PART 8 of 8 The One Thing Andy Stanley All slides produced by solidgroundtraining.com

WELCOME & NOTICES Comfort Notices Church Notices Group Notices Toilets Refreshments Times Church Notices April 22 – AGM 20,21&23 – Deeper 2018 Castle Hill Baptist May TBA Group Notices April May 07 – Bank Holiday 21 – Paul & Sarah Out 28 – Bank Holiday

TESTIMONY TIME Specific Answers to Prayer Any thing that has cropped up for you, Progress with 5’s, Local Community, Mission & International News – Coming soon…

RESPONSE TIME

COURSE CONTENT SESSIONS Decisions, Decisions. Are You Ready for This? A State of Emergency. Getting to the Good Stuff. A View from the Top. Inside the Mind of God. The Big Picture. This One Thing.

REVIEW 1. Your Life is the sum total of your decisions The more familiar with the PROVIDENTIAL… The more obedient to the MORAL… The easier to find the PERSONAL… …Will of God for your life “I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands..” Psalm 119:10 2. God does not give us information for consideration, but for participation. In the process of discovering God’s will, we discover God. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 3. Seeking counsel provides valuable information for decision-making: EXPERIENCE – from someone who has been there, OBJECTIVITY – from someone who can see the ‘Big Picture’, EXPERTISE – from someone who has more knowledge. “A wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel.” Proverbs 1:5 NASB

REVIEW 4. There is no one better to show you the way than the one who has been there before. Following God is often as simple and practical as following godly men and women. “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” Proverbs 13:20 NASB 5. In making decisions, what is naturally intuitive to us may actually lead us astray. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9 6. The Bible is the blue-print for God’s mind. The more you are familiar with God’s ways, the easier it is to discern His will for your life. “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2 7. God uses personal vision to reveal His will. The clearer the vision, the easier the decision. “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Proverbs 29:18

ASSIGNMENT FOR LAST WEEK What Did You Do ? ASSIGNMENT FOR LAST WEEK See Page 67 in the Study Guide For each category write down 1-3 sentences of the vision of where you need to be – include as many details as you like: Use the SMART Model, They are not actions, but visions (the end game), Don’t edit your thoughts too much.

What, Why, Where, When, How & Whom Making your Vision SMART For each statement you make, include this. S Specific e.g. For me to lead people to salvation in Christ in the UK, by training and looking for the opportunities M Measurable How will you measure your success? e.g. More than 5 people per year, Tally in my diary. A Attainable How, with God, will you achieve this? e.g. training & resources. How will you keep them? Is that your responsibility? R Relevant How will this vision achieve the desired outcome? What leads you to believe this is what God has for you? T Time-Bound When will you want to achieve this by: e.g. end Year 2. What, Why, Where, When, How & Whom

Play the Video and come right Back… STUDY Play the Video and come right Back… 10

RESPONSE TIME

RANDOM ACTIVITIES See the Study Guide, Page 73. Many of a most time-consuming activities can be traced back to an unplanned encounter: An invitation to tennis and you spend 20 hours a week as captain, or you volunteer for a charity to help that becomes a weekly commitment… Is it a calling from God? Try to think of 2-3 examples of passive, unplanned encounters that ended up this way. Maybe you turned them down? What happened?

4 The king said to me, “What is it you want?” STUDY “In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before, 2 so the king asked me, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.” I was very much afraid, 3 but I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” 4 The king said to me, “What is it you want?” Then I prayed to the God of heaven, 5 and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.” Nehemiah 2:1-05 Discussion, In your opinion: See Study Guide Page 50 . Which statement best describes how you ended up in your current job? This is part of a plan devised at least three year before I started. This job was a better offer than the last one, so I took it. I have a sense that this job will lead me to where I want to be. This what I’ve always done, what my family have done. I have no idea why I’m here What was Nehemiah’s reaction about the news in Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1:4)? What did Nehemiah do before giving his vision to God? What events did God use to give Nehemiah confirmation of his vision (Nehemiah 2:1-5)? “When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven..” Nehemiah 1:4 13

CONCLUSION Nehemiah modelled the pursuit of a vision in rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem. The greater the burden, the stronger the conviction and the clearer the vision. If an opportunity does not fit a specific vision, you may be entertaining a distraction.

MEMORY VERSE What Will You Do ? “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” Ephesians 5:15-17

Ephesians 6:18 “18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere..” NLT LET’S PRAY Specific situations Prayer 5’s Local Situations International News James 5:13 “13 Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises...”