"Turning Leads to a Blessed Life"
TEXT: Deut. 30:10; Rom. 10:9-10
TRUTHS:
1. The Christian faith can be characterized as a worldview in which the adherents are committed to the act of repentance. It is normal for the children of God to find that their hearts have drifted from a pure and genuine devotion to Christ. We should be quick to repent when we become aware of areas where we may have drifted from obedience to God’s Word. If we ignore this reality and fail to repent, we will inevitably become less sensitive to the voice and presence of God.
2. What is the result of correctly understanding that Christ has forgiven you of your sin? Your love for God and your love for others will grow, mature, and be refreshed.
3. The Bible beckons us to come into the presence of God with ‘childlike faith’. What does this mean for us practically? Just as a child depends upon their parents and must ask for assistance frequently, we are to come before our Heavenly Father and call upon Him for help.
4. Every believer should ask themselves the following question: what does it look like for me to turn to the Lord with my whole heart? We must wrestle with what it looks like for us, in our modern context, to practically view (and honor) Christ as our ‘life and length of days’. Additionally, this is not an answer that you can come up with using human ingenuity and determination. In other words, we must ask the Spirit for help. The Word of God says it this way: what is impossible with man is possible with God. We must remember this truth when considering the question of what it looks like to turn to Christ with our whole hearts.
5. Our Savior is far more concerned about our character than He is about our comfort.
6. Every believer needs to be reminded to pray for the “difficult” people that are a part of their lives. This practice will help ensure that our hearts don’t become filled with envy, bitterness, and jealousy towards those people.
7. What does it mean to keep the law of Christ? What is the ‘path’ to receiving salvation from our inherent sinfulness and separation from God? We must be committed to: (1) loving God and loving people, (2) participating in worship and fellowship as a committed member of God’s family, and (3) repentance of personal sin. We must be aware that there are ways to practice your faith that fail to include these necessary truths and practices. And worship that does not include these practices is referred to as ‘idolatry’ throughout the Bible.
TALK TO EACH OTHER:
1. How would you describe repentance to a new believer? How often should believers practice repentance? What are some common struggles (for believers) related to the practice of repentance?
2. Why is our capacity to love other people so intimately connected to understanding that through the gospel of Jesus Christ, we have been forgiven of our sin before God?
3. God desires for us to come before Him with childlike faith. As mentioned above (Truth 3), this should steer us to pray for God's help in a consistent and habitual manner. Are there any other truths or practices that the Lord wants us to glean from this revelation?
4. What does it mean that Jesus is more concerned about our character than He is our comfort? Additionally, why is this good for us?
5. How would you define what it means to turn to Christ with your whole heart (Truth 4)? Does the definition change as you mature and experience the changing seasons of life?
TALK TO GOD:
Pray into the following areas:
Our 'Missions Team' at King's Castle (El Salvador)
Turning to Christ with our whole hearts
That we would be willing to pray for the difficult people in our lives (guarding our hearts from being filled with bitterness)
That God would speak to people concerning what it looks like to have childlike faith
A fresh revelation of the magnitude of being forgiven of our sin (so that we are rightly motivated to love Christ and love others)
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