1. Men’s Journey Group Winter/Spring 2018
the enemy within
by Kris Lundgaard

2. Getting Started Recite the verse you memorized
Go ahead and begin discussing questions #1-3 on pg 131
Heb 12:28-29 “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”
5 Minutes

3. Discuss Questions 1 through 3 on page 131
Chapter Questions
Discuss Questions 1 through 3 on page 131
answers will vary. (Time that felt overwhelmed by God and the resulting affect on sin. Listening to music that is God centered and doing so to change my attitude and the diminishing desire to sin as I got a greater picture of God.)
Answers will vary. (each day, Sunday – how do you vs. how would you? – read scripture with the mind towards humility and not just intellectual growth. Humbly prepare for church by praying that God would make much of himself and you would lessen)
Answers will vary (glory of God in everyday things – yes. Creative things, acknowledging your creator; broken things, acknowledging sin, etc)
25 Minutes

4. Mind  Affections  Will
Why is the Flesh such a difficult adversary?
How do we create an environment that is hostile to sin?
The greatness/holiness/majesty of God and his infinite distance from you
We load ourselves up with:
Humility at our own sinfulness
Fear and Reverence toward God
Sin suffocates
Result:
So far we discussed how sin works (mind, affections, will – attacking you in that order)
Last week we discussed why the flesh is so hard to fight… because it: destroys your satisfaction and love for what God has done for you (and tries to convince you that the satisfaction you want can be found outside of God in the world – and it fights dirty to do this)
Next we have to turn to strategies to put sin to death, first up is:
*Getting a solid dose of God’s holiness and how infinitely distanced you are from him.
The result will be that you will be:
-humble
-you will respect and honor God
-you will not want to sin
And yes… you can grasp his holiness:
-even though you can’t grasp it all, and never will – it does not matter. This lack of being able to ever grasp it all, does not exempt you.
-as a NT Christian you have the ability to know God through faith (2 cor 5:7, walk by faith not by sight) and that is as good a tool as you will ever get to know him. Wishing you had a better way to grasp his greatness/holiness is not productive.
God’s to big to comprehend
Faith is our best ‘tool’ to see God and it will only show us part
Objections:

5. Isa 6:1-7 ! ? 
—>
V1 – when things were going well and they no longer are going well, God is still in absolute control. Don’t panic!
V2 – avoid the casual approaches to God and our approach to him! You only come to him by boldness via the sacrifice (v6ff)
V5-7 – seeing God and all of him makes us aware of our need for atonement and how unworthy we are.
V5-7 – we need to identify our sin (by a clear understanding of God’s holiness), then confess it and trust that God removes it ?
V1- what’s with the robe filling the room – sign of rule and power
V1 – what’s with high and lifted up – he’s holy and he is God. He is greater than us. We need to be humble
V2 – what’s up with the seraphim – they are angles that have do with the offering (‘burning ones’), they have to do with sin. They also are probably more likely related to the heavenly hosts c.f. Dan 7:10 and not Eze’s vision of the cheribim
V3 – is the whole earth filled with his glory – no but it will be, soon (c.f. Rev).
V4 – why was it this setting !
V1 -King Uzziah died circa BC– was a good king (things were going well..) but now all hope seemed to dwindle. (2 chron 26ff- ‘did what was right’, ‘as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper’)
V2 – they were probably terrifying creatures – their primary job was to make much of God and declare the things said in V3
V3 – this was their job to say this- and repeating it was a way of making it a superlative
V4 – the place was terrifying, it was shaking
V5 – he has a right view of himself – undone!
V5-7 – God’s glory prepares us for true confession!
25 Minutes

6. Reminders As You Leave Make sure you have:
signed the attendance roster
MJG worksheet