Stomping Out the Darkness: Discover Your True Identity in Christ and Stop Putting Up with the World’s Garbage

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PEOPLE GROW
BETTER TOGETHER

Have you ever thought about Christianity as a team sport? Alone we can easily get discouraged on our Christian walk, but together we find strength as we encourage each other, pray for each other and build each other up.

· When has a team of believers helped you through an especially difficult time?

· How did the believers show they cared? What support did they offer you?

· Shifting from the receiving end, what did you do to contribute to the functioning of the team and the wellbeing of other team members?

· If you’ve never been part of a team of believers—a youth group, a church—what’s keeping you back? Busyness? No driver’s license? Wanting to be cool or not wanting to be a nerd? Be honest with yourself about your reasons—and listen carefully for what God wants for you.

A church youth group is a place where you can share your concerns, a place where people really care about you and a place where you and your Christian friends can help each other grow as disciples of Jesus Christ. A church youth group is the place for you if you’re serious about your faith.

DISCIPLESHIP: THE HEARTBEAT OF
GROWTH AND MATURITY

Discipleship is the intensely personal activity of two or more persons helping each other experience a growing relationship with God. And such caring and growing together is what being Christ’s disciples is all about.

Disciple and Discipler. You are both a disciple and a discipler in your Christian relationships.

· In what relationships are you more the disciple than the discipler? What have those relationships helped you to learn?

· In what relationships are you more the discipler than the disciple? What have you learned in those particular relationships?

Counselor and Counselee. You also have the opportunity to be a peer counselor and to receive counsel in your Christian relationships.

· When has God guided you through the counsel of a fellow believer? Be specific.

· When has God used you to offer His truth to someone who was in need of counsel? What did you learn from that experience?

As a believer, you are disciple as well as discipler, counselor as well as counselee. The following designs for discipleship and concepts for counseling offer some practical guidelines for your ministry to others.

DESIGNS FOR DISCIPLESHIP

In Colossians 2:6-10, Paul outlines three levels in the ministry of discipling others. Each step of the way, sin, the world, the flesh and the devil can interfere. These points of conflict must be resolved and replaced by specific steps of growth.

Level 1: Identity. Here, people establish and come to understand their identity in Christ (see Colossians 2:10).

· What does the person being discipled need to learn in each of the following areas of life in order to establish his or her identity in Christ?

Spiritual life

_____________________________

Mind

_____________________________

Emotions

_____________________________

Will

_____________________________

Relationships

_____________________________

· If you are working to establish your identity in Christ, which area(s) would you like help in? Whom can you go to for discipling? Ask your youth pastor for suggestions.

· If you feel solid about your identity in Christ, think back to who helped you to get to this point. Whom can you thank? And whom can you help disciple? Let your youth pastor know of your willingness to be a discipler.

Level 2: Maturity. At this level, believers become mature in their faith and are “built up in [Christ]” (Colossians 2:7).

· What does the person being discipled need to learn in each of the following areas of life in order to become more Christlike?

Spiritual life

_____________________________

Mind

_____________________________

Emotions

_____________________________

Will

_____________________________

Relationships

_____________________________

· If you’re confident about who you are in Christ and now are working to become more mature in your faith, which area(s) would you like help in? Whom can you go to for discipling? Ask your youth pastor for suggestions.

· Even if you’ve been a believer for a while, you may still be working on some of these areas. Which ones would you like some discipling help in? For which areas could you be a discipler? Talk to your youth pastor about both your needs and your willingness to minister.

Many new Christians want to know right away, “What should I do to grow as a Christian?” when the better question is, “Who should I be?” Keep in mind that people (yourself included) can’t behave as mature Christians (Level 3) until they have matured as Christians (Levels 1 and 2).

Level 3: Walk. Level 3 discipleship involves supporting people in their daily walks (see Colossians 2:6).

· What characterizes the spiritually mature person in each of the following areas?

Spiritual life

_____________________________

Mind

_____________________________

Emotions

_____________________________

Will

_____________________________

Relationships

_____________________________

· Think about your home, your school, your youth group and society in general. Where in these areas do you need help functioning more like a believer? To whom can you go for discipling and prayer support?

Immature believers don’t need to constantly be told what they should do. Instead, let’s celebrate with them what Christ has already done and help them become who they already are in Him. Amen? Amen!

CONCEPTS FOR COUNSELING

If you have a compassionate heart and a knowledge and love of the Lord, God can use you to encourage and instruct young people with problems. The goal of such counseling is to help people experience freedom in Christ so that they can move on to maturity and fruitfulness in their walks with Him. Here are five practical tips.

1. Help People Identify Root Issues. Psalm 1:1-3 compares the mature Christian to a fruitful tree. The fruitfulness of the branches above the ground is the result of the fertility of the soil and the health of the root system that spreads into it.

· How can this image help you if someone comes to you for counseling? What does this image encourage you to address?

· What are some of the emotions and situations that can prompt someone to seek Christian counseling?

· For each item you listed above, what is a possible root cause for the primary emotions touched by the situation (rejection, fear, unforgiveness, false belief system, rebellion)?

· What has this discussion of root issues helped you understand about yourself?

2. Encourage Emotional Honesty. People are generally willing to share what has happened to them, but they are not usually willing to share their failures or how they feel about them.

· With whom do you have an easy time being emotionally honest? Why?

· What can you do to encourage a person you’re counseling to be emotionally honest? (Consider your body language, your verbal responses, the setting of the conversation, and so forth.)

3. Share the Truth. When Christians seek advice or counsel, it’s usually because their problems have caused them to think there is something wrong with them. They may feel that God can’t possibly love them.

· When have you had such feelings? How did you deal with them? Be specific.

· Based on your own experience and what you’ve learned in Stomping Out the Darkness, what will you do for someone who comes to you feeling something’s wrong with her and God can’t love her?

4. Call for a Response. Your role in advising and counseling your friends is to share the truth in love and pray that the person will choose to accept it.

· Why is prayer key to any counseling situation? Give two or three reasons.

· Why is the fact that you cannot choose change for your friend (only your friend can do that!) freeing news to you as the counselor?

5. Help Them Plan for the Future. Sometimes when we’re in the depths of despair, the future can look pretty bleak.

· What truth can you offer someone feeling overwhelmed by problems and despair?

· What practical steps can you encourage that person to take? More specifically, what kinds of supportive relationships will you propose?

· What will you teach about the difference between goals and desires (see chapter 7)?

You and I are what we are by the grace of God. All we have and can hope for—as disciplers and disciples, as counselors and people in need of counsel—is based on who we are in Christ. May your life and your ministry therefore be shaped by your devotion to Him and the conviction that He is the way, the truth and the life.

START STOMPING!

Try It, You’ll Like It! God calls us as individuals to follow Him, but He wants us to do so in a community. So if you’re not plugged into a Christian community, make it your goal to find a youth group within the next few weeks. You need the group—and the group needs you. If you’re already involved in a youth group, take a step toward greater involvement. That can mean anything from behind-thescenes service to the group to an up-front leadership role. God has just the place for you!

Your Tree of Life. Look again at the diagram on page 143 of the text. The top tree reflects a barren life; the bottom, a fruitful life. Now draw your own tree. What root problem(s) are you dealing with? What food does your root system need? What instruction would you benefit from? In what areas of your life (spiritual life, mind, emotions, will, relationships) do you need encouragement and challenge (i.e., discipling)? Where do you need to do some pruning? Having answered these questions, develop a plan for taking care of your tree. Consider whom you can ask for help with the gardening. In other words, who would you like to disciple you? Also figure out where you will go to get the nurturing (true belief system, acceptance, forgiveness, freedom, submission) that you need to bear fruit. Keep in mind, too, that prayer is like oxygen for your tree of life.

A Prayer for All of Us. Whether you’re in need of Christian support and counsel right now or it’s your turn to offer that kind of support and guidance, this prayer is for you: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Put these words to music, write them on a poster, etch them onto a piece of metal or burn them into wood, draw a picture representing serenity, courage and wisdom—whatever you do, make this prayer a part of your life.

God, thank You that I can live out my faith as a part of a team. There are times when I realize I just can’t do it alone—and I realize I never would have come to know You without Your people reaching out to me with Your love. Thanks for all the folks You’ve placed in my life to help me learn more about You and help me become more like Your Son. And thank You for the privilege of being able to help others who are at a different place in their Christian walks. Whether it’s my turn to disciple or be discipled, to offer counsel or receive it, may I do so in the solid knowledge of Your love, Your light and Your truth. Thank You that I am Your child—and thank You for sending Your Son to make that possible. It is in His name I pray. Amen.

STRENGTH GIVERS

These words are for you and about you! As you read each day’s verse, ask yourself, “How would my life be different if I could live out this truth?”—and ask God to help you do so.

Monday:	John 15:15
Tuesday:	Ephesians 2:19
Wednesday:	1 Corinthians 15:10
Thursday:	2 Corinthians 5:18-19
Friday:	Galatians 3:26; 4:6