I wrote this series for a men’s discipleship group, using various sources as noted throughout. As a main guide, I used, “Growing Up In Grace,” by Murray Brett. My prayer is that you would be able to use this in your own bible study or to disciple a new believer that has come to know Christ as Lord and Savior.

Grace and Peace,Pastor Ivan

Growing Up in Grace lesson 1

Introduction

Read Psalm 1

For many people thinking and feeling are like oil and water; they repulse each other – but for the blessed Christian, his delight is in meditating on the LORD through His Word.

Why is there tension between thinking and feeling?

“Whatever the reason for this tension that exists in so many people, my own experience, my awareness of the experience of others in history, and my understanding of the Bible teach me that it is neither a necessary tension nor a healthy one, at least not to the degree that most people experience it. My goal is to help us all become the kind of folk for whom sound thinking kindles deep feeling and for whom deep feeling motivates sound thinking. Most of the opposition we feel between the heart and the head is, I think, due to learned behavior patterns which do not necessarily result from the nature of our emotions or our thought. We have been warned so often about not becoming a cold intellectual that we have trouble imagining the possibility of intellect that lights fires instead of putting them out. Or on the other side we have been taught to be so wary of fanatic emotionalism that we can scarcely believe that a tear in someone's eye might be coming from a holy syllogism instead of a pathological passion.” – John Piper

Delightful Responsibility

“A farmer plows his field, sows the seed, and fertilizes and cultivates – all the while knowing that in the final analysis he is utterly dependent on forces outside of himself. He knows he cannot cause the seed to germinate, nor can he produce the rain and sunshine for growing and harvesting the crop. For a successful harvest, he is dependent on these things from God. Yet the farmer knows that unless he diligently pursues his responsibilities to plow, plant, fertilize, and cultivate, he cannot expect a harvest at the end of the season. In a sense he is in a partnership with God, and he will reap its benefits only when he has fulfilled his own responsibilities.

Farming is a joint venture between God and the farmer. The farmer cannot do what God must do, and God will not do what the farmer should do. We can say just as accurately that the pursuit of holiness [or, Growing Up in Grace] is a joint venture between God and the Christian. No one can attain any degree of holiness without God working in his life, but just as surely no one will attain it without effort on his own part. God has made it possible for us to walk in holiness. But He has given to us the responsibility of doing the walking; he does not do that for us” – from The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges, pg. 9.

The means by which God has appointed your growth is a delightful devotional life in his Word. His Word is the place where we come to know Jesus Christ and the grace that he offers: prayer, confession, repentance, self-denial, praise, reproof, correction, the sacraments, the devotional life in God’s Word, and the corporate life and witness of the local church – God employs all these to further our growth in grace and in fulfilling our chief end: to glorify God by enjoying him forever!

What is the grace of Psalm 1?

“Blessed” = God has showered you with favor.How do you know that God has showered you with favor?

You have knowledge of two ways to live: one leads to judgment and the other to a congregation with the righteous. You are like a tree beside water instead of chaff driven away by the wind.

“knows” = God does not merely, ‘know about’ you – he has this kind of knowledge of wicked as well. This is a knowing that chooses to care for you with affection and fatherly discipline for your own good (see Gen. 18:19; Amos 3:2).

To meditate on God’s Word does not mean that you can’t think about other things. It means that whatever you think about, the subject on your mind is considered through the mind of God. Do you delight and enjoy thinking about ______ as God would think about it?

Does the psalmist believe that there is a certain kind of delight in wicked ways?

What is it that prospers?

Why is meditation of God’s Word described as delight and not duty/responsibility? Why doesn’t the psalmist say, “. . . but his duty is in the law of the LORD . . .”

If it is our responsibility to apply ourselves in growing up in godliness through God’s grace, does this responsibility then nullify delight? – because everyone knows that you can be responsible in many things but have no delight in doing it.

How does Psalm 1 lead to Jesus Christ?

If Christ perfectly lived psalm 1 – as the Son of David – which David the psalmist failed to do, then through his work on the cross he supplies to you the grace to delight yourself in Him. Growing up in Grace is learning to become more like Christ, not by your own will-power, but through the grace that he provides as you and I apply ourselves with delight to the means of growing.

Growing Up in Grace lesson 2The reason why we have been saved by grace is to know Him who sent His Son. Read our Lord’s Gethsemane Prayer and listen to Jesus pray to his Father – listen to how Jesus defines his mission and how he knows that it has been accomplished.

John 17:1-8, 25-26

This is why Jesus came – “. . . that they may know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” – vs. 3

Let’s write down the obvious. We were saved by grace that -

1. we may know the only true God2. And Jesus Christ

3. That the only true God sent

It’s a Damnable thing to not know God and not obey the gospel of Jesus Christ– 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10

In verse 10, what is the heart description that the saints have for Jesus Christ when he returns to take vengeance upon all who do not, and did not want to know his Father? Marvel, admire

What is an example in human experience where one has knowledge of something but does not admire or marvel over it?

What is the first and greatest commandment? Read Mt. 22:37 (notice Love, Heart, Mind)

When your mind entertains who Jesus is, his claims, his works, his suffering, his Father, his Father’s sending of his Son, how does your heart respond? Are you bored, annoyed, indifferent, angered? Or do you feel love, admiration, gratefulness, joy, peace, hope, clean, free, filled . . .?

It is not just what you think about God that determines your destiny but also how you feel about God. True saints of God honor him with our lips and our hearts, unlike the faithful, dutiful, Sunday-morning bible-tote’n, bible-quote’n, religious folk who exalt the virtues of saying the right things about God but not enjoying the right things about God (Mt. 15:8).

When the Bible teaches on growing up in Christ, it aims not only at what we think but what we feel about him. The Bible also presents us with the means of growing up in how we think and feel about our Lord. Where does grace come in? Though we are to gladly work at growing up, we do so not by works but by grace. Read how Paul weaves work and grace together in 1 Cor. 15:1-4, 7-11.

So when David invites us to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (psalm 34:8), he is inviting us to both feel with gladness (taste and see) by considering what is true about the Lord (is good). This class subject is all about increasing, growing up in what we think and how we feel about

our Savior. We do this by the means that he has given us, found in his Word: prayer, confession, repentance, self-denial, praise, reproof, correction, the sacraments, the devotional life in God’s Word, and the corporate life and witness of the local church. And these means of growth are by his grace, not our strength.

The Spirituality of TasteBy J.C. Ryle – born (10 May 1816 - 10 June 1900) was the first Anglican bishop of Liverpool and wrote extensively on the pursuit of holiness.

“The man whose soul is “growing” takes more interest in spiritual things every year. He does not neglect his duty in the world. He discharges faithfully, diligently, and conscientiously every relation of life, whether at home or abroad. But the things he loves best are spiritual things. The ways, and fashions, and amusements, and recreations of the world have a continually decreasing place in his heart. He does not condemn them as downright sinful, nor say that those who have anything to do with them are going to hell. He only feels that they have a constantly diminishing hold on his own affections, and gradually seem smaller and more trifling in his eyes. Spiritual companions, spiritual occupations, spiritual conversation, appear of ever-increasing value to him. Would anyone know if he is growing in grace? Then let him look within for increasing spirituality of taste.” (Holiness, 107)

So I ask myself: Do I love Jesus a little more this year and football a little bit less? Do I love the Word more and the world less? Do I love to long for spiritual things more and entertainment, politics, and hobbies less? Are the things that truly taste best tasting better to me? Am I hearing the psalmist plea, “O taste and see that the Lord is good,” and responding in my heart – “mm, mm, good?”

We always praise that which is most valuable! It is our joy to delight in something that is precious!

”You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” – Psalm 16:11

“Oh, send out your light and your truth! Let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling place. Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy; and on the harp I will praise you, O God, my God.” - Psalm 43:3, 4

“but now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves” - John 17:13

Growing Up in Grace lesson 3We are not too far away from studying the means by which we grow up in our faith by God’s grace. It is our attempt to first grapple with the relationship between thinking and feeling. The foundation of all growth is how our hearts feel about God in Christ: we are to love him with our whole being. To love our Lord Jesus Christ means that we treasure him above all else; we admire him, delight in him, and cherish him as Paul describes: “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Phil. 3:8). Paul was not morbid about loss if it meant knowing Christ more fully: “making my prayer with joy” “how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus” “that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment” “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me – practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”(from Philippians). Do you see the combination and dance between growing love and growing knowledge, what you prize in your mind and God’s peace in your heart? Thinking about God is one of the means by which we grow up – we are becoming what we think about and treasure most. What was most valuable to the apostle was knowing Christ by loving Christ. You cannot separate what you think about Christ from what you feel about him.

But love is not like turning on a light switch.

“You cannot merely decide to love classical music – or country western music –much less God. The music must become compelling. Something must change inside of you. That change makes possible the awakening of a compelling sense of its attractiveness. So it is with God. You do not merely decide to love him. Something changes inside of you, and as a result he becomes compellingly attractive. His glory – his beauty – compels your admiration and delight. He becomes your supreme treasure. You love him.” – from Think, by John Piper, pg. 87

So, let’s think (a means) about God today and pray (there is another means) that your love for Him will increase. If this happens, it will be an act of grace and the result will be growth in the inner man.

Jonathan Edwards (October 5, 1703 – March 22, 1758) was a preacher, theologian, and missionary to Native Americans. Edwards "is widely acknowledged to be America's most important and original philosophical theologians and one of America's greatest intellectuals. Edwards played a very critical role in shaping the First Great Awakening, and oversaw some of the first fires of revival in 1733–1735 at his church in Northampton, Massachusetts. Edwards died from a smallpox inoculation shortly

after beginning the presidency at the College of New Jersey (later to be named Princeton University), and was the grandfather of Aaron Burr.

I’ll always be indebted to Edwards for increasing my love for God having read his book: The End for Which God Created the World. Below is a summary of my reading which grounded my faith a little deeper. Edwards uses the word “end” to mean “purpose.”

A summary from Edwards’ book, “The End for Which God Created the World”

Proposition #1 God is the first and final cause of all that is

“Thus says the Lord, the king of Israel, and his Redeemer the LORD of hosts, I am the first, I also am the last, and besides me there is no God” - Isaiah 44:6“I am the first and I am the last” - Rev. 1:8“I am the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last” - Rev. 1:11, 17“For of him,  and through him, and to him, are all things”  - Romans 11:36“For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible, and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by him, and for him” - Colossians 1:16“for it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the author of their salvation complete through sufferings” - Hebrews 2:10“The LORD has made all things for himself” - Proverbs 16:4                   

Proposition #2

therefore, God had his eye on himself when he created!   But for what ultimate purpose?

“For my own sake, even for my own sake, will I do it. For how should my name be polluted; and I will not give my glory to another” - Isaiah 48:11“For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” - Romans 11:36“I say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Keep not back; bring my sons from afar, and my daughters from the ends of the earth, even every one that is called by my name;  for I have created him for my glory,  I have made him” - Isaiah 60:21“Having predestinated us to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ, unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace” - Ephesians 1:5, 6“And all mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.” - John 17:10“every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” - Philippians 2:11“Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” - 1 Cor. 10:31“for this purpose I came to this hour, ‘Father, glorify your name” - John 12:27, 28“the heavens declare the glory of God” - Psalm 19:1                   

Proposition #3

therefore, The ultimate purpose for which God created was to display His glory,   and the display of his glory is the same thing as making his name known.

“The LORD will not forsake his people, for his great name’s sake” - 1 Sam. 12:22“He restores my soul,  he leads me in the paths of righteousness,  for his name’s sake” - Psalm 23:3“your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake” - 1 John 2:12“For my name’s sake I will defer my anger” - Isaiah 48:9“O Lord,  how excellent is your name in all the earth” - Psalm 8:1

God created all things and uses all things for himself, to glorify himself - to make his name known - but what is meant in scripture by “the glory of God”? Let’s observe two texts to shed light on the meaning of “glory of God.” Exodus 33:7-23 & John 1:14.

“The word glory is used in Scripture often to express the exhibition, emanation, or communication of the internal glory. Hence it often signifies a beauty, or shining brightness, by an emanation of beams of light. It signifies excellency, dignity, or worthiness of regard.”

Summary: So God created all things and uses all things for himself, to put on display all His excellent qualities and characteristics primarily in His Son Jesus Christ.  The praise of these excellent qualities from sinners saved by grace results in two things:  1) God is exalted above all His creation and, 2) we receive unspeakable joy that is full of His glory.

We always praise that which is most valuable - It is our joy to delight in something that is precious!

”You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” – Psalm 16:11

“Oh, send out your light and your truth! Let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling place. Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy; and on the harp I will praise you, O God, my God.” - Psalm 43:3, 4

“but now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves” - John 17:13

God created to display Himself – the universe is his stage. As the character of God is magnified, we rejoice in who He is and what He has done for us through his Son. In other words, God is for Himself first, and because He has his eye on that which is supremely beautiful and priceless, which is his own character, God can then be for us; thus, our expression of praise to him is our eternal and increasing joy.

Question: Is there any chance that God’s plan to glorify himself through the praises of sinners saved by grace will fail?

What are some practical good outcomes of: “The End (purpose) for Which God Created the World”?

Growing Up in Grace lesson #4

We began this subject with Psalm 1, noticing that a blessed man is one who delights in knowing the Lord through his Word. He is like a tree planted by a stream of water and yields delicious fruit. He is blessed because no matter what his day includes, his pleasure is in the Lord day and night. He is a blessed man because his affections drive his pursuit to know the Lord and therefore he remains strong and sturdy in his faith.

To take us a bit further into considering how our affections have everything to do with our growing up, let’s survey briefly some of the comparisons that the Lord makes of himself. In scripture, our Lord compares himself to tangible things that we as humans are able to experience in some way or another:

olive oil, refreshing water, a reliable well, fine wine, sweet honey, satisfying bread, priceless treasure, strong fortress, sturdy shield, fruitful tree, cool shade, peaceful sleep, married sex, shining light, solid rock, mother hen, creamy milk, and many more.

When God uses these real-life touchables to relate himself to our desires, he is comparing himself to all other types of satisfactions that we are capable of experiencing. He is asking, “Do you believe that I am more satisfying than ____?” When your flesh and the worlds’ suitors are vying for the allegiance of your heart, they appeal not just to your intellect but your affections. When God presents himself as the best of pleasures (ps. 16:1), does your heart (where affectionate desire churns) agree?

Illustration: If you asked me, “Ivan, do you believe in Motorcycles”?, I would respond with a robust ‘yes’ – and with a smile on my face – imagining a smooth relaxing ride through the

hills of WV on an 1100 Honda Shadow or even replacing clutch plates on a

motorcross because it was so much fun digging up dirt for the past year . But if you asked, “Ivan, do you believe in gardening”?, I would groan, “yes – vegetables grow there and vegetables are good for you” – but without any affection in my heart at all for the whole thing, except for what I can selfishly get out of it, as long as someone else does the work.

The Gospel Command is to believe on/in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. Can you believe in Jesus Christ the way I believe in gardening and still go to heaven? Can you live the Christian Life and expect to grow in it the way I live for gardening?

How many of you grew up believing that Christianity is basically something that we think and not feel? And if so, Why do you think this happened even though the first and greatest commandment is to Love God with your whole being?

Name something in your life that with the increase of knowledge, your delight, enjoyment, and love for it has also increased – to the point where you really can’t tell which is feeding the other: knowledge feeding more feelings or feelings feeding the desire for more knowledge.

This is why the greatest commandment is not, “Think Correctly About the Lord your God” but “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and strength.” One can think correctly about something but have no affections for it. However, if you have deep affections for something, it will be an irresistible pursuit in knowing all you can know about it.

Clarification: We are declared righteous by faith, not by love – love never justified any sinner. But justifying faith does receive Jesus. So many people in the church say that they have received Jesus as savior but evidence little or no proof that they are spiritually alive.

“They are unresponsive to the spiritual beauty of Jesus. They are unmoved by the glories of Christ. They don’t have the spirit of the apostle Paul when he said, ‘I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ’ (Phil 3:8). They receive him simply as sin-forgiver (because they love being guilt-free), and as rescuer-from-hell (because they love being pain-free), and as healer (because they love being disease-free), and as protector (because they love being safe), and as prosperity-giver (because they love being wealthy), and as creator (because they want a personal universe), and as Lord of history (because they want order and purpose). But they don’t receive him as supremely and personally valuable for who he is . . . more glorious, more beautiful, more wonderful, more satisfying, than everything else in the universe. They don’t prize him or treasure him or cherish him or delight in him” – from Think, by John Piper, pg. 71-72.

One must be born again from above in order to have an inner taste for him who made a world of delights!

This is why Jesus teaches us what it means to be his disciple, by saying:

“Therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple” – Luke 14:33

“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” – Matt. 10:37

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” – Matt. 13:44

To be a disciple growing up in Christ is a lifelong pursuit of pleasure in the best of all beings – Jesus Christ. The climax of satisfaction for the Christian is to forever and finally be with him who died and was raised for our eternal joy – “Well done, good and faithful servant . . . enter into the joy of your master” – Matt. 25:23.

Growing Up in Grace lesson # 5

One of the most famous descriptions of pride outside of Scripture comes from Paradise Lost by John Milton, where Satan says,

“In Hell we are at least free . . . and my choice to reign is worth ambition,

though in Hell . . . better to reign in Hell, than to serve in Heaven.”

A less famous description of pride comes from John Calvin. Quoting Isaiah 42:8, which says, “I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory I will not give to another,” the Genevan French pastor then comments: “God cannot bear with seeing His glory appropriated by the creature in even the smallest degree. Therefore the sacrilegious arrogance of those who praise themselves and obscure His glory is absolutely intolerable to God” – from Commentary on the Psalms, 1:33

Indeed, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble,” says James (4:6), as he paraphrases Proverbs 3:34.

Pride is the root of all other sins and is the sin that undermines all spiritual growth. It is the sin that we are most blind to. It is the sin that seeks to rob God of his rightful glory, it is the sin that contends with God for supremacy, it was the source of a cursed garden. Pride is behind selfishness, discontentment, covetousness, lust, and envy – because we are dissatisfied with where God has us in life. These sins are our prideful rebellion against a sovereign God. Pride is behind fear, anxiety, doubt, manipulation, arm-twisting, and coerciveness - because we have no confidence that God will take care of us and work all things for our good. Jonathan Edwards, a lover of God through the lens of nature once said,

“Pride takes many forms and shapes and encompasses the heart like the layers of an onion – when you pull off one layer, there is another underneath. Therefore, we need to have the greatest watch imaginable over our hearts with respect to pride and to cry out earnestly to the Great Searcher of our hearts for His help. He who trusts his own heart is a fool.” – from The Works of Jonathan Edwards, 1:399

A wise man once said, “There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.”

He also said, “Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD” (prov. 6:16-19; 16:5). What is an abomination to the Lord? Not laziness but pride. It is easy for us hard-working, middle class, white, republican, or mostly republican, moral, self-made men to despise lazy people. But God thinks differently. He despises the pride that is behind both laziness and hard-working success.

Pride is Competition with God. It is Contending for Supremacy.Isaiah 57:15; 66:1-2 Luke 18:14

This is the reason why humility is the soil in which all spiritual growth sprouts from: God dwells the closest with the lowest.

Comment on what God is saying to your heart from the following passages:

Deut. 8:17-18

Isaiah 26:12

Luke 18:11

1 Cor. 3:7, 4:7, 15:10

1 Peter 5:5

A Needed Clarification

There is nothing wrong with striving to be the best we possibly can be at what we do in order to be the most useful that we can in the kingdom of God. It is not pride in the wrong sense when we do a good job and are aware that we have done a good job. We should all desire to hear Christ say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things . . . enter into the joy of the Lord” (Matt. 25:23). Here is the test: If you desire to do better because you love feeling better than others, then you have moved from good and God honoring ambition to prideful ambition. You have exalted yourself above others in your heart instead of taking the lowest place among men. It is impossible to grow up in Christ when we are competing for glory against Him.

The Practice of Humility

1. Renew your mind with Scripture. Choose a passage or two above to remind you who you are and who God is. The Holy Spirit will use the Word to transform you on the inside.

2. Read Philippians 2:1-11 and ask yourself, “Do I really view others as more significant than myself?”

3. Confess and Repent of prideful ways, prideful thoughts, prideful attitudes. Ask God to help you be more sensitive to see yourself as God sees you and to point out where and why your main temptations to pride reside.

4. Humble yourself! This means that I am to do something. Something must change. Like: Stop taking credit for successes that belong to God; Evaluate why you are competitive, why being better than others is so important to you,

why you really do love the praise of man; Practice telling your failures and faults to others before telling your successes; Put away prideful talk as if everyone is stupid and you’re the only smart one in the room,

on the road, on a particular subject; Abandon the idea that your way is right, all the time; Hold confidently to what is true with humility; Ask a very close friend, a grown child, your wife to point out what areas of pride are

manifested in your life.

Growing Up in Grace lesson # 6

We recently learned that since God graciously gives grace to the humble, growing up in grace is to go low.

Think: Why would I say, “God graciously gives grace to the humble”? Because that is the very nature of grace. It is an undeserved expression of God’s favor. Which means, your humbling of yourself does not earn God’s grace but is the means, the instrument for God to use. He uses your humility to bestow undeserved grace upon your life.

Think Again: If you humble yourself, and undeserved grace is bestowed, is humility a work of God’s grace in the first place? Remember 1 Cor. 4:7 and 15:10.

If my humbling is a work of God’s grace, Does God still hold me responsible for humbling myself? Yes

Why or Why not?

For the same reason that God says you must be perfect and holy as he is (Matt. 5:48; 1 Peter 1:13-16). God does not hold us responsible because we are able to comply with the command, but because he is Holy and he is God. This is the same biblical logic that makes children responsible to obey their parents – “. . . for it is right” – not, “. . . for you can do it” (Eph. 6:1).

Read Psalm 119:25-40 and list all of David’s requests – there are 17 of them. Then notice the connection of cause and effect in the requests, that if God does x then David will be able to do y.

If you have come to know anything at all about the true way of life – who caused this and who gets the credit? Psalm 16:11

Where is David’s Joy located?

Does your prayer life match David’s? Mine neither – but it is what I am aiming for and what I want. Reflect again on what is driving this desire. Hint: Psalm 119:35, 46-47.

Begin to ask God to give you delight and pleasure in knowing Him, the kind of delight that is irresistible to refuse. We are now ready to look at the chief means of growing up in grace – prayer, which is communion and fellowship in the presence of God. Beginning next week we’ll look at the role of confession in our prayers. May God be gracious to us all so that our pursuit will be a pleasure-driven pursuit to apply the means of grace to our hearts.

Growing Up in Grace lesson # 7

The famous French Philosopher, Jean Paul Sartre once illustrated the horror of being watched:

“Imagine you’re in a room and you see a keyhole with light pouring from it. You bend down to look through the keyhole and you see people doing things, but they don’t know that you’re watching them. Then, you hear footsteps behind you, and suddenly you realize that you too are being watched and that you feel deeply ashamed.”

That’s what it’s like to discover that Jesus has been watching your heart. And that feeling to take cover and hide – is horrible. For another person to have complete access to what we’re thinking, how we are feeling, and how we’re living is unbearable. What would it be like then, to never have to take cover ever again? What would it be like to not have to worry about others knowing us deeply, to have to shade the truth, spin the info in a positive way to our direction, to not have to put up a front or to hide – anymore? David says that the most wonderful place to be in is – the open, where God covers us. When we pray, confessing our sins, it is like uncovering ourselves in the open so that God may cover us with his grace and his righteousness. We all take cover. The question is, which one really brings grace and peace to your heart – yours’ or Christ’s?

Read Psalm 32

We’re not sure if psalm 32 is an extension of psalm 51, but even if it is not, it describes what happens when we use our own covering for our sins instead of God’s covering.

Look at verse one and two again and answer who is the one covering David’s sin?

Now look at verse five and notice that it is David who said, “I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity.” There are two kinds of covering: David’s and the Lord’s. The covering for sin that man has is, “. . .kept silent” vs. 3. The covering for sin that God has comes by, “. . . acknowledged . . .” vs. 5, which is why David can say in verse one that his sin is covered – and it is a blessing.

Discuss reasons why we attempt to cover our sins by keeping silent.

Do you know the difference between shame and guilt, and which one often has the most power, and why?

Guilt is a moral trespass against a law, a standard outside of us. I am guilty and I feel guilt when I am caught judging others with contempt as if I have never done wrong. But I feel shame when I trip over my feet and fall on my face going up stairs while a bunch of men are watching and sniggering. Tripping and falling is not a moral transgression – there is no guilt. But there can be shame – lots of it. Why? Because my idol of me – the coordinated tough guy who never falls down going up stairs is smashed in front of everyone.

What more often keeps our mouths silent, covering up our sin, is not so much that we’ll be found guilty, but the shame of being found out that we are not what we are trying to project to others. We want others to believe that we are _______________?????? (you fill in the blank by thinking of a hero quality that you admire and that you want to be known for). Usually, the reason why we cover our sins is because our hero of self will be toppled. We might even shift the blame to protect our self-image: “The woman made me” or “the serpent deceived me” or “let’s make our own fig-leaf coat” = more public good works.

Like Adam and Eve, like David, we too want to control what others see – even if it means being dishonest about our sin. But as our illustration at the beginning describes, someone is standing behind you watching you watch others. His name is Jesus. With Jesus nothing is hidden and the good news is that he can cover anything. That is the gospel and therein is the grace that we desperately need. When God graciously killed an animal to cover the first couple’s sin and rebellion, he did it in a way that not only brought them peace, but freedom and hope to move closer to God and to each other. How much strife and distance in marriages, and other relationships, would simply disappear if both husband and wife, or both parties were truly honest about their sins to God and to one another? It’s not that there is no covering going on – but just the wrong kind. One still leaves you exposed to the full wrath of God in Hell, forever. The other is Christ crucified in your place.

Though we know and embrace the gospel just as David, we still cover our own sins by ignoring them, shifting the blame, criticizing others, justifying our sin, minimizing and sugar-coating them.

What about distraction? How and with what do we distract ourselves from our sins?

Read Romans 4:1-8, 24-25 and see Paul make the connection from how we are declared righteous before God with faith in Christ. Notice how Paul uses Psalm 32:1-2 in Romans 4:7-8.

By faith in what God can do to forgive us our sins, God justifies, declares you righteous. This is how He covers your sin. He does so not by ignoring it, or down-playing it, but by shedding the blood of His own Son in your place. By faith in what God did for you on the cross, He imputes, credits, reckons, counts to you the righteousness of Jesus. Your sins are covered, the guilt is gone and the shame of your sin is gone too. Do you know why? Because you’re not the hero of your life anymore. Christ is. David describes the Lord after he has confessed his sin in this way: “You are a hiding place for me” vs. 7.

The gospel frees you to Change Your Hiding Place, from your good works that are not really that good, to Christ’s – which are perfect. A new hiding place and a new cover in Christ. The gospel is what motivates confession of sin. David got the gospel back into his viewfinder. Begin today to confess what you have been covering so that your bones will quit aching, trouble will not overtake you, and glad expressions of deliverance will fill your heart again (vs. 7). If you do, and keep confessing your sins in your prayer life, you will know the grace that changes you more and more into the likeness of Christ.

Growing Up in Grace lesson # 8

Let’s now combine the last two lessons, Humility and Confession of Sin.

Now he [Jesus] told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted (Luke 14:7–11).

After being raised in a pastors home, and going on to earn just over 140 credits from a bible college, and spending nearly 7 years teaching and proclaiming God’s Word in just about every possible venue of public proclamation there is – you would think that this guy could pass a “how-much-of-the-bible-do-you-really-know test for a theological seminary – right? Sadly – he didn’t, and that guy is me. Before the test the guys were saying, “You’re going to ace this – because yada yada yada,” and I loved it, to no small degree. In my heart I was taking the high place among my peers because in my heart there was no humility and no need to confess my sin of pride – I couldn’t see it or feel it. I even helped their view of my easy ace in the hole by talking about me, myself, and I even more.

In stark contrast, Jesus says it is better to be thought worse than you are, and then be publicly vindicated, than to be thought better than you are and then be publicly humiliated. What makes following Jesus even more difficult is the real possibility of no honor in this life. What if you take the lowest seat and no one comes to invite you to the front? What if your reputation in this world is always worse among men than it is with God? What if your life is one continual false accusation (Matthew 5:11)? “We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered” (Psalm 44:22; Romans 8:36). “We have become like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things” (1 Corinthians 4:13).

This parable does not promise that people will always come through for you. They won’t. Some will think of you worse than you are till the day you die. What this parable ultimately promises is that at the final wedding feast, Jesus himself will set things right (vss.14, 24). Your reputation will be vindicated. Truth will come out. The whole universe will know if your reputation was wrong.

So here’s the life-changing truth: It is better to be thought worse than you are now, and have the Lord set things right in the last day, than to be thought better than you are now, only to have Jesus put you in your place, outside his wedding feast, in the end. In other words, don’t care much about whether your family and friends and acquaintances and enemies know what you are really like. Be true, be real, be humble, and let the Lord settle the matter in the end. In that day, the price of taking the lower place will be seen to be very small.

When the grades came in I was put in my place – I flunked the test and had to take the “get-to-know-your-bible-more” class for the full semester. It was humiliating. God humbled me in front of my peers. I had to confess my sin of pride before them, my sin of thinking so well of myself and not-so-well of my friends. God was gracious and so were my Presbyterian friends. They out-loved me and God honored them. I exalted myself and God put me in my place.

When Christ becomes more and more your inner identity, it will become easier and easier to take a low position. This is God’s grace at work in your life and this is what it means to grow up in this work of grace.

“I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” – 2 Cor. 8:8-9

Now read 2 Cor. 12:1-10 and give glory to God by boasting before your peers what ‘humbling’ thing he has done for you – it is his work of grace.

1. How do you boast in weakness? What is there about you that is non-admirable, improbable, deficient, that by God’s grace, the power and strength of Christ is put on display?

2. What area of your life are you prone to conceitedness because of some kind of advantage above and over others (12:7)?

3. Why do we easily turn God’s gracious gifts to us (12:2 = “. . . I know a man who . . . was caught up to the third heaven”), into platforms for personal boasting, as if what we have succeeded in was by our own might?

4. Like Paul, has God given you “a thorn” to keep you from boasting in yourself over what you have succeeded in? What kind of language are you using that would prove that your pride has been punctured, thorned by God to keep you from being a conceited man?

5. Are you really as happy as Paul was in boasting in weaknesses? I’m not there yet either – but it is my aim. When my heart is more fascinated with who Christ is, in all his humbling on the cross in my place, then I’m on my way to glad boasting in my frailties. However, if I remain more fascinated with my successes, and never see them as gifts from God, then I will never be able to be as glad as God has intended for me and I will not know the power of Christ on my life (12:9b). This is an astonishing, if-then, proposition: If you boast in your weaknesses, then you will have the power of Christ on your life. If you do not, then you will not have the power of Christ on your life to live for Him!

The best gladness that any human can attain is to forget himself and see only Christ in, over, around, above, behind, and under all that he does in this life.

Growing Up in Grace lesson # 9

a common day in the life of a common disciple a personal testimony of growing up in grace

Stage #1

Answer the following questions silently in your mind:

1. Who is Jesus? 2. What did he do?3. What is a Christian?4. Do you love Jesus? & How do you know?

Stage #2

Then, add to the mix a moment in your life where you tell God to because ….

Add the two together, A Hard Question and a Hard Day, what do you get?

John 15:1-17

a. False branches get taken away (vs. 2a)b. True branches get pruned to produce more fruit – but pruning hurts (vs. 2b)

“Fruit” is more Christ-likeness in your lifec. Abiding in Christ is living your life on the life of Christ (vss. 4-6)d. To live your life in and on Christ, is to have his words in you (vs. 7a)e. All prayers are guided by the words of Christ in you (vs. 7b)f. Your prayer life, that is nurtured by the words of Christ:

1. glorifies the vinedresser (God the Father), 2. produces more fruit (a life like Jesus’)3. provides assurance of salvation (true branch, true disciple) [vs. 8]

g. Abiding in Christ is to abide in his love (vs. 9)h. To love Christ is to keep his commandments (vs. 10)i. To keep his commandments means to love the disciples of Christ – his body, his

church (vs. 11)j. To love the disciples of Christ means to give your life to them, serving them as a

humble servant (vs. 12; 13:34-35)When Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, pointing to his humiliation on the cross, he was loving them in a new way. Up to this point in salvation history, God had never died for his people. Now he will. This is the newness of the commandment – the new example of what love is.

Putting this together: When you are unsure of your salvation, test it by whether or not you want to live upon Jesus’ words and by lovingly serve his body.

When the Buzz Off Moment Hits

Ask yourself, what is it that is irritating me about God?

$Physical PainBad WeatherHumdrum of lifeConflictsA Hard RelationshipCircumstances of LifeDrawn-out sorrows of LifeFailures

Whatever it is, ultimately the Sovereignty of God is now rubbing you the wrong way!

Remember Moses’ anger in the wilderness when he struck the rock twice instead of speaking to it. Remember Jonah’s anger outside of the Assyrian city hearing the Ninevites repent. Remember Job’s anger as he gets no defense from God to vindicate his suffering.

Often our feelings of irritation with God is because we are irritated with how his Hand is guiding our days.

Cure: Draw near to God through honest contrition of all your feelings and thoughts by finding your lament in the psalms. Don’t hurt in silence - tell a disciple. Believe that the Vinedresser of your life (your Father in heaven) wants you near Him, no matter how you have recently behaved in your heart. Rebuild your assurance of salvation by feasting on Christ’s words and serving the body of Christ. And if the feeling of assurance still does not come, don’t become inwardly obsessed with your feelings, look to what Christ has done for you on the cross – and wait.

Growing Up in Grace lesson # 10

The Pursuit of Our Joy Through Repentance

On November 30, 1745, missionary David Brainerd wrote in his diary, having preached to the Indians of Crossweeksung, New Jersey:

“Luke 16:19-26 - The Word made powerful impressions upon many in the assembly,  especially while I discoursed of the blessedness of Lazarus “in Abraham’s bosom”.  This,  I could perceive,  affected them much more than what I spoke of the rich man’s misery and torments.  And thus it has been usually with them . . .  They have almost always appeared much more affected with the comfortable than the dreadful truths of God’s Word.  And that which has distressed many of them under convictions, is that they found they wanted, and could not obtain, the happiness of the godly.”

On August 6 - “It was surprising to see how their hearts seemed to be pierced with the tender and melting invitations of the Gospel, when there was not a word of terror spoken to them.”

On August 9 - “There were many tears among them while I was discoursing publicly, but no considerable cry:  Yet some were much affected with a few words spoken to them in a powerful manner,  which caused the persons to cry out in anguish of soul,  although I spoke not a word of terror,  but on the contrary,  set before them the fullness and all sufficiency of Christ’s merits,  and his willingness to save all that come to him;  and thereupon pressed them to come without delay.”

Read Psalm 51:7-12, and notice what it is that David wants back in his life.

Can you recall a time in your life that you were sad because you realized that you missed out on something truly enjoyable?

This is what it means to see clearly our sin – it means that we see what joys we are missing out on, and the awareness of that loss of joy and nearness to our heavenly Father is what drives us to repentance. Is this not what the prodigal son realized as he came to his senses (Luke 15:7, 17), that he had forfeited all the enjoyment of his father?

[The following are excerpts from Brothers,  We Are NOT Professionals,  by John Piper.]

“Genuine evangelical contrition - as opposed to legalistic,  fearful sadness simply owing to threats - is a sorrow for not having holiness.  But now you have to be careful here, many a criminal will weep when his sentence is read,  not because he has come to love righteousness,  but because his freedom to do more unrighteousness is being taken away.  The only true sorrow

for not having holiness comes from a love for holiness,  not just from a fear of the consequences of not having it . . .

. . . true repentance,  must be preceded by a falling in love with the all-satisfying God.  To weep at not having holiness,  you must long for holiness as a precious experience and reflection of God . . . You must fall in love before estrangement truly hurts . . . Until God is our treasure,  we will not grieve over our falling short of being satisfied in Him and begin living in a way that shows that satisfaction . . . evangelical repentance is grounded in an appealing sight of the holiness of God.”

One of the best motives for confessing our sin is to enjoy unbroken fellowship with God. What promises does Paul refer to in 2 Cor. 7:1, to lead the Corinthian church to cleanse themselves from defilement? (6:16-18)

Why was Paul happy that they were grieved? (7:8-9) Because they were grieved to repentance.

This is godly grief that produces a repentance that leads to salvation – without regret! (vs. 10).

What is worldly grief over sin? (vs. 10)

So what do you think Paul means in context, saying that there is no regret, if you are so grieved over your loss of close fellowship with God that you would repent? In other words, if you are truly saddened over the loss of joy and fellowship with God, and that leads to repentance, why does Paul say there will be no regret having gone through this? Because your heart loves fellowship with God.

Paul was broken over their loss of fellowship with God. How does this help you in helping others to see their sin?

How does all of this affect the way you see God (Eph. 4:30)?

How do I cultivate true sorrow that leads to repentance?

Recognize that all sin is against God (Psalm 51:4). All sin is an act of hostility towards God. All sin is contrary to the gospel and it manifests itself as ingratitude for what God has done for you in Christ.

Recognize the shamefulness and sinfulness of sin (Psalm 51; Rom. 6:21) Hate your sin because you know that it is presently grieving Him who bore your sin (Eph.

4:30) Contemplate that Jesus was the happiest of all humans because of unbroken fellowship

with his Father. His saddest moment was on the cross when His Father turned away from him. This is the most grievous thing about sin – it separates!

Ask God to give you a restless heart when you sin. Ask him for an uneasy spirit within you so that your sin will not become comfortable.

Repent over your lack of repentance that is robbing you of the joy of your salvation.

Growing Up in Grace lesson # 10

Let’s pick up where we left off last time:

How do I cultivate true sorrow that leads to repentance?

Recognize that all sin is against God (Psalm 51:4). All sin is an act of hostility towards God. All sin is contrary to the gospel and it manifests itself as ingratitude for what God has done for you in Christ.

Recognize the shamefulness and sinfulness of sin (Psalm 51; Rom. 6:21) Hate your sin because you know that it is presently grieving Him who bore your sin (Eph. 4:30) Contemplate that Jesus was the happiest of all humans because of unbroken fellowship with his

Father. His saddest moment was on the cross when His Father turned away from him. This is the most grievous thing about sin – it separates!

Ask God to give you a restless heart when you sin. Ask him for an uneasy spirit within you so that your sin will not become comfortable.

Repent over your lack of repentance that is robbing you of the joy of your salvation.

Going deeper, what more can I do to nurture my heart to feel more grieved over my sin than grieved over the things that are wrong in others? What is blocking my view of me as God sees me? What is causing me to feel indignation over the real or perceived trespasses of others but little to none over my trespasses? These questions are important because your level of joy (see last lesson) is determined by your knowledge of Jesus Christ. When Jesus says, “my joy I give to you,” it is the joy that comes from knowing his Father and himself (John 16). But it is impossible to know Christ more fully if your joy is in sin. Problem: We don’t see our sin.

Jesus’ sermon on the Mount of Olives is the best sermon in history. There is no question or subject that is not ultimately addressed. It is precise, quick and straight to the heart of the matter – the heart. At the end of the sermon those who hear and heed these words are wise and those who scoff are fools. I think the best means, besides prayer, to feeling more sad, more grieved, more sorrowful over the lost joys that could have been had in Christ is to stop judging others and start judging yourself. Hear what Jesus says in Matt. 7:1-2:

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.”

Did you hear that? For every single judgment, every single comment that highlights the failure of another, for every single fault that you find in another, for every use of the tongue that you attempt to expose the deficiency, the shortage, the lack of, the absence of another, Jesus will take that tactic, that same measuring stick according to His Righteousness, and then judge you. Is that what you want Jesus to do with you?

Becoming more sad over ones’ own sin is not like heating something up in the microwave or brewing a fresh cup of coffee from a Bunn – this takes time and practice (a spiritual discipline). It’s easy to be disciplined in many ways but not with self-judgment. But Jesus says that we are hypocrites if we judge others – why?

“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” Matt. 7:3-5

Hypocrisy will always stand in the way of Humility because of the lack of self-judgment.

In his book, Respectable Sins, Jerry Bridges writes: “The sin of judgmentalism is one of the most subtle of our “respectable” sins because it is often practiced under the guise of being zealous for what is right. . . we equate our opinions with truth. . . these people have what I call a critical spirit. They look for and find fault with everyone and everything. Regardless of the topic of conversation – whether it’s a person, a church, an event, or anything – they end up speaking in a disparaging manner.”(pp. 144, 146)

Jesus says that you do not notice what is obvious to others - which is why this is very comical. If this were acted out on stage people would be rolling in the aisles. But then the Master of Ceremonies would get the last word in and say something like, “isn’t it funny how you see others but do not see yourself?” Gulp. Here’s the hard part that must become a joyful spiritual discipline: Take yourself to the cross of Christ, look up, see the blood flow for your sins, and then say something to the order of: “I’m better than ______ (a person or type of person or group of people); my righteousness should be used to measure others. Let me become the judge of men.” Sickening isn’t it?

The main reason why we are not more grieved over our sins is because we do not notice them. And the reason why we do not notice is because we do not first ask: Do I commit the same kind of sin that I scornfully notice in others?

So much of our pleasure in this life is feeling good about being better than others. But the most successful path that leads to greater pleasure in Christ is seeing yourself as he sees you. When you realize that Christ loves you so deeply, so wonderfully, so completely, so successfully and so gladly – AND - knowing yourself as He knows you, put those two things together and you’ve got glad and humble godliness on the way. You are now ready to judge the speck in your brother’s eye and help him see what is hurting him. If you never spend time getting the log size infraction out of your heart that you so easily see and judge in someone else, you will never know the great level of joy in your salvation.

So what do you do?1. You must feel the wretchedness of Christless judgmentalism by contemplating the gospel.2. You must feel the need to regularly repent of known sins each day (“. . . give us this day our daily

bread . . . and forgive us our trespasses . . .”)3. You must get serious and resolved to seek God in prayer to give you the kind of self-inspection

that draws the sin out of the heart like a deadly poison.4. Contemplate that deeper pleasure in the Righteousness of Christ is being hi-jacked by pleasure in

sin. 5. Invite others to be honest with you: “________, what do you think is the sin in my life, found on my

tongue, that I am unaware of?” Allow your wife, your grown children, your close friend in Christ to speak into your life.

6. When someone does point out your sin, how do you respond?7. Read and pray through the Sermon on the Mount and allow Christ to snoop around in your heart

so that you begin to hear. No man wants to work his entire life and then have a storm come and blow his house down. As Jesus ends his sermon he is appealing to your natural desire to have a fulfilled and happy home with him.