Walk of Faith

By Clayborn Jones

The Walk of Faith workbook is an intrusive and intense twelve-step process. It requires the user to question their faith and religious practice. The user must examine and challenge their beliefs in order to complete the work. This is between the user and God. We must learn to wrestle with God one-on-one in private. The end result is a true walk of faith. Afterward, we will be able to say, "Did not our hearts burn within" as we walked with Him along the way.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 25, 2023
• ISBN: 9798886855333

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Walk of Faith

Clayborn Jones

ISBN 979-8-88685-532-6 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88685-533-3 (digital)

Copyright © 2022 by Clayborn Jones

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Chambers, O. (1985). My utmost for his highest: Selections for the Year: The golden book of Oswald Chambers. Dodd, Mead.

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Forward and Acknowledgements

Preface

The Walk of Faith

Step One

The Five Areas

Step Two

Step Three

Step Four

Step Five

Step Six

Step Seven

Step Eight

Step Nine

Step Ten

Step Eleven

Step Twelve

Chairing the Meeting

About the Author

Forward and Acknowledgements

In this process, I have learned many things about working with others. A major part of that learning is to always acknowledge the collaboration and contribution of others. We ought to all have teachers who are willing to correct us, and we ought to all be available for correction, having expressed this sentiment I want this space for that reason.

First, I thank God the Father for giving His Son, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Who has sent us the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Then I need to express my gratitude toward Pastor Curtis Odum Sr. for allowing God to use him to write the Twelve Steps as they appear in this work, and Pastor Odum's willingness to release God's work through this work. Each step was given life from that original document. Pastor Odum along with Evangelist George Pennington endured long hours of review and correction as we reviewed each word in this work.

I thank as well the members of the Walk of Faith meeting, who to this day meet regularly at In Gods House Church in Topeka, Kansas. All agreed to allow me to take notes and transfer their experiences to this work. We are very fortunate and blessed to have one another and that meeting space.

Finally, I thank my agent Mickaila Sands and the Christian Faith Publishing team. This is my first effort at writing anything. I was unaware of the work it takes to commit when editing and correcting each word. Their professional approach made it easy. Now we know that all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord according to His eternal purpose. If I left anyone out of this forward, I apologize. Please count it to my head and not my heart.

Preface

In these pages, you will find a stubborn insistence on the objective reality of redemption as the only secure foundation on which all individuals must begin. Subjective experience is no longer acceptable as the root for authentic faith. The ground for which authentic faith is planted and the growth of that faith is only found in the person of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

We are determined to allow every person who engages in step work to be fully persuaded in their own mind. These pages are not comprehensive. They are meant to draw out inner thoughts about the true nature of an individual's faith, as it stands, in the here and now. A walk of faith is given to any particular member who chooses to grow their own faith. We aim to assist each member in uncovering, discovering, and recovering what God has already established. Every individual lives or dies according to God's eternal purpose. This group believes that each life is precious in the eyes of Jesus Christ. The Scripture teaches us, Whether we live or die, we are the Lord's (Romans 14:8).

Uncoverour life. We believe that the spirit world does exist. It is not a theory. All of us experience realities from the realm of spirit, whether that reality is good or evil (Hebrews 13:2; Ephesians 6:12). When we uncover the world in which we live, we have to learn to allow the Holy Ghost to comfort us and teach us where we are in our walk of faith. When such surrender occurs, and what is revealed often times can be difficult to accept, acknowledging the existence, thereof, can be devastating. The thought that we are broken has to be extrapolated from our known fallen nature. Knowing that we walk in darkness has to be realized. The fact that the supernatural world is more powerful than the world we see has to be acknowledged.

Discoverour life. While the Scriptures have many examples of self-discovery in them, we are limited in this writing for two reasons: (a) the diversity and number of individuals who will encounter these pages and (b) the space afforded in this writing. Two Bible verses are mentioned here: Luke 22:54–61; 24:13–32. Our thought is that every person has to discover who the Lord is and who He says He is. In order to discover Jesus, we have to discover our need for Him and His purpose in our life. Christian faith is rooted in events. The historicity of the gospel of Jesus Christ is the validation of faith. Propositional truth has importance, but the basis of faith is Jesus Christ of Nazareth. It is in Jesus that we live and breathe and have our being. Jesus said, I am the door; by me if any man enters, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture (John 10:9). Hopelessness and despair are no longer our guides.

Recoverour life. We cannot ignore the fact that all of us come into this process hoping to be made better. Companion fellowships do exist to that end. Many of them have extensive experience in wrestling with the disease of addiction and compulsive obsessive behavior. That is not the full focus of these pages. While we acknowledge the origin of the God-given twelve steps as the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous, we do wish to express that our purpose is to bring mankind under the lordship of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. These pages do focus on a walk of faith. It is only to that end that will determine the accomplishment of the goal of these pages. There are a plethora of anonymous fellowships which do focus on bringing a person into a relationship with a god of their understanding. This critical step is necessary for those who are not familiar with our belief in Trinity (Acts 17:16–34). Our recovery relies on God's will, not ours.

In his book Disciples Are Made Not Born, Walter A. Henrichsen has a foreword written by Howard G. Hendricks, the wording of which is appropriate for this effort.

Make disciples is the mandate of the Master (Matthew 28:19–20). We may ignore it, but we cannot evade it.

Our risen Christ left this legacy—the Magna Carta of the church. He provided both the model and method. His life and death recast the lives of men. He demonstrated that you have not done anything until you have changed the lives of men.

His promise is linked to a process. We cannot embrace the promise and ignore the process.

To conclude this preface, let us reflect on the individual. Jesus told Peter in Luke 22:31–32, Satan has (past tense) desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed (past tense) for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

We are all under a cloud of darkness in which only a truly contrite spirit may cry out for rescue. Our intervention has already occurred. What is left for us is faith in that intervention.

Because you have found these pages, know it is not of your making. You did not set a course to encounter these pages. Our prayer is that you begin at step one. Be relentless in your work. Do not quit until you have completed this work. We suggest that your work be done under the leadership of a pastor or another minister who is united with a pastor and/or under pastoral authority. This is necessary. The reasons are many but none more vital than the fact that many will fail because of false teaching and doctrine. We recommend that you be in fellowship with a Bible-based church whose sole purpose is to build God's faith kingdom here on earth. We expect that this prescription will help you grow in your walk of faith.

Note to reader: Throughout your read you will find various references, and direct quotes from My Utmost for His Highest The Golden Book of Oswald Chambers, as well as Our Daily Bread Devotional To fully enhance your reading experience, it is recommended that you also read these books as a companion to Walk of Faith.

The Walk of Faith

We confess we are helplessly lost in our addictions or sins our life is out of control (Romans 7:14–19; 3:9–12, 23).

We realize that God can restore our minds (Romans 12:2; Joel 2:25; Romans 6:16, 23 and 13:1; Philippians 2:5; Corinthians 2:16).

We confess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of our mind, body, soul, and life (Romans 8:9–10; John 3:16).

We examined our values against the Lord's values and made a list (Matthew 5:1–12, 10:30–31; John 1:1–18, 5:19–30, 17:1–26; Joel 2:12).

We confess to God, ourselves, and someone else the truth about our sins (Nehemiah 9:3; Romans 14:2; James 5:16).

We become willing to have the Lord heal us of all our crooked ways (Romans 7:24).

We pray that the Lord removes all our flaws and grow our faith and believe that He will (Psalm 26:2; John 15:3).

We took inventory of all the lives we have damaged along life's way and made plans to set things straight (Matthew 5:23–24; Romans 14:19).

We follow through with those plans wherever the Lord may lead (Genesis 33:1–11; Samuel 9:19; Matthew 5:23–24; Romans 124:19).

We become relentless in our self-examination and, when out of line with God, confess it immediately (1 Corinthians 11:28; 2 Corinthians 13:5).

By prayer and meditation on God's Word, we improve our relationship with the Father and for His will to be done in our life (Psalm 1:2, 19:14; Matthew 6:6; 1 Thessalonians 5:14–18).

Allowing the Holy Spirit to fill us that we proclaim the one who freed us to those that are still in bondage; thus continuing the commands of Jesus Christ in our everyday lives (Matthew 28:19–20; 1 Thessalonians 5:14–18).

Created by Pastor Curtis Odum Sr.

Step One

We confess we are helplessly lost in our addictions or sins our life is out of control.

Helplessly Lost

Jesus Christ dealt with the broken and downtrodden of society in which He lived. So we know the church is the place for those of us who feel cast-off or are cast out from society. Now we have arrived at a point in our lives where we realize we have to have faith in something or someone in order to grow spiritually. We know that if Jesus Christ of Nazareth is not the center of our faith, then something or someone is! Many of our realized principles are based on what the society which rejected us imposed on us in the first place. So much of our sense of well-being is cloaked in good intentions and realistic efforts at becoming acceptable members of that society. We have found that when we are grounded by our own wants and needs, God's will takes a second seat to those passions. We may cease worship and regular meeting attendance once we achieve the level of satisfaction we so crave.

Observe the story of the certain young ruler and his interaction with Jesus Christ. Only read Luke 18:18–30 for this section. Afterward, start a stopwatch and sit quietly for two minutes. Do not write or listen to any other conversation except your own thoughts. Ask someone to sit with you if you cannot achieve two minutes of silence. A cartwheel of thought occurs as we consider this interaction. Now take the certain young ruler out of the scenario and put yourself in his place.

Some of us may call Jesus good master. None of us can stake the certain young ruler's claim in verse 21.

If we rely on our own personal goodness to enter into eternal life with Jesus Christ, then we walk in darkness and are helplessly lost. The certain young ruler's reaction betrays the fact that he is helplessly lost. Our question in verse 26 regarding who can be saved is based on fear. Fear is the principal matter here. In all of our desires, thoughts, and feelings of acceptance, fear is the motivating factor. Fear leads us. Fear is the dominating force behind active addiction and sin! Fear mixed with active addiction and sin makes life unmanageable and out of control. At which time, fear becomes our master. We