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E S S E N T I A L M E S S A G E S F R O M G O D ’ S S E R V A N T S

MasterWork ®

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Lessons from

A HUNGER FOR THE HOLY by Calvin MillerTHE PURSUIT OF HOLINESS by Jerry Bridges

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A Step of FAITHIn your opinion, what does it take for a person to get to heaven and have eternal life? The Bible answers this question in one word—FAITH.

F Is for Forgiveness• Everyone has sinned and needs God’s forgiveness: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

• God’s forgiveness is in Jesus only: “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7).

A Is for Available• God’s forgiveness is available for all: “God loved the world in this way: He gave His One

and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

• God’s forgiveness is available but not automatic: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 7:21).

I Is for Impossible• It is impossible to get to heaven on our own: “By grace you are saved through faith, and

this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

T Is for Turn• Turn means repent. Turn away from sin and self and turn to Jesus alone as your Savior

and Lord: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6); “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. With the heart one believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses, resulting in salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).

H Is for Heaven• Here . . . Eternal life begins now with Jesus: “I have come that they may have life and have

it in abundance” (John 10:10).• Hereafter . . . Heaven is a place where we will live with God forever: “If I go away and

prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also” (John 14:3).

• How . . . How can a person have God’s forgiveness, eternal life, and heaven? By trusting Jesus as your Savior and Lord. You can do this right now by praying and asking Jesus to forgive you of your sins and inviting Jesus into your heart.

Accepting Christ is just the beginning of a wonderful adventure with God! Follow Christ’s command in baptism. Join a church where you can worship God and grow in your faith. Get involved in Sunday School and Bible study. Begin a daily personal worship time in which you study the Bible and pray.

E S S E N T I A L M E S S A G E S F R O M G O D ’ S S E R V A N T S

MasterWork ®

W I N T E R 2 0 1 6 - 1 7

Lessons from

A HUNGER FOR THE HOLY

by Calvin Miller

THE PURSUIT OF HOLINES S

by Jerry Bridges

Lessons by Calvin Miller are condensed from A Hunger for the Holy. Copyright © 2003 by LifeWay

Press. Reprinted by permission. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Lessons by Jerry Bridges are condensed from The Pursuit of Holiness. Copyright © 2006 by

Jerry Bridges. Reprinted by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Used by permission.

All rights reserved.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Old Testament quotations in the lessons from A Hunger for the Holy

are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®, Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by

Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Unless otherwise indicated, all New Testament quotations in the lessons from A Hunger for the Holy are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman

Bible Publishers. Used by permission.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations in the lessons from The Pursuit of Holiness are taken

from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®, Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.

Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations in the “How to Become a Christian” article and those marked HCSB are

taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman

Bible Publishers. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are from are taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright

1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission

(www.lockman.org).

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•table of

Contents

INTRODUCING A HUNGER FOR THE HOLY 5 SUGGESTED FOR THE WEEK OF

DECEMBER 4: Session 1: Hungering After the Holy Life 6

DECEMBER 11: Session 2: Barriers to the Inward Journey 19

DECEMBER 18: Session 3: The Needle’s Eye 31

DECEMBER 25: Session 4: The Unforsaking Christ 43

JANUARY 1: Session 5: The Holy Communion of Prayer 55

JANUARY 8: Session 6: Walking in Obedience 67

JANUARY 15: Session 7: Widening Our Intimacy with Christ 79

JANUARY 22: Session 8: Foreverness 91

INTRODUCING THE PURSUIT OF HOLINESS 103

JANUARY 29: Session 9: Holiness Is for You 104

FEBRUARY 5: Session 10: Holiness Is Not an Option 117

FEBRUARY 12: Session 11: Help in the Daily Battle 130

FEBRUARY 19: Session 12: The Place of Personal Discipline 143

FEBRUARY 26: Session 13: Holiness in an Unholy World 156

•G E T T I N G T H E M O S T O U T O F M A S T E R W O R K

Here are a few suggestions to help you get the most out of this resource:

Group Members 1. Read the daily assignments prior to attending the group time. Complete

the personal learning activities in bold type. Record your notes and questions.

2. Review your notes and questions a few moments prior to the group time as a means of preparing to be an active part of the group.

3. In the margins of this book, record insights gained during the group time.

Group Leader 1. Complete step 1 above. 2. Identify the one main idea and goal for the lesson. The main point of the

lesson and the goal are printed on the teaching plan pages at the end of each lesson. (See p. 17.) Focus on the session goal as you lead the session.

3. Read and study the key Bible passages listed in the margin of the teaching plan. Supplemental Bible commentary and Bible background articles are available in the MasterWork Leader Supplement. (See below.)

4. Develop a group time plan. Two options are offered in this book. One option is to follow the teaching plan at the end of each lesson. A second option is to use the discussion questions in the margins of the lessons. Some group leaders use a combination of both group time plans.

5. Customize the electronic versions of the suggested teaching plans, avail-able on the Internet at https://masterworkbylifeway.wordpress.com, to fit your group.

6. Review and refine your teaching notes as you move toward the group time. 7. Arrive early, praying for the group time.

M A S T E R W O R K L E A D E R S U P P L E M E N T

Bible commentary on key passages used in MasterWork lessons and related Biblical Illustrator articles are available for download at lifeway.com/master-work. Look for “MasterWork Leader Supplement - Winter 2017” Cost: $5.75 per quarter.

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A Hunger for the HolyNurturing Intimacy with Christ

Christ’s table is made elegant by its simplicity. It has but two chairs, two place cards. Beside one place is a card that reads “Jesus.” By the other is a card marked with your name. A candle burns from the table’s center, ready to cast its amber enchantment on both your eager faces.

Across the years I have come to delight in the fellowship of the wilderness table. The meal itself is a banquet of sub-stance. Holiness is the fare. Union with Christ is the point of the occasion. He knows I have a terrible craving for His presence. I know that He longs to see teacher and pupil made one by their common appetite for togetherness.

And I am hungry!Hungry for the Holy. The table is prepared. I take my chair.I wait.

We each relate to Christ individually. We meet with Him alone or we don’t meet Him at all. Yet our relationship screams for community.

Welcome to A Hunger for the Holy.

•A B O U T T H E

W R I T E R S

Calvin Miller wrote A Hunger for the Holy. Miller was professor of preaching and personal studies at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, received his D.M. from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and served on the editorial boards of such publications as Leadership and Preaching magazines. He is an accomplished author of more than forty books—including the popular Singer trilogy, The Unchained Soul, Once Upon a Tree, and The Book of Jesus.

A m y S u m m e r s wrote the interactive questions, learning activities, and leader guide for this study. Amy is a frequent contributor to MasterWork and other Bible study resources. She and her husband, Stephen, live in Belmont, North Carolina. 5

A H u n g e r f o r t h e H o l y

Hungering After the Holy Life

•D A Y O N E

The Journey Inward Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mock-ers. – Psalm 1:1

We humans are a hungry lot. A hunger to know who we are drives us, yet our identity is embedded in the heart of the Holy God. Unless we dig into the epicenter of heaven, we will be forever condemned to walk the arid edges of self-understanding.

1. Read Isaiah 55:1-2. What is God inviting you to do? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

Why are so many people, including Christians, hungry despite God’s gracious provision? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

Discussion QuestionHow would you complete this statement: “When I’m hungry, I …”?

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We shrink to step across the threshold and invite God in, yet we do not hesitate to stick our hands into the human throng and shake a thou-sand others. No matter how we love our noisy and hurried lives, the fast-action theater at last empties out, and we find ourselves in lonely cells of bulky silence that compels us to turn and face our inner selves—and our Mighty God.

We instantly turn from inwardness, for it seems a kind of nakedness and soul exposure. Self whimpers where none can see. Outwardly it pretends to be gallant or holy, while inwardly it is aware of its insecurity and corruption.

The journey inward is painful. Many Bible passages (such as Luke 13:3 and Acts 2:38) issue a call for repentance. Repentance? The very word stops our hearts with chilling honesty, for it insists that we come clean with God before we make life’s important choices. Repentance demands that we choose a path of holy living.

The psalmist defines the paths we must avoid as we dare to journey inward. Repentance grows from those altars which call for the bold disclo-sure of our inward selves to our loving Father. But what is the best defini-tion of repentance?

In repentance we stand together with Christ as we look inward and throw even the darkest fissures of our souls beneath God’s certain light. The Greek word for repentance is metanoeo. It comes from two words mean-ing change and mind. Thus it means, to change our attitude, thoughts, and behaviors concerning the demands of God.

Repentance is both an action and a condition. As an action it is both something we do and something God does to us because alone we cannot change. Our repentance must grow as our understanding of and rela-tionship with Christ grows. We discover more of ourselves that must be brought to God.

2. What changes in attitude, thought, and behavior might you need to make to avoid the paths described in Psalm 1:1? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

How have you experienced God transforming you? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

Repentance demands that we choose a path of holy living.

Discussion QuestionWhat paths must we take and avoid if we are going to have our deepest hunger satisfied?

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I remember that night so long ago when, as a boy, I asked the living Christ to enter my life. Suddenly, even as a child, I knew the pain of Hamlet’s reflecting glass. But the pain soon left, and in its place was born the radiant reality of Christ’s indwelling. I remember the frustration of trying to tell my friends about the inward Christ who had replaced my guilt and self-recriminations with His glorious affirmation. I could tell by the way others looked at me that they could not understand God’s invasion into my life. Yet I wanted everyone to know. I tried to tell my family, but they, too, greeted me with quizzical expressions. I suddenly saw that the Christ who had taken up residence inside me was too inward to be explained outwardly. I could not make Him big enough to portray His inner glory to others. On the other hand, the world beyond me could not make Him small enough to fit in its smaller, more cramped understanding of God.

So, even at an early age, I learned that life in Christ defies externaliza-tion. The historical facts surrounding Christ are both outward and clear. Certainly the theological truths are sure. Yet the reality of Jesus is always a matter of the heart. The fullness of His great love defies definition, and yet salvation spills over the edges of our most private selves.

•D A Y T W O

The Delights of InwardnessHis delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. – Psalm 1:2

Yesterday we began to explore both the Psalms and the issue of our inner life in Christ.

1. Take time to slowly and reflectively read Psalm 1. How does it invite you to take the journey inward? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

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To covet God’s holiness is a righteous coveting. To lust for godliness is a glorious passion. But the straining for the holiness suggested by the Psalm brings out the same frustrations I felt as a child. By what path do we arrive there? How can I tell you? How shall I define it?

Inwardness defies all laws of space and time and endows us with a life and destiny too great to be our own. What we contain is more than what we are. For this indwelling Christ brings with Him a love beyond dimension; yet for all its vastness, it chooses to make its throne our fleshly frame. With Him comes His cosmic size, poured unexplainably into the thimble-like containers of our souls.

Why is God’s law so delightful? It reveals God’s very heart to us. It delivers us into a new intimacy with Christ. This new intimacy is a wonder-ful soul-to-soul life nurtured by the Savior in the very bosom of God. Only there—in the inward places, where our souls merge—do we find the epicenter of meaning.

A contemporary philosopher often spoke of “the very center of the very center.” His daughter once complained that she could see only the outside of things. Since they were enjoying some fruit at the time, the father grabbed a knife and cut a grape in half. “Can you see the inside now?” he asked her. His daughter now felt she was seeing the inside of the grape, but the father said, “No, this is not the inside of the inside. It is only the outside of the inside.” To see the “inside of the inside,” he told her, he would have to cut the grape halves into quarters. He did this. “Is this the inside?” he asked. Again she felt she was seeing the inside. But her father told her that she was still not seeing the inside. However hard the philosopher attempted to open the center of the grape, he only succeeded in creating new “outsides” by driving the “inside” further in.

Discussing inwardness does not define it, and exposing it is impossi-ble. We can never truly locate it. Does it reside in the mind or in the heart? What is the difference between the two?

A thousand songs and prayers pay tribute to the delight of knowing God. All of them are scored to praise the path of inwardness. Too often, we champion the kind of faith that emphasizes logic or theological discussion at the expense of feeling. Then we become like the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz, who believed all his problems would be solved if he only had a heart.

Inwardness that produces true spiritual vitality is dependent on both the heart and the mind. No wonder Jesus asks us to love the Lord God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength (Mark 12:30). And Paul encouraged

This indwelling Christ brings with Him a love beyond dimension; yet for all its vastness, it chooses to make its throne … the thimble-like containers of our souls.

Discussion QuestionWhy does the psalmist encourage people to pursue a holy life?

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the Philippians to let the mind of Christ indwell their own (Phil. 2:5, KJV). Such invitations never champion a division between the heart and the brain. Thought and emotion are both essential for meditation on the law of God—a law that reveals God’s holiness and baptizes us in delight.

I’m glad you’re with me in this study. The joys of the table in the wilder-ness call to every follower of Jesus. In the words of Hebrews, “let us then go to Him outside the camp” (13:13). This time, however, He calls us to meet Him for fellowship rather than disgrace.

2. When you consider taking the path of inwardness, do you feel: __ Anxious? __Uncertain? __Delighted? __Inadequate? __Willing? __Other? ____________________

Spend unhurried time talking with God about your response.

•D A Y T H R E E

Guarding the Quiet PlacesHe is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season. – Psalm 1:3

In true inwardness God declares Himself without the hard sell. Inwardness is the automatic result of planting ourselves by the continually refreshing streams of God. Evangelism is the blaring trumpet that calls the lost to Christ, but bearing fruit happens in silence. Fruit trees are never noisy in producing fruit. Orchards make apples in silence.

The cords of ordinary living are severed in Christ. Dull gravity cannot bind us to this earth, for heaven indwells us. Planted by rich streams of water, our lives produce fruit.

In contrast, when Jonathan Livingston Seagull was being filmed, the cameras in some shots focused on gulls in flight. But the gulls were really tied to a perch with strings. They only appeared to be free. Likewise, while giving the appearance of spiritual freedom, many of us are tied to earthly concerns. How thick are the cords that bind us to Christian reputation!

Discussion QuestionWhat parts of our beings are involved in the inward journey toward an intimate relationship with Christ? Elaborate.

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Outward appearance fastens us to our own false needs for approval. I think of how often, as a pastor, I have “acted godly” because people expected me to act that way. Only the journey inward could release me from the strings of my dull religious propriety. On the inward journey I meet Christ, who always delivers me from the bondage of outward expectation.

Outwardness and inwardness are the poles of spirituality just as north and south are poles of the earth’s geography. Outwardness consists of observable qualities of faith. Outwardness bandages the suffering in the clear sight of all who will behold compassion. It goes to church, lifts the communion wafer, holds a hymnal, bends the knees, and says prayers. It drops coins in offering plates, posts its public pledges, listens, sermonizes, sings, witnesses, and works its way from prison to hospital. Serving God doesn’t necessitate offending people, but pleasing them easily takes the place of serving Him.

Outwardness is good but easily spoiled. A few pats on the back can wean it from its love for Christ and draw it toward self-interest. Soon outward-ness, which first served the Lord only, finds ways to serve itself while it serves Christ. At last it moves away from the Savior altogether and finds a godlike glory in its own interests. Because it will not be planted by the rivers of God, it becomes root-dried. It withers inwardly while it pretends outwardly that it is well nourished.

Let me be clear. Outwardness is as important as inwardness, and either may be phony or real. As inwardness leads to a God addiction, outwardness leads to an ego addiction. We need to remember that the same Jesus who said, “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of people, to be seen by them” (Matt. 6:1) also said, “Everyone who acknowledges Me before men, I will also acknowledge him before My Father in heaven” (10:32).

1. Which best describes your spiritual life: Outwardness or inwardness? Explain. ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

How can you achieve a greater balance of the two? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

Outwardness has for its greatest strength and greatest weakness the same thing: visibility. Likewise, the strength and weakness of inwardness

On the inward journey I meet Christ, who always delivers me from the bondage of outward expectation.

Discussion QuestionWhat are positives and negatives of outward spirituality?

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is the same: invisibility. Inwardness draws us to that unseen reality. But it may sin secretly by dividing its own intent, scheming to make life better for both God and the worshiper at once.

We are the keepers of inwardness, and we tend it alone. Our guard-ianship is utterly crucial, since out of the heart come “the issues of life” (Prov.  4:23, KJV). As someone once pointed out, we are like a ripe fruit that, when squeezed, drips with its real definition.

According to Jesus, being kosher isn’t crucial. It’s not what goes into our mouths—what we eat or drink—but what comes out of our hearts that defiles us (Matt. 15:11). What comes out shows our inner substance: “As [a man] thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Prov. 23:7, KJV). God focuses His attention on our inwardness. “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7).

2. Read Proverbs 4:20-27 in your Bible. What insights do you gain into how to guard your heart? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

Inwardness is the table where the believer and the Lord meet. I will speak of the heart as the place of rendezvous. In this small meeting place exists the inwardness we consider. It is a wonderful inwardness, nurtured by the stream of life, and ever yielding fruit.

•D A Y F O U R

Three Withering ParadoxesHe is like a tree planted by streams of water … whose leaf does not wither. – Psalm 1:3

Three paradoxes complicate our work and threaten to wither our souls.

Discussion QuestionWhy is it so crucial we develop and guard inwardness?

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Aloneness Is PresenceWe must establish inner silence, or we cannot hear the indwelling Christ with whom we desire to speak. I will deal with this silence in a later chapter, but for now I must say that it is established by certain premeditative disci-plines that clear away the debris and the noise of life.

Inner silence is easiest to achieve in a place of outer silence. Jesus spoke of the prayer closet in Matthew 6:6 (KJV). In this closet we shut out as much human noise as possible. Yet we are not to covet the silence. We are never to pursue inwardness; We are to pursue Christ. Quietness makes the pursuit effective.

Meditative systems that clear the heart but cannot refill it with substance have no power. In Eastern religions, many devotees of yoga cleanse their minds but leave them empty. Soon their minds refill with the same sort of congestion they had just swept away.

Inwardness seeks someone to preside over the clean and the quiet. When Christ comes in, we have provided ourselves an inner worship that is proper. We are not alone in this quietness; we are with Him. Inwardness is a reigning presence and a quiet friend—a person, not a concept. The para-dox is set: aloneness is the presence. Retreat Is AdvancementThe second paradox is that retreat is advancement. To some who desire inwardness, time alone with God may not seem to yield anything practi-cal in their personal plans or career. So why spend time with God when so many important things have to be done?

When the British writer Malcolm Muggeridge visited the monastery at Nunraw, Scotland, he expected to find a group of men who had little to do with the society at large. But he discovered that these men prayed fervently for national and international matters. Because their retreat gave them unbroken touch with the One who holds the very universe in His hand, their prayers were capable of affecting the outward world of finance, poli-tics, and social injustice, as well as their inner selves.

Unless we have quiet time set aside to be with God, the other hours committed to our schedules may be ill-used. Some Christians are prone to ignore times of retreat because to them, ministering seems more important; doing seems better than praying. But prayer is doing. Retreat is not idleness; it is a rigorous discipline of the inner self. We must not let even ministry to others supplant it. Mother Teresa said, “Pray for me that I not loosen my grip on the hands of Jesus even under the guise of ministry to the poor.”1

Inner silence is easiest to achieve in a place of outer silence.

Discussion QuestionWhat’s the difference between pursuing Jesus and pursuing inwardness?

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Retreat is advancement; prayer, even extended prayer, is a practical way to use our time—especially those of us who are busy. Martin Luther’s philosophy was, “I have so many things to do today, I dare not ignore my time with God.” Jesus apparently wanted the disciples to stay balanced between service and alone time.

1. Read Mark 3:14 in your Bible. Identify two reasons Jesus appointed the apostles. 1. 2.Why is the order significant? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

Beyond Is WithinThe third paradox is that beyond is within. The heavens do “declare the glory of God” (Ps. 19:1), yet the Christ who strides the galaxies gathers at a quiet communion with our selves. We do not contain all the fullness of God—we are too small for that—but we are possessed by a transgalactic Omnipotence who chooses to fill our smallness with His vastness.

Our problem is this: Having caught some little view of Christ, we are content to paint Him in smaller strokes. We then reduce the Lion of Judah to something kittenish because our understanding cannot, at first, write larger definitions.

In a sense, Jesus’ own description of Himself was too great for the Jewish establishment of His day. • “Before Abraham was, I am,” He said (John 8:58, KJV). • “I am the living bread which came down from heaven” (6:51, KJV). • “Do you think I cannot call on my Father and he will at once put at my

disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” He declared triumphantly (Matt. 26:53).

• “Men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory” (Mark 13:26).

Statements like these overfill the ordinary vessels of small hearts.

2. Read John 1:1,14 in your Bible. How do those verses reflect the paradox of “beyond is within”? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

Prayer is doing. Retreat is not idleness; it is a rigorous discipline of the inner self.… Retreat is advancement; prayer, even extended prayer, is a practical way to use our time.

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•D A Y F I V E

Threats to Inner FullnessThe wicked … are like chaff that the wind blows away.… The Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. –Psalm 1:4,6

The poet makes it clear that it is no compliment to be “like the chaff that the wind blows away.” Chaff is despicable because it is worthless. So when the wind drives it away, who cares? Good riddance.

I grew up working in the wheat fields of the oceanic American plains. Throughout my teen years, I scooped wheat in the harvest fields. I never got over the joy of reaching down and getting a handful of sweet ripe wheat—golden and sun-warmed—and crunching it in my mouth like “Oklahoma pecans.” But occasionally I would get a bit of chaff in my mouthful of wheat. How barbed and coarse, how raspy and grating is chaff.

Just as the bitter chaff spoiled the sweet taste of the pure grain, so three dangers that bar our way to inner fullness spoil the joys of inwardness. Today we’ll examine these three dangers.Depth AddictionFirst, the desire to go deeper breeds its own addiction and may keep us from seeing the needs of our world. The best ministry to others always originates from a depth of spirit. Any time we pursue the inner Christ with such zeal that we forget to care about the outer world of lostness and human hurt, our hunger of heart becomes a perversion.

1. Read John 15:4-5. What results from a healthy hunger for Jesus? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ Jesus said unless we have ministered to those about us, we have not

ministered to Him (Matt. 25:44-45). This issue requires a delicate balance.

Discussion QuestionWhat are the dangers of inward spirituality and how can we guard against them?

The best ministry to others always originates from a depth of spirit.

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We must see with bifocal vision the Christ who is within us and the Christ who hides Himself in needy souls. To lose the view of either Christ is to live as a stranger to both God and man. OtherworldlinessA second danger is that people will see our quest as otherworldly. “You are too heavenly minded to be much earthly good,” they say.

The only answer we can give is that we have entered a life that holds stock in the next world as it hungers to redeem the present one. We who adore Christ are not trying to get out of the pain and pressures of life. We are simply taking steps to infuse life with meaning. The present is but the narrow preface to the eternal. Our role is to do all we can to help the world see that if this age is all we own, we will shortly be disinherited.The “Sweet-Jesus” SyndromeThe third danger is that we shall be trapped in the “sweet-Jesus” syndrome. The hymn writer is right—there is a sweetness in communion with our Lord. How often the word sweet appears in our description of our under-standing of Jesus: “Sweet little Jesus boy”; “There’s a sweet, sweet spirit in this place”; “Swing low, sweet chariot”; “Sweet hour of prayer.” This high-calorie addiction often gets so sticky it gums up ordinary worship. But even worse, it addicts us to the lovely feeling we hold for Jesus rather than to Jesus Himself.

With these cautions in mind, we are now ready to begin. Let us add to the counsel of Psalm 1 the truth at the center of this book: Fellowship with Christ can only be experienced at a wilderness table for two. Inwardness is not a gaudy party but the meeting of ardent lovers in the lonely desert of the human heart. There, where our wide involvements are reduced only to Christ and ourselves, we bask in a healing togetherness. There, Christ speaks as much as we do, and even when both of us say nothing, we are rapt in a welded oneness. His perfect presence is joined with ours.

2. Complete this statement: When I think about being still and silent with Christ, I … ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

1. Mother Teresa, quoted in Meditative Prayer by Richard J. Foster (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1983), 15-16.

We who adore Christ are not trying to get out of the pain and pressures of life. We are simply taking steps to infuse life with meaning.

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S e s s i o n 1

Before the Session1. Prepare a table with light refreshments. (Step 1)2. Obtain a dictionary definition of chaff. (Step 6)

During the Session1. Invite adults to enjoy refreshments. Ask how many were hungry when

they arrived. Determine symptoms of hunger (sample responses: feel-ing of emptiness, irritability, weakness). Declare we experience some of those symptoms when we hunger for the holy. Ask: Did just look-ing at the table of food take away your physical hunger? What must we do to satisfy hunger? God has prepared a feast for us, but we can’t just look at it to appease our hunger; we must fellowship with Christ at what Calvin Miller calls a wilderness table for two. This eight-week study will challenge and teach us how to do just that.

2. Invite responses to Day One, activity 1 (p. 6). Just as people try to satisfy physical hunger with empty calories, we may try to fill spiritual longings with things that do not satisfy. Analyze what some of those “empty” things might be. Invite someone to read the paragraph, beginning “We shrink to step across …” (p. 7). Evaluate why we turn from inwardness. Invite a volunteer to read the quote in the margin of Day One (p. 7). Guide the class to define repentance. Analyze how repentance is both an action and condition, and how it results in an unexplainable joy.

3. State that Psalm 1 distinguishes between paths that do and do not lead to joy and holy living. Invite a volunteer to read Psalm 1. Determine which paths we must avoid and why (vv. 1,4-6). Request adults iden-tify from Psalm 1:2 the path that leads to blessing and delight. Ask: Why might some people think God’s law is drudgery instead of a delight? Explain that torah, the Hebrew word for law, is not referring to a list of do’s and don’ts, but to God’s revealed will for His people. Explore why God’s revealed will is so delightful. Ask: How are we supposed to keep up with life’s demands and delight in God’s law day and night? Agree we

The main point of this lesson is: Fellowship with Christ can only be experienced at a wilderness table for two.

Focus on this goal: To help adults create times of silence that their inner selves might be watered by Christ for outward fruitfulness

Key Bible Passage: Psalm 1:1-6

To the LeaderPersonally contact adults who are not involved in a small group Bible study, give them a copy of this edition of MasterWork, and invite them to join you as the group begins this study of A Hunger for the Holy.

L E A D E R G U I D E•

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A H u n g e r f o r t h e H o l y

can think on and live out God’s Word throughout the course of our day, but emphasize we still must set aside quiet times to fellowship with Christ by reading and praying God’s Word. Read the paragraph that begins, “Inwardness that produces true spiritual vitality …” (pp. 9-10).

4. Ask if time in the Word happens by default or intentionality. Evaluate how the psalmist indicated intentionality in verse 3. Ask: How can we intentionally plant ourselves in Jesus and God’s Word? (Again empha-size the necessity of creating times of silence.) What happens when we do? (Sample: We gain nourishment; produce fruit; bless others.) Note that fruit refers to outer results of an inner relationship. Evaluate why “outwardness” is as important as “inwardness” and yet can be spiritu-ally dangerous. Discuss the quote in the margin of Day Three (p. 11). Determine why it is essential that we guard the quiet places (during the discussion, refer to Matt. 15:11; Prov. 23:7; and 1 Sam. 16:7; printed in Day Three, p. 12). Discuss Day Three, activity 2 (p. 12).

5. Acknowledge some may be uncomfortable with the concept of inward-ness, regarding it as a self-centered journey. The inwardness explored by the psalmist and the author is a Christ-centered journey of knowing and becoming more like Jesus. That requires living with some para-doxes. Lead adults to explore the first paradox from Day Four (p. 13). Compare worldly and biblical meditation. Ask which is the only kind of meditation that can satisfy our hunger for the holy and why. Request participants identify the second paradox (p. 13). Explore why adults find it difficult to spend extended time in prayer. Determine why regu-larly setting aside time to do nothing but pray is necessary if we want to be spiritually productive. Discuss Day Four, activities 1 and 2 (p. 14).

6. Request someone read Psalm 1:4. Define chaff and explain how it spoils the taste of grain. Guide the class to explore from Day Five dangers that can spoil the joys of inwardness (pp. 15-16). Evaluate why a holy, introspective life is not a selfish, isolated life (the quotes in the margins of Day Five, pp. 15-16, can be helpful talking points for that discus-sion). Read the last paragraph of Day Five (p. 16).

7. Invite responses to Day Five, activity 2 (p. 16). Explore how adults who feel anxious about being still and silent with Christ can gain more confidence and delight in journeying inward. Urge adults to start by setting aside at least five minutes a day with no phone, no hopping up to do something, and no agenda other than to focus solely on being with Jesus. Close with prayer for adults on the journey inward.

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