Experiencing God: Week 3
Reality 3 – God invites you to become involved with Him in His work.
Every Christian can accept God’s invitation to join Him in His work.
How? By processing these four questions
Question #1 – What is God inviting me to?
- Does it have to do with the work of believing in Jesus?
Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” John 6:29 esv
- Does it have to do with obeying His teaching?
“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” Luke 6:46 esv
- Does it have to do with people getting saved?
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10 esv
- Does it have to do with people being prepared to be disciples of Jesus?
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. Matthew 28:19&20 esv
- Does it have to do with God’s love for people and my love for God
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 22:37-39 esv
- Does it require me to be humble before God?
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. James 4:10 esv
Question #2 – Will accepting this invitation to join God’s work bring Him glory?
Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:16 esv
Question #3 – Does it require me to serve others – to manifest Jesus’ ministry in someone’s life?
But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:27&28 esv
Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. John 13:3-5 esv
Question #4 – Is there an invitation that God has already given me that I have left undone?
For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food… Hebrews 5:12 esv
But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Revelation 2:4&5 esv
Final Thoughts – Are the roadblocks to you accepting God’s invitation real reasons or excuses?
- Who are the people that you are in a relationship with and what is their feedback about your progress as a follower of Jesus?
- How are you going to process this reality of experiencing God, this potential invitation from God to join Him in His work?
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- I am going to think about what is hindering me from accepting God’s invitation and decide if it is a sound reason or a flimsy excuse.3
- I will process it with a trusted friend who shares my faith in Jesus.
- I am too busy right now. I may come back to this in the future.
- I have no idea where to start.
- I am going to take action to join God’s invitation, and prepare my next step for this week.
Questions to Discuss:
- Have you accepted that God is always at work around us? Why or why not?
- Have you responded to God’s pursuit of you to have a regular, real, and personal relationship with Him? What does that look like in your week? What aspects are helping you? What aspects do you wish would grow and improve?
- Invitations from God to join Him come in all shapes and sizes. What are some opportunities that you have experienced or heard about from others that were definitely invitations from God to join in His work?
- Have you ever missed an invitation from God to join Him? If so, what was it like?
- Are there prospective invitations from God for you to join Him in His work in front of you currently? If so, how do those invitations match up under Question #1 from today’s message?
- What are you going to do differently this week in light of what we studied today?