Awaken

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.

 

 

 

 

AWAKEN – Week 2

 

Last week, Pastor Josh gave us three questions as a tool when facing difficulties.

• 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.

How did you do? How did they play out?

 

Read Eph 5:8-20: After Josh’s message, did you take time to pray the prayer that he presented to us, “God bring conviction into my heart where I’ve allowed sin and darkness remains?” What is the “why” behind this prayer?

***For Leaders – This is the “why” – God wants to use those things that were once dark to become a light. Vs 13- “everything that is illuminated becomes a light.” That is something we resist in our natures which leads us to the question below.

 

 

How does shame prevent verses 13-14 come to fruition?

 ***For Leaders – Shame lies to us by saying, “Pledge allegiance to me or you will suffer greatly If you expose to the light what is hidden in your life.” That is the lie of shame. Most of us want the broken places of our life to bright light to someone else, but the transition to light elicits the voice of shame and we are susceptible to listening to it. Shame loses its power over our lives once the light shines on it as God wants your story to become light! We want these areas to receive light so it changes someone else’s life. Don’t become embarrassed about what God has done for you.

 

 

Read verses 15-16: Pastor Josh said the awakened wisely make the most of every opportunity and then he personally shared, “The sheer number of times the Lord has said to me, ‘shut up’. There is a wise path for this moment, and you need to take it.”  ***The awakened heart says it WANTS to make the wise choice.

How would your life look differently if you asked, “God, what is the wise thing to say in this moment? How can I make it kingdom rich?”

***For Leaders – Don’t live unwisely because the days are evil. There is a wisdom from God in all situations that surpasses common understanding.  Most of us are one phrase away from making someone’s day or making our own day! God has a desired will for you by changing the trajectory of your thinking as he has a deep love for every person, including you.  If you can tap into His heart and desire for you and those in your sphere of influence, you can speak wisdom and truth that will propel those around you in a kingdom direction.

 

 

Staying “awake” is virtually impossible without the three disciplines below playing out in our lives. 1) Time in God’s Word 2) Prayer 3) Worship. Which of these three disciplines that Josh challenged us to do daily is the most difficult for you? Why do you think that is?

Read Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

What do you intend to do between meetings to address the spiritual discipline in which you are most weak?

 

 

AWAKEN – Week 1

 

Read 1 Thess 5:6-8 What does a “sober-minded” believer look like amid our current culture?

 

***For Leaders – Answers will vary

 

 

Read Matt 24:42-45: Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. ⁴³ But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴ Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. ⁴⁵ “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? ⁴⁶ Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.

 

What do you think are the most significant things that can lull “the master” (which is you J) to sleep at such a critical time?

 

***For Leaders – Different things can lull different believers into apathy so you must understand what activities trigger you into spiritual dullness. The other piece to this is the feeling of hopelessness. If people feel like they can’t change the outcome in their surroundings, they will stop trying to make a difference, but the master in this text does NOT feel that way!

 

 

 

The word master in the Greek refers to someone who has “significant authority over others.” What does this say about the influence a believer CAN have when a prevailing darkness seems to be occurring in the culture? How does staying “awake” or sober-minded affect their ability to influence?

 

***For Leaders – Pastor Josh shared that when he and Lisa meet with people, the number one thing they tell people as they listen is “that’s a lie.” So, we can tell ourselves lies about the things that are causing spiritual apathy in us and we can lie to ourselves that we cannot make a difference because it’s hopeless. The master of house goes face-to-face with the threat believing that he has what it takes to change the outcome.

 

 

 

Pastor Josh gave us three questions as a tool when facing difficulties:

 

• 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.

 

All these questions are around faith, love, and hope…you can’t even ask them without putting on your thinking cap.

 

Share a scenario where you were you wished you were more sober-minded enough to ask one or all of the questions above.