BIBLE HELPS FOR FAMILIES AND SMALL GROUPS:
regardless of the opposition
vs. Faintheartedness
I WILL: Set goals.
Ignore distractions.
Not be discouraged by others.
Face problems head-on.
GOD’S CHARACTER: DETERMINATION
As we determine to become Christ-like in character, let’s look at the determination we see in God and His Son, Jesus Christ. Isaiah 46:24-27 gives an account of Isaiah’s prophecy about Assyria, the dreaded power that cruelly conquered other countries, including the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and now threatened Judah; “The Lord Almighty has sworn, ‘Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand….This is the plan determined for the whole world; this is the hand stretched out over all nations. For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart Him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?’” What insurmountable obstacles were present in this situation? What was God’s supernatural intervention?
Share something you are determined to do or be:
q Is it the right goal – from God? How can we know we are not stubbornly pursuing our own goal?
q Is it the right time?
q What opposition have you encountered?
“When God is about to do something great, He starts with a difficulty. When He is about to do something truly magnificent, he starts with an impossibility.” (Armin Gesswein) Have you had a goal in the past that you felt was given to you by God? (Bible reading goal, get out of debt, go to the mission field, train your family, complete a degree, begin a cell for your neighbors, etc.) Was it bigger than you knew you could accomplish? If it is God’s goal, He WILL accomplish it! (See Isaiah 46:9-11.) This month, ask God to confirm the goal and as you go through the bulletin, look for help in being determined to accomplish it. The great missionary to inland China, J. Hudson Taylor, could say from his experience: “At first the task looks difficult, then it is impossible; then it is done.”
Look at
the following scriptures to see the things God determines in order to
understand how God works in our lives. Consider: how does this help me keep
going on my God-given goal in spite of obstacles? How can I cooperate with
what God has determined?
Job 14:5 – God determines a man’s days (decides).
Psalm 147:4 – God determines the number and names of all the stars; all the
universe is in His control.
Proverbs 16:9 – We plan, but God determines our steps; also see Proverbs 19:21.
Isaiah 14:26-27 – God is determined to fulfill His purposes.
Daniel 11:36 – The godless king will succeed until God determines “IT’S TIME!”
Acts 17:26-28 – God determines times and places of our lives; why?
I Corinthians 12:11 – God, the Holy Spirit, determines our spiritual gift
JESUS: Luke 9:51 describes the determination of Jesus to fulfill the goal of our redemption as He “resolutely set out for Jerusalem. “Although Jesus knew he would face persecution and death in Jerusalem, he was determined to go there. That kind of resolve should characterize our lives too. When God gives us a course of action, we must move steadily toward our destination, no matter what potential hazards await us there” (Life Application Bible notes).
TO A SUPERNATURAL CONCLUSION: In the Institute in Basic Life Principles seminar, Mr. Bill Gothard teaches on the “death of a vision” and then the “double death of a vision” – 1. God gives us a goal, 2. it becomes impossible, 3. then doubly impossible before 4. God gives a supernatural fulfillment. Consider :
God’s goals will be bigger than we can do with human resources and they will always meet with insurmountable opposition. Cry out to God for supernatural intervention – and it will bring Him glory! What God has determined, He will do!
I PETER: Our New Testament reading this month is I Peter, a letter written to Christians facing great persecution encouraging them to understand they are participating in the sufferings of Christ. As you read the book, write out determination clues; how can we stay the course in a time of intense opposition? (for examples, 4:7—stay clear minded and self-controlled so you can pray; 4:19-- commit yourself to your faithful Creator and continue to do good) Today, Christian brothers and sisters are still undergoing intense persecution – in fact, more have been persecuted in the last century than in all the other centuries combined. November 11 is a special day to pray for the persecuted church (see www.persecutedchurch.org) so your family or cell may want to devote time to pray for these fellow believers. True stories of their determination to stay true to Christ in face of life-threatening obstacles is an inspiration to us. Have each person in your cell choose a “martyr” story to relate to the cell; some resources are Foxe’s Book of Martyrs or other resources in our library, or use the links in the above website.
3-D Character: Determination is more than stubbornly pursuing a course. Use the idea of 3-D and talk about the difference between 2 dimensional pictures and 3-dimensional, a fuller perspective. Make the analogy to the 3 D’s of determination: discernment, decisiveness, and determination. Look up the definitions of these character qualities; how are they important to each other and give a fuller perspective to our God-given goals? What is the consequence if we are just determined without showing discernment or decisiveness?
GET SOME BACKBONE: A determined person is often described as “having a backbone” and a fainthearted person as spineless. Our backbone is a picture of the balance we must have in our determination. How does our backbone give us strength, yet flexibility (greater movement) and sensitivity (holding nerves)? Show pictures of animals and man with an endoskeleton (backbone on the inside) and pictures with an exoskeleton (backbone on the outside). In the wonderful book, Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, Dr. Paul Brand and Philip Yancy show that an exoskeleton provides protection, but the animal’s growth and movement is limited. With the strength of an internal backbone, growth and movement is allowed and thus many more feats can be accomplished. Our determination can be really stubbornness and cold-heartedness that runs roughshod over other people. Do we ever give an air of “determination,” but it is really a hard shell (an exoskeleton) to protect ourselves? The endoskeleton of Godly determination exhibits flexibility and sensitivity to others without giving up on the goal, grows as we grow in the Lord, and “unheard-of feats can be performed” (p. 73).
BE STRONG: “Determination is a strong grip(that will not let go), a strong direction (that keeps pushing ahead), a strong vision (that will not be discouraged), a strong focus (that refuses to be distracted)), and a strong mind (that creatively overcomes new obstacles.” (from Determination bulletin, series 2) Look for these five strongs in the life of Paul at the end of his third missionary journey in Acts 20:13 – 21:15; Paul understood that his God-given goal was to return to Jerusalem (Acts 20:16). Read 21:13 to see his determination. Did he exhibit a Strong grip? Strong direction? Strong vision? Strong focus? Strong mind? As you read the rest of the story, look for opposition: What was it? Was it always his enemies? How do we oppose the determination of our friends or family when we see the hardship ahead? How did he handle it? Would the outcome (arrest and imprisonment) make you wonder if you had heard God correctly? At the end of his life in II Timothy 4:6-8, what was the outcome of his determination?
DETERMINED TO MAKE MY LIFE COUNT: Rather than giving up and pampering himself because of his terminal condition, Elisha Kent Kane had a “determined passion” to make his life count. Obstacles and opposition come from people, circumstances, and sometimes, even ourselves; do we meet them with the same “determined passion” to make our lives count? Paul’s great opposition (list them from II Corinthians 11:21-33 & 12:7) did not deter him from making his life count for Christ – and to give eternal life to others. Another example is the church at Pergamum (Revelation 2:12-13), who remained true in a wicked city, in spite of threat of execution.
For Elisha Kent Kane, what was the difference between quitting and waiting? How can we persevere when things seem to be at a standstill (or getting worse)? In I Samuel 13:1-16, King Saul is determined to get into the fight with the Philistines, but is delayed by Samuel’s lateness. His unwise determination, however, leads him to break God’s law and offer the sacrifice himself. How do we “change the rules” because of our determination for the goal? We sacrifice either God’s directions or our convictions in order to accomplish the end. What was the result for Saul? For us? How can we maintain our determination and yet “rest in the Lord”?
How can each of these verses encourage us to develop determination to make our lives count for Christ? 1 Corinthians. 9:24-27; Galatians 6:9-10; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 3:12-14; 2 Timothy 2:3-13; James 1:12.
ANCHOR OF HOPE: Hope fuels our determination. To a Christian, hope is not some unlikely wish, but faith in a sure thing (Hebrews 11:1). When opposition or trials threaten to dampen or destroy our determination, how does hope keep us on track?
· Psalm 42 Have you had the same struggle as the Psalmist in your soul? What was his response in vs. 5 and 11?
NO DISRACTIONS: Determination is marked by decision and discipline; it also focuses on a goal and minimizes every distraction to reach it. Read Hebrews 12:1-13 which also talks of decision and discipline. What are distractions that take our eyes off the “race marked out for us.” How does discipline (our own and God’s) help us?
A former bulletin gives a good object lesson using a rock, a used battery, and a piece of candy. Ask how each of them represents a kind of hindrance to our determination:
Find a way or make one: Give out pages with mazes to introduce the idea of being flexible – if you reach a dead end, try another tactic to finish. How does true flexibility help us in determination? How can we discern whether our determination is due to a “thick-headed, one-tracked focus” or an “unrelenting resolve”?
For example, in fulfilling the CFM mission to raise the standard of the family, God may reveal different methods to various families and individuals – but with the same goal of sending Godly disciples throughout the world. What are obstacles we face? Are there alternative methods to the goal? Have each member of your cell share how they are helping fulfill the vision (or a goal they feel God has given him/her) – look for creativity in our determination to reach the goal.
At times, sailors often have to “tack” by zig-zagging back and forth against the wind in order to reach the goal (this was a prophetic word to CFM in the past); how can this concept help us in our determination?
SALMON
Use the material throughout the bulletin on the salmon to come up with signs of determination:
Ø “set your jaw”
Ø it may be exhausting
Ø speed increases as you go
Ø many high obstacles will be in your path
Ø don’t rest or be distracted
Ø change your navigational tactic
Ø make it your goal to reproduce
What is the final longing of salmon? (to return home) What are the obstacles they face? Each of us have an inner longing in our heart to return home to God. Ecc. 3:11 says that eternity is in our heart. Are we determined to overcome any obstacle in order to get there successfully?
The Character Sketches, Volume I, has a series on Determination, pairing animals and Bible stories; one of the animals is the salmon, so you can get other very interesting information to build interest and understanding. This is a good family resource for the whole month with these topics on determination (good material for cells as well):
§ Realizing that my present struggles are essential for future achievement; Cecropia moth, Stephen
§
Breaking down a seemingly impossible task by concentrating on
achievable goals;
Arctic tern, Joshua
§ Expending whatever energy is necessary to complete a project; King salmon, Jehoash
§ Rejecting any distraction which could hinder the completion of a task. Wolverine, unnamed prophet
FAINTHEARTEDNESS is the opposite of determination. Deuteronomy 20 directs the Israelites about going to war: the priest was to address the army, encouraging them to not be fainthearted, afraid, terrified or panicked (v. 3). How was this possible? (verse 4) Later, in verse 8, the fainthearted were told to go back home; why? Years later, when Gideon was assembling his army in Judges 7, God told him to send home all those who were afraid – and over two-thirds of them left! Have you ever had your determination waver because of someone else who was fainthearted? How can we encourage others to keep on?
In Numbers 13 and 14, the spies sent to explore Canaan came back with divergent reports. Joshua and Caleb were determined to go in and conquer (13:30; 14:6-9), but the other 10 gave a frightening report on the obstacles. In 14:1-4, what was the fainthearted reply of the people? What was God’s punishment (14:20-35)? Why did God see their faintheartedness as treating Him with contempt (v. 23) and banding together against Him (v. 35)?
In Isaiah 7, Judah was threatened by the alliance of two enemy kings, causing the hearts of King Ahaz and his subjects in Judah to be shaken. Isaiah was sent by God to give what message? When obstacles face us, why must we stand firm (determined) in our faith?
In Proverbs 24:16, an interesting contrast is made between the response of the righteous and the wicked to calamity; which one shows more determination? How can he stay the course in spite of repeated falls?
Remember, if it is God’s goal, He will accomplish it – let’s determine to cooperate with Him.
Helps prepared by Deanna Guy