Session 12: Spiritual Boy Scouts

1 Nov 2009 Cell group meeting (Leader: Serene)
Last lesson of 1 Thessalonians Part 2 book!

Recap of last 5 lessons:
YX, Paul & Sarah (Lesson 7 & 8)
Lesson 7 (1 Thess 4:1-8):
- Recognizing that our body belongs to God
- Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, which dwells in us
- 1 Corinthians 6:19b-20 “You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”
- Decide who we are going to live for
- Decide against any kind of sexual immorality
- Decide to learn self-control
- Decide it’s not worth the price
Lesson 8 (1 Thess 4:9-12):
- Lead a quiet life, MYOB, Work with your hands
- Application: Upcoming Mission Trip to Karimun!
- Reach the dying world for Christ!

Wilson, Jon, James & Derrick (Lesson 9)
Lesson 9 (1 Thess 4:13-18):
- Jesus will come back!!!
- Re-evaluate life’s priorities: Put God first!
- Do not be sucked into the world so much… (Satan’s ploy to distract us from God!)
- Re-affirm our faith about God that He will come back for us!
- We have HOPE in Christ

Susan, Emma & Kenny (Lesson 10 & 11)
Lesson 10 (1 Thess 5:1-11):
- Live like Sons of the Light & become more Christ-like
- Our purpose & calling are different when we become reborn in Christ
Lesson 11 (1 Thess 5:12-15):
- Pay for cell leaders to go for Hawaii trip! Juz kidding!
- Follow our leaders!
- Cell group is just like family life: Need to get along with each other.

Values of our cell group:
1. Clear Purpose – fellowship & spiritual growth
2. Group Attendance – give priority for cell group
3. Safe Environment – where ppl can be heard & feel loved
4. Be Confidential – keep anything shared strictly confidential within the group
5. Spiritual Health – give each other permission to help us lead a healthy spiritual life
6. Welcome Newcomers – invite others & warmly welcome them
7. Building Relationships – get to know each other & pray for each other regularly

Lesson 12 (1 Thess 5:16-24):

Spiritual Partnership between us & God
1. Our Part (v. 16-20) – we have the free will to choose and the responsibility to do so
2. God’s Part (v. 23-24)

My Part in Preparing for Christ’s Return (v.16-20)
1. Be joyful always – remember that we do not deserve anything, but view everything as a gift from God.
(Paul: Also manage our expectations, because we are nothing apart from Christ, we are all sinners. Who are we to treat others with contempt when they don’t meet our expectations? Susan: So should we have expectations of others? Paul: Nothing wrong in having expectations, but must learn to be ready to forgive & accept when they fall. Serene: Have expectations but leave everything to God, and accept God’s will & plan for us & whatever He decides to give us. Paul: We can expect things from God, but we must learn to trust in Him & learn to hear from Him before we expect, not expect out of what we think)
2. Pray continually – carry a running conversation with God like you would a friend. Tell Him everything, there is nothing too small for Him. Be specific & tell God exactly what you want. Learn to be silent at times.
(Emma: Being aware of God & can pray at any moment. Paul: Can be in the context of speaking in tongues. Live a life of speaking in tongues. Attune your spirit & won’t be limited by English vocabulary.)
3. Give thanks in all circumstances – not for all circumstances, when we have gratitude & thanking spirits, people will listen! Believe, claim & embrace Romans 8:28 in order to have a spirit of gratitude!
4. Do not put out the Spirit’s fire – by being rebellious against God, self-centredness vs. God-centred life.
(Serene: Any other things that we can quench the Spirit’s fire? Or what does it mean to quench? Emma: Impedes His work in & thru’ us. Being unteachable. Serene: One way is to reflect on how we have been leading our life. Doing things according to our own plans or spending time to listen from God to what He wants to do in us. Jon: 2 examples to “pssst” the Holy Spirit. One is to fail to be disciplined to do QT by choosing to do something else eg. Play computer games. End up feeling dry. Second is to take care of your health, because it affects the spirit & soul. Emma: We do things with purpose. But we need to qn ourselves what is this purpose. Jon: Know the purpose but don’t hv discipline. Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.)
5. Do not treat prophecies with contempt – be open & have a teachable heart to what God wants to do in & thru’ you
6. Test everything – we need to discern what we hear by examining their teachings & lifestyle with scripture & if it aligns with the Word of God, check if what he say is what he does
(Serene: From today’s sermon, look at the fruits. But first thing is that we must know the Word of God to know if what others teach is aligned with the Word. Emma: media is scary because it propagates such things. Jon: Even false prophets can use the bible to quote. Every verse has to have another verse to support in line with it. Serene: Taking things out of context. Jon: Does fruit always mean the fruit of the spirit or also the by-product eg. their actions? Paul: We are the fruit of the spirit & good fruit will point & draw ppl to Jesus and not anything else and not even themselves. James: We need to spend a lot of time with others to know their fruit. Paul: Tele-evangelists in the past preached about God but drew ppl to themselves. Kenny: Purpose of fruit is to propagate more trees with fruit.)
7. Hold on (aggressively) to that which is good – love, purity, grace, etc.
8. Avoid every kind of evil – fend them off every day with the power of the Holy Spirit, not by our own power

God’s Part in Preparing Me for Christ’s Return
1. God’s power to sanctify us & set us apart for His purposes
2. He has fashioned us and shaped us for His purposes
3. God is faithful & will do it (v.23)

Power verses:
1. Deut 7:9 - God keeps his covenant to a thousand generations.
2. Lamentations 3:22-23 - His compassions never fail. His mercy is new each day.
3. 2 Tim 2 - God remains faithful (because of His character) even when we are unfaithful
4. Philippians 1:6 - God who started a good work & will sustain us & see it through to the very end.