Women's Bible Study - September 20th, 2023

September 20, 2023 · Deborah

Scripture referenced 11 passages

The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.

Romans 8:38-39 nothing shall separate us from the love of God, not death nor life nor angels nor demons

38 For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from God’s love, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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Colossians 1:20

Christ's blood has brought us near to the Father

20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself, by him, whether things on the earth, or things in the heavens, having made peace through the blood of his cross.

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Matthew 7:13-14

enter through the narrow gate, wide is the road that leads to destruction, narrow is the road that leads to life

13 “Enter in by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter in by it.

14 How narrow is the gate, and restricted is the way that leads to life! Few are those who find it.

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Romans 12

cutting off the ways of this world

1 Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service.

2 Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God.

3 For I say, through the grace that was given me, to every man who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think reasonably, as God has apportioned to each person a measure of faith.

4 For even as we have many members in one body, and all the members don’t have the same function,

5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

6 Having gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us, if prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of our faith;

7 or service, let us give ourselves to service; or he who teaches, to his teaching;

8 or he who exhorts, to his exhorting: he who gives, let him do it with generosity; he who rules, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil. Cling to that which is good.

10 In love of the brothers be tenderly affectionate to one another; in honor preferring one another;

11 not lagging in diligence; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

12 rejoicing in hope; enduring in troubles; continuing steadfastly in prayer;

13 contributing to the needs of the saints; given to hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless, and don’t curse.

15 Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep.

16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Don’t set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Don’t be wise in your own conceits.

17 Repay no one evil for evil. Respect what is honorable in the sight of all men.

18 If it is possible, as much as it is up to you, be at peace with all men.

19 Don’t seek revenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to God’s wrath. For it is written, “Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord.”

20 Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing so, you will heap coals of fire on his head.”

21 Don’t be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

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2 Thessalonians 3:10

if you don't work, you don't eat

10 For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: “If anyone will not work, don’t let him eat.”

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Luke 10:38-42

Martha distracted by dinner while Mary sat at Jesus's feet; one thing matters and Mary has found it

38 As they went on their way, he entered into a certain village, and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.

39 She had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.

40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she came up to him, and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister left me to serve alone? Ask her therefore to help me.”

41 Jesus answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things,

42 but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

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John 15:4-11

remain in me and I will remain in you, apart from me you can do nothing, you will be filled with joy

4 Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can’t bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me.

5 I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

6 If a man doesn’t remain in me, he is thrown out as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

7 If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you.

8 “In this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; and so you will be my disciples.

9 Even as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you. Remain in my love.

10 If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and remain in his love.

11 I have spoken these things to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be made full.

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Psalm 40

David stuck in muck and mire, the Lord lifted him out of the slimy pit and set his feet on a rock

1 I waited patiently for Yahweh. He turned to me, and heard my cry.

2 He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay. He set my feet on a rock, and gave me a firm place to stand.

3 He has put a new song in my mouth, even praise to our God. Many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in Yahweh.

4 Blessed is the man who makes Yahweh his trust, and doesn’t respect the proud, nor such as turn away to lies.

5 Many, Yahweh, my God, are the wonderful works which you have done, and your thoughts which are toward us. They can’t be declared back to you. If I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be counted.

6 Sacrifice and offering you didn’t desire. You have opened my ears. You have not required burnt offering and sin offering.

7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come. It is written about me in the book in the scroll.

8 I delight to do your will, my God. Yes, your law is within my heart.”

9 I have proclaimed glad news of righteousness in the great assembly. Behold, I will not seal my lips, Yahweh, you know.

10 I have not hidden your righteousness within my heart. I have declared your faithfulness and your salvation. I have not concealed your loving kindness and your truth from the great assembly.

11 Don’t withhold your tender mercies from me, Yahweh. Let your loving kindness and your truth continually preserve me.

12 For innumerable evils have surrounded me. My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up. They are more than the hairs of my head. My heart has failed me.

13 Be pleased, Yahweh, to deliver me. Hurry to help me, Yahweh.

14 Let them be disappointed and confounded together who seek after my soul to destroy it. Let them be turned backward and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt.

15 Let them be desolate by reason of their shame that tell me, “Aha! Aha!”

16 Let all those who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. Let such as love your salvation say continually, “Let Yahweh be exalted!”

17 But I am poor and needy. May the Lord think about me. You are my help and my deliverer. Don’t delay, my God.

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Psalm 23

scripture worth memorizing, turned to many times in life

1 Yahweh is my shepherd: I shall lack nothing.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.

3 He restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over.

6 Surely goodness and loving kindness shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in Yahweh’s house forever.

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1 Corinthians 13

memorized before parents' visit to practice patience and kindness

1 If I speak with the languages of men and of angels, but don’t have love, I have become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal.

2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but don’t have love, I am nothing.

3 If I give away all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but don’t have love, it profits me nothing.

4 Love is patient and is kind; love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud,

5 doesn’t behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil;

6 doesn’t rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;

7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will be done away with. Where there are various languages, they will cease. Where there is knowledge, it will be done away with.

9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part;

10 but when that which is complete has come, then that which is partial will be done away with.

11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child. Now that I have become a man, I have put away childish things.

12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, even as I was also fully known.

13 But now faith, hope, and love remain—these three. The greatest of these is love.

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Psalm 16

David declares God is his Lord, his inheritance, always beside him, will not leave him in the grave

1 Preserve me, God, for in you do I take refuge.

2 My soul, you have said to Yahweh, “You are my Lord. Apart from you I have no good thing.”

3 As for the saints who are in the earth, they are the excellent ones in whom is all my delight.

4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied who give gifts to another god. Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer, nor take their names on my lips.

5 Yahweh assigned my portion and my cup. You made my lot secure.

6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. Yes, I have a good inheritance.

7 I will bless Yahweh, who has given me counsel. Yes, my heart instructs me in the night seasons.

8 I have set Yahweh always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my tongue rejoices. My body shall also dwell in safety.

10 For you will not leave my soul in Sheol, neither will you allow your holy one to see corruption.

11 You will show me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy. In your right hand there are pleasures forever more.

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Recap

The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.

Deborah taught from John 15 and the story of Mary and Martha, pressing into the question of why so many people who say they follow Jesus don't seem to change. She argued that real transformation comes not from a one-time decision but from daily habits, the spiritual disciplines, that close the gap between us and Christ. The sermon was part of an ongoing study on being rooted in Jesus.

What was said

Deborah opened by revisiting the previous week's ground: truth is what is based on reality, and lies are any deviation from it. Jesus told Pilate that one of the reasons He came was to teach truth, and that truth matters because it shapes how we actually live. Making a decision for Christ, she said, is like any real decision, it cuts something else off. The narrow gate in Matthew 7 is not just about getting to heaven; it is the entrance to a new and countercultural way of living.

She drew on a recent interview with author Eric Metaxas and his book "Letter to the American Church," which compares the silence of today's church on questions of human dignity with the silence of the German church in the 1930s. A story from one of Erwin Lutzer's books stayed with her: a man who was in choir practice when trains carrying people to extermination camps passed by outside, and the choir director told them to sing louder. Deborah connected that image directly to the study's call for believers to be rooted firmly enough in truth that they are willing to speak up.

The Mary and Martha passage from Luke 10 gave her the sermon's center of gravity. Jesus did not tell Martha that her responsibilities were unimportant, Deborah said, but that Martha was so consumed by temporary details that she was missing the one thing that mattered. Mary had already tasted how good Jesus was and would not let anything pull her away from listening to Him. That hunger for more of Jesus, Deborah said, is what this whole study is trying to stir up.

From John 15, she read Jesus' words on remaining in the vine. Apart from Him, nothing we do carries eternal weight. But if we remain in Him and His words remain in us, we produce fruit, a significant life that matters for eternity, and we are filled with overflowing joy. She noted that genuinely joyful Christians are rare and asked whether that absence of joy might be a sign that people are not actually remaining in Christ.

The spiritual disciplines, she said, are the practices that close that gap. She listed Bible reading, listening to solid teachers, prayer, meditation, memorizing scripture, community, silence, singing, Sabbath rest, serving, and gratitude. She pushed back on the idea that effort in these practices is the same as trying to earn God's approval. Citing Dallas Willard, she put it this way: grace is not opposed to effort, but it is opposed to earning. The disciplines are how we partner with God to change, not how we earn a better standing with Him.

She told a personal story about her parents' visit to illustrate the difference between trying to manage behavior and training through the disciplines. Knowing she would be exhausted and easily triggered, she got up early each morning, used the Lectio 365 meditation app, and memorized 1 Corinthians 13, visualizing herself responding with patience rather than reacting. When her father's only comment on her study guide was a missed capitalization, she was able to respond gently instead of firing back. By the end of the visit he told her he and her mother were proud of her, which she took as evidence that responding in Jesus' way had opened a door that her own instincts would have slammed shut.

She closed by asking everyone to take inventory over the coming weeks: what they are reading, who is speaking into their lives, how they start their mornings, where their time goes, what they turn to when they are anxious, and what narrative runs in their heads. The invitation was simple: identify one bad habit, replace it with one spiritual practice, and show up. David's words from Psalm 16 gave her the final image, a man who could say he would not be shaken because he knew the Lord was right beside him, and who arrived at that confidence through a lifelong practice of seeking God.

Doing a Bible study?

Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.

Deborah said that the narrow gate in Matthew 7 is not about your eternal destiny but about the entrance to a new way of living after you follow Jesus. What does that distinction mean to you personally, and how does it change the way you think about discipleship?
Deborah drew a parallel between the German church staying silent in the 1930s and the American church today. Where do you feel the tension between staying quiet to avoid conflict and speaking up about things that matter, and how do you navigate that in your own life?

and 3 more questions in the guide

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Find in this transcript

Speaker 2God, we just thank you that you're in our midst wherever two or more are gathered. And we just lay down all our cares and our worries this morning, and we just look to you. We just exalt you high in this place. We keep our eyes on you, and we declare that you are great. You are mighty.

We thank you for who you are. Your love is unfailing and never ending. Your love is perfect, God. We thank you for that. Thank you that it never runs out on us.

No matter what we feel like, God, your love is faithful. Your love is true. In a shaky world, your love is true. Redeems and restores everything. Bible says that nothing shall separate us from the love of God.

Not death, nor life, nor angels, demons, anything. All of creation can separate us from the love of God because it's that strong. And Colossians says that Christ's blood has brought us near to the father. We can come boldly into his presence. So this morning, I encourage us all to draw near to God, boldly because of the blood of Christ.

So Jesus, we thank you that nothing can separate us from your love. Help us to draw near to you in full assurance of faith because of the because of your blood, not because of our behavior, behavior. God, and just to abide with you every single day. Just free of shame, free of condemnation, free of guilt, looking only unto your finished work on the cross. Thank you that you're constantly drawing us near, that in your mind, nothing separates us from you.

DeborahAmen. Am I on yet? Yes. There I am. Oh, thank you, Allie.

This is Josh. He's the worship leader at Gateway, and thank you, Shar. Yay. Thank you. Thank you.

I just love this community. It's small but powerful, isn't it? We have so much talent here. Alright. Well, last week, we talked about being rooted into Christ.

Let me just say a quick prayer for the lesson. Lord, thank you for your word. Thank you for your word that gets inside us and does a mighty good work. Thank you for this glorious, beautiful morning, this place we we get to live, the most beautiful place in the world, in my opinion. And thank you for these beautiful women.

Speak to us today, Lord. Speak to us in a way that we walk out these doors falling a little more in love with you. Thank you, Jesus, for this time. Thank you for your word. Amen.

Alright. So last week, we talked about we drilled down on what truth is and what lies are. Do you remember the definition of truth? What is truth? Truth is something that's based on reality.

Right? Truth is based on what's real. That makes sense. And what are lies? Lies are any deviations from that reality.

And didn't you think it was just so powerful that Jesus told Pilate, one of the reasons that I came to Earth, one of the reasons I was born is to teach us the truth. So I think it's pretty important, isn't it? And truth does matter. Truth matters because it determines how we live our life. It determines what kind of life we live.

So playing a narrative in true of truth is very important. After we make a decision to accept Jesus as our Lord and savior, we are invited into a new way of truth. This is called discipleship or following Jesus. We are invited into new habits that tee us up for transformation, And that's what I wanna talk to you about this morning. That's why I titled this chapter remain.

Because remain means how do we root in? How do we abide in Christ in a way that causes change in our lives. Have you noticed how many people say they've made a decision for Christ, and yet there's no change? Like, they don't look any different than nonbelievers. What's up with that?

How do people go to church their whole life and then you don't really see any change? This is very interesting. Did you know the Latin word for decision means to cut off? So when we make a decision, we're literally cutting something else off. When I made a decision to marry Greg Buckingham, I then was cutting off all options to marry anyone else.

Right? So when we make a decision to follow Jesus, what do we need to cut off? We need to cut off the the lies of this world. We need to cut off the ways of this world. We talked about that with Romans 12.

And that's why this passage from Matthew seven that was in your study guide, I found so interesting because for years, I thought this meant becoming a believer. But this isn't really about becoming a believer. It's more about what we do after we say we've become a believer. Matthew seven thirteen through 14 says, enter through the narrow gate for wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through that. But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

The gate is not our destiny. It's the entrance to a new way of living. And I shared with you how we know from Revelation that not a few people, human souls make it to heaven, but many. Revelation tells us every tribe, every nation, every tongue of people will be praising the Lord in heaven. So we know a lot of people make it, not a few people.

So what is Jesus saying here? He's saying, make a decision to follow me. It it it's not always gonna be easy because you're gonna be countercultural, and you're gonna get punches in the face from the culture metaphorically and sometimes literally. But he's like, it's so worth it if you will follow me. I read this recent interview by author Eric Metaxas, and I'm reading his book.

Oh my gosh. You want a book that will cause you to go, my head hurts. It's called letter to the American church. And it is a call for the American church to wake up and realize where we're at at this time in our country, and we're at a real crossroads, my friends. I wanna read a few things from his interview.

He said there are many pastors and Christian leaders and Christians being silent in the face of evil today. They are not consciously working for the devil, but their silence and critical issues aids the forces of evil. We are called to be salt and light and to speak the truth. In his book, he draws a lot of sobering parallels between our church today and the church in Germany in 1930, in which pastors were somehow fooled into the idea. Oh, we're not gonna get all political.

We're not gonna speak out against the government. We're here to teach you how to love, how to show mercy. And although that is absolutely true, are you kidding me? We are not supposed to get political. Can I ask you a question?

Where do you think that came from? Because we are supposed to speak out about any issues regarding the dignity of human life, regarding the rights of human beings. And when we're silent, who who are we following? What are we doing? Are we so afraid?

Yeah. We might lose a few friends, but I promise you there are other people that are gonna go, thank you. Thank you. I thought I was the crazy one, but thank you that someone else is recognizing that we're at a crossroad, and we're not living in truth. And we're so afraid even in our churches, we will speak out against what is happening.

And can I ask you what happened to the German church? What happened in Germany? Because nobody was brave enough to speak out. Evil just took over, and it is one of the most horrific incidences in history. In one of Erwin Lutzer's book, he was sharing how this man, when he was dying, shared a story how he was in church, in choir practice, and the windows were open.

And the trains were going by taking people to extermination camps. And the choir director said, just sing louder so we don't hear the trains. Sing louder. He said that haunted me until my age where I am dying now. He said, why?

Instead of singing louder, didn't I do something? Didn't I say something? Why didn't we as a church say, let's do something about this? And that is what this study is about. It's about as a rooting in so firmly to Christ that we don't we care less and less about the collateral damage out there because we are rooted into truth.

We are rooted into this time that we were called to be influencers. And God is calling us. He's saying, who is there for me? Who will speak up for me? Who will teach my little ones the truth?

Who will raise their children in my word? Who will fight for what I say is right? And in Luke 10, this was in your study guide, Jesus told Martha. He said, Martha, there's one thing that matters. One thing, and Mary has found it.

From Luke 10, as Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Her sister Mary sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he had taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, Lord, doesn't it seem a little unfair to you that my sister is just sitting here while I'm doing all the work? Tell her to come and help me.

Okay. I I kinda get where Martha's coming from. I have a lot of company. All summer, I had company, and I'm making dinner. Well, the dinner doesn't put itself on the table.

Somebody has to make it. Right? So I can I'm like, okay, Martha. I'm with you on this. But the Lord said to her, my dear Martha, you are so worried and upset over all these details.

There is one thing worth being concerned about, and Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken from her. Okay. A couple things about this passage. Jesus isn't saying, don't worry about your responsibilities. We know how to interpret scripture by other scripture.

In another passage, he says, give unto Caesar what is Caesar. Be a responsible citizen. Pay your bills. Pay your taxes. That's what Jesus teaches us.

He teaches us as parents to raise our children in the way of the Lord. In fact, there's this new theology going around because as I shared last week, Marxism is being taught in our universities. So the churches are picking up on this and saying that Jesus was a socialist. Well, that's a bunch of hogwash. Jesus, through Paul, wrote in second Thessalonians three ten, and it doesn't get any clearer than this.

If you don't work, you don't eat. Okay? So be responsible. Get a job, work, and then you can eat. Okay?

Jesus was no socialist. He's not saying don't be irresponsible, but he's saying to Martha, he's saying, Martha, you are so focused on the temporary. You are worried and upset over details. Now I can tell you in this culture, Mary and Martha would have been working all day. They had the food.

The food was there. They were gonna eat. But Martha was really focused on what? Focused on laying the perfect table. I'm sure she wanted that hummus dip just perfectly smooth.

And Jesus was saying that is just temporary stuff. It it's all temporary, but I'm eternal. And Jesus had been spending time with Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. So Mary was catching on. Mary was like, oh my gosh.

The things he's teaching me, this is truth, and it's changing me on the inside. So Mary had tasted and seen how good he was, and she wanted more. She wanted more of Jesus. So she was like, nothing's gonna get in the way of me listening to what he is saying. Mary and this is my prayer for all of us every week that we would fall more in love with Jesus.

Mary was falling more in love. And this Jesus is telling Martha is really our purpose on this earth. The greatest commandment is to learn how to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul, and learn how to love others. And you know, the Lord is teaching us and preparing us through being a human. He's preparing us to return home to him.

Okay? And he uses everything in our life. You think you're not where you're supposed to be. You are where you're supposed to be. You're in the family that God wanted you to be in.

You are exactly where you're supposed to be because God wants to use your circumstances, your family, your husband, your friends, even, and I would say, most likely your enemies to teach you how to love the way he loves because that draws us closer to Jesus. And do you know what Paul wrote to Timothy? He said, if you will stay the course, if you will endure, you will reign and rule with Jesus Christ. Did you know that's one of your purposes in being a human? Is to develop your relationship so deeply with Jesus that he is training you for the future one thousand year millennial kingdom to reign and rule with him.

We unpack this in our revelation study. So go back and look at the chapter, chapter five in the millennial kingdom because that is our job is to reign and rule with him. But our responsibility now is to grow in our relationship with Jesus. But here's here's the thing. We are free agents.

He gives us free will. He isn't gonna force himself upon us. He isn't going to force us to spend time with him, to pray to him, to invite him into our stresses and our worries. He shows up every day, and he says, I'm waiting. But sometimes we don't show up.

My daughter is 30 in LA, and she's like, mom, you know, there are just no men today in this city. I said, girl, I do not believe that. I believe your man is sitting there every Sunday and you're not showing up. And she she just loves hearing that from me, by the way. Loves that.

I think it's the same with Jesus. He's like, I'm here, but where are you? The the passage that I titled the chapter after is from John 15. This is such a rich passage. I wanna read it to you.

It says, remain in me and I will remain in you. I love what Ali said. When we draw near to him, he draws near to us. That's a promise. Remain in me and I will remain in you.

For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine. And you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. He said, I am the vine. You are the branches. Those who remain in me and I in them will produce much fruit.

What is fruit? That is heavy. That's significant life. A life that mattered. That's what Jesus is saying.

If you remain in me, you will produce a significant life. The world may not tell you it's significant, but for all of eternity, Jesus is telling us it's significant. Remain in me. He says, apart from me, you can do nothing. Now, of course, we can do things, but he's saying the same thing he told to Martha.

It doesn't really matter for a billion, trillion, and gazillion years. It might matter for this minute, but it doesn't matter for eternity. Apart from me, you can do nothing. He says, but if you remain in me and get this, my words remain in you. You will you can ask me anything you want and it will be granted.

My words are what? His truth. That's what we need to marinate in is his truth. He says, I have loved you even as the father has loved you. Remain in my love.

When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love. He's like saying, don't be going around saying I love Jesus when you are not obeying or even know my commandments. That's not okay with him. And here's the result. He said, if you will do that, you will be filled with joy.

Yes, your joy will overflow. Can I just ask you something? How many Christians do you know that you could say, man, that person is just joyful. The world is falling apart, but that person is joyful. How many do you know?

And I just wonder, are they remaining in Christ? Are they following him? So how do we do this? Well, this is what I wanna talk to you about today. We do this.

The ancient Christians understood this, and Christians from millennial have been doing this. But somehow, we and the American church have drifted away from how we do this. We do this through the spiritual disciplines. My favorite definition of the spiritual disciplines are practices that you and I can do to close the gap between you and Jesus. Is there a gap between me and Jesus?

Oh, yeah. There's a big gap. I mean, the second we become a believer, I just don't start thinking like him or doing what he did. There's a gap. There's a gap when there's an undercurrent of stress in my life.

There's a gap. There's a gap when I'm living in fear. There's a gap when I choose not to forgive someone. Oh, yeah. There are a lot of gaps.

And as just as a parent, as the problems are in the world around us, we all know deep down in the real problem is right here. Right here in this heart of mind that just gets so sideways sometimes and so icky and hard and fussy. There's a gap. There's a gap. We have these places where we get stuck, where we just don't believe him, or where we're stuck in our emotional pain.

We're stuck in addictions. We're stuck. David was stuck in Psalm 40, and I love this visual. David gives us this visual of him being, like, stuck and muck and mire up to here. And just picture that.

You can't move. Right? And he said, I turned to the Lord and he lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire, and he set my feet on the rock. And he put a new song in my heart. Isn't that beautiful?

And he said, blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord. And then he went on to say, don't look to people out there. Don't turn to false gods. We've called them little g gods. He's like, turn to God, and he will get you unstuck.

And that's what these spiritual disciplines do. They play a new narrative in our head, and then they develop new habits that awaken me to a whole new life. So what are the spiritual disciplines? I've included them on your handout, and I'm sure there's more than this, but this is the meat of the spiritual disciplines. Spiritual disciplines include Bible reading and listening to solid biblical teachers.

In our small group leaders prayer time, the girls were talking about who they were listening to. And I'm gonna have a list for you next week of just some amazing solid teachers that you can podcast or listen to in Christian radio or download the free Moody app and listen to a lot of teachers on Moody Radio. But I'll include a list for you. Prayer. We just we make such a big deal out of prayer.

Just talk to God. I mean, you know the prayer that I pray so often is Jesus help me. Jesus heal me. Jesus I trust you. That's it.

Okay? Just talk to him. Just invite him into whatever you're going through. Meditating. Last week, mentioned the free app, Lectio three sixty five.

This is such a beautiful way to start your day and to end your day. Memorizing scriptures. We can all memorize Psalm 23. It's it's a scripture I've turned back to so many times in my life. We were talking about that today too.

How important Psalm 23 is. Community, we can't do this alone. You know, it's hard because we can't have a cup of coffee with Jesus, but we can have a cup of coffee with a friend whose heart is connected to Jesus. We can have a cup of coffee with a friend who can physically touch me and say, let me pray over you. Community is important, and I'm sorry.

But doing church on the couch in your jammies is not the church that Jesus was talking about. That is not church. We need to be with others. Do you know why we sing praise and worship? Because he promises us that he inhabits the praises of his people.

I wanna start off with him inhabiting this room and us. Silence, singing, Sabbath rest, serving with your time and money, learning to live in a posture of gratitude and thankfulness. Now, do these disciplines and these habits require effort? Yes. And I think that's why you see so many not doing it because it requires commitment and intentionality and it requires effort.

Dallas Willard says, the disciplines are how we partner with God to change. I have so many Christian women who say, you know what, Deborah? It works for you. It doesn't work for me. I don't feel close to God, and I just wanna lose my mind because I'm like, he's not a liar.

He tells the truth. He says, if you come to me and put a little effort in, you're gonna start changing. God, Dallas Willard says, grace isn't opposed to effort, but it is opposed to earning. And here's this this the difference. Okay.

I know it's a a weird difference. Like, what's the difference between effort and earning? Okay. I don't need to earn my position with God. I am his daughter.

He loves me to pieces. I have great value and so do you as his daughter. This is not about earning any more approval or any more love. You've already got all you need. This is about stepping in and saying, want this relationship too.

I wanna just use an illustration. Okay. How much is this football worth in my hands? Nothing. Well, what it costs?

$9.99 or whatever. But put this football in the hands of Patrick Mahomes on game day, how much is this football worth? Millions and millions. It's it's very valuable. Right?

You and I are in good hands. We don't need to worry about that. We are in the hands of Almighty God. But let's say the football is me and I have a choice. God says, can I throw you over there?

Can I throw you over there, or can I just sit with you? What can I do with you? We have a choice with what he does with us. He he won't do it without our permission. He even says, can I throw a touchdown pass with you?

It's gonna be scary. You're gonna be flying through the air for a long time. What will you say to me? Will you let me do it? I'm gonna throw a touch.

Yeah. So we are like the football. We are in good hands. We're very valuable, very valuable. But we have to learn how valuable we are.

We have to learn the ways of Jesus. And in in your study guide, I I I think I mentioned, I hope I did, the difference between trying and training. And that trying is like we're gonna manage our sin. I'm not gonna do it. I'm not gonna do it.

I'm not gonna do it. And you know what happens every time? We do it. Every single time. This summer, my parents were coming out for eight days.

And I love my parents. We have a very good relationship. But they're in their mid eighties. They're a lot of work. And they don't like me to leave their side.

So I'm with them for eight days. And it was the end of summer, and I told my husband, I said, oh my gosh, I just don't have the capacity to deal with my parents. I'm exhausted. I had company all summer, but I wanna honor my parents. But I know myself.

When I am exhausted, that's when I say things or do things that I regret. So I was like, Lord, I don't want I want this time to be so different. Because as much as I love my parents, and maybe maybe you don't have this, but in our family, there are triggers. And and my dad especially, he just knows how to trigger me, and he almost enjoys it. I will tell you, he does.

So I said, okay, Lord. I want this time to be different. So here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna get up before them. I'm gonna do that meditation I was telling you about, Lectio three sixty five.

What else should I do? And he just put it on my heart before they got there to memorize one Corinthians 13. You know, love is patient, love is kind. And so I would sit with that in the morning, and I would visualize myself responding patiently with them. Responding with kindness instead of responding the way I want it to respond.

And love does not keep a record of wrongs. You know, there's a lot of records on 61. There's sixty one years worth of records there. And I don't wanna do that. And I I will tell you that it was a very different trip.

And my dad said something. I'll I'll just tell you what it was. So my dad knows the word in and out. But he and I talk about this all the time. He's very legalistic.

And I I don't know why, but it seems like it doesn't matter how old you are. You want your parents' approval. Isn't that the weirdest thing? But so he wanted to read my study guide, and I got, like, a little stomachache because I knew he was gonna say something about it. And I was like, no.

No. I I know. It's up in the closet somewhere. And he's like, oh, no. I really wanna read it.

I'm like, okay, dad. So he reads the first chapter, and did you know what he said to me? He said, the only thing he said, he said, you forgot to capitalize him when referring to Jesus on one of the pages. Okay. Do you think that might have been a trigger for me?

I said, oh, Jesus, take over right now. Please take over. But because that morning, I had to envisage being gentle when I was triggered. I said, you know what, daddy? You're right.

I'll make a note of that and we'll correct that. This is the miracle of the whole thing though. When they returned home, I was talking to him and I know this was hard for him to say. He said, hey, you know, I I just want you to know your mom and I are really proud of you. And I was like, man, Lord, your ways are so much better than my ways because I would have liked to just give my dad.

And instead, because I responded gently, I think it opened his eyes a little to Jesus. To to what would Jesus do? That was my prayer. I wanna do what you would do, Jesus. Not what Deborah would do.

I wanna do what you would do. So, you know, this life is messy, but it's not about trying. It's about training in the ways of Jesus. And I will just tell you the spiritual disciplines aren't this ooey gooey sentimental. I'm gonna be all Jesus y.

Bless you, sister. No. That I hate that stuff. It is just so fake. It it is it is about getting into what Jesus wants from us and really doing it.

We often think, you know, that you'll hear you are what you think, and that is definitely where it starts. But I think the Lord teaches us through the disciplines that more than we are what we think, we are what we love. What what do I mean by that? We are what we love. Do you know what you love?

You love what

Speaker 2you

Deborahdo. We can say, I would love to be in perfect shape. And we can say, I know it's healthy for me to be in great shape and never exercise a day in our life. We can say, I know it's really good to forgive. That's a good Christian quality and have a hard heart towards someone.

So we really are what we do more than even what we think. And what are we doing? The the things that we do here's the thing. And this is the thing about the spiritual disciplines. The things that we do, do something in us.

The things that we do form the person we are becoming. Don't underestimate the power of our everyday mundane choices. You know, day in and day out life can seem just so mundane. Right? But all those little choices we're making in our everyday lives is making the person we're becoming.

What are we doing? What do we love? We love what we do. Who are we becoming? Who are we becoming?

Who are we gonna look back on and say, like, my parents' age, it's not who we're becoming then. It's who we are. Right? So my challenge for you, and I I included this whole thing in your handout. And Julia was like, wait, is this the handout or your teaching notes?

Because I always have, you know, blanks for you all, but I really want you to have this because this is gonna start assuring in the change that I think we're all hungry for. The challenges over the next few nights, I would say over the neck the next few weeks, take an inventory of your day. What did you do today? What books are you reading? Who are you listening to?

Who are you allowing to speak into your life? How do you start your morning? Do you start your morning just running out the door? Or do you just pause and say, wow. Thank you, Lord, for another day.

Thank you that I'm breathing today. Where did I spend most of my time? Do you know what a time sucker social media is? I mean, you can go on and it's thirty minutes later, and that is the most unproductive thing ever. Where am I spending my time?

What words did I choose to use today? Did I gossip and build others up, or did I grumble and complain? What actions did I take when I was anxious and stressed? What did I do? What did I do?

Did I over exercise to take that anxiety away? Did I grab a second glass of wine to take that anxiety away? Did I mindlessly scroll social media to take that anxiety away? What did I do? Or did I say, Jesus, help me.

I need you now. I'm drawing near to you. Draw near to me. Where were my thoughts when I was just daydreaming? What narrative was I playing?

Was that narrative true or was it a lie? What narrative am I playing in my mind? Do I play the narrative I am deeply valued? I am deeply loved. God is there for me.

I can trust him. I'm showing up Lord. So I'm doing my job. I I wanna see you do your job. I trust you.

Give me that peace that surpasses understanding. And then when you evaluate that, just cut out one bad habit and replace it with a spiritual practice. Replace it with spending more time with him or replace it with prayer. Just one bad thing. Practicing these new ways is not about earning God's approval.

You you're approved. You're in. You're in. You're in the eternal family. You're approved and you're loved.

It's about connecting with Jesus. It's about like Mary having a heart shift that you know what? I'm good because I'm in good hands. And he's gonna help me through whatever whatever worry, whatever stress, whatever fear, whatever doubt, whatever I'm going through, he's there for me. Is Ali do you wanna make your way up?

As Ali makes her way up, I just wanna close with Psalm 16. I know I've read a lot of scripture today, but it's just so powerful. And David, David practiced the spiritual disciplines. And this is what he said in Psalm 16. He said, Lord, I love this because once again, he declares, you are mine.

You are my Lord, David says. Every good thing I have comes from you. The godly people in the land are they're really the true heroes. Troubles multiply for those who chase after other gods. I'm not gonna take part in that at all, said David.

You alone are my inheritance. David's like, you're my future, and I'm so blessed by that. Everything I have is because you've given it to me. I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken for he is right beside me, always.

No wonder I'm so happy. No. David was full of joy. When he was about to lose his identity, his country, his kingdom, he was like, nope. You're right here beside me.

And he said, the worst thing that can happen to me is death. But that isn't even bad because my body will rest in safety. You will not leave me. You will not leave me to stay in the grave. You will show me the way of life giving me joy in your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.

David could say that because David practiced time with the Lord. He practiced seeking the Lord, praying to the Lord. The spiritual disciplines work. We just have to show up. Just show up and do them.

Lord, thank you that you give us the how to get to the who. We want you, Jesus. We we want to be those Christians that are just overflowing with love and hope and joy. No matter how dark our world gets, you are still king of kings and lord of lords, and you still have your eye on us. Thank you, Lord, that we are in your good, good hand.

Thank you, Jesus. Amen.

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Abiding In Christ Habit Change Joy In Hard Times Remaining In Jesus Speaking Truth Spiritual Disciplines

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