AWAKEN – Week 3
Rev 3:1-6
1 Kings 19
Last week you were asked, “What do you intend to do between meetings to address the spiritual discipline in which you are most weak?
Has there been a moment when you wished that you would have jumped onto something sooner in regards to Marriage? Job? Finances? Other? Share how it was a win or a regret.
***For Leaders – Responses will vary.
Read Rev 3:2 “Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God.”
What are some of your obstacles when it comes to “waking up spiritually?”
***For Leaders – Reasons will range from lack of motivation to a feeling of hopelessness over “trying again” only to fail.
How does being spiritually asleep feed the feeling of hopelessness in us?
***For Leaders – When we are asleep spiritually, we do not see solutions and we only see obstacles. We’ll take a look at a leader from Scripture who had some huge success only to feel hopeless when looking to the future.
Elijah defeated the 800 prophets of Baal in a showdown and yet after his victory he felt the society he lived in was hopeless and beyond repair. Check it out in 1 Kings 19:3-5 “3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he laid down under the bush and fell asleep.
What are the obstacles in front of Elijah and how did that affect him?
***For Leaders – Even spiritual giants like Elijah could be lulled to sleep with hopelessness that their generation is the “end of the line.” He also felt the prevailing evil powers of the day would eventually be the end of him and his mission.
Have you ever felt like Elijah in our current culture? How did that play out? Did it cause you to go through the motions of life (go to church, go to work, etc.) with no spiritual growth?
***For Leaders – It’s Interesting how sleep is an escape even for a spiritual giant like Elijah. But God wasn’t content with Elijah’s attitude that was trending toward a dark state of mind. God also wasn’t content in his loss of confidence that he could make a difference. Read God’s response together with the Group below.
And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
Elijah replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” (1 Kings 19:9-10)
Does that sound like the USA?! How does living in a society that continually trends toward evil lull us to sleep? How can we remain spiritually awake during this time?
***For Leaders – God points out two things that Elijah would need two things to regain his spiritual senses and stay awake during a prevailing darkness. 1) Elijah would need to hear God’s voice (vv.11-13) and he needed assurance he was not alone and there were other believers on mission around him. (v.18)
Quick review of the questions that Pastor Josh gave to us at the beginning of the AWAKENED series.
- What does my faith look like expressed in my situation? A person asked themselves how their faith becomes active in the midst of the trial they are facing.
- What does God’s love look like expressed in my situation? The sober mind is thinking through the lens of love. Not impatience…not about winning…but love toward others.
- What does hope in the gospel look like in my situation?
The gospel is summed up in the work of the Cross. The blood of Jesus changes everything. I find hope there, because everything that was broken is changeable there.