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VISITING PROGRAM TRAINING
CLASS
Thirteenth
Class
March 9, 1969
FORMAT:
1.
Open with prayer.
2.
World news discussion and drill (5 - 8 Minutes).
3.
Difficult scripture drill (30 Minutes).
4.
Sermonettes and evaluations (30
Minutes).
5.
Recess (10 Minutes).
6.
Lecture (one hour).
7.
Assignments for next class.
DIFFICULT
SCRIPTURES
1.
Why did God kill Uzza (I Chron.
13:9-10)?
A. David wanted to bring the ark back from Kirjath-jearim to Jerusalem.
In doing so, he had the ark
carried on a new cart. As they were
going, the oxen stumbled and Uzza put his hand on the ark to steady
it
-- to keep it from falling. Because Uzza touched the ark, God
killed
him (I Chron. 13:1-10).
3. This is an example of disobedience which
ended in disaster. The ark
should have been carried on
the shoulders of the Levites, not on a
new
cart (Num. 7:9; Deut. 10:8). Secondly,
Numbers 4:15 warned the
Levites when carrying the
holy things they were not to touch any of
it
lest they die.
The parallel account in II
Samuel 6:6-7 explains that God smote Uzza
for
"his error." The word error
is rendered rashness in the margin.
It was a rash act to touch
the ark of God that even the Levites were
forbidden
to touch. The ark was so holy that at
one time God killed
over 50,000 Israelites for
profaning it by opening and looking inside
of
it (I Samuel 6:19).
C. I Chronicles 15:2 shows us that David
later realized what he had done
wrong. He learned after the death of Uzza how the ark should be
transported
-- by being carried on the shoulders of the Levites.
D. David told the Levites to sanctify
themselves so that they could
carry
the ark. Because they hadn't carried
the ark at first, God
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made
a breach upon them. David said that
they hadn't sought God
after
"the due order" (I Chron. 15:12-13).
When they did everything
according to God's instructions, they were
able
to bring up the ark with joy (I Chron. 15:15, 25-26). The
principle to learn is that we
must do exactly as God commands
not
"reason" or water down His instructions. Also, we must deeply
respect anything He has made
holy -- i.e., the Sabbath, Holy Days,
etc.
2.
Disprove: The wicked burn
forever in hell (Rev. 14:11).
A. This scripture does not say the wicked burn
forever in hell. Notice
the
context. This is the time when God
pours out His punishment
upon those who worship the
Beast (the coming United States of Europe - -
the
resurrected Roman Empire) and his image (the Papacy) (Verses 9-10).
This occurs in the presence
of the Lamb -- that is, at the second
coming
of Christ.
B. At that time the Beast and False Prophet
will be cast into a lake
of
fire (Rev. 19:19-20). It does not say
they burn for all eternity.
Revelation 14:11 says the smoke of their torment ascends forever. Of
course,
as long as the fire is burning, the smoke will ascend.
C. The term forever does not necessarily mean
for eternity as we under-
stand
it. In Exodus 21:5-6 God says a
servant in ancient Israel
who
loved his master was to serve that master forever. Obviously
this
did not mean for all eternity.
Eventually both would die.
It meant as long as they both
lived -- as long as the conditions of
the
contract remained constant.
The same is true for the fire
used by God to punish the wicked.
As long as the fire burns
smoke will ascend. When the fire stops
burning
the smoke will stop ascending. The
smoke that is already
in
the air will rise until it becomes diffused into the atmosphere.
Until the fire is
extinguished or stops burning, the sulphurous
fumes
and smoke will continuously ascend.
D. We know the people can't be burning up
forever and ever because the
wicked
are to be ashes under the feet of the righteous (Mal. 4:1-3).
They will be burned up! They will be consumed into smoke (Psalm
37:20) which will ascend up
to the atmosphere.
3.
Disprove: Man can't kill the
soul because it is immortal (Matt. 10:28).
A. The soul is not immortal. This verse says God is able to destroy it.
The Greek word for
"soul" is psuche which corresponds to the
Hebrew
word
nephesh meaning BREAThING
CREATURE. It refers to our temporary,
physical
life. We see this proved in Genesis
2:7 where "God breathed
into
man the breath of life and he became a living soul." And, in
Ezekiel 18:4, 20, God shows
us that 1'the soul that sins, it shall die."
B.
Men can kill the body (Gr. soma meaning corpse or physical structure).
Yet, Christ said that
"men are not able to destroy the soul."
Why not? Paul states in Colossians 3:3 that though
men kill the
body,
a Christian's life is "hid with Christ in God." In other
words,
no man can stop God from resurrecting a Christian to life.
C.
God has the power to kill the body and to also destroy your life in
the
lake of fire. That's why Christ said
we should fear God who is
able
to destroy both our life AND body in hell (Gehenna
fire).
"Fear him, which after he
has killed has power to cast into gehenna
(Greek word)" (Luke
12:5). When God resurrects the
incorrigibly
wicked and casts them into
the lake of fire, "This is the second
death"
(Rev. 20:14). God will have destroyed
their life because
they
will never live again (Mal. 4:1, 3).
HOW TO CONDUCT A
VISIT - - PART I
I.
WHY VISIT?
Let's answer this question
first! Then we will have the right
approach
to
conducting a visit. Effective visiting
is vitally important and we
need to
understand why!
A. To Feed the Flock of God
Jesus Christ called God's
people the "little flock" (Luke 12:32). He
referred
to them as His "sheep" (John 10:27). Three times Jesus Christ
asked
Peter, 1'Do you love Me?" Each
time Peter replied, "Yes Lord.
You know that I love
you." And each time Jesus Christ
replied, "Feed
my
sheep" (John 21:15, 16,
17).
This is the second ~reat commission that Jesus Christ gave to His Church --
to
feed His people spiritually! You men
who qualify will have a direct
part
in this tremendously important job.
Christ also said to Peter,
"~Jhen
you are converted, strengthen the brethren." (Luke 22:32.) As
you men become deeply
converted and receive and use the training this
class is giving you, you also
will be able to help strengthen the
brethren
spiritually.
Peter received so much
instruction from Jesus Christ about feeding the
flock spiritually that when
he was converted, he himself wrote, "Feed
the flock of God which is
among you, taking the oversight thereof, not
by constraint, but willingly;
not for filthy lucre, but of a ready
mind; Neither as being lords
over God's heritage, but being ensamples
to
the flock." (I Peter 5:2-3.)
The need for
spiritually-mature men to visit God's people individually
is
absolutely necessary for their proper spiritual growth.
B. To Perfect the Saints
One of the purposes for the
Visiting Program in God's Church is, "For
the
perfecting of the saints" (Eph. 4:12). This is somewhat different
than
feeding God's people spiritually. This
involves not just instruction,
encouragement and
inspiration, but working with them and helping them to
overcome
their problems. A general social visit
about God's Work and
God's Kingdom can be inspirational
and help a member grow spiritually,
but
it does not necessarily help them to overcome a problem.
So, another important reason
for visiting is to "work with" God's people
and help them overcome their
personal problems through proper instruction,
exhortation
and personal correction. All of this
must be done in love
by
men who are spiritually mature.
You men, in this Visiting
Program Training Class, will have the opportunity
to help perfect God's people
if you yourself will qualify by overcoming
the
spiritual problems which hinder you from serving others. Remember
that Christ said, "You
must first cast out the beam out of your own eye,
and them you shall see
clearly to cast out the mote out of your brother's
eye"
(Matt. 7:5).
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C.
To Help Finish God's Work
A very major reason for
visiting God's people is to help them keep
their
hearts in the Work of God! Their very
salvation depends upon
this! Those who do not have their hearts in God's
Work will not make
it!
"Where there is no
vision the people perish" (Prov. 29:18). It is part
of the job of the Visiting
Program to help God's people obtain vision
of
what God's Work is all about. Many of
them just do not understand'
They need someone who does
understand to help them.
You men have the opportunity
to help finish this phase of God's Work
by visiting God's people and
teaching them the importance of God's Work
and
by showing them how to put their whole heart into God's Work! God's
people need to be stirred up
to understand that this is the most important
work
on earth!
Men, realize that you also
have a part in the first commission of God's
Church by visiting. You can inspire God's people to back up His
Work
through
fervent prayers, faithful tithes and generous offerings.
You have been given three
vitally important reasons why visiting is
necessary. Now let's go on to the physical preparation
that is necessary
for effective
visiting.
II.
PHYSICAL PREPARATIONS
A. Personal Cleanliness and Grooming
This part of visiting is
important too! Your personal
cleanliness and
appearance
will have a definite effect on your visiting.
So, be sure
to
apply the following points.
1. Take a shower or bath every day. Use good soap and even underarm
deodorant
if necessary. Be sure to change your
underclothing every
day. Keep your clothes clean and pressed,
looking sharp! Polish
your
shoes before going visiting. They are
always noticeable! Wear
long socks that cover the
calf of your leg and be sure they are not
too
bright or flashy -- no white socks!
2. In other words, wear mature and
conservative clothes. Flashy sports
clothes
are not in order for visiting. Be sure
they are in good
taste. You are representing Jesus Christ! On the other hand, don't
wear
black or dark suits all the time.
Colorful ties are helpful and
appropriate.
3. Watch your grooming. Keep your hair clean and combed
properly. Use
a
good dandruff remover and hair dressing if necessary. Brush your
teeth
and be careful about bad breath.
Masculine-smelling lotions
and
colognes are certainly in order.
Your purpose in all of
this is to set the right example and give a
good
impression. So, look sharp, feel
sharp, and be sharp!
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B. Organization
This is a key point to
success in your visiting. You can save
much time
during
the day if you are properly organized before leaving. Decide
your
visits ahead of time. Plot them on a
map that you can carry with
you. "Call ahead" if you haven't
written, and plan your visits for the
day. Taking the time to do this can save time
and frustration later.
Leave in plenty of time to
keep your appointments as scheduled.
Allow
adequate
time for each visit and travel time between visits. Take the
time
at the beginning of each day to thoroughly plan your visiting day.
Don't just grab your files
and rush out at the last minute h6ping
to
find someone home to visit. God is not
the author of confusion
(I Cor.
14:33) and neither should we be!
Organizing and planning your
day
ahead of time is an important part of physical preparation for visiting.
C. Safe Driving
This too is important' Don't be
a hazard on the road! Take your
driving
responsibilities seriously and be careful.
Stay alert and don't
tailgate! These are two of the most important points
to remember when
driving. Accidents can happen in a split second, so
don't let your
mind
wander. Watch the other person --
drive defensively.
Don't drive too fast. Always obey the speed limit. When roads are
slippery,
drive below the speed limit. Adjust
your speed to Suit the
road
conditions and any unfamiliar situation.
Don't pass on hills or
curves. We all know these rules but sometimes we
are careless! Let's
crack down on our driving
and cut down on the number of accidents
occurring.
Use your seat belts and be
sure there is plenty of tread on your tires.
Many serious injuries and
accidents occur, which could be prevented, if
people would do these two
simple things' Take the time to fasten
your
seat
belt. It could save your life! Balding tires are dangerous. You
are
taking your life in your own hands when you drive on them!
And, don't tempt God! Do your part in driving and God will do His
part
in
protecting your life. Drive
carefully!
III.
SPIRITUAL PREPARATIONS
A. Prayer and Bible Study
You can't help others unless
you are close to God. Without
effective
prayer
and Bible Study, you cannot be close to God.
This is probably
the most important point of
all in visiting If you are not filled
with God's Holy Spirit you
cannot do a good job visiting and serving
others. Before you leave to go visiting, plan to
spend about an hour in
prayer
and Bible study. Draw close to God and
He will draw close to you
and
inspire you on your visits.
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Jesus Christ will speak through
you and use you to serve His people if
you are
close to Him. Unless Christ is in us,
we are of no good use
or
purpose (II Cor. 13:5, last sentence). Men, we have nothing to give
of
ourselves. We cannot feed God's people
spiritually unless we are
filled with the
Spirit! So, drive yourself in prayer
and Bible Study.
There is no other way to be
effective and useful instruments in the
hands of
God! Unless you are filled with His
Spirit through prayer,
and are sharp in the knowledge of
His Word, you cannot conduct a visit
the way
Christ would.
3.
Love and Compassion
Love is an outgoing concern for
others. Compassion is suffering with
others. If you don't have these two spiritual
qualities you are not
prepared
spiritually to serve others. We all
need much more love and
compassion
for one another. If we are not
motivated by love to serve
others,
then we will be by vanity and self exaltation. Love is the first
fruit
and a gift of the Holy Spirit. Ask God
for more of this gift!
I Corinthians 13:4-7 explains how
love and concern for fellowman is
expressed -- through kindness,
consideration, gentleness, patience,
giving others the benefit of the
doubt -- not by jealousy, envy, resent-
ment, selfishness, harshness or vainglory.
God is love and we need to be
like God if we are going to serve His
people.
God also is compassion. "When He saw the multitudes, He was
moved with
compassion on them, because they
fainted, and were scattered abroad, as
sheep
having no shepherd (Matt. 9:36). We, too, must be moved with
compassion
on God's people! We must learn to
suffer with them in their
trials
and tests and want to help them desperately.
Hebrews 5:1-2 shows
that every High Priest, or anyone
serving God's people should have com-
passion on the ignorant and weak,
remembering that he himself is compassed
with
weakness and infirmity.
Men, pray fervently for more love
and compassion'
C.
Wisdom and Discernment
"Wisdom is a principal
thing; therefore get wisdom. . ." (Prov. 4:7).
Without the spiritual gift of
wisdom you will not properly be able to
use love
to serve. Many of God's people have
love but lack the real
wisdom
to be a servant of others. Wisdom is
necessary to make right
decisions
and give good advice.
"Wisdom is more precious
than rubies: and all the things you
can desire
are not
to be compared unto her" (Prov. 3:15). Wisdom, then, is one of
the most
important qualities that a leader needs in order to serve. And
wisdom
is a gift from God -- "the Lord gives wisdom" (Prov.
2:6). We
are told "If any of you lack
wisdom, let him ask of God -- and it shall
be given
him"(James 1:5).
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Here is why you need Godly
wisdom -- "The wisdom that is from above is
first pure, then peaceable,
gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of
mercy and good fruits,
without partiality and without hypocrisy"
(James 3:17). So pray for more wisdom and also ask for
the gift of
discernment. To serve people, you need to be able to
discern their
true
attitude of heart and mind. Human
nature is carnal and very
deceitful! You also need to be able to discern between
carnal
attitudes
and demon influence.
Both wisdom and the
discerning of spirits are spiritual gifts from God
(I Cor.
12:7, 10), S0 pray in faith and ask for these gifts in order to
serve God's people:
D. Humility and Faith
If we will humble ourselves
before Him and have more faith, God will
give
us more of the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit. We must be meek
and
yet not weak. We must know that of
ourselves we can do nothing and
yet
we must drive ourselves to work hard.
We must abase ourselves and
let God
exalt us. We need to fast more and get
rid of vanity!
True humility is an attitude of mind
-- a spirit of meekness. It is
not walking
around looking"pious or religious." We
should humble our-
selves before God in prayer and
fasting and then be strong and courageous
before
others. This is the way to be a
leader. This is the way to serve.
Know that you are nothing of
yourself -- that if you repent, submit
and
yield, God
can work through you to help others.
If you are truly humble, you
will be close to God and have much faith.
Faith is a gift from God
(Eph. 2:8). We must have strong faith
if we
are
to strengthen God's people! We must
know that God is real and
that
He hears our prayers and will answer!
Many of God's people are
very
weak in faith. Faith grows by obeying
God and seeing that He does
back
up His Word. Faith comes by stepping
out and being a doer. Ask
for
the gift of faith and use it to serve God's people!
IV.
NORMAL MEMBER VISITS
This means visits other than
problems visits (which will be discussed later).
Much member visiting is of a routine nature. But these routine visits can
be made
extremely profitable if you will usethe following
points.
A.
Guide the Visit -- Have a Definite Purpose in Mind
Don't waste time in a
visit. Don't spend all the time just
"shooting
the
breeze." You should be friendly
and sociable, yes, but social visits
are
not always profitable visits.
Begin the visit with a friendly
and warm greeting, a sincere handshake
and
a smile. Break the ice with
friendliness and warmth. Put the
member
at ease. Help him to relax. Sometimes it is hard to "get the
ball
rolling" in a visit. Asking
personal questions about their health
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and well being, children and the
family in general is usually a good
way to
begin.
If you are warm, friendly and
sincere, the member will soon loosen up
and
begin to talk. Some members don't need
a warming up period. They
are
"hot" from the time you walk in.
They will dominate the conversa-
tion from the beginning to the end of the visit if
you let them. This
is why you must consciously guide
the visit and have a definite purpose
in
mind. Some members will talk about
everything except spiritual
subjects
and others don't talk much at all. So,
unless you guide the
visit
and make it profitable it can be a waste of time.
Your main concern should be the
spiritual condition of each member.
So you will definitely want to
talk about some area of their spiritual
life
like prayer, Bible study, fasting, and meditation. Any one of
these
subjects can make an excellent visit.
Let Christ guide the visit
with His
Spirit. Try to discern what the member
really needs to talk
about. If the member will bring up a worthwhile
subject to discuss,
then so
much the better. But just make sure
that they are not guiding
the
visit away from personal spiritual subjects that they really need.
Remember that you must guide and
direct the visit for their own good:
B.
Don't Assume Anything!
Always remember this in your
visiting. Don't assume that people are
converted
just because they are in God's Church.
Therefore, don't assume
that they are keeping the Sabbath
properly, or tithing, or praying and
studying,
or not smoking, etc. Don't assume any
of these things.' Don't
be
naive. And yet, don't be overly
critical or suspicious either Just
remember that human nature is
deceitful and that God's people are weak
and that
they have problems. Don't go into the
visit with the attitude
of prying and digging into their
lives just to find out all their personal
problems. But go there knowing there are problems.
God's way is to love people -- to
earnestly desire to help them -- to
want to
see them happy and close to God. So be
tactful in the visit --
use
Godly psychology. Make them know that
you love them. Make them
want to open up to you because
they see your Godly love and concern for
them. If they know you are God's servant and see
real love, compassion
and wisdom and an earnest desire
to help them with their personal problems,
most of God's people will
eventually open up to you so that you can help
them. But if you lack patience and love and try
to force them to "tell
you all
their problems" then they won't confide in you. God's people
must
know that you really do care. Don't
try to fool them. Either you
care or
you don't. So love God's people -- but
don't assume anything.'
Make sure they understand the
basic overall purpose of life. Make
God
alive to
them in personal experiences and other means.
Help them plan
a
schedule for work,study, prayer, recreation, and
family activities.
Teach them how to study the Bible
and how to pray. Discuss any subject
or
question thoroughly -- don't assume they know everything. Use your
question,
or their questions, as a springboard to get at their problems.
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Ask them to explain back what you
have told them. See if they under-
stand. Make sure they understand. Their salvation is at stake!
On technical questions, get back
to the trunk of the tree, to daily
living. Answer their questions from the Bible and
be specific. Don't
talk
over their heads -- some of God's people have little education.
Keep the Work of God in their
minds! Let them do most of the talking
and you listen attentively so
that you can show them the basis of their
problems
and also how to overcome them.
Enter every visit knowing this person
has problems and needs help.
Knowing also that Christ can
bring them out if you do your part and guide
the
visit tactfully with love and wisdom.
This approach will work with
most of
God's people. God's people do want to
grow and overcome and do
want to
be in God's Kingdom. Most of them want
to be helped once they
realize
their needs. There are problem visits
though and we will get
to those
later.
C.
Leave Them Encouraged and Inspired
The way a visit ends is
important. You can leave people
feeling warm,
inspired
and close to God. Or else you can
leave them feeling cold and
empty. Your visits can be profitable, enjoyable
and helpful to God's
people,
or they can be dreaded. It all depends
upon you men and just
how determined you are to have a
right uplifting impact upon the people
of
God. You have a fabulous opportunity
to help many into the Kingdom
of
God! Remember this inspiring verse in
the book of Daniel -- "And
they that be wise shall shine as
the brightness of the firmament: and
they that turn many to
righteousness as the stars forever and ever"
(Daniel 12:3)!
Some of you men in this Visiting
Program Training Class are going to have
the opportunity to change the
lives of other human beings and help them to
become
the very sons of God! If you go into
each visit determined to
motivate and inspire God's people
to draw closer to their Creator, you
will
have a high position in the Kingdom
of God. Take each visit
seriously Toward the end of the visit, review the
important points
that were covered during the
visit -- the points you want to impress
upon the
member's mind. Instruct, exhort, and
inspire them to apply
these
points. Pour out your heart to
them! Don't act like this is
just a
routine visit -- just another person -- just part of your job.
Inspire God's people by being
inspired yourself! Be stirred up for
God! Leave each visit with a feeling of
satisfaction and accomplishment --
knowing that you have given your
all to try to help that person -- that human
being -- that potential son of
God to be one step closer to the Kingdom of
God!
NOTE TO MINISTERS:
The
next lesson will cover details of prospective
visits --
introductions, when to invite, etc.
Also,
problem
visits and special visits. So DON'T
feel
you need to
cover these points until next time.
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