"What kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming." 2 Peter 3:11, 12.
"Daily examine the foundation of your hope, and see whether you are indeed in the love of Christ. Deal truly with your own hearts, for you cannot afford to run any risk here. Count the cost of being a wholehearted Christian, and then gird on the armor. Study the Pattern; look to Jesus, and be like Him." —Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 332.
You are looking to God's coming kingdom! You can daily cooperate with the Holy Spirit! You may become Christlike in character!
The great purpose of discipleship is preparation for the kingdom of God. In Jesus Christ full provision has been made for the believer to receive all the blessings which have to do with godly and victorious living. Through knowing God and His Son, Jesus Christ, the way is open to great spiritual attainments.
In this lesson you will discover—
GOD'S KINGDOM IS COMING
1. What did Jesus teach should be the disciple's first interest? Matthew 6:33.
Matthew 6:33 (NIV) But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
2. For what did the patriarch Abraham look? Hebrews 11:10-16.
Hebrews 11:10-16 (NIV) For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11) By faith Abraham, even though he was past age--and Sarah herself was barren--was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12) And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. 13) All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14) People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15) If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16) Instead, they were longing for a better country--a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
3. What glimpse does Isaiah give us of a new heaven and a new earth? Isaiah 65:17-22. D
Isaiah 65:17-22 (NIV) "Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. 18) But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. 19) I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. 20) "Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. 21) They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22) No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands.
4. How does John describe the new heaven and the new earth? Revelation 21:1-4.
Revelation 21:1-4 (NIV) Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2) I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3) And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4) He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
5. What kind of people will inherit God's kingdom? Revelation 21:7, 8.
Revelation 21:7-8 (NIV) He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8) But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."
6. In the judgment, into how many classes does God divide mankind? Matthew 25:31-33.
Matthew 25:31-33 (NIV) "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32) All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33) He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
7. How are these two classes described in the present life? Romans 8:7-10.
Romans 8:7-10 (NIV) the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. 8) Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. 9) You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10) But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.
Check the following characteristics if found in the text:
__Sinful Mind sinful mind hostile to God
__doesn't submit to God's law
__controlled by sinful nature cannot please God
__ Mind controlled by the Spirit
__Spirit lives in your nature
__Christ is in you alive to righteousness
8. What two choices have always been set before people on earth? Which does the Lord plead for man to choose? Deuteronomy 30:15, 19.
Deuteronomy 30:15 (NIV) See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.
Deuteronomy 30:19 (NIV) This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live
9. What challenge did the apostle Paul give the Corinthians? 2 Corinthians 13:5.
2 Corinthians 13:5 (NIV) Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test?
10. How does the Bible describe the condition of the Laodicean church—the church of the last days? Revelation 3:15-17.
Revelation 3:15-17 (NIV) I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16) So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold- -I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17) You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
11. What counsel is given as a remedy? Revelation 3:18, 19.
Revelation 3:18-19 (NIV) I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. 19) Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.
12. Where lies man's only hope of eternal life? John 17:3.
John 17:3 (NIV) Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
DISCIPLESHIP COMMITMENT
"By the sacrifice of Christ, provision has been made for the believer to receive all things that pertain to life and godliness. God calls upon us to reach the standard of perfection and places before us the example of Christ's character. In His humanity, perfected by a life of constant resistance of evil, the Saviour showed that through co-operation with Divinity, human beings may in this life attain to perfection of character. This is God's assurance to us that we, too, may obtain a complete victory." —The Acts of the Apostles, p. 531.
Note: Think of "perfection" in the above paragraph as all that is possible for you to be by the grace of God at each stage of your development. Notice especially that it is something we "reach" through a provision we "receive".
Tell why you think a wholehearted Christian will give first place to seeking God's kingdom and His righteousness.
Unless otherwise designated, scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION�. Copyright � 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.