More Love Through Purification

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More Love Through Purification

• Session 3

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Growth Seminar

• More Love
• More Power
• More Wisdom

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More Love

• Session 1 Expecting More of the Fire of the Holy
  Spirit
• Baptism in the Holy Spirit as an ongoing
  experience
• Obstacles to further surrendering to the Spirit
• Session 2 More Love Through Prayer
• Deeper knowledge of Gods love through growth in
  prayer
• Recognise and overcome difficulties in prayer

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Healing (J. Lubbock /P. Gordon)
Now that we have gotten through one more fall I
can just admit Ive got it all cause I do Cause
Ive got you Weve crossed these battle lines too
many times It passes through the heart But it
never leaves a mark Cause Your love just keeps
on healing me No matter how I bruise If I just
trust You Your love just keeps on healing me One
more cure, one more chance that wasnt there
before In Your arms no pain can harm the way Im
feeling Lord I know that Your love is healing
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Healing
Ive kicked around those lines in my head But
Ive never listened to the words that You
said See where its led Well I know I have it
now Cause You showed me how And all I had to
do Was just to keep my eyes on You Cause Your
love just keeps on healing me No matter how I
bruise If I just trust You Your love just keeps
on healing me One more cure, one more chance that
wasnt there before In Your arms no pain can harm
the way Im feeling Lord I know that Your love is
healing
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More Love

• Session 3 More Love Through Purification
• Learn how to grow through suffering
• Recognise purification as a normal part of
  spiritual growth

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If we want to gain a higher ground with God, we
must climb through the valleys.
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How shall I do that?

• Recognise and overcome misconceptions
• Acknowledge and accept that purification leads to
  maturity
• Embrace the cross and find God in it

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(1) Recognise and overcome misconceptions

• All suffering is darkness and therefore God
  cannot be found in it
• Biblical Contradiction?
• Ps 234 Even were I to walk in a ravine as dark
  as death I should fear no danger
• John 812 Anyone who follows me will not be
  walking in the dark

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Light is anything that shows us the way to God
and that can include suffering
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(1) Recognise and overcome misconceptions

• b) The only time we meet God in suffering is when
  we are healed
• In moments of suffering, do we recognise Gods
  presence in our cross?
• He promised He would carry the cross with us.

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We meet God at the point of suffering and not
only when we have already been healed.
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How shall I do that?

• Recognise and overcome misconceptions
• Acknowledge and accept that purification leads to
  maturity
• Embrace the cross and find God in it

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(2) Acknowledge and accept that purification
leads to maturity

• Purification is a normal part of spiritual growth
• The Spirit is only fully released in us when we,
  like Jesus, confront the desert in our lives
  and persevere through it.
• (cf Jesus temptation in the desert)
• Physical, emotional, psychological problems in
  ourselves and those we love
• Trying to live Christian life (i.e.
  misunderstanding, criticism, persecution)
• Not being able to bring our families to follow
  Jesus is sharing the powerlessness of Jesus who
  resisted the temptation to ask the Father to show
  His power to the Universe

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(2) Acknowledge and accept that purification
leads to maturity

• b) Recognise the maturing process and grow in the
  Spirit through it
• Our charismatic spiritual maturing will go
  through a testing by fire
• The normal and common experience of high/low
  should not discourage people.
• We are purified from both attachments that keep
  us away from him and from attachments to good
  feelings that can lead us to think we are holier
  than we are.

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(2) Acknowledge and accept that purification
leads to maturity

• c) Allow the Lord to teach us through suffering
• Love (not exuberance) is the essence of spiritual
  life
• Faith (not spiritual experience) is the
  foundation of spiritual life
• Humility (not spiritual power) is the shield that
  protects our Christian life
• Perseverance under trials is a test that proves,
  deepens and confirms the Christian life.

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How shall I do that?

• Recognise and overcome misconceptions
• Acknowledge and accept that purification leads to
  maturity
• Embrace the cross and find God in it

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(3) Embrace the cross and find God in it

• a) Submit to purification (do not resist it)
• Allow God to love and reveal Himself to us and
  embrace us during our suffering
• b) Purification comes in our spiritual lives
  (change spiritual dryness to a conviction that
  God is present)
• Prayer
• Prayer for virtues in our lives to live and grow

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(3) Embrace the cross and find God in it

• c) Each one of us has a place in the passion
  where our suffering corresponds with the
  suffering of Jesus
• Agony in the Garden (loneliness and betrayal of
  friends)
• Jesus before Pilate (pain of false accusation and
  injustice)
• Fasting of Jesus during His passion (struggle
  with self-control especially under pressure)
• Physical pains of Jesus
• Marys passion resulting from Jesuss death (loss
  of a loved one)

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More Love through Purification

• Recognise and overcome misconceptions God is
  with us in our suffering, not just when we are
  healed
• Acknowledge and accept that purification leads to
  maturity We should confront suffering,
  recognise the maturing process and allow the Lord
  to teach us in our suffering
• Embrace the cross and find God in it Suffering
  is to be embraced by God seek God through prayer
  and through Jesus passion

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Search and Know
I stop and think for just a whileWondering if
Hed see meWould He think that Im
worthwhile?Cause now I feel so far awayBut I
believe, yes I believeHis eyes I know they
watch me closeMy every move He knows before its
even doneAnd even though I may be wrongHe
changes me and cleanses meOh God search and
know my heartLonging to be near You, Ive tried
but cant get past the startOh God wont You show
me how?Lay Your hands upon me and lead me in the
Way Everlasting
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Search and Know
I know how much Ive hurt You soBy doing things
I know would go against Your heartBut now Ive
come to see myselfWith You in me so
patientlyOh God search and know my
heartLonging to be near You, Ive tried but
cant get past the startOh God wont You show me
how?Lay Your hands upon me and lead me in the
Way EverlastingI have never left you on your
own, My Precious OneHold on, the time is near
Im coming soonTo take You home with MeOh God
search and know my heartLonging to be near You,
Ive tried but cant get past the startOh God
wont You show me how?Lay Your hands upon me and
lead me lead me oh lead me lead me lead me
there
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Reflection and Sharing

• Think about the suffering you have experienced
  (or are experiencing)
• How did you feel about going through such
  suffering ? How present did you feel God was in
  such suffering?
• How will you allow God to purify you and embrace
  you should you experience suffering next time?
• Reflection (5 mins)
• Sharing in groups of 3 (15 mins)