REFLECTION QUESTIONS

»  Jesus now sits at the right hand of the Father, continuing to advocate for us through prayer. (Romans 8:34) How might Jesus be praying for you today?

»  Jesus asks us to join in His suffering - the just suffering for the unjust, or the mature suffering for the immature. What is one way you could do that this week?

»  Close your eyes and hear the judge’s gavel slam with the announcement of your guilt. Then hear Jesus offer to take your punishment for you. Give thanks.

»  Practice the memory verse.

QUOTE

“He (God) is not a mere mortal like me that I might answer him, that we might confront each other in court. If only there were someone to mediate between us, someone to bring us together, someone to remove God’s rod from me, so that his terror would frighten me no more.”

- Job SCRIPTURE

“ For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people.”
- 1 Timothy 2:5-6

DEVOTIONAL

A mediator is someone who helps two parties reach an agreement, especially when they are at odds; one who acts as an intermediary to work with opposing sides in order to bring about a settlement. Another word for that is an advocate - one who speaks in favor of, or argues on behalf of, another. Ever since man sinned and rebelled against God, we have been separated from Him, for God had a dispute with us because of sin.

Sin is described in the Bible as transgression of the law of God and rebellion against God. God hates sin, and sin stands between all of us and Him. “There is no one righteous, not even one.” (Romans 3:10) All human beings are sinners by virtue of both the sin we have inherited from Adam, as well as the sin we commit on a daily basis. The only just penalty for this sin is death (Romans 6:23): not only physical death, but eternal death.

Nothing we could do on our own would be sufficient to mediate between ourselves and God. No amount of good works or law- keeping makes us righteous enough to stand before a holy God (Isaiah 64:6; Romans 3:20; Galatians 2:16). Without a mediator, we are destined to spend eternity apart from God, for by ourselves, salvation from our sin is impossible.

Yet there is hope!

Jesus officially represents those who have placed their trust in Him before God’s throne of judgement. He mediates for us, much like a defense attorney mediates for his client, telling the judge, “Your honor, my client is innocent of all charges against him.” But in our case, the defense attorney confesses that we are guilty as charged. Rather than arguing our innocence, He instead asks to receive the punishment on our behalf. Someday we will face God, but we will do so as totally forgiven sinners because of Jesus’ death for us.

Verdict delivered. Sentence served. Penalty over. Forever.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

»  Jesus helps us see the Father. What confusions do you have about the Father that Jesus might resolve?

»  Jesus is in the Father and you are in Jesus. What does this mean to you?

»  If you could ask Jesus one question today, what would it be? (Go ahead and ask Him)

»  Practice the memory verse.

QUOTE

“If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.”

- Jesus Christ

SCRIPTURE

“In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being...”

- Hebrews 1:2-3

DEVOTIONAL

If we want to know what God is like, we need only to look at Jesus. Everything we read and understand about God through the Bible is most accurately read through the lens of Jesus. He is the ultimate revelation of God.

The key to understanding the Bible is Jesus. The key to understanding God’s character is Jesus. The key to getting our lives sorted out is Jesus. We do not need Jesus-and-angels. We do not need Jesus-and-Moses. We do not need Jesus-and-Mary. We do not need Jesus-and-a-priest. All we need is Jesus.

This is enormously helpful when we struggle to imagine how God feels about us, or how God might respond to our failures, or how God feels about this broken, sick, and depraved world of ours. When we seek to understand how God responds to messed up, fallen, and helpless people, we only need to watch how Jesus responds to them. The heart of Jesus toward the “least of these” is the exact representation of God’s heart toward me. And that heart always pursues redemption, restoration, and reconciliation.

The God of the Old Testament says, “Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?” (Ezekiel 18:23) Likewise, Jesus said “there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” (Luke 15:7)

How will you find God? By looking at Jesus Christ, because He alone was God in human flesh. You don’t have to rely exclusively on your search for God because He has already searched for you!

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

»  We will enjoy the victory of Jesus in its fullness one day. What victory can we enjoy today?

»  Hold your keys in your hand. All day, every time you touch your keys, remind yourself that your Hero, Jesus, has conquered your enemy completely.

»  The Holy Spirit is the key to knowing and living the victory of Jesus every day. Ask the Holy Spirit to heighten your awareness of His Presence and Help with you today.

»  Practice the memory verse.

QUOTE

“Jesus of Nazareth, without money and arms, conquered more millions than Alexander the Great, Caesar, Mohammed, and Napoleon; without science and learning, he shed more light on things human and divine than all philosophers and scholars combined; without the eloquence of school, he spoke such words of life as were never spoken before or since; without writing a single line, he set more pens in motion, and furnished themes for more sermons, orations, discussions, learned volumes, works of art, and songs of praise than the whole army of great men of ancient and modern times.”

- Philip Schaff SCRIPTURE

“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
- John 1:3

DEVOTIONAL

The history of the world is His story; the story of God. We were made by Him, for Him, and through Him. And the crown jewel, the pinnacle, the climax of the story and the Hero that changes everything is Jesus. Jesus is the author of the story, the purpose of the story, the beginning, and the end of the story. And the hero of every great story written by man follows the model of this Hero.

“The Hero’s Journey” is a concept popularized in “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” by Joseph Campbell. Campbell says the hero of every story shares a common journey and it goes like this: the hero receives a call to action and leaves his home for a strange land, where there are mysterious and supernatural forces. The hero faces trials and victories, but eventually finds himself in “the abyss” or “the cave,” where he is at his lowest and most hopeless point. The hero then overcomes the abyss, achieves his final and greatest triumph, and returns home with a power or prize he won on his journey. You may recognize this pattern in some of your favorite stories, and it is at its purest in the story of our ultimate Hero and Savior, Jesus.

Jesus, who was in eternity with His Father, left glory and honor to dwell in human form on earth. He did this for the redemption and reconciliation of mankind; this was His call to action. In His mission on earth, Jesus did many wonders and had victories over enemies, but eventually made His way to the abyss - where Jesus, crying out to His Father in pain, died on the cross. Yet, just as the heroes of myth overcome, Jesus overcame death itself and not only walked out of the grave, but walked out with the keys of death and hell in His hands.

With His great victory, Jesus returned home to reunite with His Father. And the prize He returned with, the hero’s gift in our earthly stories, was the ultimate defeat of death and damnation. This victory is ours in Him, and is our only hope in life and in death.

WEEK 4 INTRODUCTION

Jesus is the most pivotal, controversial, and influential person in history! The marking of time is defined by His life, His teachings are considered the most beautiful ideals ever expressed, and billions of people claim to have had their lives changed by Him. He was raised by a carpenter, lived in a rural and politically powerless region of the world, and never traveled more than 200 miles from home. He claimed to be the Son of God and it got Him executed. He predicted his execution and promised his resurrection. Truly He is the most interesting man in the world.

WEEK 4 MEMORY VERSE

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.” Hebrews 4:14

Truth #11 God’s Law is Stated in the 10 Commandments

Truth #12 Nobody Can Keep God’s Law Perfectly
Truth #13 The Purpose of the Law is to Show Us Our Sin

Truth #14 Sin is Lawlessness

Truth #15 Jesus Satis es the Law of God

Gather with your Pursuit Group and have the following discussion:

»  Take turns reciting this Week’s memory verse: Mark 12:30-31

»  What does God require of us?

»  Do you ever feel like God is holding out on you? Explain.

»  In what ways are you too easily pleased, instead of reaching for more?

»  Where do you find your personal sense of identity?

»  On a scale of 1-10, how convinced are you that full submission to God is the best plan for your success?

»  In what arena of life do you fail to practice God’s plan for you?

»  How are the 10 Commandments a gift from God to us?

»  How do rules awaken our rebellious nature? Why is this true?

»  If Jesus can be trusted with our eternal sin-problem, why do we struggle to trust Him for our daily problems?

»  What does it mean to love God with all you’ve got?

»  Have you had times where success, or money, or hitting a goal failed to deliver what you thought they might? What is the hole these things cannot fill?

»  How is the Pursuit going for you so far?

»  Share prayer requests and current life issues with one another.

»  Pray for each other.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

»  If you die today and God asks you why He should allow you into His heaven, what will you say? (hint: there is only one Biblically correct answer)

»  If Jesus’ blood gives you eternal life, how does that affect how you see yourself in this life?

»  There is not one thing in all of creation more powerful than the shed blood of Jesus. Meditate on this for a minute and give thanks to God.

»  Practice the memory verse.

QUOTE

“Begotten by the Father, He was not made by the Father; He was made Man in the Mother whom He Himself had made, so that He might exist here for a while, sprung from her who could never and nowhere have existed except through His power.”

- Augustine of Hippo

SCRIPTURE

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to ful ll them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.”
- Jesus (Matthew 5:17-18)

DEVOTIONAL

God is Holy and Just, and while obedience to His Law is required and rewarded, disobedience must be punished. God told Adam that if he ate the fruit of the forbidden tree then he would surely die. So, when this command was broken, death entered into the human experience and we were banished from the Garden. Now life and death ow in the veins of human beings.

Because life is in the blood, God has always forbidden the eating of the blood of animals and required accountability for the shedding of human blood. He also established that without death (the shedding of blood), sin cannot be forgiven. In fact, the law requires that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. (Hebrews 9:22)

We have all broken God’s Law and there is no forgiveness for this rebellion without the shedding of blood - the giving of a life.

Enter Jesus, who is born of a virgin (the sin-infected blood of a human father is not in Him) and lived His life in perfect obedience to God the Father. He obeyed the Laws of God perfectly. Because of His great love for us, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) The blood of life was shed to defeat the death that flows in our veins. His perfect obedience is credited to us and satis es our sin-debt. His death is the ultimate fulfillment of the law, while simultaneously the most merciful gift God has ever given. Justice is served and Holiness remains in tact, for disobedience is punished and obedience is rewarded - all in the person of Jesus.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

»  When was the last time you chose to trust your own thinking and plans rather than God’s clear direction for your life? How did that work out for you?

»  On a scale of 0-10, how much do you actually believe that obedience and submission to God and His ways is absolutely the most rewarding and safe thing a person can do? (remember that if your answer truly is 10, you’d never rebel)

»  Focus today on con dent trust - that if you obey God, it will serve you well.

»  Practice the memory verse.

QUOTE

“Sin is a fundamental relationship; it is not wrong doing, it is wrong being, deliberate and empathic independence of God.”
- Oswald Chambers

SCRIPTURE

“Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.”
- 1 John 3:4

DEVOTIONAL

All sinful behaviors and choices are the same sin, and that sin is rebellion against God: rejection of his rule over our lives. Sin is living without reference to God, not viewing him as the defining authority of our lives, around which our entire being needs to be centered. It is believing that you know better than He, and then acting on that belief.

Consider our solar system: It is perfectly designed and it works as intended because it operates within that design. The slightest degree of variation of Earth’s rotation or orbit, for example, would render our planet uninhabitable. What would happen if some of the planets decided not to orbit the sun? Or to create their own orbits, around whatever object they desired? Or refused to orbit at all?

The answer is death and destruction. The solar system as we know it would unravel and fall apart because the planets would not be orbiting the correct center. They would not be living in reference to the sun, and everything would fall apart and be destroyed.

Life works best when lived in full surrender and obedience to the laws and ways of God. It was designed carefully by God that way, for our guidance, favor, and blessing. God invites us to leverage His ways for our own good, but our stubborn hearts and self-centered egos are not convinced. We trust our three pounds of brain to outsmart God and His design. The reality is that the wisest person on earth; the most shrewd thinker; the most sel sh decision-maker ever, would choose obedience to God as their path because they would understand that it is absolutely the best path for them. But our sin-nature doesn’t allow for this, and we rebel. We choose lawlessness. We choose sin.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

»  Walk through the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20) and count the ones you have broken.

»  How do rules awaken my rebellious nature? Why is that true of both kids and adults?

»  Think of the last commandment you broke. Why did you break it? What were you hoping to gain? If you have not confessed to God, do it now.

»  Practice the memory verse.

QUOTE

“The law bids us, as we try to fulfill its requirements, and become wearied in our weakness under it, to know how to ask for the help of grace.”
- St. Augustine

SCRIPTURE

“I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death.”

- Romans 7:10-11

DEVOTIONAL

God forbid Adam to eat of the forbidden tree, not as a barrier to self- actualization, but as a gracious gift. The fruit of that tree was not a path to goodness, but a path to death, and God wanted to protect him from it. The Ten Commandments are, likewise, a gift, designed to show us how to live joyful lives of abundance while avoiding loss, pain, and death. The Law is righteous and good, however, because of my depravity, I am incapable of living a law-abiding life. The Law holds up a mirror so that I might see the ugliness of my inner, rebellious self and turn my heart toward the God whose grace alone can make me whole.

In Romans 7, Paul says, “I would not have known what coveting really was if the Law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’” (v7). But knowing the law, and grasping what the law asks of me does not help me defeat my sin - it just reveals to me what I really am: a broken and desperate sinner. We need more than rules to set us free. The law is only God’s first gift to us; the second is His fulfillment of that same law on our behalf, and in our stead.

Of course, the Law does other things too. Obedience to the Law distinguishes the people of God from all other people on the earth, and it guides us into the righteous life God designed for us. But first the Law breaks us, shows us the endless depth of our depravity, and forces us to confront our desperate need of a Savior. God’s hope is that the ugly brutality of my brokenness will drive me to my knees in repentant dependance upon Jesus, and His redemptive work in me. There are only two kinds of people in the world: sinners who admit it and sinners who don’t.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

»  Do you believe that man is born good and turns bad through the contamination of this world OR that man is born already broken and incapable of true goodness? What difference does it make?

»  Do you truly believe that life works best only when it is lived in God, for God, and in obedience to God? Is there an arena of your life where you fail to practice this belief?

»  When life is lived in and for God, He becomes the source of our Identity. Where do you find your identity? (God? Money? Popularity? Success? Other?)

»  Practice the memory verse.

QUOTE

“As a result of the fall we’re not just spiritually impaired but incapacitated. We’re not just weak; we have no innate power to obey God’s law and glorify him. We’re estranged from our Creator, from one another, and from the rest of creation.”

- Leo Schuster

SCRIPTURE

“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”
- Romans 3:10-12

DEVOTIONAL

In Romans 3, God makes His assessment of mankind painfully clear: all of us have turned away from Him and have become worthless; none of us does good or seeks for God. The great human rebellion against God has resulted in a tragic reality: all are now born with hearts that are deceitful and beyond cure. We don’t even recognize or understand the complexities of our own hearts. (Jeremiah 17:9) We are fundamentally broken, and we lack the insight to fully grasp how broken we are.

This is horrible news, yet it is important to recognize that it’s not the end of the story, but the beginning. It is the bad news that sets the table for the good news of Jesus Christ, who kept God’s Law perfectly and offered Himself as a substitute for us. All who trust in Him are justified through faith and restored to God. They are set free from bondage, guilt, and shame. This is a gift from God, through faith, by the power of His Spirit in us.

“For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:19) We all fell with Adam, but we have been raised with Christ. The God who raised Jesus from the dead is powerfully at work in us and won’t let us go. Remind yourself of this often. Even though Christ is alive in us, our sinful nature also remains very much engaged.

Even after we have met Jesus, we cannot obey God’s law perfectly. Our flesh just won’t roll over and quit, so the battle of sin rages on. We can, however, practice victory daily as we walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh. This is accomplished moment-by-moment as we quiet our flesh and actively surrender to the desires and power of the Spirit of Christ in us.

One day He will bring us into His everlasting Presence, where we will no longer battle our flesh. There we will finally, freely, fully, and forever obey the One who made us His own.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

»  Describe what it means, in a single sentence, to have no other gods before Him in your life.

»  How are the Ten Commandments a gift from God to us?

»  Like Adam and Eve, do you ever wonder if God is withholding something from you? If so, why?

»  Practice the memory verse.

QUOTE

“Because God created and loves us and knows what’s best for us, he gives us moral and spiritual direction about how to live life in the best way. The Ten Commandments are a love gift to us from God. Of course this is true of all Scripture, but the heart and soul of God’s guidance is found in the Ten Commandments.”

- John Yates SCRIPTURE

“You shall have no other gods before me.”

- Exodus 20:3

DEVOTIONAL

Man first encountered God in the Garden of Eden, where he had direct access to Him and often walked with Him in the cool of the day. It was an amazing world - beauty, animals, no rain, no sin, no pain or sickness - and it was all he knew. Then, because of his suspicion that God might be holding out on him, he chose to eat the fruit of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (It is commonly called an apple, but I prefer to think of it as a mango because I really like apples).

And then all hell broke loose.

After being cursed for his rebellion, exiled from the Garden and separated from God’s Presence, man found himself living in a broken world where now all things go from order to chaos, and from life to death. He longed for God and God longed for him, so God made a way for man to reconnect with Him. This way to reconnect is the Law. It is justice and mercy, as man deals directly with his sin and leans into obedience to God for His grace, blessing, and favor.

The Ten Commandments were given by God as the perfect Law that defines what God wants from us. They guide us to living the life He had in mind when He made us. They are the first answer to the question, “What does God require of us?”

Wherever any person, family, community, or nation follows these laws, justice rules, relationships flourish, and God’s favor is found in abundance. So much is this true that the Ten Commandments once hung in every courthouse of our country, acknowledging that they provide the foundation for our laws and legal system. These commandments speak universally to every culture and reveal the heart issues of every person. The result is that they reveal the holiness of God and the depravity of man, setting the table for the coming of a Savior to rescue us from the Law by satisfying its demands for us.