EVERY YOUNG MAN’S TRUTH(Your Personal Journey into God’s Word)
This week’s reading assignment:
chapters 9–11 in Every Young Man, God’s Man
You follow the beach master’s directions to a T and meet up with your new buddies. Your new platoon leader gathers you all together to give you instructions. That’s when you notice that he’s holding a helmet filled with some guy’s brains! His steely eyes glare at every man standing around him in a semicircle. “This is what happens to guys who don’t listen to the beach master,” he growls. “This whole area is mined. Go where you are told.”
He didn’t need to say anything more.
—from chapter 9 in Every Young Man, God’s Man
EVERY YOUNG MAN’S TRUTHWhat comes to mind when you think of meditating? Do you see an orange-robed monk sitting alone on a desolate hillside with closed eyes? Do you picture a new age guru lighting incense and chanting? Or do you see yourself—opening up the Bible and letting God’s Word soak into your soul?
Stick with that third image! It is exactly what you’re called to do as often as you can. Stay in the Bible; let its truths marinate your mind. Don’t rush. Think it through and apply it to your everyday concerns. Really, it’s pretty simple: simply delight in God’s Word. You’ll be blessed.
Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. (Joshua 1:7-8)
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.
But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. (Psalm 1:1-3)
How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.
I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees.
With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth.
I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches.
I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.
I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word. (Psalm 119:9-16)
1. What does being “strong and very courageous” have to do with Bible reading?
2. Do you delight in God’s law? What other words would you use to describe your relationship to the Bible?
3. How much of God’s Word have you put to memory? How does this help you stay pure?
4. Do you agree that you are what you think? If so, what does this say about the importance of meditating on Scripture?
Section I: focus on chapters 9 and 10a (ending before the subhead “The Great Divide”).
Note: for an eight-week study, include Section II starting on this page.
EVERY YOUNG MAN’S CHOICE
What does selective obedience look like?
• You hear what you want to hear.
• You reject or discount what’s not in sync with your personal desires.
• You replace God’s clear instructions with your own plan.
• You act out your plan.
Sometimes God’s commands don’t fit in with your “flow,” your image, your friendships, or the lifestyles that go with them. So you set aside His directions because you want to be free to do what you want rather than what God wants. But just like the soldier who didn’t listen to the beach master, your freedom will be short-lived.
I see the characters of [Superman and Gumby] reflected in the attitudes of young men everywhere. The hearts of supermen, as I call them, are spiritually made of steel.… These guys … are inflexible in their attitude toward God.…
At the other end of the spectrum are the Gumbies—guys flexible and bendable to the will of God. They might get twisted around or bent out of shape from life, but they trust the hands shaping them and their characters. They are willing to be handled like clay in the Master’s hands.
5. Name some of the freedom-killing results of selective obedience that you’ve noticed in yourself. How is selective obedience life-destroying?
6. Are you mostly a Superman or a Gumby with God? What recent behavior gives you the best clue?
EVERY YOUNG MAN’S WALK All men I know have felt the punishing blows that selective obedience brings. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you want to become. The Bible is full of stories about great kings who could not bring themselves to complete obedience. On several occasions, good kings could not resist the impulse to fudge on God’s clear instructions regarding the worship of pagan gods among His people. Allowing their subjects to build pagan shrines or “high places” among the people of God was the equivalent of erecting a statue of Osama Bin Laden in downtown Manhattan.
The bottom line about 80/20 guys is that their love for God is an act. They consistently put the 20 percent over their love for God. They are like the 80/20 kings of the Old Testament who allowed the high places to exist under their watch when God had said they had to go. Add it all up, and it’s easy to make the argument that your 20 percent is an idol as well.
7. Look at the biblical statements about three selectively obedient kings: Jehu, Joash, and Azariah. What do these scriptures tell you about God’s attitude toward an “almost” complete commitment?
8. Think about your daily attitudes, words, actions, and relationships. Then categorize them on a separate piece of paper under
(a) the 80 percent of your life that is obedient and (b) the 20 percent of your life that is “free.” Write down your insights about your 80/20 ratio.
9. Kenny says that a humble attitude toward God is essential for the relationship to work. Study the ten benefits of a humble attitude toward God (they’re printed in the book just before the subhead “The Great Divide”). Name at least three of these benefits that make you think: It’s worth it for me to humbly bow to God’s will each day.
10. What for you was the most meaningful concept or truth in chapters 9 and 10a (before the subhead “The Great Divide”) of Every Young Man, God’s Man? How would you talk this over with God? Write down your response as a prayer to Him. What do you believe God wants you to do in response to this week’s study?
EVERY YOUNG MAN’S TALKKey Highlights from the Book for Reading Aloud and Discussing
The Picking and Choosing Syndrome: Let’s look at the case histories of three guys your age who are following in the footsteps of those kings from yesteryear. Brad … Jamal … Mike …
Nelson is a soccer guy—a very successful player and now the coach of female high-school players. Nelson tells me that his biggest struggle as a single young man is masturbation and lusting after being around good-looking babes on the soccer field. It’s quite okay to struggle. It’s not a sin to be tempted. But it is a sin to RSVP to the temptation and mentally taste the delectable hors d’oeuvres. Nelson knows this, which is why he’s seeking ways to tip the scales in his favor by loving God with all his mind and strength.
I identified with Superman and Gumby for different reasons. I think part of me wanted to be a superhero while another part of me definitely had my head in the clouds. Pretty weird combination, if you think about it. One guy was indestructible. The other was soft and bendable. The Man of Steel tried to never get bent out of shape. The green figure made of clay always was being handled and changed to become real to me (the viewer). Superman always prevailed over the bad guys in the end. Gumby, on the other hand, always had his heart changed by the end of an episode—in victory or defeat.
Discussion Questions
An opening question: Which parts of these chapters were most helpful or encouraging to you? Why?
A. Kenny talks about the picking and choosing syndrome. Go back and look at how Brad, Jamal, and Mike do it. Can you see yourself in any of their attitudes and actions? Tell about it.
B. What specific plan did Nelson come up with to keep himself from RSVPing to temptation? Evaluate together the strengths and weaknesses of his plan.
C. What is good about being a Gumby in your walk with God?
Section II: focus on chapters 10b (beginning with the subhead “The Great Divide”) and 11.
Note: if you’re following a twelve-week track, save the rest of this lesson for the following week. If you’re on the eight-week track … then keep going.
EVERY YOUNG MAN’S CHOICE Then there was the time I mountain-biked down the summit of 11,053-foot-high Mammoth Mountain and felt like I was riding through someone else’s yard (namely, God’s). Those are the moments when I see how big and powerful He must be and how small and insignificant I am. I see David’s point in real time: who am I that that He should even think of me?
When a man recognizes this God gap, there is only one way he should respond: silence.
Jason’s revenge is a perfect illustration of baptism.… Thus Marty Wolf was baptized into the blue color because he soaked in the dye long enough for his skin to take on the character of the blue dye. The point of baptism is that you identify with whatever you soak in.
In a similar fashion, your mind takes on the character or colors of whatever you are soaking in. When you place your life in the mirror, what’s reflected back tells you what color dye your brain is soaking in.
11. Read and meditate on Psalm 8, focusing on verse 4. For Kenny, God’s majesty in nature brought on humility. When have you, too, felt humbled by God’s total awesomeness?
12. How did the story of Jason’s revenge (in the movie Big Fat Liar) affect you? What have you been soaking your brain in this week? during the past month?
EVERY YOUNG MAN’S WALK God is always one up, and we’re always one down. That should be enough, but we’re human, so we often keep forgetting stuff like this. It helps to remember the depth of the love behind His power and His position. This makes every God’s man want to be flexible in His hands.
My mental pool, which was saturated with the sexy dye of porn and mental fantasy, was slowly drained and replaced with the pure water of Christ’s living words. After soaking my mind in the Word of God, I had the necessary ingredients to begin sharing my faith in Christ with others, which would eventually lead to opportunities to help thousands of men every year around the globe.
Two Kennys, two marinades, two very different directions—but one undeniable fact: the content of my mind created my character.
13. Prayerfully read Isaiah 45:6-7. How is God one up on you? What is your gut-level response?
13. Check the waters in your mental swimming pool for a moment.
How would you rate the purity levels?
___ A welcome sight: crystal clear and sparkling waters
___ A filter problem: dirt clinging to the bottom
___ A scrubbing challenge: ugly stains, lots of debris
___ A death trap: one stinking mess of scum and sludge
15. If you’re wondering, How do I get God’s mind? Kenny’s answer is meditation. So choose one of the scriptures mentioned in chapter 11 of the book. Right now, spend ten minutes meditating on it. Then think: What did I notice?
16. Alan took his relationship with Jesus very personally. How is that different from having a disciplined devotional life?
17. What for you was the most meaningful concept or truth in chapters 10b (beginning with the subhead “The Great Divide”) and 11 of Every Young Man, God’s Man? How would you talk this over with God? Write down your response as a prayer to Him. What do you believe God wants you to do in response to this week’s study?
EVERY YOUNG MAN’S TALKKey Highlights from the Book for Reading Aloud and Discussing
Young men who know better but refuse to heed God’s voice create misery for themselves and for those around them. I have seen my share of guys who think they have it all figured out at eighteen or nineteen, and they frustrate the snot out of me. These guys would never think they’re coming out against God, but their choices and even their questions reek of pride. Most of all, these guys isolate themselves from people of truth and plug their ears to voices of truth. It’s a frustrating pattern that has been repeated for centuries among God’s men. Aaron is one of the most recent examples.
In the movie Big Fat Liar, Jason Shepherd, the main character, was not unlike a certain author who became very skillful at lying to friends and family to avoid responsibilities at school and at home. The movie’s opening scenes make clear that Jason is quite good at this—he’s got everyone from his principal to his parents believing his innocent and touching lies.
A killer statement I have never forgotten was when I heard a guy on the radio quote Samuel Smiles, a writer from the 1800s: “Sow a thought, reap an action. Sow an action, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny.” Did you know that the journey of a thought has such power? If the first thing I need to know about my mind is that I am what I think, then the second truth I have to understand is that I do what I think.
Discussion Questions
An opening question: Which parts of this chapter were most helpful or encouraging to you? Why?
D. Aaron thought he had it all figured out. Go back and think through his story. How did God break through Aaron’s pride?
E. Have you ever been a big, fat liar? What are some of the short-term benefits of this approach to life? What are some long-term drawbacks?
F. According to Kenny, what is the first truth to know about your mind? What is the second? How well do you really know these two principles—based on your lifestyle?
G. Kenny says: “God equates studying His Word to hanging out with Him.” Do you agree? What is hanging out with God like for you?
H. Together, list as many reasons you can think of for not having enough time to marinate yourself in God’s Word. Then discuss Kenny’s statement: “When a guy says to me that he doesn’t have time for God’s Word, he’s not stating a fact, he’s stating a priority.”
I. Before ending your session, share your prayer requests for the coming week.