Section Four – INTEGRITY

 Precept # 15: “What good will it be for a man if

he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?”
Matthew 16:26

 The Principle: Honesty

In this series we are focusing on the theme of “Integrity.” Integrity involves all of a person’s
behavior in all circumstances of life. It answers the question: What would Jesus do in this
situation?

Integrity includes things like being honest with money, not telling lies, not cheating and
remaining pure in all areas of life – including sexual purity. Today we are looking particularly at
‘honesty’ and especially being honest with money. People who mishandle money do not have
integrity.

Jesus taught: What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?” This
verse means that even if you get all the things you want in this world and do it in a dishonest
way, it will displease God. When you die and stand before God, you will have to answer for it.
We will have to answer God for how we have lived our lives. And we will be judged according
to what we have done.

One of the big problems in the world is dishonesty with money. This is one of the main reasons
why some countries remain poor. At the government level we call it corruption. Corruption is
when someone misuses or steals money from the government or from a company. Unfortunately
it prevents some nations from developing. Money that is supposed to help many people ends up
by being taken by one or a few people.

Many people consider it is impossible to consistently be faithful in these areas and automatically
assume everyone is going to mess up. Humanly speaking, it may seem impossible. However
Jesus said, “with God nothing is impossible.” And God wants us to be people who keep the
highest standards of integrity.

The honest person is safe and secure. They have nothing to hide. They are not afraid that people
might find out about things they have done in secret because they have not done anything wrong.
They have no enemies because they have not harmed, lied, or cheated people. The person who
has integrity is respected and loved within his family and community.

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The man who follows “crooked paths” or takes short cuts in trying to get rich quick often ends
up in worse condition. The man who does bad things in secret will be found out. Eventually all
secrets are revealed.
When these secrets are revealed, the man who has chosen these paths will be embarrassed and
will lose the respect of all. God sees everything, including those things done in secret. There are
no secrets before God. Even if men never find out the secret, one day each of us will have to
answer for our actions before God.

Those who are not trustworthy invite many problems into their lives. They will have problems
in their family and in their work. They will have problems in their community and in the end
may have problems with the police.

God is against stealing because it is bad for society. It disrupts and disorganizes society. There
is no reason to work if we know that our money will only be stolen in the end. There is no
society in the world that allows stealing. God teaches us that stealing is wrong. One of the Ten
Commandments tells us, “Do not steal.” Jesus teaches us to “To do unto others as we would
want them to do unto us.” Are we loving our neighbor if we steal from him?

Greed:

One of the biggest problems in the world has to do with imbalances in respect to wealth and
money. Communism was an attempt to redistribute wealth and solve this imbalance. But it has
generally failed.

The main reason it failed was because human beings are basically self-centered and self-
centeredness expresses itself in greed. And greed says, “I want more for myself even if it is at
your expense.”

Greed can never be satisfied. In fact the more a greedy person gets the more he wants. If a person
has one house, he wants two. If he has two vehicles, he wants three. Greed is a hunger that
grows stronger the more it is fed.

Jesus taught: “Be on your guard against all kinds of greed, a man’s life does not consist in the
abundance of his possessions.” Luke 12:15

The problem with wealth seems to be with the extremes…being too poor or being excessively
rich. We can see this in Proverbs 30:7-9 “Give me neither poverty nor riches but give me my
daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you …or I may become poor and
steal.”

5 Points for Being Honest with Money

1. Keep strong spiritually – In order to be strong and resist the temptation to take things which
are not ours, we must feed or strengthen the spiritual part of our lives. We must pray, read
the scriptures daily and be with one another in order to build up the inner strength to
withstand temptation

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2. If someone gives you money to handle - keep very clear records . Write down on paper
every time you use the money. When bookkeeping is haphazard, sloppy and messed up, that
is when temptation comes more easily.

3. Be honest in reporting what you have actually used. If you are given responsibility to carry
out a certain job and you are handed a rough estimate of 1,000 for general expenses, that
doesn’t mean you can pocket what ever is left over. If you end up using only 800 return the
balance of 200. The habit of "pocketing the balance" is one of the behaviors that increases
corruption.

4. Be faithful in the little things: Jesus said that whoever can be trusted in the little things will
be trusted with much. How we handle the little things in our daily lives determine, over time,
our response to the big things. No one ever becomes a big thief all at once. They start with
100, then next time it’s 1,000, then it becomes 10,000, next it jumps to 100,000, then a
million.

5. Understand the difference between earthly treasures and eternal ones. Jesus said, “What does
it profit a man if he gains the whole world.” Are you willing to trade your eternal inheritance
in exchange for the things of this world? When you die you cannot take money, vehicles, or
possessions with you. Yet people can kill one another for those things. And God will punish
them. But if you do well he will reward you in heaven.

 Precept # 16: “In everything, do to others what

you would have them do to you.” Matthew 7:12

 The Principle: Upright Speech and Thought

The Bible says that, “we are to take captive every thought” II Corinthians 10:5. This ability and
habit must be developed of capturing every wayward thought that is in contradiction with Reality
(God's Word and Perspective). We are to manage our thoughts, and to set our attention on
thoughts that are in line with the perspective of the Eternal that says that God is in control.

It is the habitual thoughts that form themselves in our mind. These habitual thoughts create a
"frame of mind" or an attitude of the heart in the face of life's circumstances. Nothing has more
to do with shaping our lives than the thoughts that we harbor. Thoughts are a choice. Thoughts
give birth to attitudes.

“Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.” (Proverbs 12:19)

Have you ever been afraid of telling the truth, so you told a lie instead? How did you feel after
you told the lie? Telling the truth is a choice that benefits everyone and while it is sometimes
painful for a moment, it is best in the long run.

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Truthfulness is the starting point for so many important things. People who cannot be truthful
with others miss out on dependability that leads to trust, on honor that leads to integrity, and on
sincerity that builds strong relationships.

Deception began in the Garden of Eden and is relearned by each generation. Children learn early
that if they can cover up a wrong choice, they can sometimes avoid punishment. If they blame
someone else, they might not look so bad. Even though being untruthful is often a reaction to
fear, it creates a whole new fear, the fear of being found out.

God wants to give us freedom from all our fears in his perfect love. There is no fear in love. But
perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not
made perfect in love. We can become truthful as we learn that God demands truthfulness out of
his love, not out of a desire to see us punished.

One of Jesus’ followers betrayed Jesus with a lie. He did this because he was afraid, not because
he was a bad or evil man. In Matthew 26:69-75, we hear about the night when Jesus was
arrested, a very scary time for the followers of Jesus.

Peter was afraid something terrible might happen to him if he admitted that he knew Jesus.
That’s why he lied and pretended he did not know him. Peter was a good man who loved Jesus.
He did not set out to be untruthful. He made a bad choice because of his fear.

Ask the following questions:

What does it take to choose to be truthful?
How can you be truthful when you are afraid?

I’m sure Peter learned a lot about being truthful from his experience; because he went on to serve
Jesus for the rest of his life.

Proverbs 12:22 says, “ The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in men who are truthful.”

Proverbs 19:9 says, “A false witness (someone who does not tell the truth) will not go
unpunished, and he who pours out lies will perish.”

Proverbs 6:16-19 says, “There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him:
haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked
schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who
stirs up dissension among his neighbors.”

Lying is a sin and we should always strive to tell the truth. It is sometimes easy to fool other
people by not telling the truth, but God is never fooled when we say things that are not true.

Common Illustration: There were two kids at home when the parents were away. The older child
was playing with a mirror and it fell down and broke. But when the Mother came home the child
could not tell her that he broke it, instead he tried to blame the younger one. But the Mother
realized that the child was lying. So she had to punish the child for lying. Maybe if he had told
the truth the mother would have realized it was an accident. But because he lied, it made the
situation worse.
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God does not want us to lie and deceive people. You can never deceive God. He always sees
what you are doing. Even if you manage to deceive others you will have a guilty conscience
because you know God has seen you.

When we begin telling lies, it usually makes things worse because we have to go on telling more
lies to cover up. But if you tell the truth from the beginning and immediately face the
consequences, the problem gets over more quickly and the consequences are not so severe.

It should be noted that integrity of the spoken word begins with integrity to the promises you
make to yourself. When you promise yourself that you will do something, do you really do it?
If you can’t trust yourself, how can others trust you? When we make and keep promises to
ourselves, our sense of integrity grows and others can sense it. Do I keep promises that I make to
myself? If not this is one of the places where I can begin to develop my integrity.

Let’s read Psalms 15. This is a psalm that starts by asking a question: “Who is the kind of
person who can draw near to God, who can get close to God, who can abide with him?

Verse 1 asks the question and goes on to describe a person of integrity. And in verse 4, …"He
keeps an oath (or promise) even when it hurts." Being a promise keeper is easier said than
done. Sometimes keeping a promise becomes very hard. It takes courage and commitment.

The first side is the responsibility of keeping your promises. This side will determine whether
we are promise breakers or promise keepers.

The second side is reward. Keeping promises has its own rewards. First of all, you will
gradually be rewarded with the trust of others. Secondly, you will have self-confidence because
your own heart will not condemn you. You will know in your inner-most being that you are a
person of integrity. This knowledge produces internal peace and composure. And finally you will
have God on your side. He will honor your faithfulness and will support you. The Bible is full of
God's promises to us. God himself is a promise keeper.

So in closing, remember that people are counting on you to be a man/woman of your word: Your
friends, your family, your neighbors, and your community. The burden of that responsibility can
weigh you down. Don't be afraid to make commitments, don’t be timid. Take heart. Take a stand
and God will be with you

Cultivating The Right Thoughts and Attitudes

"Although we often have little choice as to what happens to u, we surely have some choice as to
what happens in us." Evelyn Underhill

William James one of the great early psychologists said, "The greatest discovery of my
generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind."

 Precept # 17: “Anyone who looks at a woman

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 lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his
heart.” Matthew 5:28

 The Principle: Sexual Purity

God calls each of us to be pure in the sexual area of life. Some young people think they can have
sexual relations without consequences. But even if pregnancy or diseases don’t occur, there are
psychological, emotional, and spiritual consequences. Those memories will remain in your mind
and affect your future relationship with the one you end up marrying. This is why sex outside of
marriage is unhealthy mentally, spiritually, and physically because it goes against God’s plan for
man.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:8, “The pure in heart will see God.” Being sexually pure is following
God's plan for sex. He did not make the plan to be hard on us. On the contrary, it is for our
well-being, to protect the family unit as well as prevent families from breaking up and to
safeguard the one social institution that raises up children.

God wants children to be nurtured in a stable atmosphere of love, security and stability. This is
best achieved in a good, happy, godly, life long commitment between a man and a woman. That
is the primary purpose of marriage.

Sex outside of marriage has the effect of weakening, undermining and eventually breaking
down the family unit. And broken families produce broken people. And broken people
produce social breakdown.

God made us as we are and that means as sexual beings. However, he also taught us that our
sexuality is to be properly expressed in a committed marriage. Throughout the scriptures and in
all societies around the world there are prohibitions for sex outside of marriage.

Sex is like a river. If a river flows in its proper place, it is useful. But when it overflows beyond
its banks and begins to flood into people’s villages, it destroys homes.

You can also compare it to fire. Fire is useful and good in its proper place. In the kitchen fire has
its place for cooking food, but if fire gets out of control and enters the sitting room, it can end up
destroying the whole house.

So sex is a good thing, but only when it is in its proper place in marriage

4 Points on Sexual Integrity

 Sex is a good gift God has given mankind. It only becomes immoral when it is misused.
When it is misused there are physical, emotional and spiritual consequences.

 Misuse of sex weakens the institution of marriage. Broken marriages produce broken people
and that results in social breakdown.

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 Before marriage abstinence is the only moral option. Our desires for sex are normal. We
can’t pretend they don’t exist. But we must be patient and wait for marriage.

 “The idle mind is the Devil’s work place.” If we channel our time and energies into
productive, creative outlets, we will face less temptation than when we are idle. Discipline
your thought life. When you allow yourself to fantasize, you make the situation worse.

Living a Life of Sexual Integrity begins with controlling our Thoughts

Sexual purity is as much a matter of mind as it is of body. There is a saying that adultery is
committed in the head long before it is committed in the bed. We should make decisions and
commitments to sexual purity before we face a tempting situation and we need to avoid sicj
temptations.

Physical sexual sin is almost always the result of allowing sinful thoughts take root in our minds
and hearts. The more we feed these sexual thoughts, the more difficult they are to resist when
the opportunity arises.

Sex was created by God for reproduction and pleasure within a committed married situation. To
maintain sexual integrity is to follow God's plan. Many may have integrity in other areas of their
lives, but sexually are messed up. We need to practice what we preach.

The teachings of the scriptures are clear on the role of sex in a person’s life. No sex before
marriage and no sex outside of marriage. Sex in any other context is a violation of God's design
for stable society. This was the purpose of giving man the Ten Commandments and from them
we see that adultery is prohibited.

One of the reasons for prohibiting any sexual activities outside of “a life long commitment to
one other partner” is because such relations will invariably undermine and break down the
“institution of marriage.” In all societies, when the principle of ‘marriage’ is broken, you will
find weakened and broken children and broken people lead to a broken society.

When sexual relations occur with a woman before marriage, not only is her virginity taken away,
but her potential to have a happy marriage. If she becomes pregnant, a child may be born who
will grow up lacking a proper loving home life with two parents. This is why every honorable
culture and society has set up laws against sexual relations outside of marriage.

Jesus goes even further to say that when one looks lustfully at a woman, he has already
committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:27). You cannot avoid all thoughts, but you
can choose not to dwell on them or fantasize in your mind. There is a proverb that says, “ You
cannot keep the birds from flying over your head but you can keep them from nesting in your
hair.”

This proverb means that we can choose not to dwell on sexual thoughts. If you wish to be a man
of integrity, then you must have integrity in the sexual area. If you compromise on this point, the
devil can gain a foothold in your life. This can use this to destroy you if not physically through
sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s),then spiritually through an internal weakness.
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Sexual Integrity in a time of AIDS - A Life and Death Decision

 AIDS is killing thousands of people around the world every month.

 There is no cure or vaccination for AIDS. If exposed, you die 100% of the time.
 How do you get AIDS? Sex outside of marriage.
 How do you not get AIDS? Marry a girl who loves God and maintains sexual integrity.
 Children and women are often victims

The Myth of “Safe Sex”

1. The Physical Danger Remains: Protected sex is not ‘Safe Sex’. Safe sex is a lie
because it is based on using condoms and a certain percentage of condoms fail. Of
course condoms do provide some safety, but they do not guarantee that you will not get
AIDS. Condoms are effective 80% of the time if used properly. This statistic means that
20% of the time, they are ineffective. This 20% translates to 1 out of 5. Therefore
condoms do not equal safe sex.

2. Spiritual and Emotional Damage Remains: Even if you manage to physically avoid the
disease, you will be spiritually infected by sin and emotionally damaged. All the memories of
sex (even so called safe sex) will remain in your mind and interfere with your thought life in
your future relationships. The same is true of your future wife. She will be remembering all
the boys she had “so called safe sex with.” Safe sex is not safe either physically, emotionally,
or spiritually. It is extremely dangerous to having a happy married life in the future.

Girls especially get emotionally hurt by having so called 'safe sex' with guys who end up leaving.
Would you want to marry a girl who has been having 'safe sex' with many guys or would you
want one that has been a virgin before marriage. The answer is obvious. Then don't go spoiling
other girls in the name of 'safe sex'.

 Precept # 18: “I tell you the truth no-one can see

the Kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
John 3:3

 The Principle: Of a Transformed Life

The Transformed Life

Following Jesus is more than just trying to acquire good character and right behaviour. There is a
corresponding inner transformation that needs to take place.

The plan that God has for us is that each of us would "be conformed to the likeness of his
Son." What does it mean, "be conformed to the likeness of his Son"? Your creator is remaking

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you into the image or likeness of Christ. He wants you to be just like Jesus. That is what each of
you is called to be. Just like Jesus.

Suppose for one day…Jesus was able to become you. What if for 24 hours he entered your body,
he woke up in your bed, put on your clothes. What would you be like? Would people notice a
change? Would your fellow students see a difference?

This is exactly what God is looking for. He wants a new heart in you, a new mind in you, a new
attitude in you and me. A person who talks like Jesus, who acts like Jesus, thinks like Jesus –
even your attitude should be the same as that of Jesus.

This is almost impossible to do without God doing an invisible work in our hearts. But that is
exactly what he is good at doing. Jesus said: "Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth
to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying: You must be born again. The wind blows
wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it is going. So it is with
everyone born of the Spirit.” John 3.

The Old Nature v. The New Nature

In Ephesians 4:22-24 We find the words "…. put off your old self…which is corrupted…and put
on the new self created to be like God." Here we are being urged to be made new in your hearts
and minds. In short to become a new person." But the only way that can happen is if you let him
come in…and give him control.

The "old self" can be clearly identified as the ego. Each of us has within us a proud or self
centered self…. which psychologists call the 'ego." It is there in all of us..including me. The ego
is so concerned with outward things rather than inward things. It wants to appear in a certain way
so as to amplify our self importance compared to others. So it emphasizes things like:

1. Appearance (Oh… I am so good looking)

2. Achievements (Just look at what I have done)
3. Possessions (Admire the expensive things I own.)
4. Titles (See what a big and important man I am.)

Ego is quick to judge and find fault with others so as to put them down and put "me" up. It
makes us proud, it can be arrogant; it is easily hurt when people criticize us …but when people
give us praise the ego gets excited. It is selfish; it wants things its own way. It is not obedient to
God. It does not resist the desires of the flesh…but rather says they are my right to enjoy.

This ego or old nature must be brought down if we are going to be like Christ. And the spiritual
self within us…the child of God…the new man must come up. Jesus said Matthew 18:3 "Unless
you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of God.

This is why a great man of God like John the Baptist could say in John 3:30…"He must become
greater, and I must become less." He must increase and I must decrease. He must become more
important and I must become less important.

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It's what the Apostle Paul realized when he said: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no
longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God."
That is the meaning of Mark 8:35 "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever l
loses his life for me and the gospel will save it.”

So, "Your attitude should be like Christ Jesus…who although being in very nature God…he
made himself nothing taking the form of a servant…. he humbled himself." Philippians 2:5-8

The old man and old nature must die off, must be put down so that the new life and the new
nature can dominate. That old nature is what is also called the ego. The new man is united to and
empowered with God's Spirit. And the fruit of that Spirit is listed in Gal. 5:22 - 23 love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, self-control, faithfulness. That is what Jesus looked like. And that is
what God wants us to look like.

Section Five – SERVICE

 Precept # 19: “As long as it is day, we must do

the work of him who sent me. Night is coming when no
one can work. John 9:4

 The Principle: Being Hardworking

In Mathew 25:14-30 we find what is known as “The Parable of the Talents”. A talent was a form
of money in Jesus' time similar to a shilling or dollar today.
In this story, the master gives different amounts of money to his servants to do business with
during his absence. The servants know that the master will be returning and will require an
accounting of the money he gave them. In this parable the master is Jesus. We are the servants,
and the talents or money are the gifts and resources that God gives each man and woman in their
lives. The return of the master represents when we die and stand before God so he can evaluate
how we used the gifts he gave us.

There are some very interesting things in this story. First of all, the master gives different
amounts of money to each servant. This corresponds to the different gifts God gives each man at
birth and throughout his life. Some men have many gifts while others have few. In this parable
when the master, who represents Jesus, asks for an accounting of the money, does not seem so
concerned over the amount of money that was made. He congratulates both the man with 5
talents and the man with 2 talents because they used the talents well.

The master is concerned with whether or not each man used his talents to increase his assets. He
is very annoyed with the man who had one talent and did not use it. In fact he casts him out into
the darkness. He also says ‘to everyone who has, more will be given” – which means that the
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more we use the gifts that we have for God’s work the more we will be given. But if we don’t
use the little we have – we will eventually lose even that.

Another teaching related to using what God has given is found in Luke 12: 48 where Jesus says:
“To the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. “

In God’s eyes, it is our responsibility to use the gifts he gave us to reach out to those who are
lost. Whatever the gift and no matter how many gifts we have, God expects us to use them well.
This expectation is true whether my gift is farming, business, preaching, or academics. The Lord
expects us to work hard to use our talents to build the kingdom.

Nothing of lasting value in life has been achieved without hard work and perseverance. They are
essential ingredients for success in any field. Some people believe that success is determined by
fate or mere luck and that people are mostly powerless to change their life circumstances through
diligence and effort.

If the Youth Corps Family is going to make a change in our societies we must understand that
success requires hard work. Success means different things to different people. Therefore, a
person’s goals define their success.

As we talk about how to lead a productive life, we must keep in mind that there is no one who is
successful all the time. You can look at any person’s life and find incidents of failure. However,
if we are hard working, we will succeed much of the time through our own determination, and in
the end, we will be remembered as successful.

Our Work vs. the Lord’s Work

Some people like to say, "The Lord will provide". And, this statement is true. However, we
must be like the farmer who does all the work to get his crop ready. He knows that only God
can send the right amount of rain and sun to make his crop grow. Our hard work makes us ready
to accept and experience God’s loving gifts. It is not fair to expect the Lord to provide when we
ourselves are not willing to work. This is not faith; it is called laziness or sloth.

Scriptures about Hard Work

Genesis 2:15- Adam working in the Garden.

God made man to work. It is part of our God-given nature. It is interesting to note that this is
before the fall. We were always intended to be working for the Lord.

Proverbs 10:4- Lazy hands make a man poor but diligent hands bring wealth.

The main point of this scripture is that diligence or hard work brings success. This is true of
money as the proverb says, but it is also true of many other things. The diligent man fixes his
eyes on a goal and keeps working until he achieves the goal.
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Another thing this proverb suggests is that we have a choice of being either diligent or lazy. If
we choose to be diligent then success will come to us. If we choose to be lazy then we will find
failure in all of our efforts. This idea of choice is very important. We choose our own success
or failure. This is not a matter of luck. If you make excuses for failure and blame other people
or problems then you are destined for failure and poverty.

 Precept # 20: “For where two or three come

together in my name there am I with them.
Matthew 18:20

 The Principle: Of Working with a Team

In the section of verses of Matthew 18:15-20 we have many precepts that Jesus taught on relating
to our brothers and sisters in the family.

Verse 19 gives a principle of allowing God’s power into our group. This says, “… if two of you
on earth agree about anything you ask…it will be done for you.” In the Greek language the is
word agree is the word from which we get the word “symphony.”

Symphony means literally “one sound” – a total unity of expression. Or, a high degree of
harmonic oneness. This is a prerequisite for God taking action. Why is it that God needs us to be
united before he acts? It seems that he can only release his power through his followers when
they are one with each other.

Verse 20 is also interesting, it says: “where two or three come together in my name – then –
there I am with them.” You, and me that is 1+1 - when we come together in the name of Jesus
suddenly we become 3 – because he join us invisibly. Everywhere we go - he goes with us as
long as we are really together (united) in our hearts.

This is the principle we are going to discuss today. The principle of teamwork or as it is
sometimes called: synergy.

King Solomon who was known for his great wisdom made this observation:

“Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not
quickly broken” Ecclesiastes 4:12.

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Definition of Synergy:

Synergy basically is a word that describes “a phenomenon that occurs when two or more things
combine in such a way where the end result becomes greater than what you would expect those
things to produce individually.”

It’s a word that comes from combining the words “symbiosis” (living together) and energy.

In other words, “The whole becomes greater than merely the sum of the individual parts.”

Another way to look at this is: Compromise: 1+1=1.5

Mere addition: 1+1=2

Synergy: 1+1=3

Marriage Example

An example of this is a marriage. The man brings certain attributes… the woman brings certain
attributes – when these are mixed together in love – we get 1+1=3. Something is produced, a
family, which could not have been possible if these two individuals had tried to do it on their
own.

Agriculture Example

When you study agriculture you will find that certain crops when they are “inter-cropped” can
create a growing environment in which both crops grow better than if they were growing alone.
For instance if you plant maize and beans in the same field – the nitrogen fixing ability in the
beans can help fertilize the maize where as the beans can grow up and climb on the maize. This
is not done in large scale farming because it complicates the harvesting process – but in small-
scale gardening people it is still done.

When you cross two breeds in genetics with plant or animal breeding, the offspring has the best
qualities of both. It is a phenomenon called “Heterosis” or hybrid vigor. That is why most of the
maize seed is “hybrid maize.”

Nutrition Example

In the area of nutrition – our bodies and the bodies of animals need certain vitamins and
minerals. Two important minerals are calcium and phosphorus. These two have to be together in
order for the body to utilize them. When we are mixing feeds for cattle or chickens we have to
take this into consideration. If you provide calcium or phosphorus alone the body cannot absorb
them and they are useless –but given together they combine to provide energy to the body.

Political Example

If you read the biography of President Museveni “Sowing the Mustard Seed” you will see how
effective he was at creating partnerships and alliances with other men to achieve his goals. In the
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realm of politics this is a must. It is probably one of the greatest factors that determine success or
failures. If you run for any kind of office you will need campaign managers, advisors and other
people who are united with you in your efforts

Ministry Example

What about the area of serving God? Moses had Aaron to be with him, Elijah had Elisha, Paul
had Timothy, Jesus sent out his disciples two by two. All great men of God if they are to survive,
need people around them to assist with the ministry.

If you want to become an evangelist or a pastor, who will be your “Timothy”? Who will be your
mentor your partner in the ministry? If you can link up with one or more like-minded brothers,
you will have a greater impact than if you try it on your own.

Business Example

Perhaps most of us have heard of one of the richest businessmen in the world, Bill Gates. His
personal fortune goes into the billions of dollars. Many people look at him as one man and
wonder how he managed. But what people don’t always realize is that he had two other friends
who have been with him in business right from the beginning. And if you see a list of the richest
men in the world their names will also be there. One of them is Paul Allen – who has been
synergizing with Bill Gates from college days.

After the great Economic Depression in America during the 1930’s, a man by the name of
Napoleon Hill wrote a book to help people learn what they needed to do in order to succeed in
the business world. And he studied successful businessmen to share the secrets of their success
with others. He found 3 elements of which those succeeding in business possessed and he
concluded that these 3 things were the foundational points of success in business:

1. You have to have a definite dream or vision backed by a burning desire for its fulfillment.
2. You have to develop a strategic plan of action to systematically pursue its implementation.
3. You have to develop a friendly alliance or covenant relationship with one or more others as
partners in your endeavor.
Central Point
The point we are making is that “Highly Effective People” have been observed to have this
characteristic. They know how to put into practice creative cooperation in their dealings with
others, which enables them to achieve public victories or success in the public arena.

The most effective people have always been those who know how to work with others. The best
politicians are those who have learned how to make political alliances with many people. The
best businessmen are those who have learned how to create financial partnerships with others.

Negative Synergy

Synergy is a principle of collective action. But it can also work for wrong types of action. For
example if you have a situation where people are complaining and grumbling – that negative
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spirit gets compounded through synergy. This happened to the Children of Israel in the
Wilderness. Read Numbers 14:26-38. When people become discontent - that discontent feeds
on each other and grows stronger. In “mob justice” the same thing happens. The “group spirit”
gets very strong and people end up doing things they would not dare to do as individuals.

Valuing the Differences v. Resenting Differences

In life we must learn how to work with those who are different then we are. We have so many
differences in various areas. Take the area of personality: Some are talkative and out going some
are quiet and reserved. One of the main questions we need to address is: Do we RESENT the
Differences or to we VALUE the differences.

We all have strengths and weaknesses. If you can learn to partner with someone who has
different qualities than you do … then the two of you working together will be more effective
than if each of you is working alone. Because where I may be weak you may be strong and if we
can see this and allow each other to function in the area of strength, we canal make a greater
impact. In other words we can make use of and value our differences rather than resent them.

There is a saying that: “Two heads are better than one”. When you start sharing ideas a new idea
may emerge which neither person had thought of. When two minds interact creatively, - they
tend to stimulate each other. Ideas combine and give birth to new ideas. You have your idea…he
presents his way…but maybe there is a 3rd way that you discover is even better. Your
synergizing produces a third alternative.

The person who is truly effective has humility and respect for the opinions of others. He
appreciates and perceives the logic and wisdom in the heart and mind of the other person. That
person values the differences because different perspectives can add to his knowledge and his
understanding of a situation.

By contrast insecure people want to surround themselves only with those who think only as they
do. They don’t think for themselves. They confuse Uniformity with Unity and they mistake
Sameness with Oneness.

The effects of synergy can be strongest when what is being mixed is bringing things or people
together that are quite different. IF TWO PEOPLE HAVE THE SAME OPINION THAN ONE
IS UNNECESSARY. Don’t resent the differences, value them instead.
.

 Precept # 21: "Be perfect, therefore, as your

Heavenly father is perfect."
Matthew 5:48

 The Principle: Of Commitment to Excellence

In this precept "Be perfect, therefore, as your Heavenly father is perfect", Jesus is saying that we
should always press on towards the highest standards. We seem to know in our hearts that
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perfect goodness, perfect beauty, and perfect truth exist within the Life of God - and because of
that our hearts will never rest with anything less.

There is something that God has built into the human heart that longs for perfection – as we have
an inbuilt longing for God. And, in fact the whole of creation seems to be looking towards
perfection.

Being committed to excellence is just seeking to do the best we can at all times. So in a way
excellence is just doing the best we can do. But this also implies that there is no limit to how
well something can be done. As one person put it: "The closer one gets to the top, the more one
finds there is no top". This is the way of excellence. It is boundless in potential; it has no limits.
There is nothing we can do too well; there is always room for improvement. This seems to be the
way God has designed things to be.

Since we naturally long for it, how do we achieve perfection or at least strive for it? One way is
by excelling in loving one another. Why? Because true perfection is found in God's love. 1Jn
4:12 says, "No one has ever seen God, yet if we love one another … God dwells in us… and his
love is brought to perfection in us." The only way we can strive to be perfect is to draw upon
God's perfection. It is available to us because He dwells in us.

In Matthew 19: 16-23 we find the story of the rich young man who comes to Jesus seeking
excellence in his faith. He wanted to know what he was still lacking in his pursuit of eternal life.
And Jesus knowing that he had great wealth said to him: “If you seek perfection, go, sell your
possessions, and give to the poor. You will then have treasure in heaven. Afterward, come back
and follow me."

We know that this young man went away sad because he had many possessions and Jesus had
put his finger on this unsurrendered part of his life. But in the account of this story in Mark 10 it
is mentioned in verse 21 that “Jesus looked at him and loved him.”

Jesus loved him for his obedience to the commandments and his desire for perfection. And this
implies that we too should be like this young man seeking perfection or excellence in our faith.
Of course we know that all of us have fallen short of the standards of God. And it is because of
our imperfection that we need Jesus to bridge the gap between our imperfection and God's
perfection. But nonetheless we are to press on toward the mark – the commitment to excellence
in all that we do.

When you look at the term 'excellence' what comes to your mind? What does having a
commitment to excellence mean?

The basic idea is that what ever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for God, not for
men." Why? Because in the big picture that is exactly what you are doing. We do not work for
ourselves anymore. If you have surrendered yourself to God than you belong to God and work
for Him.

Excellence and Wisdom

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Excellence is also the pursuit and acquisition of wisdom. If we excel at something, we have
done our best to master it mentally and this mental mastery is a kind of acquired wisdom.

Even if we try our best and still fail to achieve the standard we were after – it is not a total
failure. We have learned a lot and our character has grown through that experience. We have
created an opportunity for acquiring wisdom that otherwise would not have been available had
we not made the decision to strive for excellence.

A man might master football, yet may not be very knowledgeable or even very wise, as the
world would think of it. But the process of mastery has at least made him realize the value of
hard work, of discipline, of treating the body well, of cooperating and working with other people.

So it is not only wise to excel in the things we do, (for the man might go on to be a professional
player), but excelling can also make us wise. With wisdom we come to know God's nature better.
Every opportunity for excellence is an opportunity to know God better. Consider what
Ecclesiastes says; "...the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner."
Aren't our lives preserved eternally by our knowledge of Jesus?

In the pursuit of excellence we can gain wisdom in at least two ways - through achieving
excellence and through learning from the experience when we fall short. As a child of God,
excellence is a way of life; it is one way of pursuing wisdom. But the good thing about being
committed to pursuing excellence is that even if we fail it still avails to us another opportunity to
grow in wisdom - an opportunity that is lost in the pursuit of victory.

Henry Ford who invented the car said, "Failure is the opportunity to begin again more
intelligently." He failed many times until he perfected the automobile.

For the World, Excellence is Often Unacceptable

One last word on excellence - people who are excellent may not necessarily win the praise of all
their contemporaries. Many great artists died as paupers only to be recognized in history as
artistic geniuses.

If you think about Jesus' life this statement rings very true. Jesus certainly was excellent and yet
the religious and political leaders, as well as many others turned against Him. When Jesus was
out teaching the crowds, didn't his family come and try to bring him home? When he spoke in
the synagogue, weren't the Pharisees threatened?

People are uncomfortable with excellence and yet this should not stop us from striving for it.
Anyone can work against excellence in your life: your family, your friends, or your boss.

Finally, to strive for Excellence means that you cannot worry so much about what others may
think. In Mathew 22:16 we see that Jesus’ enemies acknowledge this about him when they said:
"Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no
attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth."

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  Precept # 22: “How many loaves do you have?”
He asked. “Go and see.”
Mark 6:38

 The Principle: Of Resourcefulness

When Jesus fed the 5000 it is said: “Taking the 5 loaves and the 2 fish and looking up to heaven
he gave thanks and broke the loaves.” Mark 6:41 In doing this Jesus taught us the principle of
using what we have however small it may be. This is the principle of resourcefulness that we will
study.

The Youth Corps Family needs to learn how to be creative and resourceful in the face of
difficulties. We have called it the principle of resourcefulness. This principle looks like
something simple on the surface, but it concerns very important issues in our lives.
It deals with how we react or respond (our attitude, our frame of mind, our thought process)
when we are faced with problems, when things are not going well, or when life becomes
difficult.

We seek to work at being "proactive" as opposed to reactive. To be proactive means being

solution-oriented rather than problem-oriented, or complaining about what one lacks. It involves
developing the ability to choose one's responses when faced with problems, and the courage to
take on responsibility to find a solution.

First of all let me ask you, does anyone have problems? How many of you have had financial
problems this past year? How many of you have had physical/medical problems? How many of
you have personal problems that you find it difficult to share with others? I think everyone all
around the world has problems. Even I have problems. How many of you like problems? No-one
I'm sure.

Life is Difficult

One of the first things that we all must come to realize is that life is difficult. As long as we are
living on this earth we will have problems. You might look at others and think, “they are O.K.,
they lack for nothing and they have no problems." But I can assure you this is not the case. You
ask them sometime and they will tell you.

We all have problems, and we all go through our share of difficulties. Let’s look at John 16:33.
Jesus spoke this verse to his disciples. The verse has two parts:

a) In this world you will have trouble (tribulations)

b) But, be of good cheer (don’t worry about it) for I have overcome the world.

Problems will always be there in this world. That has always been the case and it will never
change. A popular song in Africa says “Dunia ni shida.” “Earth is problems”. That never
changes, but how are you going to face them? The song tells us to “be of good cheer.” WHY?

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Because at the very end, we will not be defeated. This life will not defeat us. That is what meant
when He said, “I have overcome the world."

GOD is our Source

Perhaps some of you thought that when you joined the Youth Corps Family everything was
going to be simple. Or that everything would come easily and you would have no more
difficulties in life. But that is not the case; no one on earth can solve all your problems. Youth
Corps is not our real “source.” God is to be our source. People will let us down if we only trust
in them, but God will never abandon us if we put our faith and trust in Him.

If you are desperate you may be tempted to look for some wealthy man to help you, thinking he
was your only hope in life and would care for all your needs and solve all your problems. But if
you look to any man in this way you are likely to be disappointed.

Friends and relatives can help at times but they are also limited in what they can do. I think all
of us even me...would love to have a rich uncle or someone like that to solve our problems. But
in most cases, it is a dream that is impossible. And even if someone agrees to help you
financially - there are other problems that money cannot solve. In any case it is a mistake to look
to others for financial security. If we are going to be a free and mature person, we all must
assume responsibility for our lives. We will have to earn our own way.

The only one we can really look to 100% is God. He is our source, and the one in whom we can
put our full trust. With him, all things are possible. But we must remember that even God will
not honor someone who is lazy, irresponsible, and does not want to work.

Many people think, "if only I had enough money, if only I were rich then all my problems would
be over." And it is true that money can solve a lot of problems, but even those who don't have
financial problems still develop other types of problems. In the countries of the West - the
highest rates of suicides are among the upper classes. They may have material wealth but that
does not guarantee happiness. Wealth does not mean that there will not be family problems,
sickness, death, loneliness, or depression.

What Jesus taught about Blessings

All of us ask for God's blessings and that is normal. Let’s read Mark 10:28-30

“Peter said to him “We have left everything to follow you.” ‘I tell you the truth,’ Jesus replied, “
no one who has left home…or fields for me…will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this
present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields – and with them persecutions)
and in the age to come eternal life.’

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Here we see the kind of blessings that God promises to those who serve him. But we must also
note that in the middle of this passage we are reminded that even while we are experiencing
God’s blessings, we will still have to deal with problems or persecutions. (Blessings with
persecutions.) This world we live in is imperfect and although we receive God’s blessings – it
doesn’t mean that we will never face problems.

This realization should not surprise us. Don’t be surprised when life is hard. That is normal. But
the good thing is with Jesus Christ we have a friend who will stick with us and help us to pass
through those difficulties.

Do Not Worry

Let’s now turn to Matthew 6: 31-34. This verse tells us not to worry. God knows our needs and
he has promised that if we seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness he will provide
for all of these material things you need.

The fact is that we all run into problems time and time again. They never seem to disappear
completely and if they do it is only a short while before another comes along.
Unfortunately, that is life. We think that last year was difficult and maybe this year will be
easier. But each year comes with challenges of its own. With God’s help we will make it through
just as we have in the past.

Let’s look at the ways we can respond to problems when they come and what resources we can
call on.

The Brick Exercise

I want us to do an exercise in imagination and resourcefulness. Here is a brick. Something all of

us have seen. We know that this thing can be used for building a wall. But what else can it be
used for? Let us do an exercise in thinking how many uses we can come up with for a brick. It is
a kind of competition and I will give you a prize. For example this brick could be used to keep a
door open, or it could be used for holding a cooking pot. So I'm going to give you 1 minute and
we will see who can come up with the greatest number of uses for a brick.

This exercise shows us the power of creative imagination. Imagination is one of the personal
"resources" God has given to every man that makes us different than mere animals. By
exercising them they become stronger and help us deal with life's problems:
.

What is the definition of resourcefulness? The recognition of one’s God given resources and
the intelligent use of those resources.

Types of Resources

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Whenever we are in a problem, what is the first thing we can do? We can look at the resources
we have that can help us deal with that problem. Of course we want to keep these solutions
within God's will, i.e. we want to obey God as we solve these problems.

What are some resources we have? They can fall into several categories:

 Monetary resources include money, gold, and other precious metals.

 Personal resources might include the extended family, creativity, intelligence
 Natural resources might include land, animals, food, and water.
 We can acquire resources such as an education or friends.
 And finally, there is God. In a sense, we should consider God as the ultimate source of all of
the above-mentioned resources.

We must first figure out what our resources are. There are many more resources than money. If
we think of ourselves as poor, as having no resources, we are of no use to God. The poverty
mentality commonly found among poor people - focuses on what ‘I lack’ rather than what
‘I have’. This mentality is self-defeating. The Lord gives us a parable that contrasts the man
who is resourceful with the man who has a poverty mentality. Matthew 25:14-29

We all have resources and we are commanded to use them. We have different gifts according to
the grace given us. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully
administering God's grace in its various forms. Ask yourselves 'what kind of resources do I
have?' Write them down and pray that you would use them for God's glory.

What Goes into an Orientation of Being Resourceful?

a.) Anticipation: Be ready, be alert, be aware, even before something happens, begin to think of
what is needed in that situation and move to prevent it from happening. Even if it does occur,
you will have caught it early and you will be better prepared to deal with it. Avoid sin. Many
problems that come our way are the result of the sinful choices we have made.

b.) Faith: Trust in God as your source, as your deliverer. Believe in the love of God for you.
Believe in his power to help you through. Greater is he that is in you than he (the devil) that is in
the world. We are promised that in whatever temptation we find ourselves in, God will make a
way for us to withstand it. With him all things are possible.

c.) Creativity: Often when we are faced with a problem, we focus on the problem rather than
the solution. We focus on what we lack rather than what we have. God always begins with what
we have. When God called Moses to be his messenger to the Pharaoh, Moses immediately began
to fear that the people would not listen to him. And God said to him "What do you have in your
hand?" (Ex. 4)

When the 5000 people were listening to Jesus and they needed to be fed the disciples feared, but
Jesus asked them "What do you have?" ‘5 loaves and 2 fishes’ (Mark 8:1-8). And with what
little they had, he gave thanks.

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God has given us the brains to imagine and develop creative solutions. We should not focus on
what we lack. Start with what you have, use your brain to generate ideas, to create options, to
create the circumstances.

d.) Initiative: This is our responsibility to make things happen. All over the world there are
people waiting for government to come and solve their problems, waiting for charitable groups
to start projects

To take initiative means to take action. Life is such that if you do not act, you will be acted
upon. If you wait for things to happen you will be left behind. Today is the day, seize it. Look
for what you can do and begin there. If you fear something won't work you are defeated already
and then your fears become a self-fulfilling prophecy. When you begin working "initiative" is
one thing your boss is going to be checking for. Do you only do what you are told or do you
think of what needs to be done and take action? Some offices have a sign on the door before you
enter reading "Have you come with a solution or are you part of the problem."

e.) Persistence: I think all of you have heard the story of the tortoise and the rabbit. Many times
in life it is not the speedy one who ends up in front but rather the one who is steady and
persistent. Winston Churchill was called upon to speak to university students during the war and
he entered the room and said NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER GIVE UP and then
left the room. Be persistent. Don't assume that something won’t work until you have tried it
many times. Thomas Edison failed something like 100 times before he managed to produce a
light bulb that worked. Paul said I have learned to be content - Philippians 4:11

f.) Count Your Blessings: One of the most important things to do when have a problem is to
count you blessings. Look at the good things God has given you and done for you. That helps to
get your heart turned from anxiety and complaining and turn it towards rejoicing and thanking.
God cannot do much for someone who is full of fear, anxiety, and grumbles. The opposite of all
of that is Faith. When you believe that my God is sufficient, faith opens the way for God to
work. Fear blocks the way. Fear is faith in the Devil. Job said, "the thing that I feared the most is
what happened to me."

When you have problems, begin by counting your blessings. Thank God for another day to live
and to learn. There are many blind people who would give the whole world to have eyes that
see, many crippled would give everything they have for your legs. These things are priceless.
How many millions would you accept for your eyes 1 million, 2 million? How much for your
hands? When you are have problems take stock of the assets you have. Take stock of your
blessings, how much you have going for you. Then you will gain courage and strength to move
forward toward the life that God intends for you.

Language

Watch your language as an indicator of how you are doing:

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 Reactive/Defeated Orientation Creative/Resourceful/Proactive Orientation
It won't work I will try it.
I was forced by circumstances. I stick by my principles in all situations.
Last time it failed so I know it will again. I will give it another chance.
They won't agree. Let's try another approach.
I can't do that. I can learn.
He makes me mad. I can control my emotions.
That is how I am, I can't help it. I can change.
If only I had this and that. I will start with what I have.
I have nothing. I have something to start with.

Conclusion

One guy I was reading about has a very proactive approach, whenever he finds himself in a
problem the first thing he does is talk to the problem. He says,

"Hello problem. Where have you been? You are lost! I have been expecting you and
all my life I have been training for you. I don't fear you because my God is sufficient.
He has taken me through many dangers and rescued me from many problems and I
know he will do it again. In fact the inner strength I have is a product of facing
problems and overcoming them with God's help. I will fear no evil for God is with
me. God will make a way even where there seems to be no way."

This attitude is an example of a pro-active response. As a follower of Jesus it is one of the most
difficult things to learn this kind of response when we encounter life's difficulties. We can
maintain peace and joy in the midst of hardship and live by faith, not by anxiety and fear. Start
to exercise your proactive muscles, your resourcefulness and they will grow stronger and
stronger. Problems are normal in life but take heart; God is in control of all situations. If you
abide in him he will carry you through.

 Section Six – SELF DISCIPLINE

 Precept # 23: “And anyone who does not

carry his cross and follow me cannot be my
disciple.”
Luke 14:27

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 The Principle: Of Being a Committed Disciple
Today we want to take a closer look at what it means to be a disciple and understand the
complete dedication and commitment that is required of us.

Definition

First of all…we might ask what is the meaning of the word a "disciple?" (Allow students to give
their views.)

A disciple basically means someone “who is following another” who is known as his master,
lord or teacher. It comes from the word 'Discipline' and refers to a relationship. A disciple
submits to being taught, shaped, and advised resulting in being brought into a higher state of
knowledge. This is done through learning and practicing the disciplines that the master teaches
his student and he himself follows in performing his work.

In the old days there were few books or schools. So if you wanted to study you would find a
Teacher or Rabbi and you would go and stay with him, be with him, work with him so as to learn
what he knew. So a disciple is a learner.

In the respect to Jesus, a disciple is one who believes that he was the unique manifestation or
incarnation of God in the form of Man. He revealed the love of God to us in order to give us a
better understanding of what life is all about. He taught us a better way to live so that we might
know life in all its fullness and abundance.

He could do this in a more complete way than all the prophets before him because he was One
with God. He was “one” with the Spirit of God and the Spirit of God communicated to us
directly through the person of Jesus.

And this is why he said, "I am the way, the truth and the life." John 14:6 So a disciple of Christ
believes Jesus is the Way: He is a gate or door that leads us to Jesus is: the Truth. He is the
accurate perception of reality – as revealed by the Creator God. Jesus is: the Life - He is the
sustainer or the source of our existence.

A disciple calls the one he is following Lord and Master. In doing so he submits himself
completely to his Master's guidance. He tries to imitate and obey all what he is being taught.

So what do you think is the difference between being a nominal follower and being a real
Disciple of Christ?

There are many people who call themselves followers but few are true disciples. Look at Jesus’
ministry: most places he went he was surrounded by large crowds of people who came to be
healed, to see miracles, or just to see what this guy was about. But there were only 12 disciples
to whom he gave most of his time and attention.

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 In fact, he lived with those men and they stayed with him wherever he went. We can compare
the “multitudes”, or the crowds who followed Jesus around as many who call themselves
“followers” today, and the 12 disciples to those committed believers who have chosen the
difficult road of obedience to his teachings.

Different Degrees of Commitment

As followers of Christ we have a common meeting point, which ThecanMultitude

serve as a basis and a model
for our relationships.
The 500
When we analyze the life of Jesus, we can see that he had relationships with varying degrees of
intimacy. These relationships were like concentric rings: The 70

1. The biggest ring was the “multitude” the crowds that occasionally followed
The 12 him.
2. Then there were the 500 believers/brethren whom he appeared to after the resurrection (I
Cor. 15:6) The
The 500 3. There were the 70 who were active in ministry whom he sent out two
The 12 3 by two (Luke 10:1)
The 70 4. There were the 12 close followers/disciples
5. Then there were the 3 – This group was the core or the inner circle of Peter, James, John.
The 3
If you were living at that time -which of these circles would you want to be in?
Where are you today? Jesus said, "Where 2-3 are gathered in my name I am in the midst of
them." All of us have different levels of commitment to various relationships in our lives. It is
important to learn how to make friends who will be with us at the deepest level. Can you call
Jesus your close friend? Your best friend?

How does one become a Disciple?

First you have to realize and sense the higher or deeper dimension of yourself that was made to
have a connection with God. All of us begin from a position of feeling separated from God. This
is the meaning of Adam and Eve being taken out of the Garden of Eden where they walked and
talked directly with God to a state where they felt separated from God. And this mirrors all of
our experience. We are disconnected from the Source, the Maker of all. And we see ourselves
as individual human beings trying to struggle through life on our own.

I close my eyes and I am alone. I feel I am here and God is somewhere ‘out there.” I have no
direct consciousness or communication with him. I believe he is there…he exists but I want to
know him firsthand. I want live in a state of union with him. Communion. Acts 17:24-28

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So the whole purpose or goal of Discipleship is to focus on this relationship, to get back into a
relationship with the Source of all life, including me. How do I reconnect, how do I get back?
And how do I sustain the relationship? What should I do? How should I live?

To find the answers to these questions we go to the Master. We learn from one “who is in the
know.” So our beginning point is one unique person who knew these answers and we have this
record of his teachings in the Scriptures. And they lead us or point to the possibility of a ‘direct,
intuitive kind of knowing” where you learn to experience the subtle internal guiding movements
of his Holy Spirit within. Your body becomes the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Jesus through his
indwelling Spirit transforms you, teaches you, and guides you.

And, if you sense or listen to your heart right now you will know that this is true. It will resonate
in you…there is something inside you that says…. This is it. I want this. You will feel the desire
to reconnect with your maker. You will be willing to learn and to practice the disciplines meant
to cultivate the spiritual side of ourselves. To make them foremost.

So what is the process? How does one become a Disciple of Jesus Christ?

FOUR FIRST STEPS OF BECOMING A DISCIPLE:

1. FIRST STEP – Recognize the feeling of incompleteness and separation you feel
inside you as the need to reconnect with God.

The human being was never designed to live disconnected from God. So there exists a hunger for
this that is can't be satisfied by any other substitutes. You can try to satisfy it with a women, with
material things, with power…but in the end they all lose their ability to satisfy.

We need a consciousness of our relatedness to the Great Spirit in ‘whom we live and move and
have our being.”

And we see Jesus as the one who provides the method and means for us to reconnect. Look at
how Jesus called his disciples. What did he say? Matthew 11:28 "Come to me all you who are
weary and heavy burdened and I will give you rest."

It is an offer; it is Good News. A better way to live. The way of love. The way in which Jesus
called the disciples tells us a great deal about the journey of discipleship, especially about where
the journey starts.

2. SECOND STEP: Be willing to give yourself wholly to this operation. It requires a

wholehearted commitment. It will cost you something.

We recognize that we are asleep to an aspect of ourselves; we are lost in an illusion that we can
live independent of God. We are crippled somehow in the spiritual dimension.

To be made completely well, we need an operation; we need some things to be put right, some
things to be reconnected. We need to be operated on in our lives. And we need to have some
things removed that we cling to out of the false belief that we need them in order to be happy.

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Those things become idols to us. They are things we worship or look to as a substitute for
developing our relationship to God.

We say I want to follow the advice of Jesus but first “I have to get that girl, first I need to make
enough money, first I need to fulfill my dream of becoming a lawyer. First I want to enjoy life, I
need to maintain this self image, etc.” First this, first that. For some reason it doesn’t work that
way. Because these things become attachments that distract, interfere and prevent our
connection to God. God knows you need these things and you will have them but the Way or the
system or the method requires that you: ”Seek with a whole heartedness. Jeremiah 29:13.

Anytime you put conditions or something before God that becomes to you a block in your
relationship. Because in effect you are investing in attachments to things that are far below, far
inferior to the higher, eternal dimension of life. And many of those things are not bad…but they
have a way of sidetracking, consuming and dissipating our best energies. So you end up
majoring in minors instead of entering into the highest God has for you.

God has to be first or the whole system doesn't work properly. Because we’re attached to things
of this world, we put created things above the one who created them. In Luke 14:33 Jesus said
“...any of you who does not give up everything he cannot be my disciple.” So to accept Jesus’
call to become a disciple means complete surrender to him. Seek first and foremost the Kingdom
and all the things, the created things, will come later. They will be added unto you. Matthew
6:33.

The things of this world trap and enslave people. For instance, people today worship wealth and
comfort above all else. They say if you want to catch a monkey you put a banana in a glass bottle
or jar with a narrow opening and tie a wire to the jar. The monkey will come reach into the jar to
get the banana…and he will want it so much that he won't let go of it even when they come to
catch him. That is how the Spirit behind the worldly system uses the desires of this world to
catch people.

You want it so badly you are destroyed by it. Call it money, sex or power. You need to give them
up and seek first the kingdom. Let God give them to you later in the right way.

Think about what it is that you are reluctant to give up. Some of us refuse to give up our pride,
some sexual relationships, our ambitions and goals, comfort of family; anything. If we are
holding onto anything we have not yet accepted the call to be Jesus’ disciple. Until we give up
everything to let Christ lead us completely, we are like the rich young ruler who turned away.

At the beginning being a disciple is not easy. The way of the world looks easier but in the end it
becomes bitter. The way of Christ looks difficult but in the end it becomes sweet. Someone said
it is hard to live a life in Christ, but in the end it is harder not to, because you will invite many
problems into your life.

Quotation: "He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he can never
lose."

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 3. Step Three: To obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit as your Counselor and begin
to walk out in daily life the precepts of Jesus.

Before Jesus left he promised to send his Holy Spirit to guide his Disciples. We see this in John
16:7 and also verse 13. You need to learn how to tune in your heart and mind to listen to what
God is telling you to do and obey it. It contains the best advice for you. Even if it looks to be
hard at the beginning.

Finally follow the teachings that Jesus left us in the Scriptures. John 15:14 reads "You are my
friends if you do what I command." And again he said "Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord
will enter the kingdom…only those who do the will of my Father." Mat.7:21

So being a disciple begins with a commitment to the ultimate authority of God, to his guidance
through the Holy Spirit and to obedience to the teaching of his son Jesus Christ.

4. Step Four: You need to follow within a context of relationships with other fellow
disciples of Christ.

We are not alone on earth in our desire to be disciples. We are provided with other Believers
who have more wisdom and experience in being disciples. We need to submit to such people
and let them “walk with us”; let them disciple us. We must be accountable to other Believers if
we are to be disciples.

There is no such thing as following Christ by yourself. The path of following Christ and the
application of it in practical terms involves being in a relationship with fellow believers on the
path. Respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish
you. In this way we are to submit to being discipled by others by listening to their advice.

 A person who makes a difference has conviction. Such a person’s outlook on life is firm.
Someone with conviction has made up his or her mind and is serious about the big questions
of life. They know what they are about, they have passion and a sense of direction. How do
you get that? You have to take the time to do the hard work of really trying to study and
learn what life is about. You might be content to totally accept your parent's, your church or
some other's person' version of reality, but it is likely you won't have much conviction. You
have to do the hard inner work yourself….Seek to acquire wisdom and then begin to live it
out, putting into daily practice internalized principles.

So to develop this kind of conviction you have to wake up and say…."What the heck am I doing
here on this planet? You have a thirst for knowledge and wisdom, you have to do your
homework and be convinced in your own mind about what is important in life. The opposite of
this is someone who just goes with the crowd and thinks, “everyone is doing it why not me.” He
is blown with the winds of the moment. Do you have convictions? Paul said, “one thing I
know.” 2 Timothy 1:7-8 and also verse 12. What is one thing that you know with conviction?

 Precept # 24: “Ask and it will be given unto

you, seek and you will find; knock and the door
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 will be opened to you. “ Luke 11:9

 The Principle: Of Taking Initiative

The life of following Jesus involves stepping out in faith and beginning with what we have
instead of being lazy.

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given unto you, seek and you will find; knock and the door
will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who
knocks, the door will be opened.” Luke 11:9-10

One phrase being used to describe this kind of initiative today is: "To be proactive.” Taking
initiative or being proactive means that we must choose to become the one responsible for our own
lives. It involves the decision of taking responsibility for our actions and ourselves.

You are saying that "Who I am today and what I will become in the future is my responsibility –
regardless of what has happened to me in the past.” Many do not want to do this. Instead they tend
to blame others for who they have become or for their misfortunes in life. So they rush to blame
their parents, their backgrounds or give excuses to explain what they have become in life.

But in doing so they empower (give power) to other people or things to limit their lives. When you
become proactive you decide "I am the one who has to choose what I am going to be and do with
my life.” It is by the choices I make that I will become a success or failure in life. It is not what
other people or situations do to me.

Now immediately you may want to say: "I think God is the greatest creative force in my life."
Well you are partly right, but that is only true if you CHOOSE to open your life to him. Because
God is a gentleman - he doesn't force himself on us. You must choose to yield to him on a daily
basis, to follow his way in the pressures and temptations of each moment. In the end it still
comes back to how you choose.

Proactive v. reactive:

In all situations there is a moment of choice in which you must choose how you are going to
react or respond. You will either be reactive or proactive.

Reactive responses are guided by feelings, not values. When someone or something harms us we
just react - without thinking. If someone slaps us on the check …we just burst out and hit back,
without thinking, without choosing our response, we simply react.

In contrast, Proactive choices are guided by values. Instead of just reacting, you pause for a
moment and select a response that is in line with your values. In our case as followers of Jesus,
we need to ask ourselves "What would Jesus do in this situation.”?

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When we live according to Jesus' principles, no matter what our reactions or sinful desires are, or
what our friends tell us, we are being proactive.

If someone shouts angrily at you what is your reaction? Are we "Response-able" - that is: able to
choose our responses? Do we take responsibility for our own actions?

Reactive people put the blame on others for their problems. You can see it in the language they
use. Here are some examples:

“If only…I had this or that.”

“If only I was not born to that family.”
“I was forced by circumstances
“The other guy annoys me so much.” (You have empowered him to annoy you by your reaction.”

--To be proactive means that we accept responsibility for ourselves rather than blaming others or
circumstances for what we do and who we are. Highly proactive people accept that their behavior is
a product of conscious choices, based on values rather than a product of their conditions based on
feelings.

"Response-Ability:" can be defined as "the ability to choose our response." Between a stimulus, that
comes to us and the response we take there is a momentary “gap” when we decide how to respond.
To choose a response is different than “Re-Acting” instinctively like an animal. To be proactive is
to choose an appropriate response that is in line with our values.

The GAP between Stimulus and Response

Lets look at this moment of decision more carefully. It is in this very brief moment of thought
during which you can come up with a response based on your values that is the key to being
proactive.

The ability or habit of withholding an initial reaction, such as anger or violence, in order to take a
moment and reflect on the best response under the circumstances, is what we are talking about
when we refer to being proactive.

Remember we said proactive choices are guided by our values, not reactions. Even if a situation
or behavior of another person is completely out of our control, we are still able to choose our
response to that situation or behavior: Look at this diagram that shows the gap between any
given stimulus and our response. When you are reacting the gap almost disappears. But in a
proactive person the gap gets bigger. He waits before responding and he chooses his response to
the stimulus he is experiencing:

(Freedom to
Stimulus Choose) Response

|
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This is one of the unique things that separate a human being from an animal. An animal just knows
how to react. He can't control himself. The ability to choose your response is a uniquely human
characteristic. An animal is programmed by instinct to act in a certain manner when provided
with a particular stimulus. They can't change the programming, but man has the freedom to
choose. A fully developed human being can.

Four Unique Endowments (Gifts) of the HUMAN SOUL (That Animals do not Possess)

There are several other Unique Human Endowments (Gifts) God has given us which distinguish us
from animals and enable us to act and choose responses based on our highest values. These are:
1. Self Awareness – 2. Imagination- 3. Conscience- 4. Independent Will

1. Conscience- This is the inner guidance system that tells us when we are violating what we
hold to be right. (Values, beliefs, truths, principles) Conscience connects us to the wisdom of
heart, the wisdom of those who raised us, and the wisdom of God. There are two dimensions of
conscience:

a.) Social conscience - The wisdom of the society, family and the religion you grew up in.

b.) Deeper conscience – This is the imprint of the creator, man being made in the image of
God. (Rom. 1: 20) An inborn, instinctive moral understanding - which can be sensed by taking
time to be still and reflective, quiet time. Like migratory birds that are born with the stars of the
night sky imprinted on their minds, we have within us a moral compass to guide us in life.

2. Self-awareness - This is our capacity to stand apart from ourselves and examine our thoughts,
motives, habits, actions our history. (To think about the fact that we are thinking.) Have you ever
asked yourself, "Why am I thinking this way? -That is an example of self-awareness.

3. Creative Imagination - The power to envision a future state. For example, you can imagine
the day of your funeral - what would you like people to say about you on that day? You can start
now to become that person.

4. Independent will - Our capacity and freedom to choose our actions. Ultimately we are the
product of our choices, not just the big ones but also all of the tiny ones beginning with when we
wake up in the morning. God has given us the free will - the power to act. You can use your free
will to make choices and create change. The proactive person says: "I know my tendencies, I
know the background I was given, the programs that are in me - BUT I am not a computer that
only runs on the programs it is given. I can choose a better way. The real me…deep inside…is
not those programs." I can rewrite those programs. I can change because I have a uniquely
human endowment, the power to choose.

God has given you the freedom of choice and this means you are the creative force in your life.
You don't have to be a victim of your past. You can break with the past and create a new life
with God’s help.

The greatest decision one can make is to choose to follow Jesus Christ. By conforming the
way we see things to the way He sees things, we can begin to choose the right responses to
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situations we are confronted with in life. Choosing our response to a situation instead of just
reacting emotionally is being responsible. We are able to respond (response-able) the way we
like. Our problems do not exist outside of ourselves, but they exist in our response to outside
situations.

Circle of Concern v. Circle of Influence

All of our problems fall into three categories. The ability to determine the extent in which they
fall into each category will maximize our ability to make good responses. Problems are either:

1. Things we can directly control. (The amount of time we read or study.)

2. Things we can indirectly control. (The election of city council members.)
3. Things we cannot control at all. ( The cost of scholastic materials.)

People who are proactive spend most of their energy managing the first two and not getting
particularly excited about the last. The first two are within our circle of influence. Anything that
can be directly or indirectly controlled falls within our circle of influence.

Things like the cost of scholastic materials are within the wider circle of our concern, but we
have no influence over them. To spend a lot of time crying or shouting about it is useless.

Both a reactive person and proactive person may be concerned about the same things. But people
who are proactive focus on and expand their circle of influence. They become more influential
thereby expanding their circle of influence. They don't waste their energies complaining about
things they have no control over.

 Precept # 25: “ Why are you searching for

me? …Didn’t you know I had to be in my
Father’s house?”
Luke 2:49

 The Principle: Of Having a Vision and a Sense of Mission in Life

Early in his life there was a time that Jesus was separated from his parents. When his Mother
finally found him she said: “Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” Jesus
answer was: “ Why are you searching for me? …Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s
house?” Luke 2:49 By this he meant his Heavenly Father.

From this early age Jesus had a clear sense of what his life task would be. And when he died on
the cross he said. “It is finished.” He had accomplished the mission he had come to earth to do.

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Each of us has a particular reason for being here. There is a unique mission that God has for you.
As you develop a vision for your life, you can discover your mission within God’s great plan for
mankind.

We can define Vision as follows:

 The ability to see beyond our present reality to what could be.
 To imagine new possibilities and to take steps to bring then to pass.
 Through faith to create in our minds and bring into existence what does not yet exist.

The Scriptures speak about the ability to "see the unseen" or to “see the invisible," meaning to
not look through your physical eyes only, but using your faith - based on God's guidance - to
envision God’s direction in your life in ways that are not evident to the natural eye.

As people who want to make an impact in our communities, we need to develop a broader kind
of vision that extends beyond just pursuing the self-interest of our family, tribe or denomination.
All of those interests are important but they are limited and exclude others.

The Key starting point for developing a vision or purpose in life is to gain an understanding of
what God is after or what God's general purposes are for mankind. Once you know that then you
can discover how your personal vision and purpose fits into God's over-all plan.

This requires us to develop an "eternal perspective" of life based on an understanding of what

Jesus revealed about the Kingdom of God - which is God's "BIG PLAN". And from there we
move toward discovering our own mission in life (the part we will play) within the over-arching
purposes of God for His world.

What we are really talking about is how is our basic understanding of reality or what is known
as our "world-view?" So today we will discuss how we can develop a worldview that
conforms to the truth about life as revealed in the scriptures.

Our "vision" will flow from our basic perception of life and our part in it. For a follower of Jesus
Christ, this involves seeing yourself in a new way that is: as a ‘new creation’ in Christ. Old
things have passed away. This new creation means that things like inferiority complexes and
negative perceptions about ourselves have to stop. The Apostle Paul realized this when, seeing
his true potential in Christ, he then could say, "I can do all things because he strengthens me."
Phil. 4:13.

Definition of Purpose:

Each of us can have our own vision for life. But now let's talk about our overall purpose in life.
Again as followers of Jesus, we look to his teachings to understand what a human beings'
primary purpose is as made known through the revelation of God that came through Jesus Christ.

Whenever Jesus was asked: "What is the Greatest Commandment or the number one thing that
God requires of us as human beings?" What did he answer? According to him the number one
thing in life is to: Love God with all your being and to Love your Neighbor as you love yourself.
Matthew 22:37,
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That is the main thing we are supposed to learn and implement during our lives. But that overall
purpose that we all share in common can express itself in different ways based on our individual
talents, dreams and ideals.

So in defining "purpose' we can say "purpose' is: "The Why" It answers the question 'why we
are here.' And 'vision' is: "The How" It answers the question of how we will implement the
'The Why.'

Using your Unique Human Endowments of the Human Soul

Earlier we talked about how God gave man the capacity to imagine what could be and to strive
for the higher things. So, this "creative imagination" is one of the unique human endowments
that separate man from beast. The other three unique faculties that God gave men are: Self
Awareness, Conscience and a Free will.

So, by exercising "self-awareness" through the guidance of the "conscience", we use our "free
will" to choose to "imagine or envision" how we can use our lives to the glory of God.

The Eternal Perspective

As human beings our perception of things is very limited. But strangely enough, after 20 or 30
years on earth we feel we know what life is about. From the world we can pick up a short-term
mind-set that tells us that living for today is all that really matters. And this is the mentality of
most people in the world today.

And how does God see it? The Scriptures tell us that this time on earth is very limited compared
to eternity. Man is described as a spirit who lives in a body and who has a soul. Our time on
earth is a short period, but it holds great significance as it has a bearing on our eternal destiny.
According to this scriptural paradigm, life is very brief in relation to the whole of eternity. We
would be wiser to use this time to serve God and to learn his ways instead of only being
preoccupied with the temporal, material things of this world.

That is the "paradigm" or worldview of Jesus. It is an eternal perspective. What do you think
about it? Do you believe it? Does it have any bearing on the way you live today?

Kingdom of God

Christ often used the term the "kingdom of God" in referring to this "eternal paradigm." If you
read the gospels looking for references to the kingdom of God you will find that it is a dominant
theme of Christ's teaching. It or its equivalent is used over 100 times. We may have heard that
phrase many times but what does it really mean?

We could say that the K.O.G. is the "big picture." We often think of it as a realm somewhere off
in the sky. But it may be more helpful to understand it as a movement - as the reign of God rather
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than a realm. It is the reign of God that has always existed and will always exist throughout
eternity and the universe if God is god. Calling it a reign rather than a realm is a subtle
difference, but we need to see it as an active movement penetrating our world today and not only
as a hope somewhere in the distant future.

What does the Lord's Prayer say, "Thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in
heaven" We pray for God's kingdom to break into our present reality. We want our community,
to be a witness to the values of the kingdom in our country.

So the KOG, like God, has existed in eternity past. But at the same time it is a hope (or Reality)
coming to us for the future. And finally it is also a present force entering this world through the
hearts of people like you and me who are committed to Jesus. When we have this perspective we
begin to think in line with God's way of seeing and evaluating things.

Living as if Eternity Really Matters

Previously we talked about independent will or free will. The most powerful factor determining
who we are is the choices we make. This concept is fully supported in Scripture. The story of
man in the Garden of Eden begins with man choosing what to eat. Each of us has to choose
individually whether or not to follow Christ. And the concept of being accountable to God after
this life implies that we are responsible for what we choose to do with our life.

So then we could also say that the best kind of vision involves the capacity to weigh life's
options on the scale of eternity and to pursue those that are of higher value. But what does this
vision look like when it is applied to life. After all, we have to struggle to survive, to get an
education, to get employment, to get married, to build a house, and all those things. These
struggles are the realities of this world. But then there is the higher Reality of the Kingdom of
God.

Maybe we can say that the reality of this world is meant to be lived in light of the eternal one.
An eternal perspective will affect our values, priorities and outlook on life. We make decisions
on the present in light of the ultimate.

Real Progress can be made only when we are headed in the right direction. If you are
climbing a ladder - you may think you are making progress but when you reach the top
you might discover the ladder has been leaning on the wrong wall.

To put yourself in the right direction, imagine you have died and you meet Jesus in heaven. He
is assessing your life - how you used your time on earth. How you treated your mother and
father, brothers and sisters, friends, wife, children, people poorer than you, richer than you, of a
different race or tribe, the prisoner, the stranger, your coworkers. What do you want Him to say?
Then begin behaving that way.

When a man spends his life pursuing things which have no value in the eternal scheme of God he
may have made a lot of progress on earth, but made no progress in heaven.

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By keeping the end in mind you can make sure that whatever you are doing on a particular day it
is in line with the vision you have for your life. Begin with the end in mind is based on the
principle that all things are created twice first in your mind, then in reality.

This habit is based on the human ability of IMAGINATION - which is the ability to envision a
future state. To create in our minds what we cannot see with our eyes. That is what the bible calls
faith. And also on the human gift of a CONSCIENCE - which is the internal guidance system we
are given to make right choices.

Life is a mission, not a career. A career is a profession. A mission is a course. A career asks what
is in it for me? A mission asks, "How can I make a difference?" Most of us will never do great
things. But we can do small things in a great way.

The difference between GOALS/PURPOSE AND MISSION

The best way to begin with the end in mind is to develop a personal mission statement.
Most people spend a lot more time and energy planning and developing their career in life than
they do their mission in life. And there is some confusion between the various words like goals,
mission and purpose.

***GOALS let us begin by defining the word goal.

A Goal is always measurable, accomplishable within a given period of time and will be replaced
by a new goal once achieved. So you can have multiple goals in a lifetime.

If we confuse a goal with our mission than once our goal is achieved we lose a reason for living.
That is what happened to "ALEXANDER THE GREAT", HISTORY RECORDS THAT WHEN
HE WAS THIRTY HE SAT DOWN PLACED HIS HEAD IN HIS HANDS AND WEPT. HE
MET ALL HIS OBJECTIVES AND HAD NOWHERE ELSE TO GO. HE HAD CONQURED
ALL THE SURROUNDING AREAS. SO HE SOON GREW DESPONDENT, HIS DRINKING
WENT OUT OF CONTROL AND HE STOPPED ACHIEVING. 3 YEARS LATER AT THE
AGE OF 33 HE DIED.

Today there are many people who die spiritually and emotionally at age 30 but are not buried
until age 70. Whey they were young they had dreams but their dreams were just goals and after
reaching them they had nothing more to live for.

****PURPOSE

From God’s perspective - as his children - all of us share the same purpose in life. This is
expressed most clearly and strongly in what Jesus called the "GREATEST COMMANDMENT"
MT 22:37, LOVE THE GOD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOU HEART, SOUL, AND MIND.

MISSION: A MISSION IS THE SPECIFIC AND UNIQUE WAY IN WHICH YOU ARE
GOING TO RESPOND TO THE HIGHER PURPOSE.

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Like your purpose, your mission is not measurable and is never fully completed until the day you
leave this earth. Our mission may be refined and restated but never completely accomplished
until our life is over.

SO, "LOVING GOD"- is our purpose and that is true and the same for every person. It is not
unique to you. But your particular mission is unique and specific based on your talents and gifts.

Developing a Mission Statement:

*****6 THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN TRYING TO DISCOVER YOUR MISSION

1. YOUR UNIQUE PERSONAL TALENTS OR ABILITIES. - ALL OF US HAVE BEEN

GIVEN A MIX OF ABILITIES SOME NATURAL AND SOME SPIRITUAL.
BY REFLECTING ON THEM AND BY RECEIVING THE VIEWS OF YOUR BROTHERS
AND SISTERS YOU CAN START TO CLARIFY YOUR STRENGTHS AND
WEAKNESSES. WHAT UNIQUE GIFTS AND ABILITIES DO YOU HAVE?

2. YOUR UNIQUE BURDEN -IS THERE AN AREA OF SERVICE TO WHICH YOU FEEL
DRAWN? WHAT BURDEN HAS GOD PLACED ON YOUR HEART? HAVE YOU
ALLOWED HIM TO?

3. YOUR UNIQUE PERSONALITY - THE TRAITS AND ATTRIBUTES OF YOUR

NATURE WHICH MAKE YOU EFFECTIVE IN SOME AREAS AND NOT IN OTHERS

4. YOUR UNIQUE RESPONSIBILITIES. THE RESOURCES AND AUTHORITY THAT

HAS BEEN ENTRUSTED TO YOU.

5. YOUR UNIQUE EXPERIENCES AND EDUCATION

6. YOUR UNIQUE RELATIONSHIPS. THE PEOPLE GOD HAS BROUGHT INTO YOUR
LIFE.

Paradigm Shifting

As discussed in the introduction a person's " paradigm" is the way we look at the world, and may
differ from what reality truly is. Our paradigms are shaped by past experience and the by the
things people have told us that we assume to be true.

Most people need to change their paradigm in order to figure out the right direction of their lives.
To facilitate this process we can write a mission statement that embodies the principles we truly
value. Mission statements can change over time as our understanding of what God’s principles
are and how to carry them out crystallize. Even though we may not be able to perfectly live out
our mission statement as it is written, we should always strive toward that end.

 Precept # 26: “Jesus grew in wisdom and stature

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 and favor with God and men.”
Luke 2:52

 The Principle: Of Balanced Living

Today we want to think about the principle of maintaining balance in our lives. Maintaining
balance is one of those important principles of life. Remember the principles we are trying to
understand are like the basic "laws of life." If we live by them, and internalize them, they will
enable us to be most effective in all areas of life.

There are 4 Areas of Life to be considered in maintaining a balanced life and we can see this in the
passage from Luke 2:52 – talking of Jesus as a young man. And it is interesting because it tells us
Jesus grew in 4 areas. What are they? Wisdom – that is the mental area; Stature – that is the
Physical area; Favor with God – which is the Spiritual area; Favor with man – which is the
Social Area. These four areas can also be stated as Four Basic Areas of Needs that every man has:

There are 4 Basic Areas of Human Need

4 Dimensions of Inter-relatedness

Spiritual

Mental Social

Physical

"To live, to love, to learn, to leave a legacy."

These needs can be correlated with the 4 Basic Dimensions of Life:

1. The Physical Dimension - The need to live: A.) Biological B.) Material ---- The need for such
things as food, health, clothing, shelter and financial means.
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2. Social Dimension: The need to love ---The need to relate to other people, to belong to a group, to
love and be loved.

3. Mental Dimension: The need to learn --- The need to develop and grow in our understanding of
God's creation around us, the history of man, and the knowledge of truth about life.

4. Spiritual Dimension: The need to leave a legacy ----Man needs to have a sense of purpose to give
meaning to life. To be fulfilled he needs to feel that he has made a contribution toward things that
matter in the eternal scheme of things. This is because God made us to be co-creators with him and
if we are not doing this we will feel incomplete. We are his hands, his instruments in this world.

So, when we reach a level of balance and integration in these areas of life, we experience a feeling
of wellness or "synergy." Synergy means: the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. In other
words by being in balance there is a 'bonus' given to life. We get energized and experience
harmony in life. We feel ok…we have what we need to live, to love, to learn and to leave a legacy.
Another way to put this or to define the effect of synergy is: 1+1=3.

We can see examples of balance all around us:

 There is the Balance of "nature": We know now that if the trees are cut down - rains decrease.
 We talk about "Balanced meals": It is necessary to being healthy physically.
 In Economics we talk about the "Balance of Trade: We know that a country which has all
imports and no exports cannot sustain economic development.
 In politics we hear of the need for "Balance of power": in government there must be checks and
balances to prevent abuses of power. There as to be the legislature, judiciary and executive.
 Even spiritually – You’ve seen the "Wheel" illustration -(Prayer, Word, Witness, and
Fellowship) is an example of balance in the spiritual area of life. All spokes are required for the
wheel to run smoothly. A wheel missing spokes will be unbalanced and not work properly.

One of the greatest mistakes people make in life is not to recognize and pay attention to EACH
AND EVERY area of life. So it is very common to find people who are "successful" in one area of
life and yet are a miserable failure or completely out of balance in other areas. For instance:
Financially a man can be a great "success story" in terms of wealth…. But on the side of their
family life it is a total mess or their health is poor. So, too much of a good thing can become a bad
thing if you focus only on one area and do not attend to other important dimensions of life.

There are even some who have become famous and powerful people but when you talk to them
privately they confess that they have no direction in life. Some of them have left their real wives as
left him and are living with other woman. Their kids are in good schools but when they come home
there is no mother. They spend all their time watching TV and videos.
Such a man may outwardly look okay, but at home things are a mess. And deep down inside he is
not really happy. In western countries the highest rates of suicide are not among the poorest people,
but among the wealthy.

If one is seeking a sense of well-being the whole of one’s life, each department, must be given
balanced attention. Success in one area does not compensate for or justify failure in another.

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Business success cannot justify failure in a marriage. Success as a church pastor cannot justify
failure to be a good parent.

Gandhi- A man cannot go on doing right in one department of life while occupied in doing
wrong in any other department. His life will eventually break down…because life is one
indivisible whole.

Definition of Balance

So, for the purposes of our discussion we can define balance as: Recognizing and giving proper
attention to each of the Four Important Areas of life.

Questions: to ask ourselves to see how we are doing in the different areas:

 Physical
a) Biological - Do you have sustained energy and physical capacity throughout the day- or do you
constantly feel tired and weak?
b) Material - Do you have enough income to cover basic needs? Do you have debts? Are you
living beyond your means? Do you have a habit of borrowing from Peter to pay Paul?

 Social (or Relational)

Do you have rich satisfying relationships with others? Are you able to work with others effectively
to accomplish common purposes-or do you feel alienated and alone unable to spend quality time
with the people you love? Do you have problems with misunderstanding, politicking, backbiting,
blaming and accusing?

 Mental (or Intellectual)

Are you constantly learning, growing, gaining new perspectives, and acquiring new skills. Do you
read different kinds of books to widen your intellectual understanding - or are you stagnant?

 Spiritual
Do you have a clear sense of direction and purpose that inspires and energizes you- or do you feel
vague about what's important to you and unclear about what your life is about? Do you feel you
have contact with your Creator and a sense that He is guiding your life?

2 Important Observations about Imbalance or Unmet Needs

a) If we are unhealthy or lacking in any one of these areas we can become pre-occupied with that
area and it can become a "deep hole" sucking in most of the energy and attention we should be
using in other ways. It’s like when you have a small wound in the toe that is very painful so that
your whole body and mind cannot focus on anything else.

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b) Often, when people are failing in one area they try to overcompensate by doing very well in
another area. We try to get satisfaction from one area to make up for failure in another area. But
that doesn't work and we remain with an unsettled feeling that things are not as they should be.

Maintaining Balance in Each Dimension

1. Developing Health and Balance in the Physical Area

A) Biological - Vibrant health is based on natural principles. It grows out of a balanced diet
(greens, vegetables, fruits), regular aerobic exercise (The body is the only machine that wears out
from lack of use), adequate rest (this varies with individuals 7-8 hrs is average), healthy frame of
mind, and avoiding substances that are harmful to the body.

B.) Material - Distinguishing between wants and needs. Needs are things you need for survival:
food, shelter, and clothing. Wants are unlimited. Wants can be controlled and simplified. Paul said I
have learned to be content in all situations - Phil. 4:11-12. Sometimes you hear someone say: "I
need sex" or "I need a TV" Are these wants or needs? You can either try to increase your ability to
satisfy wants or you can learn to be content with what your have.

In all stable civilizations throughout history there have been some basic principles that are key to
economic well being. Here are four of main principles, which are also echoed in the Bible:

i. The principle of Thrift: To learn to do things inexpensively when possible.

ii. The principle of Industry: To be hard working at all times, busy and productive.
iii. The principle of Saving: To set aside part of everything you earn no matter how
little.
iv. The principle of Earning interest rather than paying it. To be debt free, living within your
means and investing your savings in something that generates a return rather than getting a
loan for something, which ultimately means you have to pay interest on top of the principle.

2 Common Problems to Avoid in the Area of Finances

1. Some people try to solve all their financial problems by getting loans from friends. That is
very dangerous. It is not bad to get a short-term loan from a friend when you are stuck. But if
you make a habit of it, eventually you will have so many debts you will be unable to pay
them and you will damage all those relationships. It has happened to many people.
So be slow to borrow from friends and be very quick to repay.

2. Another danger is the mentality that you will get material wealth by chance. Winning the
lottery or great fortune magically dropping on us is an illusion. People who have this
mentality do not take the responsibility of being wise with their finances. They believe that
financial well-being is a matter of chance.

2. Developing Health and Balance in the Social Relational Area

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The underlying factor of quality relationships is the principle of trust. And trust grows out of:

A.) Trustworthiness (being worthy of someone's trust and affection by virtue of your own
integrity)
B.) The ability of making and keeping commitments
C.) Sharing resources and helping in hard times
D.) Really caring about how someone's life is going.
E.) Being united with others through a common vision

3. Developing Health or Balance in the Mental (or Intellectual) Area

This involves the discipline of study: We acquire wisdom about life, not just knowledge about
things. Much of our education is geared toward passing the exams so that we get a job in order to
get money to buy things and be successful.

Much of the learning going on in schools today is really just "cramming" or memorizing something
to pass the exams. There is not enough time for reflection, digestion and application to life, which is
the real aim of learning. It seems it is when we leave school that we have the time to really to learn
about the deeper things in life. Balance isn't "either/or" thinking; it is "both/and."

4. Developing Health and Balance in the Spiritual Area

The basis of this area of need begins with being rightly related to your Creator. Jesus revealed God's
nature as that of a loving father. Once we have reconciled ourselves to God, we need to maintain
our spiritual life by practicing all "the spokes of the wheel" which include prayer, the scriptures,
fellowship and being a witness.

Within the area of our spiritual need there is a paradox (something which seems contradictory). In
order to satisfy our spiritual need, it is not only a matter of receiving things from God, but giving to
others. One of the principles that Jesus taught is that, "It is in giving that we receive." So the
spiritual need involves the need to contribute, to invest your life in things that really matter, to leave
a legacy.

Note: Special Periods of Imbalance in life

In summary…we have covered the areas that bring balance to life. But we need to understand that
sometimes we are in a stage of life where we can be temporarily imbalanced. This may be necessary
to achieve a special purpose. For example, you as students are not working and therefore have no
financial income…but you have to do it. You are mainly focusing on the mental and spiritual side of
your life at the expense of developing the financial area. But it is temporary. You will not be
students all of your lives…someday you will also want to develop in other areas. Another example
of this is a mother who has had a baby or is with a young child. She has to stop other things in order
to devote most of her time and energies toward caring for the child. She is unable to work, and she

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can't get involved in community or social activities because of her temporary need to devote her
attentions to the infant.

Conclusion

In conclusion we want to repeat our definition of balance: Recognizing and giving proper
attention to each of the important areas of life. Look at your life carefully…. notice all the four
major departments of it…give time to each one…and work on developing those areas where you
are weak.

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