The Fruitful Life

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The Fruitful Life

Week Five

THE FRUIT OF THE DISCIPLINES

One of Preacher T. D. Jakes’ best lines goes like this: “If you always do what you’ve always done then you’ll always be what you’ve always been.” You’ll never show more evangelistic fruit in your life if you keep doing the same things you’ve always done. None of the spiritual disciplines should be done out of legalistic guilt—they should be done in order to experience the excitement and joy that comes from seeing real fruit. There are certain conditions that create fruit, and we often calls those conditions, spiritual disciplines. All the spiritual disciplines that have been invented or taught contribute to your connectedness to the vine and your growth and fruitfulness in it. But the following 7 disciplines are practices that some of the most fruitful people in history have had overflowing in their lives. These are the 7 Habits of Highly Fruitful People.

Prayer

Highly fruitful people pray powerful prayers for the lost.

The first spiritual discipline found in highly fruitful people is prayer. In order for you to become a more fruitful person you will most likely need to pray more powerfully in the future. Jesus told his disciples, “Look, the fields are white unto the harvest, pray, then, that the Lord of the harvest will raise up laborers.” The famous phrases may be well known when people talk about prayer. However, it is even more powerful when you put them in their correct context. Their context has everything to do with fruit. They tell you four things:

THE FRUIT AROUND YOU IS RIPE

When a crop is “white” there’s no time to waste. Every stalk is ready to produce its fruit. It may seem overwhelming when you, like Jesus, develop “harvest eyes.” It may feel like there’s so many lost that you can’t do much about it. That’s why he says that…

YOUR FIRST REPONSE SHOULD BE TO PRAY

By praying you overcome the feeling that you can do nothing about the harvest. In fact, it is never true that you can do nothing about something. The something you can do is pray. And that’s a whole lot more than nothing. It’s everything. In any situation prayer is always the option. We may acknowledge that as a back-up option. But it’s also the best option.

One great tool for praying for the harvest is the “My Five” list. This is a list of five people you have contact with that you are reasonably sure do not have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. You write these five names on a card and keep them handy in a prominent place so you can pray over them daily. Our church did this several years ago and it was fascinating to see the results. People found their hearts changing when it came to the lost people on that card. Many who had never shared their faith began to with these people on their “My Five” list. People took advantage of every opportunity since they had already put so much time into prayer. And people found that some lost individuals were found on multiple people’s cards. God was working from multiple angles to bring these people to himself. Do a “My Five” list today to start praying for the harvest around you which is so ripe.

But Jesus also said that you should pray to “the Lord of the harvest.” He said this to point out that…

THE HARVEST IS NOT ABOUT YOU

Even as you live “the Fruitful Life” and increase you ownership of fruit in our lives, the fruit in the end is not for you. You surrender the results to God. You are a laborer, but God is the Lord. His lordship here is expressed in unusual terms as the Lord of the Harvest. He presides like a king over his ripe crop being brought into the storehouse. We just pick the fruit.

This is part of why one of the best ways to pray for the lost is to pray scripture for them. Many believers find an incredible power in opening up their Bibles and praying scriptures for the lost. By praying these scriptures you aren’t speaking your own words but the words of the Lord of the Harvest. We often frustrate ourselves when we pray for things and they do not come to pass. And we worry that our prayers may be outside of the will of God—so we pray with less confidence. When praying scripture we have the utmost confidence that we are in his will with our words because they are His Words. They are his will written down. In John 15:7 Jesus says, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” Abide in his words and you can jump-start your own prayers and pray the high-voltage prophetic will of God over the harvest.

Go to these scriptures and pray them for the lost, maybe even your “My Five” list”

But Jesus does not stop there. He tells us what to pray to the Lord of the Harvest. And it shows that…

THE KEY TO THE HARVEST IS MORE LABORERS

We are to ask that our Lord would raise up more laborers. He knows that praying for the lost will ensure that your heart will be right and you will make the most of your opportunities. Commenting on the John 15:7 “ask what ye will” verse in his Explanatory Notes John Wesley says, “ Prayers themselves are a fruit of faith, and they produce more fruit.” For sure, prayer is a fruit and it also causes fruit. But in telling you to pray that the Lord of the Harvest raise up more laborers, Jesus is also acknowledging that the task is too great for only you. He knows that putting to much of the results on your shoulders would overwhelm you. The key is in raising up and mobilizing more laborers.

DETERMING THE EFFECTIVENESS AND POWER OF YOUR PRAYERS

Did you know you could to this? Did you know that part of the power and effect of your prayers has everything to do with you and little to do with anyone else? They never depend on chance. They often do not depend on circumstances or other people. Sometimes they don’t even depend on God, believe it or not. The Bible seems to tell us their effectiveness and power depends on you!

In James 5:16 it says “the prayers of a righteous person are powerful and effective.” I wonder if we really think this is true. If we don’t think it’s true, then we have other issues to deal with. If we do, then two things will happen:

1) First, we’ll take our own discipleship more seriously—knowing that more hinges on it than our own growth. The health and even the salvation of others may depend on it. When we think about our prayers for the lost having their effectiveness and power rooted in our own connection to the vine we’ll make more sure of our connectedness.

2) Second, we’ll take our own prayers more seriously—knowing that God pays attention to what we’re saying. We’ll pray his will more… and pray those things we know to be in his will.

Fasting

When is the last time you did something extreme for God?

The second spiritual discipline found in the lives of highly fruitful people is fasting. Fasting is and extreme thing done for God. For some people, this spiritual discipline is the most “out there” that they could imagine. But fasting is simply defined: Fasting is the act of doing without something in order to put more focus on God. The most common kind of fast is fasting from food. The term “fasting” is the opposite of “feasting.” When you say “breakfast” you are using two terms: “break” and “fast.” That bowl of cereal is breaking the fast you had over night since supper. But there are other kinds of fasting as well even beyond fasting from food.

There are several great things that happen by fasting:

BY FASTING YOU GIVE SOMETHING UP FOR SOMETHING BETTER

Except for those of us with a medical condition requiring it, most of us all could do without one meal from time to time. I myself could do with about one less meal a day, in fact. So when we give up a lunch to pray and fast, we’re giving up something that we don’t actually need that much. But we gain so much more.

BY FASTING YOU FORCE YOUR PHYSICAL BODY INTO SPIRITUAL ACTIVITY

One thing we gain is the physical nature of this spiritual activity. Usually our religious action have little to do with our bodies. But when you fast, you are forcing your physical body to worship. Much like raising your hands when singing a worship song, or kneeling when you pray, fasting is a way to worship God with more than just your mind. It is so easy for our spiritual lives to be all about our mind and soul—and never show in our physical selves. Fasting is the most holistic of the spiritual disciplines.

BY FASTING YOU ROOT OUT THE LUKEWARM ATTITUDES IN YOURSELF

It’s nearly impossible to depend on yourself during a fast. If fasting from food, you struggle against your hunger and must ask for endurance from God. In this way you are forced to pray and depend on God. You must elevate your “soul over matter” (as opposed to simply “mind over matter”—fasting is actually the process of allowing your soul to control you instead of your mind or matter!) Fasting is not a diet. Fasting is a spiritual exercise which ensures you are not lukewarm in your focus on Christ. It’s nearly impossible to be a lukewarm Christian if you fast regularly.

BY FASTING YOU CLEAR AWAY DISTRACTIONS TO LISTEN TO GOD

Admit it; you can be easily distracted from God. But by fasting you clear away distractions and truly listen to God. This may seem illogical to you at first. When I fast from food aren’t I going to be distracted by how hungry I am? Or, when I fast from some other thing in life won’t I think about that all the time instead of God? Well, that’s the secret to success in fasting. Those are the things you think about at first. But you use them to prompt yourself to think about God. Those urges remind you, Oh, that’s right, I’m fasting, God, let me refocus on you right now. What are you trying to tell me? Fasting is like wearing a massive Technicolor bow on your finger that keeps getting your attention all the time.

BY FASTING YOU OPEN YOURSELF UP TO TEMPTATION

This is actually a good thing for you. Being tempted isn’t sin. Sin only occurs once you’ve given in to temptation. Jesus was “tempted in every way” as we are. But he did not give into sin. But when fasting, it seems like we’re tempted like no other time. And the temptations are not just the drive-thru’s at every fast food joint in town. The temptations can come in waves. Almost like an Olympic athlete in intense training – the harder we fast the harder it can hurt. But just like that athlete – we are building up spiritual muscle under the temptation.

Jesus himself fasted for 40 days and nights before he recruited his disciples and began his years of ministry.[1] At the end of this extreme fast Satan came to him and tempted him with bread, then fame, then power. Jesus resisted each of these temptations by quoting scriptures he had likely been meditating on during his fast. Even as a man Jesus resisted the actual presence of the Enemy through fasting.

BY FASTING YOU ARE REWARDED FOR YOUR OBEDIENCE

God rewards this exceptional and extreme practice of believers. Jesus was asked why his disciples weren’t fasting openly during their ministry. Jesus could have argued with the religious leaders about how they fasted so openly and that was not the point—but instead he just noted that his disciples would fast once he was gone after his resurrection. We should not this as WE are now those disciples living after his resurrection—and should be fasting.

In the sermon on the mount, Jesus said, “When you fast, don’t put on sackcloth and ashes as the Pharisees do. They have received their reward in full.” Note that Jesus is telling you, “when you fast.” There is the assumption that you will do it—and then he just gives instructions for how. Sometimes you may privately think that extreme spiritual disciplines like fasting are unhealthy—because of their public nature. Well, Jesus asks that you do it—and then shows you how to ensure people won’t find out. Then, he tells us that God, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

THE POWER OF A FASTING CHURCH

In our church we have the practice of calling the whole church to periodic days of prayer and fasting. We’ll set aside a particular date for everyone in the church who is able to pray and fast for a specific purpose. We’ve found that those issues which we designate a specific day for like this are always resolved. When we’ve had open staff positions and a struggle in finding God’s choice to fill it, God has provided soon after. When we’ve had financial shortfall and prayed and fasted about it, God has provided soon after.

While entering into our first capital stewardship campaign for a massive relocation effort in our church we set aside a certain days for prayer and fasting related to that issue. Those Wednesdays would often time come and go with many in the church forgetting the date.

One morning when the new school year was starting up a family in our church was getting ready. The mother wanted to start things off right that year and was talking about how they were going to have a nice big breakfast as a family every day. Their middle school daughter said she wasn’t going to have breakfast that day. The mother went into a long speech about breakfast being the most important meal of the day. You need to eat breakfast, honey. The daughter said, not today, Mom. Then the mother stressed even harder that she was going to have a nice big breakfast. Only after repeated attempts did the daughter finally say, “Mom, don’t you know it’s the day of prayer and fasting?”

We’re humbled to think of the power of that kind of obedience in a church. When even your middle schoolers are living with exemplary faith and with extreme spiritual disciplines you know your church is on the right track! Think of the power of a fasting church.

ADD ON SIDEBARS:

Practical fasting tips:

Other things to take a fast from:

OTHER ADD ONS?

Your ordinary life doesn’t convince anyone.

Example: someone who lived a more extreme life. (Hudson Taylor)

Fasting is the fundamental faith discipline. It’s the entryway to a “fear factor” style extreme life for God. People are attracted by anything that goes against the norm. This is true in your neighborhood and workplace as much as on television.

If being extreme is natural to you. Do it for the right reasons. Translate it for others. Warn people about it. Do extreme spiritual things—not just extreme things.

If being normal is natural to you? My wife always picking “medium.” If you actually like the color mauve. If you have 3 pairs of khaki pants. If you think the Japanese proverb, “The tall grass gets mowed” is a great motto for life. Then it’s time to mix it up a bit. Determine what next level would get you out of our comfort zone. Risk something for Jesus. Do something more extreme in your spiritual life – and be transparent with the lost around you while doing it.

30. Two - Fasting Going without to create focus - becoming an extreme Christian Mark 9:29 - only by prayer and fasting

Matt 4:2

Joel 2:12

Confession

If you confess your sins he forgives them.

It’s one of the most beautiful phrases ever written. The apostle John, one of Jesus’ inner circle of three, wrote in the ninth verse of his first letter to the church the simple line: “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” WOW. This is more than knowing that we are sinners. Deep down we all know this. This is also more than thinking about the idea of forgiveness. That concept alone is revolutionizing. The idea that our sins won’t be held against us. Amazing!

But in this verse we can know that the amazing idea of forgiveness for our sins is available through one simple spiritual discipline: confession.

CONFESSION DEFINED

What is confession all about? If we are forgiven by it, then we better figure it out. We don’t have any other way to deal with our sin, so a lot is riding on it. Confession is the act of admitting our sins. In order to see fruit in our lives we must cultivate this most basic of behaviors for the believer. The fruitful life is gained by living the confessional life. But so often we move away from confession. We may confess sins early in our faith journey—but then later on we are too embarrassed to confess. We think that confession is an act of shame. But rather, confession is an act of confidence and salvation. By confessing our sins we take confidence in the salvation of Christ, rather than depending on our own righteousness to save us. In fact, 1 John 1:9 makes it clear that our faithful and just Lord will cleanse us from our unrighteousness when we confess.

There are many dimensions to the confessional life. Stretch yourself and live a life of admitting sin in these six dimensions. If you cannot admit your sin in any one of these areas—there is work to be done in you and your community life.

THE SIX DIMENSIONS OF THE CONFESSIONAL LIFE:

A SAVIOR TO CONFESS TO

The first person for you to confess to is Jesus Christ. If you haven’t said “I’m sorry” to Jesus then you haven’t really confessed. Perhaps you would rather hide your guilt and not admit sin to Christ. But admitting sin is the essence of confession—and He already knows your sin anyway. You might wonder why it’s important to confess to Christ, when you accept him initially and along the way in your life. If he already knows why tell him? It is a bit ironic. But it’s even more ironic than you think. Usually, when you confess a sin to someone you are telling them something they don’t know—then you fear that they will remember that act for the rest of your relationship and hold it against you. But with God it is entirely the other way. Our Ironic God knows all about it before… but once we confess our sins the Psalms say “…as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our sins from us.” So after we confess he truly forgets all about it. It’s an amazing quality God has, to be all knowing but once we let him know he chooses not to know anymore. We are a new creation to him. This is what makes God so much more than what we are or can understand. Yes, God is ironic. But I bet you like Him that way. It keeps you on your toes.

A FRIEND TO CONFESS TO

It is also crucial to have a friend to confess your sins to. We’ve spoken multiple times about accountability in this book—but here it becomes black and white. If you don’t have someone to whom you can confess sin to then you can’t open the doorway to true community and authenticity with a broader group. Here’s a crazy exercise for you if you don’t have a consistent accountability partner: Find someone of the same sex that you already have a fairly good relationship with and that is your peer. Meet for the first time and talk about how often you’re going to meet, what expectations you have for being accountability partners, rules for complete and final secrecy, and what you’d like to cover each time you meet. So far this is standard operating procedure. Do at least the previous stuff and get the accountability ball rolling. But one way to take it to another level is to say, “Next time we get together let’s both share the worst thing we ever did – no matter how horrible it was.” Many accountability partners take years to get the point where they can share everything. But you may not have years to work on your worst sins or deal with your harshest temptations. And you may get in a pattern of not telling your accountability partner everything along the way – a pattern that’s hard to break. This sounds really scary, I know, but believe it or not, it actually works! If you don’t believe me ask MY accountability partner. (On the other hand, don’t ask, he knows way too much about me!)

A MENTOR TO CONFESS TO

Sometimes you need more than accountability. Sometimes you need wise advice. Who do you go to in life when you need experienced, sound and wise advice? Those people are likely your informal mentors. It makes sense to develop a relationship with at least one of these mentors that is more intentional – meeting regularly to pick their brain and learn from them. But one thing that takes the relationship to a whole new level is confession. Confess to that mentor that you’re not as good as everyone else thinks. Reveal to them your incompetencies and failures along the way. Two things will happen: first, you’ll quickly find out that your mentor isn’t perfect either, and may have even had the same incompetencies and failures in their past or present, and second, you open yourself up to being developed in your areas of confession. Before this you weren’t being real with your starting point. And you can’t move from M to N in the process if you’re really starting back at F or G. All that “how to move to ‘N’” advice is useless to you. You need to move to “H.”

A GROUP TO CONFESS TO

Things start to get much trickier when you start to confess to more than just one person. One person you can control easier. One person you can trust better. But a group of people is hard to control. Hard to trust. You can’t predict what will happen. But the benefits of confessing to a group far outweigh these initial fears. Some small groups get to this point quickly – others take months and even years. Many others never get here at all. That’s okay. Small group environments are not always intimate environments. In fact, people can violate a small group environment by sharing TOO MUCH too early (this is called TMI – Too Much Information.) I don’t suggest going around the circle in your Sunday School class or small group and having everyone share the worst thing they’ve ever done! Bad idea. However, there’s something beautiful that happens when you confess just a little of your struggles and hurt and sin to a group of people. Instead of one person supporting you, you get 5 or 8 or 15. And what’s more, you break the ice of confession in the group. Here is where confession is not just a negative act of admitting your faults—but it becomes more like pioneering the way for the group. You become the “first one” to break the confession ice. And often times, whether it’s right away or over the next few weeks, several people will follow your lead. This all depends on people responding with grace and love to your confession, as Christ would, and being wiling to “go where no one has gone before.”

A CHURCH TO CONFESS TO

When your sin affects more than just yourself and your immediate circle you should confess to your entire church. There are few things harder than this in all of life. But there are few things that can heal and minister in a broken situation better. The principle is that you should confess your sin to those your sin has hurt. If you are a well known member of the church then you may need to confess to some 100 people. If you are a leader in a minister area over others, you need to confess to the whole ministry team you’re involved with. And if you’re a leader of a church-wide ministry (or a minister yourself) then the confession should reach the ears of the whole church. Now, there are gentle and responsible ways to do this, and violating and needless ways to do it. The leaders of the church make that call. But the ultimate act of humility and confession is offering yourself up to these kind of confessions to the Church. A friend of mine in the plains states sent me his restoration testimony recently. He was a youth worker who became involved in an improper and sinful relationship with a girl in his church. Even after they had confessed to Christ and a few others and re-established purity—they found out she was pregnant. You see the sin in fact affected a much larger circle than they had wished, which is so often the case. Sin costs you, but it also cost others—some you may not even think of. So this young man took his brokenness in hand, resigned, and confessed to his entire church. Then he submitted to a multiple-year process of restitution and restoration, and married the young woman carrying his child. A broken, sinful and even shameful situation became a restored, pure and even joyful situation. All because confessing our sins to God and his Church shows Him to be faithful and just, and forgiving of all our sins. He cleanses us!

A COMMUNITY TO CONFESS TO

Donald Miller, author of the book Blue Like Jazz, relates a story from a different perspective when it comes to confession. He and very small group of Christian friends went to a permissive school that encourage extreme lifestyles in the Pacific Northwest. The school would have a huge and bizarre party each year where every kind of excess was permitted and celebrated. Students even walked around the campus naked for days. Obviously this was a difficult environment to know how to do evangelism. Everyone they ever talked to about their faith would respond with outbursts and hang-ups about the flaws of evangelicals and the sins in the name of the Christian Church in history, or even in the present. They were getting nowhere and had nearly given up. Then the group decided to put up a “confession booth” in the middle of the common area of campus. They constructed this booth, put up a big sign saying “confession booth” and then took turns waiting for people to come in and talk with them. After a while one brave soul finally went in, wondering what was going on. The Christian on duty proceeded to tell the man that entered that they were going to confess, and he didn’t have to. So the Christian began to tell the man that entered that he was sorry for the sins that have been committed in the name of the Church throughout the years. He was sorry for they way some Christians had offended people. He was sorry for this and for that. He made a “reverse confession.” This wasn’t what the man had expected—but it had a profound effect. Walls began to come down. Word spread and before long there was a line on that campus to not only hear the confessions of these Christians, but to hear the gospel with new ears. Ears that were ready to hear through authenticity and humility.

If we practice these many ways to confess our sins we will see fruit like never before in our lives. Live a confessional life—and you will have a fruitful one.

“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice

of praise-the fruit of lips that confess his name.” Hebrews 13:15

ADD ON: James 5:16

Meditation

What goes in must come out.

Mothers used to be famous for that phrase. “What goes in must go out.” They say it to kids watching TV shows they shouldn’t. Or when listening to inappropriate lyrics in music. They’re saying, be careful little eyes what you see. Be careful little ears what you hear.

In an age where censorship is seen as a cardinal sin – mothers are far less famous for that phrase. Children are now famous for their experience of the filth that is so readily accessible and apparently unavoidable. Perhaps we forgot how much that mother’s wisdom is true. For sure, the things that enter our eyes and ears must eventually enter our minds and come out of our mouths. But we so often cry foul to this – “well, not neccesarily. It’s not always the case. You can’t blame that behavior on that pattern of input.” Well common sense tells us differently. We know that what we see and hear affects us.

That’s the negative side of that truth. But there’s a positive side. The positive things we see and hear also affect us. And when it comes to the Bible – it’s a positive thing we should see and hear all the time in our lives. Your life will be far more fruitful if you have better input from the Bible in your life. Many cry foul to this as too – “Well, not necessarily. It’s not always the case. You can draw a line between knowing the Bible and reaching the lost.” Well, common sense tells us differently. We know that what we see and hear affects us.

The process of getting the Word of God inside of you changes your heart and mind. And once it’s inside you a new motivation to do what it says resides in you. Jesus said, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” We’ve talked much about our connection to Christ. But what flows to us from Christ is his words. And these words, we see, are extremely powerful. If we’re not connected to him properly then we don’t have his words. And if we don’t have his words in us then we must not be connected to him the way we want to be. There are three ways to ensure that you are getting the Word of God to remain in you… so that you can have the power he wants you to have. They are three “M” words you should be able to remember:

MEDITATING THE SCRIPTURE

Meditating on the Word is one of the most common concepts in the Bible. And it’s directly related to fruit. Psalm 1 speaks of a delight for God’s word in verse 2. It goes on to say, “…an on His law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season.” So this sounds great. How do we meditate, then? Sometimes when we hear the word “meditate” we think of an eastern man sitting in an uncomfortable position and saying “Ummmm” to himself with his hands held a funny way. That’s not the kind of meditation the scripture talks about. This meditation is not removing all thought from your mind – as much eastern religion teaches, this mediation focuses on something, not nothing.

Meditating has three components. First, meditation means thinking about it. Just think about it. Sit or read or discuss the Bible. Think about it for 5 minutes in the shower. Think about what it might mean generally. Think about what it might mean for you. You don’t have to be a scholar to think about the Bible. In fact, your thinking about the Bible may be less cloudy than the scholars!

Second, meditation means focusing on it. When you focus on scripture you don’t skim it. You wouldn’t “meditate” on the book of 2 Kings. There’s just too much there. You might, however, focus on 2 Kings 2:9b, where Elisha says to his mentor Elijah, “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit” right before Elijah is to be taken up to heaven. I’ve meditated on that verse more than any other verse in the Bible. It comes to mind all the time because I’ve focused on it so narrowly. It’s a concept that captivates my imagination. God speaks to me as I focus on that verse. Actually, it’s half of a verse. That’s okay. In order to mediate you must focus (here again you might be thinking about Mr. Miagi in Karate Kid saying “must focus.” I know I did. But that just shows that I may have mediated on lines from 1980s movies as much as I have on many parts of scripture.)

Third, meditation means listening to it. Just listen. Read a very short passage and then listen to God. That’s meditation. Take out a notepad and write down what you think God might be saying. Don’t run out ahead of yourself and try to apply or “get out of the verse” something too quickly. Don’t preemptively do the Holy Spirit’s job for you. Don’t think of what “others” need to hear about it. That’s communication—not meditation (something I’m tempted to do more than most, I fear.) Why do you think Jesus said so often, “He who had ears to hear, let him hear.” Have ears to hear when you meditate.

MEMORIZING THE SCRIPTURE

Part of why memorizing is so hard for so many of us is that we haven’t meditated on what we want to memorize. So do this after you’ve already meditated for some time. Also – try to memorize what you’ve already had God speak to you from… since it will be all the more personal and meaningful. Your motivation will burn hotter for this reason.

Another reason memorizing seems so hard is that we treat it like memorizing in school. We use a “cram for the test” method of memorization. My mother always told me that I was just putting those studies into my “short term memory” when I did that. She was right. I can’t tell you the first thing about Algebra or Spanish – but I think I aced a lot of tests in both.

Memorizing scripture is long-term memorization. Instead of hoping to memorize huge portions of scripture – just try one. Stick with it till you have it. Review it. Pull it out every day or every other day. Even after you’ve moved on to memorizing something else keep going back to the beginning and reviewing – seeing if it’s long-term memory. You need to find your own pace for memorization, and build from there. Don’t use someone else’s time table… respond to your own and the Spirit.

However, make sure you use someone else’s method. There are hundred of wonderful Bible memorization methods out there – and if you actually implement most any of them, you’ll have a system to keep you on task and keep you accountable.

MEDIATING THE SCRIPTURE

Once you’ve meditated on the portions of scripture that mean the most you, and committed them to memory… then it’s time to pass them on. Mediating the scripture means communicating it. Mediating is “going between” two things. A “mediator” is someone that negotiates between two individuals. A “media” in the technical sense is something that filters and transmits the most important information or material on.

You’re a mediator for those that don’t know Christ around you. They haven’t memorized scripture. They haven’t meditated on it day and night. If you have then you get the opportunity to pass on some of what they are missing. So often we don’t know what to say to someone we know that isn’t in relationship with Jesus Christ. What God would have us do is directly mediate what he would say to them. You can put it in your own words, for sure, but pass it on. Then you don’t have to do all the thinking. Let God figure it out. The Bible says of itself, “The word of the Lord will not return void.”[2] When you consider the evangelistic fruit of your life, and it seem void of it, then determine to use more of the Word according to this promise. Start small with meditation… then memorizing in bits and pieces… then mediating the Scripture to those that need it most will come naturally to you.

ADD:

Memorization tips from Gwen Jackson

32. Four - Meditation My Words Remain in You - how memorizing, meditating and mediating the scripture revolutionizes evangelism John 15

Secret Service

When no one is looking do you serve others or serve yourself?

In our day and age we live with the televangelism curse. This curse works it’s way in between our motivations to see people to come to Christ, and our actions and effectiveness in doing so. The televangelism curse is a produce of the general hypocrisy that has been suspected and often proven, in the evangelists on television. Whether because of the few televangelists who have turned out to in fact have impure intentions and unholy lifestyles, or because of a media intent on making a mountain out of those molehills—the televangelism curse has ensured the unfortunate taint of hypocrisy to all things evangelistic.

You feel it in your own heart as you consider sharing your faith with someone who does not yet know Christ. Something inside you says, “I don’t want to say anything because they’ll think I’m a bible-basher and then my life will be under a microscope from now on.” You may even see some hypocrisy in your own life already and that makes you think to yourself, “I’m already not living it like I should – I’ll get my own act in gear before I share my faith.” And in general we’re all fearful that we’re working uphill when we share our faith. It’s as though the culture around us already thinks Christians are hypocritical Bible-thumpers who are just going to tell them they’re going to hell and to send them money.

These thoughts are all a part of the televangelism curse.

THE SERVANT EVANGELISM CURE

But there’s a simple cure to the televangelism curse. The servant evangelism cure. There is a diffusing nature to serving others. When you serve someone you counter-act all the bad effects of hypocrisy and judgmentalism. A servant is the least hypocritical person in the world. Hypocrisy is the act of making yourself to look better than others when in fact you’re not. Servanthood is the act of making yourself lower than others when in fact your character is golden. Christians are seen as hypocrites because not enough of us are servants. People may not believe Jesus is the Son of God. They may disagree with his teachings or persecute his people. They may even oppose his way of life but one thing they never do: they never call him a hypocrite. And that’s because he was a servant.

Being a servant to those that don’t know Christ also counteracts the reputation Christians have for judgementalism. A servant is the least judgemental person in the world. Judgemental people point out the flaws in others and condemn them for it. Servanthood is the act of seeing the needs of others and meeting them. Again, Christians are seen as judgemental because not enough of us are servants. In a striking difference between what you’d expect – even Jesus, who was absolutely perfect, didn’t judge people. The New Testament is a bold insertion of a non-judgemental but perfect person into an imperfect and naturally judgemental world. The world may think that becoming a Christian makes one more judgemental. In fact, Jesus told us to remove the plank from our own eyes before pointing out the specks in other eyes.

TRULY SECRET SERVICE

There are a million and one ways to serve people. There are acts of service. But more often than not servanthood has to do with our attitude as much as our actions. Of course, there’s no servanthood without the actions—but likewise it’s possible to do acts of service, but for the wrong motivation.

One of the best ways to ensure your servanthood is pure is to do it in secret. We should be like the secret service agents that guard the President of the United States—no one should notice us. We should blend in with the background when we serve. Those agents dress in such a way as to minimize distraction and make it so they don’t stand out. Often times we see the suit and sun-glass wearing guards of the president and assume those are the only secret service agents around him. In fact, there are many agents under cover in plain clothes in the crowds and surrounding the president at all times. Often times when we serve we’d rather dress up and look cool and have some kind of identification, like the cord running from the ear of the body guards down into their suit. We wouldn’t mind being noticed for our service.

We think that in order to produce fruit for God we need to be noticed for what we’re doing. But the Bible tells us there is a fruitful effect even when know one ever finds out. Don’t plant “service grenades”… acts of kindness that you have orchestrated to “go off” at a certain time—so that you’ll still get the credit. Practice the discipline of not only serving, but covering the tracks of your service. When doing some secret act of service and the thought comes to you, “okay, now how might someone discover that I did this?” Instead of dwelling on that and hoping it will happen—figure out a way to make sure even that doesn’t happen. Then look to God and say, “it’s okay if no one ever knows this, God, because I’m ultimately doing it for you.”

It’s a test of your trust in God to cover your servanthood tracks. And God finds a way to not only use your service to point to him, but to honor you in the end as well. You will receive your reward in heaven – the true “in the end” of life.

SIDEBAR RUNNING THROUGH THE CHAPTER:

SERVANTHOOD IDEAS:

Here are 50 acts of service to prime that pump of your servant’s heart…

IN YOUR FAMILY

Clean up after someone else, not just youself
Do something around the house that no one will notice but everyone will be served by
Do the dishes, and don’t tell anyone you did them
Fix something of a family member but don’t tell them you fixed it
Offer to help a distant family member move
Put a bunch of cash in someone’s wallet or purse but don’t tell them who did it

IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD

When a neighbor is out of town, rake their leaves or mow their lawn—but don’t tell them you did
Take the day off when a new neighbor moves in and help them unload the truck
Offer to help them paint their house or build a treehouse for their kids
Bring over some cookies and put them on their doorstep
Make twice as much food when you make your favorite dish and bring it over to a neighbor
Invite newcomers or those with less connections into your home

IN YOUR WORKPLACE

Remake that pot of coffee when it’s low but don’t announce that you did it
Clean up the restroom so it’s spotless
Anonymously drop off candy or snacks in other people’s cubicles or stations
Help someone else finish their work when you’re ahead
Replace the paper or ink in the printer
Do your work for your boss with a servants attitude, ready to go the extra mile for them

IN YOUR CHURCH

Drop by the church some Saturday and treat it’s landscaping even better than your own
When you hear someone lost their job, drop off some cash at their doorstep or in their mailbox
Bring groceries and meals over for someone that had a baby or a surgery
Invite every new person you see over to your home and serve them a nice dinner
Find out what your pastor can’t seem to get done and offer to do it for them
Ask what ministry is in greatest need of help in the church and volunteer there for a year—just helping out with the simplest tasks

IN YOUR SMALL GROUP

Have the group in your home
Bring snacks and then make people take them home with them
When you hear of a need in the group then meet that need in secret later on
Serve them by praying daily for their needs
Do things for them you would normally only do for a family member

IN YOUR GROUP OF FRIENDS

Don’t just chat with them—find out their needs and meet them
Go the extra mile to do things for them
Buy them a present you know they want but their family can’t afford, and give it to them in a way that they won’t know you gave it
When you hear of a big project they’re doing on a certain day—show up at their house that day and give unexpected help

Receiving and Giving Coaching

You are competent to instruct one another.

That phrase is not mine. The Apostle Paul said this in the book of Romans. It’s a significant phrase. Paul is not just saying the Romans are generally competent people. He’s saying their competent enough to “instruct” each other. When we think of the word “instructor” we often think of an expert in some field teaching what they know. When you think of a parachuting instructor, you expect them to have been parachuting before. When you hear of a driving instructor, you’d expect them to have their driver’s license and know a thing or two more about driving than the average person. When you see a scuba diving instructor, you expect them have been underwater more than you have—and to know the names of all the fish in the sea.

But this is not true of the people Paul said should “instruct.” Not only are they just average people with ordinary resumes or worse, Paul doesn’t even really know what these people are like in the first place. You see, Paul had not even met these people. He had not yet been to the Roman church. Other people started it. So how did he know they were competent to do anything? They could have been a bunch of chuckleheads for all he knew.

In fact, many of the Roman converts were likely former slaves and the poor. Many were likely women, who in that culture had much less education and leadership than our world. Why would Paul say they were competent? He must have known something most people didn’t.

THE ONLY QUALIFICATON THAT MATTERS

There’s something inside every Christian that makes them competent to instruct other disciples: the Holy Spirit. The only qualification that matters is whether you know Christ—and if you know Christ he’s given you His Spirit. His spirit works through you to make you competent to instruct other people.

The Spirit speaks through broken vessels. He speaks through you from time to time, and are you perfect? Well then, it’s no big leap to presume that the other imperfect disciples around you may be spoken through with a little rough edges thrown in from time to time too. Think of instructing as giving coaching. We all need a little coaching from time to time. And Paul thinks we’re competent to do it, because he didn’t know the Romans any better than he knew us. But we, like the Romans, have the Holy Spirit in our lives.

When we don’t give coaching to other believers we withhold what the Spirit may want to say through us. And when we don’t receive the coaching of other believers we are inferring that they don’t have the Spirit either.

THE DIFFERENCE COACHING CAN MAKE

Sometimes all it takes to go to the next level is a little coaching. I remember going to a youth camp when I was just 19 years old. I was playing basketball with a bunch of the high school boys. At a break in the game a few of them were trying to dunk the ball. One of the kids, a tall, thin and lanky kid, could “grab the rim” with both hands, and could leap really high. But he tried several times to dunk, like the rest of the, but couldn’t do it. I took him aside and told him he could probably dunk by doing just a few things differently. I explained that he needed to take off for his jump a little sooner and he needed to pump the ball with his arms, using his upper body to take off just as much as his legs. After a few more tries, he dunked the ball for the first time in front of his friends. After the cheers and high-fives, he went around again and dunked. Then again, and again, and again. With just 10 minutes of coaching he went from almost to every time.

That’s the difference coaching can make. So many people are almost where they want to be as believers. But they need your brief moment of coaching to go to the next level. Don’t withhold from them the slam-dunk experience that could result from your simple tips.

BECOMING A COACHABLE PERSON

More often than not we would rather give coaching than receive it. Dishing it out becomes second nature once we learn, but taking it hardly ever feels truly natural. But some people learn over time to become coachable people. In sports, it’s an attitude that teams and coaches look for. Instead of just talent, they want someone that is coachable. Here are several ways to become a coachable person:

Be on the lookout for a different perspective – part of being coachable is learning to appreciate that you don’t see everything. Your perspective is limited. Look out for those people that can give you a different perspective on who you are and what you do.

Welcome criticism – we’re hard-wired to run from criticism. But after reaching a certain level of confidence in who you are you can begin to actually receive and even receive criticism. When you get to this point and someone well-meaning and helpful offers coaching you welcome it like icing on the cake.

Capture the key issues and mirror them back – one way to receive coaching from someone else is to boil down what they are saying and repeat the issues back to them. This helps you capture the most important things in what they are saying, drop the parts that might offend you or make you question yourself, and then inspire confidence in the person coaching you that you actually get what they’re trying to get you to get.

Thank people for coaching you – this honest thank you can help that person know that your door is always open for well-meant coaching. When you thank them for it you also admit to them and yourself that you needed it—which you did.

Feed back the application of the coaching – after following through on the coaching advice tell the coach how it went. Process how it went further, and ask for more tweaks or advice on the original thought. The most coachable people are great at this!

Divide the harmful from the helpful – sometimes the coaching you receive goes too far and discourages you. It’s important to separate any and all of the harmful things said from the helpful things. Some people are just more harmful than anything else to you—and they are the ones you can just stop listening to all together. Coachable people are sensitive enough to coaching that they know they can’t listen to hurtful people or it would scar them deeply.

BECOMING A HELPFUL COACH

It’s important to be coachable before you go on coaching others. So follow the above steps first. Then you’ll know how it feels to be coached. I think there’s a reason why most of the best coaches in sports used to be average or even mediocre athletes themselves. They know what it’s like to be coached to the next level. Then they become great at coaching in a helpful way.

You can’t give it till you can take it – nobody wants to be instructed by a perfectionist. Paul was on to something when he wrote the Romans—instruction often comes best from peers. If you can take coaching, then you become the perfect person to pass on what you’ve learned. If you can’t take it, then you end up not having learned enough to pass on in the end anyway.

Realize that coaching should never be one way – when you head into that other person’s office or call them up or pull them aside after church, walk into that situation open to receive back coaching during the conversation. If you think they’re the only one who needs to learn something then you’ve got a lot to learn. This is why the best coaches often start out their coaching by saying, “I’ve notice this thing about you lately… can you help me understand that?” Sometimes that understanding is really all they need—not the coaching.

Encouraging someone over time gives you the platform to coach – this applies in two ways: 1) you need to be an overall believer and encourager to the person you want to coach and 2) you need to encourage them firs in your conversation with them. Even still you can’t rely on “beating around the bush” encouragement. People see through that and may even say, “just get to the point.” That’s why you need to encourage them over time and then coach only from time to time. But still use an “encouragement sandwich” when coaching. Start with a short statement of your encouraging belief in them, offer the coaching, then repeat a reassuring sense of your encouragement about their ability to go to the next level.

Ensure your coaching flows from the Word -- Colossians 3:16a says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom.” This shows that your coaching isn’t just your random opinion… it’s the word of Christ flowing through you. Admonishment is a lost art in today’s church. Often it’s not because we aren’t willing to offer our opinion, people do that all the time. Usually it’s because the word of Christ isn’t in us enough for us to offer effective admonishment.

Walk the TACT balance beam – It’s crucial to be tactful in offering your coaching. Tact is the balance beam between not saying enough for them to get the point and saying too much so that they are offended. Walk down the middle.

Sometimes it’s just a risk to coach – you can’t ensure that your coaching will be received. It’s always a risk to step out an offer a few coaching tips to someone. It takes guts to do this… but nobody grows without it.

Develop a community that coaches – there are great benefits to a development culture that coaches one another. People that are uncoachable develop people around them that resist their coaching. You reproduce in like kind. Or worse, you become a hybrid disciple: like a seedless watermelon that can’t reproduce at all and has no fruit at all.

Relationships

Your relationships will be the toughest part.

It takes even more spiritual discipline to have good relationships than a wonderful devotional life. It will take way more elbow grease to resolve a conflict with a friend than to memorize three chapters of scripture.

Consider these relational truths:

Every marriage is perfect, until after the honeymoon.
Every family is perfect, until the children are born.
Every small group is perfect, until the people show up.
Every church is perfect, until they open the doors on Sunday.

WHAT’S YOUR EMOTIONAL QUOTIENT?

Every person starts at a different place on the emotional quotient chart. What is this EQ? It’s the level of relational ability you have. It’s how well you interact with people, build friendships, how you read a room, how you communicate, and how you listen. Your EQ is a way to help you see where you’re at when it comes to relationships.

Just like it is with out IQ (intelligence quotient), some people have more to work with from the start when it comes to relational abilities. Fortunately, many of us with lower IQ have very high EQ! This may even be why your dog is likely a much better friend to you than the geniuses you know. Genius = high IQ, low EQ. Dog = no IQ, high EQ.

For some reason God seems to create us with at least one of these two assets much higher than the other. Most people with way above average intelligence have relational struggles to work with. And most people who are just incredible with people and are the life of the party won’t likely donate their brain to science when they die. It’s not always true—but nearly always seems to be the case.

SOMETHING TO WORK WITH

But even those of us with lower Emotional Quotient have something to work with. It’s like a person that isn’t smart enough become a professor but is smart enough to do a certain job – or to teach their kids. You have enough relational abilities to get somewhere.

And remember, in your weakness He is strong. There are many dyslexic people who are the most successful academics in their field. Once they identified their draw-back they became more intentional about they way they read and learn, and by doing so began to learn way better than anyone around them.

If you have a lower EQ then you can do the same. Remember first that you’re not alone. Many people struggle relationally. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. You may just not be wired up like that life of the party. No big deal. If you struggle with building relationships, then map out exactly why you do what you do—or don’t do what you’d like to do. What are your specific issues? Then become way more intentional about the way you interact with people and build friendships. By doing so you will begin to be way more effective than even those that it comes naturally to. People with high EQ often don’t think about relationships—because they usually don’t have to. But it also makes them miss things from time to time. If you’re intentional about it you might just be better in the end than they are. Anyway, you’ve probably got that whole IQ thing going for you.

RELATIONAL EVANGELISM

When it comes to evangelism we are often told that we should be “relational.” This is a recent code-word we pastors use to infer that we’re not asking you to go door to door and ask people spiritual questions cold-turkey anymore. Aren’t you glad?

But we still struggle to know what to do when we’re asked to do “relational evangelism?” The problem we may have with relational evangelism is not just the evangelism part—but the relational part. Many of us just aren’t that relational, and we have to be intentional, as you’ve seen above. But further – many of us just don’t have a very large part of our lives devoted to being relational with people that don’t yet know Christ. We may know some people we’d like to befriend that are unchurched but we just don’t know how to start.

DIFFERENT WAYS TO GET STARTED

All of us are different. Certainly every Christian is unique, right? The church is full of different people! Why wouldn’t this also be true about people that aren’t Christians? They’re different too! So none of us should thing that the same simple plan is going to work in reaching people for Jesus. We should see people as individuals. There are several ways to get started with that person at work or in your neighborhood that you want to build an authentic redemptive relationship with.

Your friend may think church is the dullest place on earth. Change that perception by doing something together that interests them. Get involved in something they’re already doing or talking of doing. But do it together and do it just for fun. You need more fun in your life anyway. And by starting with something that truly interests them it’s hard for them not to want to spend time with you. Get started with what interests your friend.

Your friend may not need you to beat around the bush. I bet you hate it when you get that telemarketing call where the caller won’t get to the point. They ask random questions that don’t have anything to do with the bottom line. Sometimes you need to cut to the chase with your friend and inspire them with how excited you are. Don’t soft sell it – just cut loose on how important your spiritual life is for you. It will inspire them to have that same kind of excitement in their lives. With some friends you can just get started by inspiring your friend.

Your friend may not want to take it all “hook line and sinker” without checking things out for a while. Perhaps the best way to build relationships with the unchurched is to include them in church! This is so much more than inviting them to services. Including them is about community. In fact—you may want your friend to come to your small group or fun outing with other Christians long before they come to a service. Get started by including your friend.

Your friend may have a lot of issues. Don’t’ we all? You may not see yourself as having many answers – but if your friend knows you at all they may see something in you they want to learn from. They’re not looking to upset the apple cart of their lives too much yet. But there’s enough rotten apples in there that there ready to learn from you. It might be time to try investing in your friend. Invest extended time. Invest authentic advice. Invest some compassion for their situation. You may be the closest thing they have to a Christlike influence in their life. So get started by investing in your friend.

Your friend may be ripe for an invitation. Sometimes people are just waiting for someone to invite them. You may just need to extend it. The invite can be a big one – like coming to a church service with you. Or it can be a small invite – like joining you for a fun event at the church. Sometimes you should get started by simply inviting your friend.

Your friend may look busy all the time. They may run from meeting to meeting at work. They may only go outside to wash their car. They may be chasing after kids constantly. But many times people just try to look busy. Sometimes you have to actually interrupt your friend to start building a relationship with them. It may just be 2 minutes interruption so you can offer to help them with their work, or washing their car, or helping with the kids. Get started by interrupting them if you have to.

Your friend may have a lot to offer. Sometimes people don’t get interested in church or spiritual things because they don’t know what it has to offer them. Well turn the tables on them. Instead of starting with all we’ve got to give them, start with all they’ve got to give to the church. Not money—but what they’re good at. Involve them in a ministry. There are hundreds of ways to serve in church that nearly anyone can help with. But do that thing together with your friend—so you can get to know them better while doing it. Get started by involving your friend in serving.

There are so many ways to get started with your friend. Choose one of these ways or come up with your own that is tailor-made for building a truly redemptive authentic relationship. But whatever you choose to do, get started right away.

Week Five

29.30.31.32.33.34.35

Group Questions

1) What annoying habits do you have that you wish you could stop doing? What annoying habits do other people have that you wish they would stop doing?

2) Without peeking, recall as a group what the 7 disciplines that result in fruit were that are covered in the past week:

ii)

iii)

iv)

vi)

vii)

3) What are some other spiritual disciplines that you think help people produce eternal fruit by reaching non-Christians?

4) Report your “My Five” list to the group from page 95. Then pray over all the names as a group. Pair up people to pray in an ongoing way for each other’s list.

5) Share what’s worked and what hasn’t worked for everyone when it comes to fasting.

6) Do any of the six dimensions of the confessional life not make sense to you? Discuss them in the group. How might your group do a better job at confession together?

7) What are some secret service toward non-Christians ideas your group can brainstorm?