JOYCE UNIVERSITY STUDY GUIDE WEEK 1. Know Who You Are

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1 WEEK 1 Know Who You Are MONDAY The Lord Our Peace For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father [of Eternity], Prince of Peace. ISAIAH 9:6 The names of God tell us a lot about who He is and what He does. Isaiah 9:6 reveals several of them, but the one we want to focus on now is Prince of Peace, or Jehovah Shalom the Lord Our Peace. We all need peace. Without it, it can be a struggle to enjoy our everyday lives. The good news is as believers in Christ, we can have peace in our hearts that only God can give. According to JOHN 10:10 and ROMANS 14:17, what kind of life did Jesus die for us to have and what are the three things God promises to those who live for Him? What does it mean to have righteousness through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? (See the Amplified translation of ROMANS 14:17 for help with this.) Why do we need to understand how God s righteousness changes us before we can live consistently with His peace? Jesus IS our peace! Study EPHESIANS 2:14 and JOHN 14:27 to discover how the peace He offers radically improves our lives.

2 What does 1 PETER 3:11 teach us about what we have to do to access the peace of God? There are three relationships in which we need to pursue peace: our relationships with ourselves, with God and with others. Review the ways Joyce teaches how we can have more peace in these areas of our lives. Write down the ones you need to work on and how you will begin to do this. The more we let God govern our lives, the more peace we re going to have. As soon as you say God, Your will be done, you re going to have more peace. Joyce

3 TUESDAY The Lord Our Provider and the Lord of Hosts My God will liberally supply (fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. PHILIPPIANS 4:19 God is everything we need, He is everywhere all the time, and He knows everything. He is Jehovah Jireh the Lord Our Provider. The way we release the blessings of God in our lives is by being obedient to Him and blessing other people. One of the best things we can do is be radical, generous givers, looking for opportunities to give every day. And we need to have the attitude, Lord, I want to help people because I love You. You have given everything to me, and I want to give to You! Read PHILIPPIANS 4:1-19 to see how the actions of the people who supported Paul led to his prayer for God to supply (fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. The condition and motives of our heart determine whether we can access the provision God offers. What biblical principles do you discover in this passage that reveal how we receive from God? HEBREWS 13:5-6 assures us God will never leave us helpless or forsake us. What do we need to do to confidently trust in His faithfulness? According to MATTHEW 6:33, how do we make God our number one priority and what is the result when we do this?

4 Who is [He then] this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory. PSALM 24:10 Another name for God is Jehovah Tsebaoth the Lord of Hosts. God is the head of an army, and we are His soldiers. And when God is your captain, there is no way you can lose the war! EPHESIANS 6:11-12 tells us how to prepare for battle and reveals who our enemy is. What do we need to do and who are we fighting? 2 TIMOTHY 2:4 says, No soldier when in service gets entangled in the enterprises of [civilian] life; his aim is to satisfy and please the one who enlisted him. What does it mean to be entangled in civilian life? How can you relate to this in your own experience? Study 1 TIMOTHY 6:12 and GALATIANS 5: What is the good fight of faith and how do we walk it out? We re here to please God. Every day we should pray, God, what can I do for You today? Joyce

5 WEDNESDAY The Lord Our Banner But the people who know their God shall prove themselves strong and shall stand firm and do exploits [for God]. DANIEL 11:32 Jehovah Nissi the Lord Our Banner is our victory. We can expect God to give us victory over sin, addictive habits, a painful past, the attacks of the enemy Whatever our need is or our struggle may be, God is able to give us the ability to overcome it. DANIEL 11:32 says the people who know their God are the ones who do exploits for Him. God doesn t want us to just have religion that dictates all the things we can t do. Jesus died to give us relationship with God abundant life! (See JOHN 10:10.) Study MATTHEW 11:28 and note the ways a relationship with Jesus helps us and gives us victory over the challenges of life. In EXODUS 17:8-16, we read about how God gave the Israelites victory over their enemy, the Amalekites. How did they partner with God to overcome their adversaries? And in verse 15, how does Moses acknowledge God as the One who gave them the victory? Is there something God is putting on your heart to do as a partner with Him so you can overcome a challenge or issue in your life? If so, what is it and how will you take action to do it?

6 God sanctifies us and leads us in triumph over sin, the enemy, temptations, and other opposition as we commit our lives to Him and walk in obedience to His ways. Meditate on 2 CORINTHIANS 2:14 and 1 CORINTHIANS 15:56-57 for encouragement and to help you let go and let God change you. In these verses, what do you see that helps you trust God even more? Don t make your plans and then pray God will make them work. Pray and see what God says, and then make your plan. God always leads us in triumph! Joyce

7 THURSDAY The Lord Who Sanctifies and the Lord Our Righteousness You shall keep My statues and do them. I am the Lord Who sanctifies you. LEVITICUS 20:8 The more we get to know God and study His Word, the more we want to change the more we want to be sanctified, or set apart for God. It s important for us to understand that ultimately, only God can change us. He is Jehovah M Kaddesh the Lord Who Sanctifies. When we get this revelation, we can relax and trust Him to do what needs to be done in our hearts. This doesn t mean we don t have anything to do in the process. Our part is listening to the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and promptly obeying what He says. His role is to convict us of sin and give us wisdom so we know how to do the right thing in every situation. Study PHILIPPIANS 2: How do these verses explain what our part is in the sanctification process, and what enables us to do our part? According to 1 THESSALONIANS 5:23-24 in The Amplified translation, what does it mean for God to sanctify you through and through? What are the effects of sanctification in your life? For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become [endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of] the righteousness of God [what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness]. 2 CORINTHIANS 5:21

8 God loves us unconditionally and He will never stop loving us. His love is not based on the good things we do or our performance. He loves us because He IS love (1 JOHN 4:8). And when we let Him love us, repent of our sin and receive the forgiveness He offers through the cleansing blood of Jesus, we become the righteousness of God. He is Jehovah Tsidkenu the Lord Our Righteousness! While God loves and accepts us just as we are, we all have room to grow to become more like Christ. And growing in Christ means change! The good news is the changes we go through bring more of His love, peace, joy and righteousness into our lives. We can be glad that He loves us enough to show us the ways and areas in which we need to change. And we can trust Him to give us everything we need to walk out those changes, by His grace. Study PHILIPPIANS 2:8-10. What did Jesus do for us so we can have His righteousness? What does it mean for us to have the power of attorney to use His name? Pray: God, change me and make me more like Jesus every day. Give me the grace to do it and I ll walk it out little by little, one day at a time. God is everything you will ever need Him to be in every situation. He is your peace, righteousness, sanctification, victory He is the One and only true God. Go to Him for everything, all the time. Let Him be number one in your life! Joyce

9 FRIDAY Your New Life in Christ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. JOHN 3:16 KJV To be born again or saved means you receive Christ as your Savior; He made the sacrifice that paid the price for the forgiveness of your sins and He s come to live in your heart. Salvation is all about a personal, intimate relationship with God, and Jesus made the way for you to experience it. Jesus did everything that was required for us to have forgiveness of our sins so we can be new creations, born again into an ever-living hope, living at peace with God. Study JOHN 1:12 and ROMANS 10:9. What do we have to do to be saved? Second CORINTHIANS 5:17 says you are now a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come! You have been regenerated (born again), not from a mortal origin (seed, sperm), but from one that is immortal by the ever living and lasting Word of God. 1 PETER 1:23 According to this verse in 1 Peter as well as 2 CORINTHIANS 5:17, what literally happens when we receive Christ as our Savior?

10 PSALM 103:12 and JOHN 3:5 reveal promises God gives us when we are born again. What are they? Salvation is a gift from God for whosoever believes in Him and receives it. Being a Christian is an amazing lifelong, one-day-at-a-time journey with God. He loves you and has great plans for your life, and as you grow in your relationship with Him, you can walk out His unique purposes for you. It s important for you to pursue your life in Christ by studying the Bible and spending time in prayer, which is simply talking to God honestly about the things on your heart and listening to what He speaks to you. If you d like to know more about having new life in Christ, visit the New Life in Christ page. We love you and we re here to help you any way we can as you seek God and His will for your life every day!