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Experiencing God: Week 5

Experiencing God: Week 5

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THIS WEEK – CRISIS OF BELIEF, BUT REMEMBER:

God’s always working, always pursuing, always inviting, and always revealing His will.

Sometimes we don’t see it and experience it because we aren’t looking for it, or we are looking in the wrong places – where, how, and when we want instead of how God presents

When we do see and experience god’s work, pursuit, invitation, and revelation, we come face to face with the reality that God has orchestrated all things to provide us the opportunity to step into living out the reason for our existence!

Ephesians 2:8-10 (NIV) – For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

So, if that’s the invitation He offers us, why is this step called the Crisis of Belief?

Because God calls you into good works that you cannot accomplish apart from His divine intervention.

John 15:5 (NIV) – “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing.

Ephesians 3:20 (NIV) – Now to him who can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.

When God asks you to do something you cannot do on your own, you have a crisis of belief.

REALITY 5 – God’s invitation for you to work with Him always leads you to a crisis of belief that requires faith and action.

CRISIS (n) – a crucial stage or turning point in the course of something, especially in a sequence of events. Latin: decision, from Greek krisis, from krinein to decide

When our experiences with God bring us to the step of having a crisis of belief, we find ourselves at a crucial fork in the road where we get to decide to in faith trust (believe) and follow (take action) God OR to trust and follow in our own understanding and will and not God’s.

3 TRUTHS TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT GOD’S INVITATION AND OUR CRISIS OF BELIEF

  •  God calls you into good works that are God-sized, God-shaped, and require you to be God-reliant
  •  The opportunity to join in God’s good works always leads to a crisis of belief.
  •  We experience God when we in faith trust and obey His call. Real faith leads to action.

TRUTH #1 – God calls you into good works that are God-sized, God-shaped, and require you to be God-reliant.

  • God’s good works look like God’s good love, His good Spirit, His good service, and His good sacrifice. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8, Galatians 5:22-23, 1 John 3:16, Matthew 20:28)
  • Joining in God’s good works SHOULD cause you to have a crisis of belief!
  • Without a crisis of belief, it is really His good work or is it your own?

TRUTH #2 – The opportunity to join in God’s good works always leads to a crisis of belief The example of Moses – 3 common crises of belief

  1.  Fear – “I can’t” (John 15:5, Matthew 28:20, Philippians 4:13) Mark 10:27 (NIV) – Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”
  2.  Unclear – “I don’t understand” (2 Corinthians 5:7, Isaiah 55:8) Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) – Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
  3.  Disobedience – “I don’t want to” (Genesis 3:6, Mark 10:17-22) Proverbs 14:12 (NIV) – There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.

In each of these crises or decisions made – one thing is the same: A lack of faith, trust or belief that rejects obedience and action.

TRUTH #3 – We experience God when we in faith trust and obey His call. Real faith leads to action.

  • God calls us to have faith, belief, and trust in Him ENOUGH to take action. (Matthew 8:23-27)
  • We experience God along the way, not before the way

 

QUESTIONS:

  • What are the crises of belief in your life right now?
  • What are some areas in your life you need to review to see if God is inviting you to join Him?
  • In what areas of your life do you exhibit the 3 common reasons of disbelief?
  • Where is God asking you to join Him? What is one practical step of action you can take?
  • Who do you need to talk to about taking action in your crises of belief?

Scriptures to consider: Jeremiah 32:27; Mark 9:24; Romans 8:35-39; 1 Thessalonians 5:24; John 21:20-21

Questions:

  1.  Have you ever been in a situation where you thought things were going to go one way, but then things went differently? What was it?
  2.  What decisions are you currently wrestling with? What might God be doing in the midst of it?
  3.  Read John 21:20-21. Like Peter, has comparing your life to others ever caused a crisis of belief for you? How did you resolve that?
  4.  Where in scripture do you see God inviting people to do things that were humanly impossible?
  5.  What has God called you to do that seems impossible to accomplish , unless God miraculously intervenes?
  6.  Take a moment to review God’s faithfulness in your past – how does God’s past activity in your life give you confidence for the future?