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III. Working with God

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I - II - III - IV from the book: "God Knows You’re Human" by Terry Virgo Working with God When you know that God has initiated a relationship, you can also expect His help. You do not have to make the disciple over-dependent on you. You become a fellow labourer with God in producing another disciple of the Lord Jesus. ‘Who do people say the Son of man is?’ Jesus asked His disciples ( Matthew 16:13 ). Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’ ( Matthew 16:16 ). On hearing this, Jesus said to Peter, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven’ ( Matthew 16:17 ). Jesus was the discipler, but Peter found out something that Jesus had never told him. He received a revelation from God. Similarly, when your disciple finds out things you did not tell him, don’t become offended but rejoice that God is working alongside you. Ultimately your goal is to help the new believer hear and obe...
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Prayer Basics

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Apostolic Instructions on Prayer, and the technical meaning of "Christ". First of all, then, I urge 1 that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone 2 , for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life 3 in all godliness and dignity. This is good, and it pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For 5 there is one God and one mediator between God and humanity, Christ Jesus, Himself human, who gave Himself — a ransom for all 6 , a testimony at the proper time. ... I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument... 7 1Tim 2:1-6,8 (Holman C.S.B.) Notes 1 "I emphatically tell you.." It's not a command but a strong suggestion with apostolic authority. 2 "for everyone" means everyone. The next verses explain the social layers and ...
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Where Does Our Righteousness Come From?

short notice Who are the Judaizers? The Apostle Paul warns his readers about the Judaizers who oppose the gospel (Phil 3:2–3). Paul’s conflicts with the Judaizers can be seen in greater detail in Acts and Galatians (e.g., Acts 15:1–19; Gal. 2:15–21; 3:6–4:31), as well as in the rest of his letters. Paul rejected their teaching that Gentiles must first become Jews and obey all the OT laws in order to be saved. In contrast, Paul has given up his spiritual and ethnic privileges for the sake of knowing Christ (Phil. 3:4–11). His righteousness comes through Christ, not the law (Phil 3:12–16). The justified /righteous person in the New Testament “Justified” means “counted righteous” or “declared righteous” by God (acc. to ESV footnote). If people obeyed all of God’s perfect moral standards, they could be justified by their own merits. But Paul says that this is impossible for anyone to do (see Romans 1–2). "Works of the law" means any human effort to be justified by ...
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