Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Bob Sorge
Oasis House
Kansas City, Missouri
www.oasishouse.net
All Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version of the Bible. Copyright
© 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson Inc., Publisher. Used by permission.
Duplicate freely! This manual or parts thereof may be reproduced freely in any form without
written permission from the publisher.
Thanks to the following for their help with this manual: Sharon Anderson, Joy Dawson,
Katie Hebbert, Hollie Carney, Marie Grotte, Dale Jimmo, Eric Jessen, and Edie Veach.
Lesson Table of Contents 3
Course Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Guidelines for Leaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Session 1: Contending for a Testimony
Leader Lesson Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Class Outline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Session 2: Claiming Restitution
Leader Lesson Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Class Outline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Session 3: Drawing Near in Holiness
Leader Lesson Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Class Outline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Session 4: Seated Between Father and Son
Leader Lesson Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Class Outline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Session 5: Pursuing the Knowledge of God
Leader Lesson Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Class Outline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Session 6: Awakened to the Word
Leader Lesson Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Class Outline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Session 7: Praying the Scriptures
Leader Lesson Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Class Outline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Session 8: Abiding in Christ
Leader Lesson Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Class Outline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Session 9: Identifying With the Cross
Leader Lesson Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Session Nine Class Outline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Session 10: Don’t Just Do Something, Stand There!
Leader Lesson Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Class Outline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Session 11: Burning Before The Throne, Part 1
Leader Lesson Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Class Outline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Session 12: Burning Before The Throne, Part 2
Leader Lesson Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Class Outline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Order Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
4 Secrets of the Secret Place Leader’s Guide
4
Lesson 5
5
6 Guidelines
Secrets offor Leaders,
the Secretcont’d Place Leader’s Guide
Helpful hint: Start and stop each meeting on time. Being disciplined
in this will make the study stronger. When you’re experiencing momentum
in a meeting and everyone is enthusiastic over the material being discussed,
it’s very common to feel pressure to let the meeting go long. If you let it go
long, however, everyone may go home happy and fulfilled but it can backfire
on you the following week. The week after, people might think, “I really want
to go again, but I just can’t handle being out as late as I was last week. I think
I’m going stay home and go to bed early.” Therefore, instead of going long
when the meeting has energy on it, do this: Close the meeting on time with a
prayer. Then, after telling the folks they are dismissed, you can add that those
who want to stay longer are free to do so. This will assure the group that you
will close on time, every time, and they’ll be more likely to return.
C. Helpful pointers.
1. There are two categories of material in this manual:
a. A leader’s lesson plan for each class.
b. An outline for each DVD teaching.
2. Each lesson plan is designed for a 90-minute meeting. Adjust the times as necessary
to your particular context.
3. You are welcome to freely photocopy anything in this manual. Make photocopies of
each outline so you can distribute a copy to each person. Alternatively, each person
could get their own copy of this manual.
4. An optional idea to consider: Make photocopies of all the lesson outlines in advance,
3-hole punch them, and place them in a binder for each participant.
5. The purpose of the Icebreaker Question is to help everyone become comfortable
enough with each other to share freely in the group. It should last only 3-4 minutes.
The question can relate to the subject matter of the study or it can be totally
unrelated. Feel free to replace our Icebreaker questions with your own. If those in
the group are new to each other, the Icebreaker Questions will be very helpful. If
everyone already knows each other well, you may choose to drop the Icebreaker.
6. If the group is small enough, you can lead the discussion time with the entire group
all together. If you have a group of eight or more, however, everyone is likely to have
a more meaningful discussion if the class is divided into groups of 4-5 people per
group. Smaller groups will give everyone the opportunity to contribute more actively
to the discussion.
6
Lesson Guidelines for Leaders, cont’d 7
7. If your group is large enough, here’s an idea to consider: Have each person find a
prayer partner of the same gender in the group who will connect with them for the
duration of the study. Encourage each pair to meet or touch base once a week. Each
duo would ask how each other is doing in the study, encourage each other’s pursuit
of Jesus, discuss things for which there wasn’t time in the group context, confess
failures to one another, and pray for each other.
8. Be aware that the weekly discussion questions are related to the previous week’s
reading assignment, and not necessarily to the content of the DVD message.
9. This Leader’s Manual can be downloaded for free on our site (www.oasishouse.net)
or purchased as a book (from our site, or see the Order Form at the back of this
manual).
7
8 Secrets of the Secret Place Leader’s Guide
8
Lesson Session One Leader Lesson Plan, cont’d 9
d. In what ways has God been making you hungry for a closer walk
with Him? In what ways has He been starving you out of your
comfort zones?
e. What is the foremost accusation the enemy likes to use on you,
related to the secret place, to discourage and shut you down?
f.
g.
8:20 p.m.
Prayer for one another.
1. You may want to ask if there’s anyone in the group who wants to sur-
render their life to Christ tonight.
2. Link up each person with a prayer partner at this time.
a. Explain the purpose and function of the prayer partners (to encour-
age each other, discuss things for which there wasn’t time in the
group, confess failures to one another, and pray for each other).
b. Encourage each duo to meet or touch base once a week. This isn’t re-
quired, but it has potential to grow into something very meaningful.
3. Suggest a format of prayer as seems fitting. You may want to have every-
one split into pairs, and have each pair pray for one another.
8:30 p.m. Close promptly on time. Review this week’s assignment.
1. This week’s reading assignment is:
? Chapters 1-5 of Secrets Of The Secret Place.
? Or, if following a custom schedule, chapters .
? Please don’t read through the book all at once, as though it’s a proj-
ect to check off your to-do list. This is a journey that we all want to
take together.
2. Help everyone get copies of Secrets Of The Secret Place and the
Companion Study Guide as needed.
3. In the Companion Study Guide, ask them to complete the sections in
chapters 1-5 entitled “For Personal Reflection,” or chapters
.
4. 5 things everyone should bring next week: Bible, Secrets book, Secrets
Study Guide, notepad, pen.
9
10 Secrets of the Secret Place Leader’s Guide
A. Introduction.
1. God got Joseph into prison; He was the one to get Joseph
prison.
2. Is. 49:23, “For they shall not be ashamed who for Me.”
3. Ps. 69:6, “Let not those who wait for You, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed
because of me.”
4. Ps. 91:14, “‘Because he has set his upon Me, therefore I will deliver
him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. 15 He shall call
upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver
him and honor him. 16 With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My
salvation.’”
5. All things work together for good to those who God,” Rom.
8:28.
6. Complain right and He’ll
. Complain wrong and He’ll kill you.
7. It’s not the fire that changes you; it’s the of God the fire
that changes you.
8. Ps. 103:10, “He has not dealt with us according to our sins.”
9. If Jesus can ask , then I reckon I can too.
10. Gal. 4:13, “You know that because of physical infirmity I preached the gospel
to you at the first. 14 And my trial which was in my flesh you did not despise or
reject, but you received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.”
12
Lesson Session Two Leader Lesson Plan, cont’d 13
b. Talk about your favorite place to meet with God. Are you able to
get to the same place every day?
c. Share with the group some things you’re discovering in learning
how to hear God’s voice.
d. Tell the group if there’s any area in your life in which you’re decid-
ing to invoke radical obedience.
e. Can you tell of an area of iniquity in your heart that you didn’t see
for a long time, but then in some way the Lord showed it to you?
f. What have you learned about becoming a good repenter?
g. Is there anything from this week’s reading in chapters 1-5 that you
would like to discuss?
h.
i.
13
14 Secrets
Session Two of the
Leader Secret
Lesson Place Leader’s Guide
Plan, cont’d
14
Lesson 15
Claiming Restitution
Session Two Class Outline
A. Luke 18:1-2, “Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and
not lose heart, saying: ‘There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor
regard man.’”
1. The purpose of the parable is to empower prayer.
2. The foremost temptation when heaven is silent is to lose heart.
3. The scoffing spirit of 2 Pet. 3:4 says, “Where is the promise of his coming?”
4. Unanswered prayers avail .
B. Verse 3, “Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get
justice for me from my adversary.’”
1. There’s one thing she had that he failed to reckon with: She had a
.
2. By crying for justice, this widow was actually filing a lawsuit in her own way.
C. Verses 4-5, “And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself,
‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I
will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’”
1. God is not by you.
2. Prov. 15:8, “The prayer of the upright is His delight.”
D. Verses 6-7, “Then the Lord said, ‘Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God
not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long
with them?’”
1. “His own elect”: a term of endearment
2. “though He bears long with them” translated literally is, “and is long-tempered
over them.”
E. “Get justice for me from my adversary” may actually be the most powerful prayer
you can possibly pray.
1. Because justice involves two powerful dynamics:
a. : A restoring of that which was lost to original condition.
b. : punitive damages for losses sustained over time.
16 Session Two
Secrets ofClass
the Outline,
Secret cont’d
Place Leader’s Guide
2. Prov. 6:30, “People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy himself when he
is starving. 31 Yet when he is found, he must restore sevenfold; he may have to
give up all the substance of his house.”
F. Verse 8, “‘I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of
Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?’”
1. Hab. 2:3-4, “Though it tarries, wait for it…It will not tarry.”
2. Sometimes God waits forever…to change everything .
G. This week’s assignment:
1. Read chapters 6-9 in Secrets Of The Secret Place (unless your leader gives you a
different assignment).
2. In the Companion Study Guide, complete the section entitled “For Personal
Reflection” in chapters 6-9.
3. Come next week prepared to discuss your assigned chapters.
4. Write down and bring with you any questions you’d like to bring to the group.
Lesson 17
6. What are some false gods that you have turned to in the past for deliver-
ance? Tell of a time when God delivered you.
7.
8.
18
Lesson 19
A. If you want to know what someone feels most strongly about, talk to them about
their highest joys and deepest .
1. God has not forgotten even a fraction of the horror and torment of Calvary.
2. Which is why faith in the blood of Christ is so powerful.
B. Faith in the blood of Christ makes you righteous.
1. The basis of righteousness: .
Phil. 3:9, “and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is
from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which
is from God by faith.”
2. Faith in the blood makes you (Phil. 3:9); righteousness gives
you (Heb. 10:19).
a. Ps. 15:1, “LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in
Your holy hill? 2 He who walks uprightly.”
b. Ps. 24:3, “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand
in His holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart.”
3. If there’s anything you want, it’s righteousness!
a. Righteousness gives you the authority to
.
b. “‘But seek first…His righteousness’” (Matt. 6:33).
C. Faith in the atoning power of the blood is our basis of access to the throne of God,
Hebrews 10:19-22.
1. “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus,
by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is,
His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with
a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil
conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (Heb. 10:19-22).
20 Secrets ofClass
Session Three theOutline,
Secret Place Leader’s Guide
cont’d
22
Lesson Session Four Leader Lesson Plan, cont’d 23
7. Look together at the bulleted points on page 53. Talk about the one that
stands out most to you.
8. Is there anything from your readings in the class text this past week that
you want to discuss?
9.
10.
8:20 p.m. Prayer for one another.
1. How is the prayer partner arrangement working out for everyone?
2. Lead the prayer time. Suggestion: Have the group pray over each person
in the group, one at a time. Or is there anything in the world news you
want to pray for together?
8:30 p.m. Close promptly on time. Review this week’s assignment.
? Read chapters 15-18 of Secrets Of The Secret Place (or whatever the as-
signment needs to be). Thank you for keeping pace with the group in
your reading, and reading only the assigned chapters.
? In the Companion Study Guide, ask them to complete the sections in
chapters 15-18 entitled “For Personal Reflection.”
23
24 Secrets of the Secret Place Leader’s Guide
8.
9.
26
Lesson 27
“I don’t pray in order to make life work; I make life work so that I can pray.”
c. “‘Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be
given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken
from him’” (Luke 8:18).
d. A journal is not the same thing as a .
e. I have two sections to my Journal.
1) Entries by .
2) Entries by .
f. The absolutely best way to get truth lodged deeply within you:
.
3. Prov. 2:2, “So that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to
understanding.”
a. “Apply your heart” speaks of discipline and time management.
b. A secret place relationship with Jesus requires . Over time,
desire will turn into discipline, and discipline will turn into
.
c. A universal principle that applies to everyone: The secret place requires
time.
d. Your discipline in the secret place actually starts the
.
e. Jesus modelled praying in the secret place for several hours.
“Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went
out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed” (Mark 1:35).
f. Be on guard regarding distractions.
1) Decide that the computer will not distract.
2) Keep a to-do notepad handy.
4. Prov. 2:3, “Yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for under-
standing”
a. This points to the role of verbal praying.
b. Express your desperate yearning for understanding.
5. Prov. 2:4, “If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures”
a. To search for treasure means to God’s word.
b. Use a Bible with cross references.
30 Secrets ofClass
Session Five the Secret
Outline, Place Leader’s Guide
cont’d
31
32 Session Six of
Secrets Leader
the Lesson Plan, cont’d
Secret Place Leader’s Guide
6.
7.
32
Lesson 33
35
36 Secrets
Session Sevenof the
Leader Secret
Lesson Place Leader’s Guide
Plan, cont’d
8. When we’re terribly bored and have the choice to persevere in the secret
place or revert to another distraction that will alleviate our boredom
(such as a visit with a friend or a means of entertainment), what can we
do to make the right choice?
9.
10.
36
Lesson 37
37
38 Secrets ofClass
Session Seven theOutline,
Secret Place Leader’s Guide
cont’d
2. Formulating the language of praise comes easier when we praise Him for four
things:
a. His word.
b. His works.
c. His name.
d. His power.
3. Use any and every form of prayer (Eph. 6:18, “praying always with all prayer
and supplication in the Spirit”), such as worship, praise, thanksgiving, interces-
sion, petition, meditation, repentance, adoration, prophetic declaration, warfare,
listening, etc.
4. Three common responses to the word:
a. “I believe Your word. Yes, Lord.”
b. “Help me to understand. Give this to me.”
c. “I resolve to obey this word. Help me!”
D. Simultaneous Reading.
1. Why I aim to pray though the Bible annually:
a. Bible .
b. Knowledge of .
c. Desire to be .
d. To previous insights.
2. Have a Bible reading . Don’t rest until you land upon a plan
that fits you well.
3. My personal Bible reading plan:
a. Old Testament: once annually.
b. New Testament: twice annually.
c. Revelation: once weekly
4. Reasons to consider a regimen of “simultaneous reading”:
a. The variety maintains .
b. It facilitates a well-balanced devotional life that blends both praying and
reading Scripture.
c. Two Scriptures from different books will often shed light on each other.
Lesson Session Seven Class Outline, cont’d 39
40
Lesson Session Eight Leader Lesson Plan, cont’d 41
8. The harder Jesus hurt, the harder He prayed. How does His example
speak to you?
9. Talk about this statement, “There is nothing else that changes us quite
so readily and profoundly as a devotion to the secret place in the midst
of grueling hardship.”
10. What are some specific areas of confinement in your life—ways you are
hindered from full freedom or movement, against your will? What do
you see as the Lord’s purpose for these chains?
11. Have you ever been in a season of no options? Have you, like David in
Ps. 139:5-6, viewed that time as the Lord’s wonderful affections be-
stowed upon you?
12. Talk about social isolation and loneliness. How have you learned to
persevere through such times?
13. What is the difference between waiting for God and waiting on God?
How do we do the latter?
14. It is proper for servants to wait upon their King. Have there been times
when, instead of waiting on God for His opportune moment, God has
had to wait on you for you to find an opportune moment for Him? Do
we sometimes get this thing backwards?
15. Do tears come with ease or difficulty for you? Do you feel free to cry
before Him?
16. Tell of a meaningful time when you wept before the Lord.
17.
18.
41
42 Secrets of the Secret Place Leader’s Guide
Abiding in Christ
Session Eight Class Outline
A. Do you have a favorite book of the Bible?
1. The Master Key to Christianity is found in John 15.
2. “ in My love” (John 15:9).
B. Why we seek to abide in Christ.
1. This is where we receive divine life.
“‘I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abun-
dantly’” (John 10:10).
2. John 1:4, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.”
3. There’s so much life in God, He can’t contain it all. Rev. 22:1.
4. In Rev. 4, John is caught up to the throne, and he sees four “living creatures” at
the throne of God.
C. “‘If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and
it shall be done for you’” (John 15:7).
1. The key to answered prayer:
a. “If you abide in Me”—intimacy
b. “and My words abide in you”—understanding
2. When you have a life-dominating prayer, all you care about is the question,
“How do I abide in Christ?”
a. Gabriel said to Zacharias, “‘…your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth
will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John’” (Luke 1:13).
b. In Gethsemane: “So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third
time, saying the same words” (Matt. 26:44).
c. Abraham: “After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a
vision, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly
great reward.’ 2 But Abram said, ‘Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I
go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’ 3 Then Abram
said, ‘Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is
my heir!’ 4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, ‘This
one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall
be your heir.’ 5 Then He brought him outside and said, ‘Look now toward
heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.’ And He said to
him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ 6 And he believed in the LORD, and He
accounted it to him for righteousness” (Gen. 15:1-6).
Lesson Session Eight Class Outline, cont’d 43
44
Lesson Session Nine Leader Lesson Plan, cont’d 45
8. After reading chapter 36, do you find yourself wanting to invoke God’s
gaze? Or are you apprehensive? Talk about it.
9. How do you feel about the fact that God is watching you always? Do
you wish you could hide at times? Do you view His gaze as a token of
His abundant mercy?
10. In the cross we say to our Lord, “This is how much I love You.” Is this
a new idea for you, to see the cross as a means of expressing the full
intensity of our love? Does this change how you view suffering?
11. Are you prepared to be a martyr for the Lord? Is there any way in which
you are extravagantly laying your life down for Him today?
12. Have you experienced a time when spending time in the secret place
actually increased your productivity that day? Tell us about it.
13. Is your secret place truly a respite and rest, or is it something at which
you labor and strive? If it’s the latter for anyone in our group, what can
we do to turn that around?
14. Have you found your prayer life to actually help reduce your stress lev-
els? In what ways?
15.
16.
45
46 Secrets of the Secret Place Leader’s Guide
48
Lesson Session Ten Leader Lesson Plan, cont’d 49
8. Is the idea of having light in your body an idea that is rather new for
you? Let’s talk about this, from Luke 11:33-36. What does it mean to
have your body full of light? What are your questions? What are your
insights?
9. Let’s talk about bodily sins. What have you found to be your most suc-
cessful pathway to victory over bodily sins?
10. Got any suggestions for keeping our eyes on the holy and away from the
unholy?
11.
12.
49
50 Secrets of the Secret Place Leader’s Guide
D. According to Ezek. 44:10-15, standing before God is a higher calling than standing
before .
1. v. 10-11, the lower calling was to be a minister of the house and the people.
2. v. 15, Zadok’s descendants were privileged to “stand before Me.”
3. We’ve thought of platform ministry as the higher calling.
4. Everybody wants authority when they stand before people; but who will pursue
authority when they stand before God?
5. You will have no authority when you stand before people in public, unless you
have first stood before God in .
6. I don’t want the Day of Judgment to be the first time I stand before God.
E. John’s most dramatic encounter with Christ happened at a time when all he could
do was simply stand before God.
Rev. 1:9, “I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and
kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for
the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. 10 I was in the Spirit on the
Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, 11 saying, ‘I am
the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,’ and, ‘What you see, write in a
book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to
Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.’”
1. The Lord’s Day—resurrection day—was a reminder to John that he couldn’t
seem to access resurrection power in his prison.
2. He didn’t get into self-pity; instead, he got in the Spirit. And he received the
greatest revelation of Jesus of anyone in the entire Bible!
F. The Esther 6:4 principle: When the King decides to do something suddenly, He
looks to see who is in the court.
1. Esther 6:4, “So the king said, ‘Who is in the court?’ Now Haman had just en-
tered the outer court of the king’s palace to suggest that the king hang Mordecai
on the gallows that he had prepared for him. 5 The king’s servants said to him,
‘Haman is there, standing in the court.’ And the king said, ‘Let him come in.’”
2. Haman got the job because he was standing in the court.
52 Secrets ofClass
Session Ten theOutline,
Secret Place Leader’s Guide
cont’d
G. Ps. 15:1, “LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy
hill? 2 He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his
heart; 3 He who does not backbite with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor,
nor does he take up a reproach against his friend; 4 In whose eyes a vile person is
despised, but he honors those who fear the LORD; he who swears to his own hurt
and does not change; 5 He who does not put out his money at usury, nor does he
take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.”
H. This week’s assignment:
1. Read chapters 43-48 in Secrets Of The Secret Place.
2. In the Companion Study Guide, complete the section entitled “For Personal
Reflection” in chapters 43-48.
3. Come next week prepared to discuss your assigned chapters.
4. Write down and bring with you any questions you’d like to ask the group.
Lesson 53
7. “You can’t garner intimacy on the run.” How do you feel about that
statement?
8. Has God ever starved out your fulfillment in your labors or ministry?
Or possibly even removed your ministry? Tell us about it (without spill-
ing details about others). What was He wanting to change in you?
9. Are you ever relieved when your prayer time is over?
10. If you’re a brother, do you struggle to see yourself as the bride? And if
you’re a sister, do you struggle to see yourself as a son?
11. Let’s answer the question in the book, “Do you ever waste time with the
Lord?” (page 187)
12. Have you ever had a time when you thought you were going to lose
your mind, and when you turned to Jesus, He helped you walk through
your season of vulnerability? Tell us about it.
13. What will it be like when we’re together with Jesus in the eternal city?
What will be the nature of our clinging relationship? When we think
and talk about these kinds of questions, we’re obeying Col. 3:2.
14. Talk about each of the elements involved in a walking relationship that
are mentioned on page 194: companionship, dialogue, intimacy, joint
decision-making, mutual delight, and shared dominion. Which of these
do you feel is most lacking right now in your walk with God?
15. Discuss the statement, “God works with His friends.” Do you agree?
16. Talk about the three qualities God is looking for (page 197): humility,
faithfulness, and loyalty. Do you see these as foundational character
qualities God is looking for in His servants before He promotes them to
greater service?
17.
18.
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7. The chapter closes by talking about having a fire that is fed by an in-
ternal source. For example, when oil wells are set on fire in the Middle
East, it’s difficult to quench the fire because it’s fed from an internal
source (oil in the earth). How does this illustration portray the desire of
your heart?
8. Did you ever have an experience where you felt especially joined to
God? Tell us about it.
9. It’s union within marriage that produces children. Would you say that
it’s union with God that produces the greatest spiritual fruitfulness? Can
you think of an example, in your life or in someone else’s, of how this
might work?
10.
11.
8:20 p.m. Lead the prayer time.
Suggestion: Close by giving thanks for the blessing of spending these weeks
together as a group, in His word. May God grant us the grace to fulfill every
good purpose of our hearts formulated during this study. May the secret place
be more than a temporary phase but a permanent lifestyle.
8:30 p.m. Close promptly on time. Encourage everyone to return to the book repeatedly
in order to be encouraged in their secret life in God.
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Lesson 61
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64 Secrets of the Secret Place Leader’s Guide
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