FBC Mystery Spirit of Excellence Teachers Summit wkbook

AFriendshipBaptistChurch 'WhoDoneIt'

MOTIVE: SPIRIT OF EXCELLENCE

Colossians 3:23 'And Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as unto the Lord and not unto men'

Welcome Investigators! As a member of the C.I.A.(Christians in Action), today you will take on the task of investigating whether you have enough clues/fingerprints to identify what God seeks. Take notes, follow along and do a thorough evaluation in making your determination!

Our Mission: Exalt The Savior, Equip the Saint, Evangelize the Sinner

C.I.A. ORDER OF INVESTIGATION

OPENING REGISTRATION, & PRAISE/ WORSHIP

-LIGHT REFRESHMENTS

-OBTAIN NAME TAGS & INVESTIGATIVE KIT

DEVOTION:

PRAYER

SCRIPTURE

WELCOME

WORSHIP SONGS

INVESTIGATION:

FINGERPRINT 1: LOVE OF THE MINISTRY

FINGERPRINT 2: PAREPAREDNESS

FINGERPRINT 3: PUNCTUALITY

FINGERPRINT 4: QUALITY TIME W/HOLY SPIRIT

FINGERPRINT 5: PRAYED/ARMORED UP

INTRODUCTION OF LEAD DETECTIVE:

PASTOR RONALD L BOWENS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

APPRECIATION

BENEDICTION

What is the Motive?

Take a moment and think about what you do in your everyday lives, why you are/were in the career that you are in? If your current job or job before you retired didn't pay you, would you still be doing that job or something similar and why? Jot a few thoughts below:

Some of us may have said things like: Its what I know/was trained to do; or I had done it so long, I knew it in my sleep; or because I had a family and children to support; or because the benefits were so good & I could retire comfortably. Whatever the reason was, it is/was enough to keep you fueled to keep going.

Now, if your response to why you teach hinges on something like: 'Luke 19:31- Because the Lord has need of it.' or Luke 5:5 'Nevertheless, at Your word, I will...' Ahhh, Because You Said So, Lord, my answer is yes- that pleases God! The human/fleshly/carnal response is normal and we see that in he Simon' response doesn't start out with a full Yes. He explains (Like the Lord didn't already know) the circumstance- 'Master, we've been out here all night'; 'This husband of mine...; This job...; These children...

______________________________________(enter your situation here). Picture a scale, and put your situation/circumstance on one side, and God on the other and let me know which one has greater weight? Let that be your guide for when you do what you do for the Lord. Can you be found guilty of giving the Lord your Yes, because He asked and it glorifies Him and you love Him?

Colossians3:23'Andwhatsoeveryedo, doitheartily,astotheLord,andnot untomen'

atthew 25: 1-10 'And while they went

o buy, the bridegroom came; and they hat were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.'

Preparedness:

Read all 10 verses of the parable Jesus tells about the virgins who were waiting on the bridegroom. Five of them were prepared and considered wise as they pre-planned and had their lamps ready as they weren't sure when he was coming. Not everyone is a pre-planner, right? Has there ever been a time where something caught you by surprise and you just weren't ready for it? What was it?

Some things are out of our control. There have been a few times I may have missed service because when we went outside, the car decided it wasn't going to start, etc something that was not in our control. But a lot of times, I would get on my kids nerves because I'd wake them on Sunday morning and if they claimed they weren't 'ready' when it was time to go, I'd always tell them, 'I know it's new for you, but for me, Sunday has always come after Saturday, and on Sunday, in this house we worship!' and sometimes I'd leave them, and sometimes made them come as they were! There are enough surprises in our life, so for the things we can, let's be prepared for. In teaching, at least know the scripture and be prepared to have talking points about it. Be prepared to ask questions, or take questions down that you may not know and prepare to research them and let them know you will get back to them when you get more knowledge on the subject, etc.

Can the Lord count you as guilty for having the Spirit of Preparedness and 'Be ye also ready' as indicated in Matthew 24:44?

Fingerprint 3: Punctuality

atthew 25: 11-12 '11 Afterward came so the other virgins, saying, Lord, ord, open to us. 12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

Punctuality:

Continuing with the parable of the 10 virgins, we see above that they had a 'reason' for them missing the bridegroom. They didn't know when to go get oil, so they had to go get it and they did it as soon as they heard he was on his way, so that was the reason for them returning late, correct? What do you think? Write your thoughts below:

We already noted, there are things that are out of our control that may cause delay. In the scenario above, we are talking about a choice that the 5 virgins made to not be prepared, to sleep until they heard 'the bridegroom cometh' thus causing them to be late. Preparedness would have assisted in this instance and may have eliminated the somber outcome of being turned away!

Can the Lord count you as guilty for having the Spirit of Punctuality?

Fingerprint 4: Quality Time Spent with

The Holy Spirit

ohn 14: 15-16 - If ye love me, keep my ommandments. 16 And I will pray the ather, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

Spending Time with the Holy Spirit:

In the scripture above, we see Jesus is explaining a few things to the disciples. One, he explains the unity/the One-ness of he and God the Father, how he is the Way to the Father and that when you'd seen one, you had seen the other. Jesus lets them know, he has to leave, but will not leave them without a Comforter whom we know is the Holy Spirit. Jesus explains the Comforter will abide with them forever. Have any of you ever lived with someone you loveYour spouse, your children, your parents, a roommate?

We understand the word abide means to 'live with/in' so when he notes the Comforter will live with you FOREVER and he opens that up with 'if you love me, keep my commandments and I will send another comforter'. Anyone you love and live with, you are going to spend quality time with. Any relationship that you have that you don't put effort into, to give some quality attention to, is going begin to die. Jesus didn't say you'd be barely knowing each other/passers by roommates to see each other when time permits, and schedules allow, and etc... he said abide WITH, and it wasn't for a short time; he said forever!

Can the Lord count you as guilty for having the Spirit of Spending quality time with the Holy Spirit?

phesians 6:10-18 '10

Finally, my brethren, e strong in the Lord, and in the power of s might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Being Prayed/Armored Up:

Some of us are familiar with the verses above outlining the Whole Armor of God. I pray that we all understand the seriousness of its necessity to us the believer. Verse 11 sums up the 'why' in explaining that we need to be able to stand against the wiles(cunning/sneaky/enticing ways) of the devil who will stop at nothing to carry out his plan to 'Steal, Kill and Destroy!' Name something(s) important to you:

Those things you listed are your weak points, your Achilles heel, your vulnerable spot. So, if something was important to you, what would you do to keep that protected? Everything in your power, correct? Well, the same goes for your spirit, and the best way to protect it is by staying in the Word, staying in Prayer, putting on the Whole Armor of God so that evil one can't get to it!

Can the Lord count you as guilty for being Prayed/Armored Up?

Great Job Investigators!! You've searched the clues and it looks like all 5 fingerprints belong to the Hand of God! A teacher with those attributes is certainly guilty of having the Hand of God on their ministry! You have found the Spirit of Excellence and we ask that you let 1 Timothy 4:10-11 resonate with you in the reason you do what you do: 10 That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe. 11 Command and teach these things.