COMMUNITY GROUP/FAMILY AND DAILY STUDIES BASED UPON OUR PREACHING SERIES AT COMMUNITY CHURCH PUTNEY)
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COMMUNITY GROUP/FAMILY STUDY NOTES
I’m sure that we’ve all had moments when we’ve been unsure of
God’s will in our lives: a change of job, a relationship, change of location, whether
to confront someone who has upset you etc. We’ve probably all seen people
making huge decisions without concern for God’s will; alternately we may have
witnessed people equating God’s will with their emotions but making bad
decisions as a result. What do Paul’s
prayers teach us about how one can know and walk in God’s will?
Discuss/think/pray
about
Read Philippians 1:9-11
· Paul prays that their love
would ‘abound more and more in knowledge
and depth of insight’. This will
result (as we saw last week) in our being ‘pure
and blameless’. What will this kind of love enable us to ‘discern’?
Let’s explore the terms in
this verse a bit more
- Knowledge: understanding God’s word. What does God’s revealed will (scripture) say about this a choice that I need to make?
- Depth of insight: prayerfully and wisely applying God’s word.
- Discern what is best: Sometimes a number of paths are open to us; there may be a number of ‘right’ courses of action. God gives us the dignity of making real choices.
- Love: Love is the foundation of all our decisions. Jesus defines love as laying our lives down for the good of another. So when faced with a number of options, ask what is most loving, what is most like the gospel?
- For the day of Christ: Living as preparing for Jesus’ return is a prominent feature in Paul’s prayers (see also 1 Thess. 3:9-13). In choosing to do ‘what is best’ let’s ask ourselves, “In view of my judgement and eternity, how worthy is this choice?” Too many try to make a heaven of this passing earth, when we are called to live a life of sacrificial faith as we head for heaven.
Spend some time praying for one another using Philippians 1:9-11 as a
guide. Please pray this over the elders of CCP as they desire to make good
decisions for the church.
GOING DEEPER PERSONAL DAILY STUDIES
Monday: We need the Spirit to know God’s will
Begin by meditating (reading slowly, repeatedly,
with feeling) on this text:
Colossians
1:9 We
have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with
the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that
the Spirit gives
Notice how Paul is praying this with others. Praying with your local
church, Community Group or friends is a practice of all healthy Christians,
particularly when seeking God’s will.
What two things, that the Spirit gives, do we require in order to know
God’s will?
‘Wisdom’ in the
correct application of knowledge of the truth
‘Understanding’ is the
content of the bible
‘That the Spirit
gives’ means that one must take the content of our ‘understanding’ from the
Spirit-inspired word, seeking to learn and apply it prayerfully.
Praying with others will be of great benefit when seeking God’s will.
Tuesday: His will for
His pleasure
Begin by meditating (reading slowly, repeatedly,
with feeling) on this text:
Colossians 1:10 So that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please
him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the
knowledge of God.
Too
often, knowing God’s will, can be used to mean, “what will make me happiest in
life?” No doubt, and the experience of many bears this out, doing God’s will
leads to inner joy, but that is not the motive! Our motive is to ‘please Him in every way’.
Using
Colossians 1:10 as a guide, pray that you, your church, your friends would find
and delight in doing God’s will.
Wednesday: God’s will
requires God’s empowering
Begin by meditating (reading slowly, repeatedly,
with feeling) on this text:
Colossians 1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious
might so that you may have great endurance and patience.
What does
God’s ‘power’ enable us to do?
Doing the
will of God requires His power. We may start off well, but to keep running the
race requires God’s grace. Too many people give up on things and so never reap
the harvest that comes from endurance. Faith keeps climbing the mountain, and
the Spirit is the inspirer of faith.
Pray for
God’s ‘strength, power… glorious might’
so that you would persevere in doing His will with refreshed joy through faith.
Thursday: It is God’s will
that you rejoice
Begin by meditating (reading slowly, repeatedly,
with feeling) on these texts:
Colossians 1:12 And giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to
share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all
circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
What do
these texts say about God’s will regarding joy, rejoicing, prayer and thanks?
Just
imagine the difference it would make if we actually obeyed God’s will in this!
Throughout
this day, write a note of all the good things that come to mind or happen, for
which you would like to thank God. At the end of this day, use that list to be
joyful, rejoice, pray and give thanks.
Friday: God reveals His
will through other Christians
Begin by meditating (reading slowly, repeatedly,
with feeling) on this text:
1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with
contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of
evil.
What are
we not to do, and what are we to do, with prophecy?
God
speaks to us and the church through one another by means of prophecy. The Holy
Spirit inspires with dreams, visions, and prophetic words… Paul encourages us
to,
1 Corinthians 14:1 ‘Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the
Spirit, especially prophecy.
Using 1
Thessalonians 5:19-22, pray for yourself, your Community Group and your church,
that we would hear God’s voice through prophecy. Take time to pray through any
prophetic words you may have received in the past (add them to your prayer
list)
Saturday: Don’t seek to be
a Martha as you seek to do God’s will
Luke 10:41-42 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are
worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed
only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken
away from her.”
In
seeking to do God’s will there is the danger of falling into ‘activism’;
feeling dissatisfied with ourselves and others if one is not busy serving God practically.
Jesus came from heaven to earth not so that we would be workers for God, but so
that we would be lovers. It is God’s will that we spend quality time with Him.
This is why prayer is so vital in our seeking of God’s will – it makes our
quest relational. Let’s finish this week’s study prayerfully reading the
following quote,
‘God comes to us he wants a relationship. But sometimes
we only want results. He wants to talk. But we only want him to fix
things. He actually enjoys serving
us. But He wants to be more than a servant. He wants to be a friend. Though I fear
sometimes we want only a servant. (Jack
Deere, Surprised by the voice of God)’
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