually participating in truth. 1:15-17
a. observing truth: know the facts
b. participating in truth: enjoy the blessing
3. Prayer unlocks supernatural power. 1:18-23
4. In small groups pray this prayer over one another.
B. Why should those who trust in God’s sovereignty, pray?
1. All relationships need conversation. Prayer is talking to God about life.
“God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:9
2. We get to know God by talking to Him and hearing Him talk to us.
Jesus prayed to His Father, “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” John 17:3
3. In prayer we express a full range of emotions, concerns, joys and sorrows to God. See especially the book of Psalms.
4. God listens to and rewards prayer.
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, for he that comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6
In a context of healing and forgiveness of sins, James wrote,
“The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” James 5:16
“O You who hear prayer,
To you all men will come.” Psalm 65:2
5. God changes us while we pray.
“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.” 2 Corinthians 3:18
6. Prayer unloads our burdens so that we see life from God’s point of view.
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7
“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:6-7
7. Prayer gets us involved in God’s activity. See Daniel 9 and 10.
8. We serve others through prayer.
“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel.” Ephesians 6:18-19
9. Spiritual power comes from prayer.
“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” Luke 11:13
10. Forgiveness of sins comes from prayer.
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
11. Jesus habitually prayed. See especially the book of Luke.
12. Paul prayed, and commanded,
“Pray without ceasing”. 1 Thessalonians 5:17
C. If prayer is so important, why don’t Christians pray?
1. We tend towards self-sufficiency, and independence, and can act like we don’t really need God.
2. Content with a lesser spiritual life, we do not possess a great appetite for God.
3. We see prayer as a lifeless duty, and not a primary means of enjoying God.
4. We grow lazy and would rather observe God’s work than be involved in it through prayer.
5. We do not consider prayer to be a valid way of serving others.
6. Prayer gets left out of a busy schedule because we think prayer is expendable.
7. Because we overemphasize the individual, we neglect the help that comes from praying with others.
8. Because we are prejudiced against pre-written prayers, we deprive ourselves of the help that comes from praying prayers that are already written in the Bible.
9. We do not believe that God answers and rewards prayer.
10. Because we are not good at talking meaningfully in general, we don’t know what to talk to God about.
11. We don’t know how to pray.
D. If we place the reasons for and against prayer on a scale called your life, in which direction would the scale lean?
E. Prayer can be personal, in small groups or church wide.
1. Personal Prayer
2. Small Group Prayer
3. Church wide Prayer
F. The Lord’s Prayer Luke 11:1-4
Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
This part of the prayer puts life in proper perspective. By praying, “Our Father,” we remind ourselves that God is our Father, and that we are His children. By “hallowing” His name we say that He is unique, above all, and deserving of our complete allegiance. Nothing else should have claim on our souls. We confess, “You Father are most important.”
Because He is in heaven, we know that He has everything we need, and that He has all power to meet our needs. God the Father is not a grumpy father whose needs have not been met. He wants us to ask, “Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you…If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him.”
Thank Him that He is your Father and that He has your best interests in heart.
Confess your allegiance to Him. Let His name be great in your life.
Thank Him for His blessings.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven
The Kingdom concerns God’s rule; righteousness, joy and peace in the Holy Spirit; preaching to the poor; releasing captives; casting out demons; proclaiming the favorable year of the Lord; healing the sick; justice; new territories; the nations; etc.
Think about the following areas. Does God rule there? If not, ask Him to.
Personal life Church life Town/city/school
Family Church initiatives National concerns
Friendships International concerns
Give us this day our daily bread
Pray for specific needs. What do you want God to do for you?
Emotional needs Physical needs Needs of others
Money needs Spiritual needs
And forgive us our sins, As we forgive those who sin against us
Though we are new creations in Christ, we sin. Ask Father for forgiveness. Jesus teaches that this is part of a healthy relationship with our Father.
Also, forgive those who have sinned against you. Forgiving others flows out of receiving forgiveness, and is also part of healthy Christian living.
And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil
Be ready for temptation. Do you face specific areas of temptation?
Ask for help.
Be aware of cultural temptations in status, income, image, entertainment, and self-worth. Lifestyle decisions may be lawful but not helpful. Are there areas in your life that hinder your relationship with God and keep you from serving others?
For Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory for ever and ever
End your prayer time by thanking God for His power, and that His will, will be done.
G. Praying in Tongues
H. Fasting
Definition: To voluntarily abstain from food (that which is necessary for life), in order to express extreme dependence on the source of Life, for a specific purpose.
What
is Fasting?
1. Fasting in the Bible is always from food, and it shows a heart attitude.
Psalm 35:13 “Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth and humbled myself with fasting.”
2. Fasting can be corporate or individual
Daniel 9:3 “So I turned
to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting.”
2 Chronicles 20:3 “Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD , and
he proclaimed a fast for all Judah.”
3. Fasting is part of our church culture
2 Corinthians 4:5 “But
in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God ... in fasting.”
4. Fasting is a form of worship
Luke 2:37 “She never left the temple but worshiped night and day,
fasting and praying.”
What
does fasting do?
1. Fasting displays dependence upon God
Psalm 35:13 “I humbled
my soul with fasting.”
2. Fasting denies the physical allowing (but not automatically causing) a
focus on the spiritual
Isaiah 58
3. Fasting sets us apart from the culture
Psalm 69:10 “When I
wept and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach.”
How does Gateway practice fasting?
1. Fasting is for our benefit. We pray for specific purpose.
Matthew 6:17-18 “But
when you fast ... your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward
you.”
2. Fasting is expected, but not mandated. As a body we will set aside times of
prayer.
Matthew 9:15 “The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from
them; then they will fast.”
3. Fasting is not something to be taken lightly, especially not long fasts. We
must take care of ourselves.
1 Tim 5:23 “Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of
your stomach and your frequent illnesses.”
4. Fasting is almost always accompanied by prayer
I. E.M. Bounds
“We are constantly on a stretch, if not on a strain, to devise new methods, new plans, and new organizations to advance the Church and secure enlargement and efficiency for the gospel. This trend has a tendency to lose sight of the man or sink the man in the plan or organization. God’s plan is to make much of the man, far more of him than of anything else. Men are God’s method. The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men.”
“What the Church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use—men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men—men of prayer.”
J. John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad
“Prayer puts God in the place of the all-sufficient Benefactor and puts us in the place of needy beneficiaries. So when the mission of the Church moves forward by prayer, the supremacy of God is manifest and the needs of the Christian troops are met.” P. 58
“Prayer is primarily a wartime walkie-talkie for the mission of the church as it advances against the powers of darkness and unbelief. It is not surprising that prayer malfunctions when we try to make it a domestic intercom to call upstairs for more comforts in the den. God has given us prayer as a wartime walkie-talkie so that we can call headquarters for everything we need as the kingdom of Christ advances in the world. Prayer gives us the significance of frontline forces and gives God the glory of a limitless provider. The one who gives the power gets the glory. Thus, prayer safeguards the supremacy of God in missions while linking us with endless grace for every need.” P. 45
III. Study
A. Studying Scripture yields a profit.
“All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, reproof, correction and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be adequate equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17
1. Because Scripture is God-breathed, we know that the biblical writers did not act independently. Rather, the Holy Spirit acted in the lives of the authors within their social-cultural background, time, place, and historical setting, rendering them the infallible communicators of God’s word.
2. Because Scripture is profitable, something can be gained from its study. Specifically, the profit is:
a. teaching: what to believe and how to live
b. reproof: rebukes sin; areas where we are wrong
c. correction: not just pointing out what is wrong; restoration and reformation
d. training in righteousness: as in guiding a child towards maturity
3. This instruction comes through all the different genres that make up the Bible: narrative, poetry, gospel, letters, and apocalypse. We can learn from the examples as well as direct teaching. The entire Bible is important.
4. The purpose (so that) of the profit gained is:
a. the man of God may be adequate: complete, capable, proficient, able to meet all demands
b. equipped for every good work: qualified and capable of doing good works
c. Good works, not knowledge or moral perfection, should be end result of study.
B. Study the Word.
1 Since God chose to reveal Himself to us primarily through the written word, to neglect the Bible is to neglect God. He did not chose to reveal Himself through a video, CD, drama or any man made image. While He does speak to us through the Holy Spirit, other people, and creation, these do not substitute for study. Rather, these other means illumine the truths already recorded in the Book.
2 To ignore the Bible is to ignore God. To resist the Bible is to resist God.
3 Since the Bible is God’s written word, it is always available to us. We can discuss it, analyze it, and pray over it. The Bible is inexhaustible.
4 Because the Bible is God’s word, we read and study it as student, and not as master. Richard Foster writes,
“It soon becomes obvious that study demands humility. Study simply cannot happen until we are willing to be subject to the subject matter. We must submit to the system. We must come as student, not teacher. Arrogance and a teachable spirit are mutually exclusive.” Celebration of Discipline, p. 66
5. “Therefore (since you have been born again through the living and enduring word of God), putting away all malice and all guile and insincerity and envy and slander, like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, in order that you may grow up to salvation; for you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.” 1 Peter 1:1-3
6. “Jesus answered, ‘It is written, man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4
7. Let’s be people of the “The Book.”
C. Devotional Reading
The devotional reader seeks relevance. Mastering the text is not the goal. Instead the reader seeks to be mastered by the text. Reading in the power of the Holy Spirit, receiving God’s word humbly, produces change. Eagerly, the reader reads, listening for God’ voice, ready to obey His directives, and receive His instruction.
D. Analyze the Theology.
1. Select a book of the Bible and slowly work through it.
2. Keep a notebook.
3. Answer, What doest this passage teach me about:
a. The Bible
b. God
c. Man
d. Jesus
e. Salvation
f. The Holy Spirit
g. The Church
h. The End Times
4. What does the passage teach me about me and my life?
5. Is there anything I need to pray about?
6. How does the passage help me serve others?
7. Is there anything God wants me to do right now?
E. Observe the Text
1. Select a book of the Bible and slowly work through it.
2. Keep a notebook.
3. Answer
a. Who are the main characters?
b. What are they doing?
c. Where does the account take place?
d. When does it happen?
e. Why do things happen as they do?
4. How does the passage apply to my life?
5. Is there anything I need to pray about?
6. How does the passage help me to serve others
7. Is there anything God wants me to do right now?
IV. Worship
A. Three aspects of worship
1. In its most biblical sense, worship is the totality of life lived before God.
2. We also refer to the worship meeting, when the church gathers for singing, prayer, spiritual gifts, ministry to one another, preaching and friendship.
3. Worship is also used to describe that portion of the meeting where we sing, pray and exercise spiritual gifts such as prophecy, tongues and interpretation etc.
The remainder of this section concerns this 3rd aspect of worship.
B. Our singing should reflect both revelation and response.
1. He songs (all truth, not just our favorite ones)
2. I songs (too many “I” songs can reinforce pre-occupation with ourselves.
C. Our worship times should be vibrant and participatory.
D. In worship we experience the culture of heaven.
E. In worship we experience the real presence of God.
F. What happens when God is present?
V. Giving
A. Because church is not something we attend, but a community we belong to, all members voluntarily give their time, creativity, energy and money.
B. Money is a heart issue with eternal consequences.
Matthew 6:19-21
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Jesus relates worry to serving mammon. Anxiety about money can paralyze and keep us from giving to others. This worry is rooted in failure to trust God to meet our needs, and seek first His kingdom.
Matthew 6:24-26
“No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth/mammon. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”
Mammon: property, wealth, and earthly goods
Jesus talks about mammon as if it were a powerful person competing with God for control of our lives. Mammon can be object of worship and devotion; it is something that can be served. Mammon can usurp God’s place in our lives and have a controlling influence over what we do. Like deities, property, money and possessions can rule over us, and we can become their servants.
The church father Chrysostom says, “The hurt one receives from the love of mammon results in the loss of more than riches. Rather, the wound occurs at the center of our vitality. It casts us away from God who made us and cares for us and loves us. By serving this harshest master, one falls away from the highest blessing of being God’s servant.”
Luke 12:15-22
“And he said to them, ‘Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions." Then he told them a parable: "The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, 'What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?' Then he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.’"
Watch out: a solemn warning
Greed: desire to have more than one’s share
We can begin to believe a lie that our identity is in our possessions.
Possessions are temporary—yet God gives them as gifts to be enjoyed, but not worshipped.
Money can be loved like a mistress so that it usurps God’s place in our lives. Again, the biblical writers describe money as a powerful person who can capture our affections.
“But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.”
Hebrews 11:5
“Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, "I will never leave you or forsake you."
C. Let faith govern three dimensions of money: earning, using and giving away money.
D. Giving can be in at least four different ways: the tithe, offerings, giving to the needy and living a generous lifestyle—tithe, offering, giving to the need and living generously.
E. The Tithe
1. The tithe is ten percent of one’s income/produce given to God.
2. There is scant NT directive for tithing. However, there is nothing nullifying it either, as there is with other parts of the OT law.
3. Tithing was part of the Abrahamic covenant introduced 430 years before the law, and consistently represents a pattern of biblical economics.
Genesis 14:18-20
“And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!" And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.”
Genesis 28:20-22
“Then Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house; and of all that You give me I will give the tenth to You.’"
4. Tithing was also part of the Mosaic covenant.
a. To support the Levites and Priests. Numbers 18:21
b. For fellowship—eating and drinking in the presence of God. Deuteronomy 14:22-27
c. For the needy every three years. Deuteronomy 14:28-29
5. Not only was the tithe a recognition of God as provider, it
also carries God’s promise for more blessing.
Proverbs 3:9-10
“Honor the LORD with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.”
Malachi 3:10
“Bring the full tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house; and thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.”
6. What do we believe about tithing?
We believe it represents a biblical base line for giving. For those who currently do not tithe (we don’t have tithing police), we recommend beginning to work towards it—by faith. For those who are tithing, seek God to increase your level of giving. Tithing is not a bill. It is a form of worship whereby we thank God for His provision, and invest in our work. Tithing flows out of our doctrine of the church. We don’t go to church. We are part of the church, and so we invest our time, money, energy and affections in the church.
7. While Paul at times supported himself, the NT teaches that Jesus, his disciples and other leaders were supported by the contributions of the people.
1 Corinthians 9:7
“Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Who tends a flock without getting some of the milk?”
Galatians 6:6
“Let him who is taught the word share all good things with him who teaches.”
1 Timothy 5:17-18
“Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching; for the scripture says, ‘You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain,’ and, ‘The laborer deserves his wages.’"
F. Offerings
Offerings were collected in the Old Testament for the Tabernacle and the Temple.
Several offerings were collected in the New Testament.
2 Corinthians 8:1f
1 Corinthians 16:1-2
“Now concerning the contribution for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that contributions need not be made when I come.”
G. Giving to the needy
There is much in both the Old and New Testaments about this.
This can be private gifts, or in the form of an offering.
Matthew 6:2
“So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that others may praise them. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.”
Romans 12:13
“Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.”
“(for he who worked through Peter for the mission to the circumcised worked through me also for the Gentiles), and when they perceived the grace that was given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised; only they would have us remember the poor, which very thing I was eager to do.”
Ephesians 4:18
“Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy.”
“As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.”
Acts 4:32-35
“Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. For there was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.”
Note the evidence of great power and abundant grace among them. The community good and not personal financial advantage controlled this early church. Also, note that money should never be thought of as evil in of itself, for it was the wealthy that provided for the needy. Giving was voluntary (see story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1f).
H. Living a generous lifestyle.
A generous lifestyle demonstrates that money does not control us.
“A Christian is never made whole until the tendency to get is turned into an inclination to give.” Larry Tomczak