LESSON 2 PART 1:
THE FOUR FACES OF THE VISION: THE MAN
Key Verse: “Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest’” (Matt 9:37-38-NASB).
Key Scriptures:
Ephesians 4:11
Luke 10:33
Acts 9:1-30
Objective: The goal of this lesson is to teach the necessity of every believer to be connected to the body of Christ, the local church, through relationships. This lesson will stress the importance of developing solid and healthy relationships that help new believers grow in faith.
Introduction: Very few new believers remain in the church unless they form meaningful relationships with other Christian believers. Satan knows this and does all he can to break fellowship between believers and to get them to isolate themselves from one another. He knows that the accountability, comfort, and encouragement that comes from close relationships in the body of Christ are direct threat to him and the kingdom of darkness. Thus he works to sever bonds of relationships at every turn.
In lesson 1, we studied” the face of the ox” and how that represents serving in the body of Christ. In this lesson, we are going to study “the face of the man” and how that represents pastoring new believers and connecting them to the local church.
I What is the face of the man?
A __________________is important in the body of Christ.
- Satan knows that relationships provide protection, they bring accountability, comfort, and encouragement in times of difficulty. Satan, therefore, will stop at nothing to keep Christians from connecting to other Christians in close, meaningful relationships.
- Our human nature craves smaller, more intimate relationships and is not satisfied with just being part of a large, anonymous crowd. Jesus knew this and formed a small group of twelve disciples that travelled with Him and worked alongside Him in His ministry. In our church, we follow this pattern and form relationships in small groups.
- John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, placed each of his believer is a small group, or class, as he called it. Twelve people met each week and shared with the other in their class the temptations they had encountered the past week and how they had overcome them.
- Inspite of his dramatic conversion, Paul still needed the face of a man. Millions are being converted around the world, but if they never see the face of a man (relationships), they will not last.
The Lord to Ananias, a disciple in Damascus, to go and meet with Saul (v.11). Jesus even told him the exact address and name of the man he was to minister to. Ananias was the one chosen to present the first view of the face of a man to Saul.
B. Saul needed the face of a man (v.17).
- For three days, Saul was blind. He had time to think and reflect on his sinful life. Israel spent three days at Mount Sinai, and when we first come to Christ, we also need three days alone with God to let Him speak to us on the issues of our hearts. That’s why we set aside three days for new believers to go an Encounter Retreat.
- Ananias laid hands on Saul, and Saul was healed of blindness. Literally, the first face he saw was the face of a man; Ananias. Similarly, every new convert needs a disciple to directly connect to, face -to-face.
- Ananias also ministered water baptism and the baptism of the Holy Spirit to Saul (v.17). He filled in the gaps in Saul’s spiritual experience. The encounter should be the place we fill in the gaps in the lives of new believers.
C. Saul was____________ to the body of believers (vv.19-22).
- For a numbers of days after his encounter, Saul stayed with the disciples. He “kept increasing in strength “(v.22 NASB) and grew bold in his witness for Christ. All new believers need other Christians to hang out with and from whom they can receive teaching, strengthening, and training.
- This is the work of a “pastor of one.” Saul of Tarsus became Paul, the greatest apostle of all time. Ananias had no idea that he would be working with the man who would become known as the apostle to the Gentiles. Multitudes of souls were saved and disciples through Paul, but none of it would have happened without Ananias’s early ministry to him.
- Christians leaders must work with every precious soul God gives them, just as though each has the potential of the apostle Paul. God is looking for faithful leaders who like Ananias, will be willing to present the face of a man to those who have come to Christ.
Summary: We all need relationships in the body of Christ, especially new believers. Without genuine connection to loving, more mature Christians, most new believers will not remain within the local church body.
Think about your salvation experience. You probably had someone who reached out to you, visited you in your home, invited you to a small group meeting, took you on an Encounter Retreat, and encouraged you to continue your journey in Christ. As you are growing in Christ, you now have the opportunity to begin showing others the same love and concern that others showed you. When you begin reaching out in this way, you are showing others the face of a man and helping them connect to the body of Christ.
Questions and Discussion Points
1 Who helped you grow in Christ immediately following your salvation? What did that person do for you?
2 How do relationships help mature us in Christ? How are your relationships helping you to grow?
3 Discuss the term a pastor of one. Are you willing to let God use you in this way?
4 What role does the Encounter Retreat play in connecting believers to the body of Christ? How did your Encounter Retreat help you connect?
Assignment
All ministries begin small. God will never entrust you with thousands if you will not be faithful to minister to even one. List some ways you could start ministering to one other person? Ask God to give you “one” this week and start planting seeds into that person’s life. (Hand in your assignment to the Pastor in charge of your class).
SCHOOL OF LEADERS (SOL)
LEVEL 2 Charting Your Vision
The Four Faces of the Vision: Man
Scripture Memory for Level 2, Week 2
“Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest’” (Matt 9:37-38-NASB).
Monday: Acts 7:24-60___________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Tuesday: Acts 8:1-40 ___________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Wednesday: Acts 9:1-43_________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Thursday: Acts 10:1-48 _________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Friday: Acts 11:1-30 ____________________________________________________
Saturday: Acts 12:1-13:12________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Sunday: Acts 13:13-52__________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Special Prayer Requests ________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________