REALLIFE
STUDY GROUP
Take
Up!
ICEBREAKER: Identify one benefit of living a life of
thanksgiving.
INTRODUCTION:
Jesus
told a paralytic to take up his bed and walk. And you know what he did? He
obeyed and left rejoicing and giving thanks! In other words, Jesus told a man to
exercise strength in the area of his weakness. Jesus actually told him to do
what he had never been able to do. He metaphorically told him to take up his bed
of tears and step out of his fears and step into his promise. You see his bed
represented what had become his comfort zone. And before this Jesus told him his
sins were forgiven! With forgiveness of sin come infinite, endless
possibilities. When you take up something, you are exercising authority over it!
Taking Up is a militant, commanding act of taking charge!
The
Scribes and Pharisees had no compassion for the paralytic and were just angry at
Jesus for presuming to forgive the man's sins. Though they were doctors of the
law they did not understand the heart of the giver of the law.
They
could not recognize the Son of God.
They
could not understand the Word of God.
Their
love for tradition and not principles was greater than their love for mercy and
humanity.
They
were so full of bitterness that they missed the miracle.
They
were so critical they could not enter into the spirit of
Thanksgiving.
The
truth is both the paralytic and the Pharisees were paralyzed in different ways!
We are all stuck in some way and in need of a Savior!
So
take up what has been your bed and walk. Take up your excuses and exercise your
authority! Take up your shame and shout! Take up your fear and believe! Take up
your security blanket and trust God!
CONFESSION:
I
will take up my cross this week and follow Jesus! I will follow wherever He
leads me! I will follow Him though none go with me! I will follow so close to
Him that I can step in His footsteps! I will follow through the ups and downs of
life! I will follow though the way
gets weary and the cross gets heavy! I will follow in the hope that others will
follow! And one day I will trade my cross for a crown that I will cast at the
feet of Jesus as a tribute to His love and majesty.
DEFINITION:
Take up: Airo
1.
to
raise up, elevate, lift up
a.
to
raise from the ground, take up: stones
b.
to
raise upwards, elevate, lift up: the hand
c.
to
draw up: a fish
2.
to
take upon one's self and carry what has been raised up, to bear
3.
to
bear away what has been raised, carry off
a.
to
move from its place
b.
to
take off or away what is attached to anything
c.
to
remove
d.
to
carry off, carry away with one
e.
to
appropriate what is taken
f. to
take away from another what is his or what is committed to him, to take by
force
g.
to
take and apply to any use
h.
to
take from among the living, either by a natural death, or by
violence
i. cause
to cease
OUTLINE:
Take
Up The Cross:
1.
Take
up the ways of Christ
2.
Take
up the attitude of Christ
3.
Take
up the cause of Christ
4.
Take
up the life of Christ
5.
Take
up the burden of Christ
6.
Take
up the death, burial & resurrection of Christ
TEXT:
CROSS
And
he who does not take up his cross and follow
Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conforming wholly to My
example in living and, if need be, in
dying
also] is not worthy of Me. (Matthew 10:38 AMP)
Then
Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone desires to be My
disciple, let him deny himself [disregard, lose sight of, and forget himself and
his
own
interests] and take up his cross and follow
Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if
need be, in dying, also]. (Matthew 16:24 AMP)
And
He said to all, If any person wills to come after Me,
let him deny himself [disown himself, forget, lose sight of himself and his
own
interests,
refuse and give up himself] and take up his cross daily and
follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and,
if need be, in dying also]. (Luke 9:23 AMP)
ARK
Joshua
said to the priests, Take up the Ark of the
Covenant and pass over before the people. And they took it up and went on before
the
people.
(Joshua 3:6 AMP)
STUMBLING
BLOCK
And
the word of One shall go forth, Cast up,
prepare
the
way! Take up the stumbling block
out of the way [of the spiritual return] of My
people.
(Isaiah 57:14 AMP)
BED
Which
is easier: to say to the paralyzed man, Your sins are
forgiven and put away, or to say, Rise, take up your sleeping pad or
mat, and start walking about [and keep on walking]? (Mark 2:9
AMP)
SHEILD
Make
clean and sharp the arrows, take up the shields or coats of
armor [and cover your bodies with them]! The Lord has stirred up the spirit of
the kings of the Medes [who with the Persians will destroy the Babylonian
Empire], for His purpose concerning Babylon is to destroy it; for that
is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance [upon Babylon for the
plundering and destruction] of His temple. (Jeremiah 51:11
AMP)
SERPENTS
And
he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach
the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;
but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them
that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils;
they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they
drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the
sick, and they shall recover. (Mark 16:15-18 KJV)
MOURNING
Moreover,
Take
up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, Ezekiel 19:1
STUDY
GROUP QUESTIONS:
1.
You
may not ever have been diagnosed as a paralytic but in what ways have you felt
paralyzed, stuck, stranded or off balance?
2.
What
will it take to bring a reformation and not just a revival to our
country?
3.
The
Amplified Bible defines following Christ as cleaving steadfastly to Christ,
conforming wholly to His example in living and if need be in dying also is not
worthy of Christ. How do you define following Christ and what practical changes
are required of us when we follow him?
4.
Why
is the cross and the death, burial and resurrection of
Christ core belief of our faith?
5.
What
does it mean to take up your cross and what is the end result of taking up your
cross daily?
6.
What
is keeping us from taking up our cross daily?
a. Selfishness
b.
Fear
c. Lust
d.
Apathy
& Complacency
e.
Bitterness
f. Personal
Ambition
g. Pride
h.
The
Cares of Life
i. Busyness
j. _____________________________________________________
PRAISE
REPORTS & PRAYER REQUESTS:
ACTION
POINT:
This week I will take up the ways, the attitudes, the cause, the life and the
burden of Christ by ______________________. (Choosing to forgive, choosing to
serve, choosing to pray, choosing to rejoice, choosing to compliment, choosing
to be more generous, etc...)