Spiritual Topics, Part 10

Servants Preparation Curriculum

Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

1

The Little Foxes

Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

2

Be Careful!

• The Little Foxes ruin the vineyard

Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

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The Meditation Verse

“Catch us the foxes, The little foxes that spoil the vines, For our vines have tender grapes” (Song of Songs 2:15)

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Spiritual Meaning:

• The Little Foxes are symbol of the little sins that sneak into our spiritual life and impede our spiritual growth and cause us to fall back
• We must pay attention to our little sins/weaknesses the same way we do with the big sins

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• Let’s look at some examples!

Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

4

Disobedience

• We usually respect solid rules and laws in life like:
• Traffic signs
• Road signs
• Teacher instructions
• College requirements
• Flight rules

Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

5

Disobedience Cont.

• Adan and Eve disobeyed God in a simple command: do not eat from one tree

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• They were cast out from the Garden of Eden and sin entered the world and their sons killed one another

Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

6

Disobedience Cont.

• Honor the Sabbath
• God ordered His people to keep the Sabbath to praise Him, but not ever one obeyed

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• Someone went out to cut a tree to get some wood and God ordered that this man be stoned to death (Numbers 15)

Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

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Disobedience Cont.

• God request no collection of Manna on the Sabbath; however, some did not follow the command and their food became rotten

Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

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The Virtue of Obedience

• You get abundant blessings and find constant success in your life
• Obey God’s command so that you do not lose your eternity
• Obey the Church’s commands (fasting, prayer, revival, praise, donation, etc.) to be an active member
• Obey Abouna’s commands to acquire and grow in the life of virtue
• Obey your servant’s command to learn the spiritual life
• Obey your parent’s commands because they know and desire the best for you

Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

9

The Sons of Rekab (Jeremiah 35)

• They refused to disobey their father’s command - even at time of danger

Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

10

Complaining / Grumpy

• There are some who like to complain about anything and everything and are never satisfied or happy
• They are always criticizing others
• The Jewish people never thanked God for His mercy and salvation and never trusted in Him and always complained about:
• Water
• Food
• Missing the old food in Egypt

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• So, God sent them quail (meat) for one month, but the desert brought up terrible snakes the bit and killed them

Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

11

Complaining / Grumpy Cont.

• The healing is a bronze snake, a symbol of Jesus Christ
• Fiery snakes

Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

12

The Virtue of Thanksgiving

• Thanking God for what you have is a virtue
• Thanking God brings inner happiness and satisfaction

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• God will increase and multiply what you get if you thank Him

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“All gifts will increase except the one that you do not thank for” (St. Ephraim the Syrian)

Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

13

Spiritual Practice Without Passion / Zeal

• People practice all spiritual activities without a zeal or inner love
• Praying without focusing
• Routine reading The Bible without studying, comparisons, meditations, and/or memorizations
• Donations without feeling the needs of the poor or being blessed to have this opportunity
• Coming to liturgy late, talk during the service, and taking Communion without feeling its blessings and importance to you

Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

14

Spiritual Practice Without Passion / Zeal Cont.

“And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32)

Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

15

A Lack of Zeal Leads to Hypocrisy

• To the Bishop of The Church of Sardis:

“I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead” (Revelation 3:1)

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Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

16

The Virtue of Inner Zeal / Passion

• Establish yourself in the life of virtue

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• Entice yoursef to grow spiritually with:
• More frequent prayers
• Deep prayers from the heart and the mind

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• Discovering awesome facts about God in The Bible
• The ministry becomes more joyful and interesting
• Starting and developing new services and including others

Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

17

The Life of Indulgence / The Fun Life

• Many youth go after earthly fun at all expenses and they might sacrifice spiritual activities for fun
• There is nothing wrong with fun if it is at the appropriate time

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• Examples of extreme and harmful fun
• The love of food that prohibits you from fasting
• The love of sports that force you to skip Liturgy, hymn class, or other services
• The love for electronic games on your phone that distract you from focusing on praying or listening to sermons

Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

18

The Life of Indulgence / The Fun Life Cont.

• The love of watching movies that keep you up all night and skipping classes, prayer, or service
• The love to go out with friends that become a habit to skip meetings or refuse to go to service
• The love to make fun of others and to pick on someone in a humiliating pattern
• The love for showing off in front of others

Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

19

King Solomon’s Life Experience

“Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done And on the labor in which I had toiled; And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 2:11)

Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

20

Toxic Relationships

• Relationships with bad friends or coworkers can destroy your life

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• Amnon's friend advised him to rape Tamar which later got him killed by her brother
• Rehoboam’s friends advised him to be get tough with the people and they rebelled and he lost his kingdom

Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

21

Good Relationships

• Johnathan saved his friend David from King Saul
• Johnathan than sacrificed his crown to save his friend

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“A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24)

Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

22

Frequent Criticism

• People who frequently criticize others end up with judgments in all aspects of life and forget their own sins and weaknesses

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• Criticism leads to cruelty of the heart, stiffness in relations, rude behavior, and pride
• Then, followed by rapid falls into big sins like theft, adultery, addiction, etc.

Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

23

God Wants You To Be Merciful

“Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated since you yourselves are in the body also” (Hebrews 13:3)

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“Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.” (Philippians 4:5)

Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

24

Jealousy

• Can destroy your life

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• Rachael and Leah
• Eassu and Jacob
• Saul and David

Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

25

King Saul’s Jealousy of David

Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

26

Be Content With What You Have

• Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have as God has said:

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“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5)

Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

27

The Sins of Tongue

• Small and frequent insulting words hurt other peoples feelings and put them down and may even cast them away from the church

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• Making fun of others leads you to being lukewarm and then shy feelings when praying to God results in cessation of prayer and the fall into sins

Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

28

Jesus Wants You To Control Your Mouth

“But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment” (Mathew 12:36)

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“For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Mathew 12:36)

Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

29

Wasting Time

• Wasting time in sleeping, watching TV, playing games, talking on the phone, etc.
• Wasted time = missed opportunities

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1. Grow in love and knowledge of God
2. Service and preaching to others
3. Learn new and useful tools that help you to succeed and achieve in life
4. Wasting time means wasting your life

Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

30

The Value of Time

• God will question you on how you spent your life

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• What are your spiritual achievements?
• Life is a race to do more service and minister to others
• Life is road of spiritual treasure, so try to gather as much as you can

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• All of this so you are not shy, embarrassed, and/or worried on Judgement Day

Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

31

King Hezekiah’s Prayer

• You should push yourself to pray like King Hezekiah:

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“Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord, and said, “Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly” (Isaiah 38:2-3)

Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

32

Seeking Authority

• It brings inner irritability, unrest, and unsatisfaction
• It brings jealousy and leads to division and subgroups

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• The Sons of Zebedee (James and John) sought leadership, but God rebuked them
• Peter and Judas were looking for leadership
• The Pharisees and Scribes turned in Jesus because of jealousy
• Those who seek to be leaders end up with arguments, disputes, criticisms, lose inner peace, and may leave the service

Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

33

Jesus’ Concept About Leadership

“Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, “What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?” But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me” (Mark 9:33-37)

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Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

34

Jesus’ Concept About Leadership Cont.

“So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them: “When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; and he who invited you and him come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:7-11)

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Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

35

Examples of Denying Yourself

• Always thank God for your success
• Always give credit to others
• Do not talk about yourself or your achievements
• Include others in your service and be a good team member
• Do not seek positions and let others choose you
• Pray before you start your service to feel you need God’s help

Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

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Follow The Example of Jesus

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Summary

1. Disobedience
2. Wasting time
3. Constant Complaining / Grumpy
4. Seeking authority
5. Practicing religion without zeal
6. A life of indulgence
7. Toxic relationships
8. Frequent criticism
9. Jealousy
10. Sins of the tongue

Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

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Conclusion

• Be aware of the little sins that can destroy your life gradually without you feel them!

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Review Questions

• X

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Memorization Verses

1. X

Lecture X, Servants Preparation Curriculum

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