{"id":81,"date":"2018-04-14T11:40:16","date_gmt":"2018-04-14T16:40:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/godsvoice\/?page_id=81"},"modified":"2018-09-05T01:54:01","modified_gmt":"2018-09-05T06:54:01","slug":"alone-and-together","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/godsvoice\/hear\/study\/alone-and-together\/","title":{"rendered":"Alone and Together"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is important for New Covenant disciples to balance personal study with time studying\/discussing\/sharing with others. In fact, God has said that we must share the words that we hear God say to us with others<\/a> in fulfillment of the command to make disciples<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

But this does not mean preaching or teaching in a religious setting where pastors and rabbis preach for a wage<\/a>, or engaging in organized evangelical events. We do not want to be guilty of displaying our righteousness<\/a> before men and we do not want to guilty of practicing the sin of religion<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

There will be times and places for private, casual, informal sharing<\/a>. But they will be small, intimate gatherings like Jesus’ inner circle of disciples, <\/a>where you will effectively disciple each other when you each share what God has revealed to you. Discovering who to share with and when<\/a> is the tricky part.<\/span><\/p>\n

Doing only one type of study, no matter how much study you do, is not spiritually healthy. Those who study only for their own edification without sharing with others do not understand what it means to be a New Covenant priest<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Obviously, it is much easier to manage personal study time than to arrange time to study with others. It is possible to fit personal study into our schedules randomly and spend more time in personal study than it is to have a scheduled meeting time and place for group study. During personal study, it is easier to relax, slow down and\u00a0listen to God’s voice<\/a> explain scripture to us. In general, therefore, personal study provides greater opportunities for asking, knocking and seeking God<\/a> with all our heart, mind, soul and strength.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Studying with others, however, provides advantages not present during personal study. First, if our study partner(s) have studied on their own, we effectively multiply the benefits of study when we share with each other what we have heard God say to us. Plus, we have someone who may be able to answer questions <\/a>that have come up during our personal study. And, if they expose their questions to us, we are challenged to study new topics.<\/span><\/p>\n

Group study facilitates the “iron sharpens iron<\/a>” and “wherever two or three are gathered<\/a>” principles. Assembling a very large puzzle<\/a> with three our four people is possible and efficient, but doing it in a large group is impossible. Small group study also fulfills the two are better than one and cord of three strands<\/a> principles.<\/span><\/p>\n

And here are a few other benefits of group study:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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