Ch. 7 There Is No Plan B

"Just as every person is equally valued, so every idea is equally valid.  Applied to faith, this means that in a world where different people have different religious views, all such views should be treated equal."  -David Platt

Questions:

What does the idea, "ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL"  mean in your opinion?

Platt describes that Americans have shifted the idea that "all men are created equal" from individual equality to equality of ideas.  Do you agree that this has happened?

After reading Romans 1-3 &10,  what is your level of agreement with each of the TRUTHS provided by Platt and what are your thoughts.

Ch. 6 How Much Is Enough?

"Today more than a billion people in the world live and die in desperate poverty.  They attempt to survive on less than a dollar per day.  Close to two billion others live on less than two dollars per day.  That's nearly half the world struggling today to find food, water, and shelter with he same amount of money I spend on french fries for lunch."  -David Platt

Questions For Reflection:

Platt begins by talking about "blind spots".  Has this study revealed any "blind spots" in your life?

Isn't the hidden assumption among many Christians in our culture that if we follow God, things will go well for us materially?
What is your perspective on this?

What are  your thoughts on Platt's comparison of sexual immorality and neglect of the  poor (pg. 110-111)?

Platt, David.  (2010).  Radical.  Colorado Springs, CO:  Multnomah Books

Chapter 5: The Multiplying Community

 

 “Making disciples is not an easy process.  It is trying.  It is messy.  It is slow, tedious, even painful at times.  It is all these things because it is relational” (Platt, 2010, pg. 93).

In Chapter 5 we see David Platt set out the plan that God has for each of our lives.  He talks about how Jesus spent most of his ministry years surrounded by the same 12 men.  He selected a small few to teach and to reveal how we should live our lives in accordance with God.  Are we, then, to do the same?  Jesus said we are to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20, Today’s New International Version). 

“Making disciples by going, baptizing, and teaching people the Word of Christ and then enabling them to do the same thing in other people’s lives – this is the plan God has for each of us to impact nations for the glory of Christ” (Platt, 2010, pg.103).

Reflections for Chapter 5:

If you allowed people to get close to you would they be able to see the life of Christ in action?

What does Platt mean when he discussed the difference between discipling Christians and disinfecting Christians?

How can you become a reproducer or disciple in the context of your life?

Platt, David.  (2010).  Radical.  Colorado Springs, CO:  Multnomah Books

Chapter 4: The Great Why of God

“Consider why God formed us in the first place.  As the self-sufficient God of the universe, he certainly had no unmet need in himself, so why did he create us?”  -David Platt

 In chapter 4 we see David dive into deep questions that form the root of our existence here on earth.  He goes on to say that God “created each of us to take the gospel to the ends of the earth,” and he proposes “that anything less than radical devotion to this purpose is unbiblical Christianity” (Platt, 2010, pg. 64).  He then questions if this, in turn, makes God selfish?  He asks “how can God’s purpose be to exalt himself? …Whom else would we have him exalt?” (Pg. 71). 

“As we explore what it means to be radically abandoned to Christ, I invite you simply to let your heart be gripped, maybe for the first time, by the biblical prospect that God has designed a radically global purpose for your life.”  -David Platt

Questions to consider about chapter 4:

Regarding Scripture and God’s message, do we typically pick and choose the meaning and intent that we are comfortable with?  Such as the “I’m not called” section.

What does David Platt mean by his statement that “We live in a church culture that has a dangerous tendency to disconnect the grace of God from the glory of God”?  Are you disconnecting God’s Grace from His Glory?  And, is the result a self-centered Christianity that bypasses the heart of God?

Platt, David.  (2010).  Radical.  Colorado Springs, CO:  Multnomah Books

BEGINNING AT THE END OF OURSELVES CH.3

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me” (Matthew 25:35-36).

“This is how God works.  He puts people in positions where they are desperate for His power, and then he shows his provision in ways that display his greatness”… “The dangerous assumption we unknowingly accept in the American Dream is that our greatest asset is our own ability”…  “So the challenge for us is to live in such a way that we are radically dependent on and desperate for the power that only God can provide” (Platt, 2010).

Question’s to reflect on for Chapter 3:

Why does God place His people in difficult situations?

How do you feel about God’s delight in using ordinary Christians to accomplish His extraordinary will?

Is your church marked by desperation for the Spirit of God?  If NO, why not, and does this bother you?

Platt, David.  (2010).  Radical.  Colorado Springs, CO:  Multnomah Books

Chapter 2: Too Hungry for Words

“Áccept him?  Do we really think Jesus needs our acceptance?  Don’t we need him?

I invite you to consider with me a proper response to this gospel.  Surely more than praying a prayer is involved.  Surely more than religious attendance is warranted.  Surely this gospel evokes unconditional surrender of all that we are and all that we have to all that he is.” -David Platt

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven.  Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive our demons and in your name perform many miracles?’  Then I will tell the plainly, ‘I never knew you.  Away from me, you evildoers” (Matthew7:21-23, Today’s New International Version).

            The underground believers in the book gave up a lot to study God’s Word (farmers leaving their fields unattended for a couple of weeks).  Do you, or have you ever, had a real hunger for God’s Word like those believers?  God places that hunger within us.  He longs to fill the emptiness in our souls, a void that only His Spirit can seal.   I believe that by continually remaining in His Word, He will also continually shape us into His likeness.  His spirit will work through us emanating the fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control).  We must linger in God’s word so that we are not like the seeds scattered along a path where the birds can come and eat them up.  Or like the seeds on the rocky places where we have not roots, or among thorns that choked the plants.  Let us all be seeds in good soil that repeatedly produce a good crop (Matthew 13 1-8, The Parable of the Sower).

Some questions to reflect on for Chaper 2:

Why do you think he calls John 3:36 one of the most neglected verses concerning God’s wrath?

How is Christianity different from other religions?

Why is Christ’s sacrifice more than a picture of love?

What are some “Christian Sales Pitches” and why are they spiritually deceptive?  Compare American Christianity and biblical gospel.

Platt, David.  (2010).  Radical.  Colorado Springs, CO:  Multnomah Books.

Someone Worth Losing Everything For (Ch. 1)

 How does the American Church culture define success?


"I could not help but think that somewhere along the way we had missed what is radical about our faith and replaced it with what is comfortable.  We were settling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to ourselves when the central message of Christianity is actually about abandoning ourselves."



    David Platt wrote about a 'Puddle of Tears' in Chapter One.  He wrote about a Church who had been gathering in secret, some walking for miles to get there, arriving at different times so they would not draw attention to their meeting.  While gathering to pray, they 

"went to their knees, and with their faces on the ground, they began to cry out to God.  Their prayers were marked less by grandiose theological language and more by heartfelt praise and pleading.  'O God, thank you for loving us.'  'O God, we need you.'  They audibly wept before God as one leader after another prayed.  ...I saw puddles of tears in a circle around the room."

A few questions for you to think about and comment your thoughts, after reading this chapter, are as follows:

What do you think about the picture of the Asian Church he illustrated in the Puddle of Tears? 

How does the American church define success?

If you had to go to Church in secret, where there is no air-conditioning, no plush seats after having to walk miles, and no beautiful music, would you still go?

How is following Christ costly to you?

Why do you think people choose to stop following Jesus?

When we begin to rationalize passages that demand our obedience, what are we really doing?


Platt, David.  (2010).  Radical.  Colorado Springs, CO:  Multnomah Books.