Please see below for notes…
Mission/Vision Statement
The Mission of the No Substitute Ministries Bible study group is to bring clarity and understanding to God’s Word so that we can apply it to our lives in a practical and effective manner, enabling us to impact the lives of others and bring change to our world through our application of the Gospel.
Bible Study Agenda
- Prayer
- Song
- Bible Study/Topic Discussion
- Questions/Answers/open discussion
- Close with prayer
Study Focus for Saturday, July 6, 2013
Key Points of Discussion:
- Review
- Sustainability (Part 2)
Review
A. If your life, in action, definition, habits, and the regular focus and fruit of your effort does not line up with the agenda of Jesus Christ – Then change. Change begins with renewing your mind and it is a process, not a one time event, and it involves both the addition of “Good” and subtraction of “Bad” from your life – In order for change to take place around you, it must begin with you. Change begins with renewing your mind and altering the way you think to line up with God’s Word (Romans 12:1, 2).
B. Man is a tri-part being—spirit, soul, and body (1 Thessalonians 5:23) – We ARE spirit beings, created in the image and likeness of God. We POSESS a soul – our mind, will and emotions. We LIVE INSIDE of a body. The spirit was never designed to be led by the Body, or by the worldly, sense-knowledge of the mind, but by the Word of God.
C. God desires to be the head of your life – God wants us for him and him alone – our only source. There can be no substitute. (Exodus 20:3-4, James 4:5-8, Luke 16:13, Ezekiel 6:8-9). If God is not at the head, then idolatry is in motion – We are defeated whenever something else has replaced God as Lord and master (1 Samuel 4-7)
D. Word Power – Just as God created the universe by faith-substance and word-energy, you create your own universe by your faith and your words. If you don’t like what you have created, you can change it! James 1:26 states this If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion [is] vain.
E. Avoid Strife at all costs – Strife is contention, discord, struggling, warring, quarreling, bitterness, and anything LIKE all of the above. Put away ALL forms of strife. Internal and External. Grow – Open your heart to receive from God. (1 Corinthians 3:3, 2 Corinthians 12:20, Galations 5:20)
F. Sustainability 101: Part 1 – Be Fruitful, Multiply, Replenish. God is a God of purpose. Everything he created has a purpose and that purpose will always point to sustainability. If you don’t know or understand the purpose – abuse (abnormal use) is inevitable. Our first purpose, the first directive given to mankind after the creation and the Blessing, was to Be Fruitful, Multiply, and Replenish. If you are not walking in this original purpose, there will be an absence of peace in your life as well as a departure from sustainability that places those that come after you in a compromised situation (Genesis 1:27-28).
Sustainability – The Plan of God (Pt. 2): Relax, Relate, Evaluate
Sustainability is defined as meeting the needs of the current generation without compromising the needs of future generations. Everything within the plan of God, not only supports the principle of sustainability, but fulfills it abundantly, to the utmost.
Those of us that inhabit this world have been given authority over the present world. What we do determines the legacy that we leave for our posterity. The purposes, direction, and ultimate will of God is contains provision for those that come after us with much more than a future that has not been “compromised”, but a future that is better, empowered to succeed, imbued with power, and ever increasing in that power from generation to generation.
Evaluate Yourself
- What is your impact – The blessing that we carry implies a vast influence – what will you do with yours (Gen 12:3, 28:14)
- Local
- Family
- Close Friends
- Associates
- Community
- Church
- School
- Neighborhood
- Etc…
- Local
- Global
Ask yourself this question: Can you “reproduce yourself” with a sustainable outcome?
