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    The In Touch Study Series: Pursuing a Deeper Faith
    The In Touch Study Series: Pursuing a Deeper Faith
    The In Touch Study Series: Pursuing a Deeper Faith
    Ebook148 pages2 hours

    The In Touch Study Series: Pursuing a Deeper Faith

    By Charles F. Stanley

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    About this ebook

    Dr.Charles Stanley's new series of Bible study guides features insights and wisdom of this beloved pastor and author. Small groups and individuals who want a Bible study that's spiritually sound and practical will find a wealth of ideas to help them understand and apply the Scriptures to the real world. Each title takes a unique fourfold approach to get the most out of Bible study time-emphasizing personal identifications with the Scripture passage, recognition of your emotional response, reflection of the passage's meaning and application, and taking steps to apply what's been learned. This is a sound way to explore the Word of God.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherThomas Nelson
    Release dateNov 6, 1999
    ISBN9781418554477
    The In Touch Study Series: Pursuing a Deeper Faith
    Author

    Charles F. Stanley

    Dr. Charles F. Stanley was the founder of In Touch Ministries and pastor emeritus of First Baptist Church Atlanta, Georgia, where he served more than fifty years. He was also a New York Times bestselling author of more than seventy books. Until his death in 2023, Dr. Stanley’s mission was to get the gospel to “as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, as clearly as possible, as irresistibly as possible, through the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God.” This is a calling that In Touch Ministries continues to pursue by transmitting his teachings as widely and effectively as possible. Dr. Stanley’s messages can be heard daily on In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley broadcasts on television, radio, and satellite networks and stations around the world; on the internet at intouch.org and through In Touch+; and via the In Touch Messenger Lab. Excerpts from Dr. Stanley’s inspiring messages are also published in the award-winning In Touch devotional magazine.

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      Book preview

      The In Touch Study Series - Charles F. Stanley

      PURSUING A DEEPER

      FAITH

      CHARLES

      STANLEY

      01_PursuingDeeperFaith_0001_001

      © 1999 by Charles Stanley

      All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

      Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

      Thomas Nelson, Inc. titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail SpecialMarkets@ThomasNelson.com.

      Scripture quotations are from THE NEW KING JAMES VERSION. © 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers.

      ISBN 978-0-7852-7290-8

      Printed in the United States

      08 09 10 11 12 QW 5 4 3 2 1

      CONTENTS

      Introduction: God’s Invitation

      1. Preparing for Growth

      2. Are You Growing? (Part 1)

      3. Are You Growing? (Part 2)

      4. Requirements for Growth Toward Intimacy with God (Part 1)

      5. Requirements for Growth Toward Intimacy with God (Part 2)

      6. Stages of Growth Toward Intimacy (Part 1)

      7. Stages of Growth Toward Intimacy (Part 2)

      8. God’s Formula for Spiritual Growth (Part 1)

      9. God’s Formula for Spiritual Growth (Part 2)

      10. Time Apart with the Lord

      Conclusion: The Lord Desires Your Presence

      INTRODUCTION

      GOD’S INVITATION

      Our heavenly Father has issued to each of us a very special two-part invitation. The first part of the invitation is to know Him. We are invited not only to know about our heavenly Father, but to know Him, to be in intimate, personal relationship with Him, and to experience His presence in an ongoing, daily way.

      The Invitation to Know God

      There is a vast difference between knowing about God and knowing God. To know about God is to have a head-knowledge of God—to believe that He exists and to draw conclusions about His nature. To know about God is to have an understanding of God and the way in which He works, the commandments He has given for living, and the plan He has implemented for our eternal salvation through Jesus Christ, His Son.

      To actually know God is something quite different. It is to have a heart relationship with God—to experience His presence and to hear His voice speaking in your spirit on a daily basis, guiding you into the right paths and right decisions that He desires for you. It is to have a deep assurance that you are locked into a relationship with Him forever, a relationship that cannot be severed by anything that you or another person might do. It is to have confidence of God’s love and presence with you always.

      A person may know a great deal about another person—his name, age, height, color of eyes, profession or occupation, church affiliation, some of his historical background, and so forth. But if you only know about a person and do not actually know the person, you cannot answer yes to the question "Do you know this person?"

      To know a person is to know what makes him laugh and what brings tears to his eyes. It is to have shared experiences with him. It is to spend time with him and to converse with him personally and privately—both talking and listening as you exchange confidences, opinions, dreams, hopes, and struggles.

      Can we ever fully know God? No. God can never be fully fathomed, known, or loved. He is infinite in His power, wisdom, love, and presence—we are finite. The finite can never fully comprehend or understand the infinite. But we can know Him better and better. We can experience a deeper and deeper relationship with God.

      The Invitation to Become Like Jesus

      The second part of God’s invitation to each of us is an invitation to become more like Jesus Christ day by day.

      Many people believe that all the Lord desires for us is that we be born again—that we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and then continue to believe in Him until the day we die and go to heaven. While the Lord most certainly desires this for each of us, He desires this and so much more!

      Many people are saved, but it’s as if they crossed the threshold into salvation and then never took another step after crossing the threshold. Our life in Christ does not end with a salvation experience. That is only the beginning point. Spiritual growth is to be the norm of our lives, every day of our lives.

      In our relationship with the Lord, we are invited to grow spiritually so that we are continually becoming more like Christ Jesus in our character, which in turn is manifested in behavior. Who we are as people is continually to be displayed in how we think and respond to life, what we say, and what we do.

      We are to bear the identity of the Holy Spirit at work in us—displaying His fruit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (see Gal. 5:22–23). We are to respond to needs as Jesus would respond—with power and love and mercy. We are to think what Jesus would think in response to every situation or circumstance we encounter, and to speak what Jesus would say.

      Can we ever fully become like Jesus? No, not in this lifetime. But we are invited—yes, called and challenged—to become more like Jesus every day. We are to continue to grow into the fullness of His character.

      A Lifetime Challenge

      Our quest to have an ever-deepening relationship with our heavenly Father, and our growth into the fullness of Christ’s character, is a lifetime challenge. We never reach perfection in our spiritual growth. Neither are we to rest on a plateau of spiritual maturity. We must never assume that we know God as well as we can know Him or that we are as spiritually mature as the Lord desires for us to be.

      There’s always room for greater growth and a deeper relationship with the Lord.

      So let me ask you today . . .

      Do you have an intimate relationship with your loving heavenly Father?

      Are you growing spiritually? Are you becoming more like Jesus Christ in your character and in your behavior?

      God desires today that you be able to give a resounding Yes to these questions!

      More specifically, I invite you to consider these questions:

      • How do you know you are growing in your relationship with Christ Jesus?

      01_PursuingDeeperFaith_0008_001

      • What do you consider to be an intimate, personal relationship with your heavenly Father? How would you define this relationship to another person?

      01_PursuingDeeperFaith_0008_002

      • What do you sense the Lord still desires to share with you, reveal to you, or impart to you?

      01_PursuingDeeperFaith_0008_003

      LESSON 1

      PREPARING FOR

      GROWTH

      Each of us has a perspective on the world and on life—a way of looking at things, of judging things, of holding things in the memory. We need to recognize that our perspective is something we have learned, and we need to recognize that we may have adopted a wrong understanding about certain things.

      I have found in my years of ministry that a wrong perspective is very common when it comes to spiritual growth. A faulty perspective about God can actually be a major stumbling block toward a person desiring to be in intimate relationship with God.

      For example, if a person believes God to be a harsh, punitive, angry judge, that person is likely to shy away from having a relationship with God. On the other hand, if a person believes God to be the only true source of unconditional love, tender mercy, and abundant grace, that person is likely to seek an ever-deepening relationship with God.

      In like manner, what we have been taught to believe about Jesus is likely to limit or define the degree to which we believe we can become like Jesus in character, and that, in turn, will determine to

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