How to Grow through the Journey Adventure

Although this study has been designed to foster significant transformation of life and preparation for engaging the world for Christ, that outcome is not automatic. The study’s impact on your life is directly proportional to the depth of your commitment to and engagement with it. Or, to put it slightly differently, you will only get out of it what you put into it. It is therefore essential for you to reorder your life to seek God more earnestly in the days ahead. This is chiefly a matter of the heart’s desire for intimacy with God.  However, to be realized, this desire must be expressed in concrete ways.

• If we want to know God more intimately, we must make time for God and give attention to God. He does not give Himself to casual seekers but rather to those who earnestly seek Him in faith, for “without faith it is impossible to please him” (Heb. 11:6). Therefore, you will want to commit yourself to a full engagement of mind and heart in the pursuit of God and make the time necessary to do so. On the critical issue of time, it is important to recognize that life in today’s world is far too busy, pressured, and stressful to be healthy for the soul. While God expects us to give a day’s work for a day’s pay, He also expects us to devote time to seeking to know Him. Through daily quietness before Him in prayer, study, and meditation, we can come to know Him better. Therefore, manage your schedule ruthlessly or it will manage you. Reorder priorities to eliminate things of lesser value. This will almost certainly mean that you need to give up certain things in your life to create the time you need for this pursuit. Remember, anything you say yes to means that you are saying no to something else.  Everyone in the study is expected to be an active member of a local church.
• God wants us to be truthful before Him in our innermost being (Ps. 51:6). To grow we must open ourselves to Him and remain open, asking Him often to free us from self-deception, to enlighten our ignorance, and to search our hearts and reveal anything we must change or forsake, especially our sins (Ps. 139:23–24). Hidden resentment, bitterness, anger, greed, pride, selfish ambition, sexual lusts and viewing pornography, and any kind of sexual activity outside of marriage are often considered minor issues by us, but they are not minor to God. Indeed, such things grieve the Holy Spirit, hinder our relationship with God and keep us spiritually stagnant. It is therefore especially important to accept God’s definition of sins and to be completely honest with ourselves about where we are violating His will—then turn from our particular sins back to God and His standards for us. Otherwise, we will experience little spiritual growth.
• We will only grow as we respond to whatever truth God shows us with “the obedience of faith.” Obedience is the fruit of loving Jesus Christ (John 14:15) and a “key that opens all doors” (C.S. Lewis). To be sure, our obedience must flow from love for God and not from servile fear and dread.  But we must obey, nonetheless, lest by contenting ourselves with unlived truth we become increasingly self-deceived (James 1:22–25). If you are living in deliberate disobedience to God’s word in any area of your life, you will not grow until you deal with that sin.
• As you go through the study, pray often for the Holy Spirit to teach you. Pray before you read the Bible, books, or articles, and before watching the teaching videos. Pray before each small group meeting. Ask God to help you have “ears to hear.” Also pray often that God will work into you (and your group) a genuine desire and determination to do His will from the heart, a courage to face and forsake all that is displeasing to Him, a readiness to embrace all that is good, a prompt, cheerful and trusting obedience, and a passion to see His purposes for your life fulfilled for His glory. If you do this, you can be sure that God will answer you because you will be praying His will (Matt. 7:7–11) and asking for the good things He wants to give you (1 John 5:14–15).