Four:One Journey Lesson 2

Chapter 2 The Transforming Power of Love

Prepare

BEFORE THE GROUP

Prepare for your group by watching the Lesson 2 video before you arrive. Use the following space to take notes.

Take away: Rest in the faithfulness of God, regardless of what the situation “tells” us.

Participate

DURING THE GROUP

Opening - 5 minutes

• Welcome

• Prayer

Check In - 10 minutes

• Address unfinished material from previous lesson if necessary.

• Discuss homework completed for previous lesson.

Goals and Core teaching - 60 minutes

• Lord, Who are You?

• The God Who We Can Believe and Trust

• The God Who Wants to Be Loved Because He Delights in You

• The God Who Identifies with Us

Closing - 15 minutes

• Recap lesson

• Explain homework

• Prayer

Lord, Who are You?

Our spiritual and emotional growth depends on a clear understanding of who God is, His love for us, and what we believe about Him.

Our spiritual and emotional growth depends on a clear understanding of who God is, His love for us, and what we believe about Him. If we don’t start from a correct belief about God, we have nothing to stand on. But if we believe God is who He says He is, then we have a foundation from which to live and live well. To know the Lord, and our view of Him are the two most important principles for us as Christians. While we strongly profess to know, trust, and love the Lord, our behavior in many cases seem to speaks to the contrary. It is quite amazing that God longs for a relationship with us; a relationship that is marked by our love and dependency on Him.

Wayne Jacobsen, in his book He Loves Me, explains that God knew what His love would do for us. “He knew that love would take us deeper into his life than fearful obligation ever would. It would teach us more truth, free us from our selfishness and failures, and make us fruitful in the world.” i

However, it seems that the majority of the Christian community is moved not by the love of God, but by fear of Him. Jesus did not intend that we come to know Him or His Father by fear, but by the love Jesus portrayed in the incarnation, when He took on flesh and blood to live among us, be approached by us, eat with us, laugh with us; the divine man living among fallen men and women.

Eugene Peterson, in his book Leap Over A Wall, said, “The entire meaning of the incarnation is that God enters our human condition, embraces it, comes to where we are to save us.” ii He makes Himself accessible to us so that we come to know Him and also, His Father. John 14:7, “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”

As hard as it may be for us to accept Christ’s humanity, we must remember that He, Jesus, was as much the God of Mount Sinai and the burning bush as He was the carpenter who made His living by fixing chairs, building tables and cabinets, and dealing with the stuff of life that you and I do.

• Write down a few words that describe your view of God.

• Is your perception that He is good, trustworthy, wise, loving, dependable, and powerful?

• Is your life a reflection of what you say you believe?

• Can God be trusted, regardless of what the circumstances tell us?

• How did you come to know Him?

• If you have trouble or cannot trust God, “How has God let you down or disappointed you”?

To believe something is more than just saying the word. It is a complex neurobiological process.

The following quote by Wayne Jacobsen from his book, He Loves Me, helps us understand God’s love for us.

“Maybe you even feel that God has betrayed your trust when he didn’t do things for you that you thought a loving Father would do... Trust: it is so easy to talk about, but so hard to put into practice. Nothing is more theologically certain than that God is faithful and trustworthy. But learning how to live in that trust through the twists and turns of our lives is the most di cult challenge we face.” iii

The God Who We Can Believe & Trust

To believe someone, we must trust them. One cannot exist without the other. To believe something is more than just saying the word. It is a complex neurobiological process. “To believe something,” said Dr. Curt Thompson, “is not a one-step mental process of engaging in a singular act we call ‘belief’. For to believe something involves the mobilization of multiple realms of mental activity, including sensations, images, feelings, thoughts and physical behaviors, all of which converge mysteriously in what we eventually believe.” iv In Romans 10:10, we read, “for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

Matthew 15:18-19 states, “But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart… For out of the heart come…”

In the above passages notice the centrality of the heart; not the behaviors. The point here is for us to understand that the act of “believing” is much more than just a word. It is our conviction about something we are willing to risk our life for. To believe in the goodness, power, and wisdom of God are not just words we throw around. They are words that materialize in the crucible of our own lives.

• Read John 3:16, what was the price the Father paid for you?

• In light of the price He paid for you, how valuable are you?

Now think back to some of those times when you feel worthless and call yourself ugly names. Can you see the contradiction?

• If you feel we must earn God’s love, what are some things that you need to do to earn it? Make a list:

• How do you know when you have done enough?

• Can you see the futility of such a position? Please explain.

God’s love for us does not increase with good behavior and hard work and does not decrease when the opposite is true.

Respond to the following questions:

• Does my view of God alter my belief in Him?

• Does my view of Him impact my life?

• If so, how?

Mastery of anything is not achieved overnight. We do not achieve maturity by reading a book, doing a Bible study, or listening to a Sunday sermon. Maturity is an achingly difficult process for which we need courage, discipline, and steadfastness. We must embrace our pain and face our fears. Otherwise maturity/healing will just be an elusive word spoken into the wind.

One of the main subjects of the book of Hebrews is to believe; without it we can never enter the rest God promised us. Most of us begin the Christian life with a great deal of zeal and enthusiasm. Often, we strive and struggle, but despite our efforts the sign of growth is slow in coming. For the majority of Christians, the response to God’s slow pace is to retreat in defeat.

If we are to experience the rest of God, we must cease our struggling and striving. We have to come to the realization that, while we participate with God, He is the one who ultimately brings about the growth. It is important that we do not equate the “cease striving” or “be still” (Psalm 46:10) of God with passivity. When God calls us to “be still and know” that He is God, He is calling us to believe and to trust in Him in situations that are out of our control such as when we try to change another person’s behavior.

• If I am to experience God’s rest, what changes do I need to make?

Maturity is an achingly difficult process for which we need courage, discipline, and steadfastness.

• What do I usually do when changes do not come quickly?

• Do I think that perseverance might be an issue for me?

• What choices do I need to set in place so I do not give up when the going gets rough? Write them down.

The God Who Wants to Be Loved Because He Delights in You:

“But he [Peter] said to Him, ‘Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!’ And He [Jesus] said, ‘I say to you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.’”

LUKE 22:33-34

• How often does your behavior deny what you thought you so firmly believed about the Lord? Give an example.

• Do you think Peter’s behavior took Jesus by surprise?

Read Matthew 26:69-75.

It is not until after the resurrection that Peter again meets the Lord in front of another fire. The scene is tender and inviting–God making breakfast for a group of fishermen. Incredible! It is here that Jesus begins to address Peter by asking the question, “Peter, do you love Me more than these?” The word Jesus uses for love here is “agape,” the God kind of love. Despite his denial only a few days before, one thing Peter has learned is to be honest. He has come to know in a very short time the futility of hiding from God. He knows he is not able to give back the agape kind of love Jesus offers to each of us. Twice the question is asked by Jesus using the same word, “agape.” The third time Jesus, knowing Peter’s limitations, came down to his level and asked Peter, “Do you love [phileo] Me?” To which Peter, this time responds, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love [phileo] You.”

Jesus does not insist on what He knows Peter cannot give, nor dismissed him based on his inability to agape Him. It is precisely at this moment that He entrusted Peter with the care of His sheep. Peter is now well aware of his limitations to accomplish the task of caring and loving the sheep apart from Jesus. The recognition of his limitations becomes the means by which the tough man in the Garden of Gethsemane becomes the gentle apostle and bond-servant of Christ: “Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:1).

The God who wants to be loved by fallen men and women asks what seems an absurdity. The God that with one word brought the universe into existence asks, not only of Peter, but of us all, an incredible question – Do you love Me?

The recognition of his limitations becomes the means by which the tough man in the Garden of Gethsemane becomes the gentle apostle and bondservant of Christ.

• How do you respond to such a question?

• Could it be true that the God who is continually praised by myriads of angels want to be loved by you and me?

The God Who Identifies with Us

What makes the Gospel so incredible is precisely its earthiness. God became like us! But why? Because His love moves Him to identify with us. The earthiness of the Gospel is clearly seen in Eugene Peterson translation (The Message) of John 10:1-14:

“’Let me set this before you as plainly as I can. If a person climbs over or through the fence of a sheep pen instead of going through the gate, you know he’s up to no good—a sheep rustler! The shepherd walks right up to the gate. The gatekeeper opens the gate to him and the sheep recognize his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he gets them all out, he leads them and they follow because they are familiar with his voice. They won’t follow a stranger’s voice but will scatter because they aren’t used to the sound of it.’

“Jesus told this simple story, but they had no idea what he was talking about. So he tried again. ‘I’ll be explicit, then. I am the Gate for the sheep. All those others are up

to no good—sheep rustlers, every one of them. But the sheep didn’t listen to them. I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for—will freely go in and out, and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.

“’I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd puts the sheep before himself, sacrifices himself if necessary. A hired man is not a real shepherd. The sheep mean nothing to him. He sees a wolf come and runs for it, leaving the sheep to be ravaged and scattered by the wolf. He’s only in it for the money. The sheep don’t matter to him.

“’I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own sheep and my own sheep know me.’”

Read Hebrews 2:17-18.

Consider these two ideas: “He had to be made like His brethren in all things,” and “He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”

• Who are we, that God chooses to experience the pain and suffering of our humanity?

“I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own sheep and my own sheep know me.”

• Why is He willing to give His all just to deliver us?

Meditate on the following verses, and then answer the questions that follow:

’“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?”

ROMANS 8:31-32

• Can you give a brief explanation of your view of God?

• Suppose that your description is one that affirms the goodness and faithfulness of God. Does your view of Him change when life is difficult and your prayers seemed to bump against a steel door?

• Is it difficult during those times to believe that God is for us? You’re not alone in this. For the majority of Christians, it is easy to praise God, sing our songs, and lift up hands when our plans are working out the way we plan, but how do you respond when the contrary is evident?

• During those times of trials, how difficult is it for you to rest in the faithfulness of God?

Recap Lesson

While this class is not about behavior modification; our behavior is evidence of changes we make as we allow God’s Word to transform us from the inside out. While the transformation may be difficult and even painful, God’s faithfulness and love for us will carry us through those trial we face in life.

Think about what we have covered and answer the following questions.

• In light of what you have learned today about the faithfulness of God, has this knowledge increased your trust in Him?

• What do you think is hindering you from resting in His faithfulness?

Often times when we have been betrayed by the people we love and trust, trusting God becomes a very difficult task. To feel alone in our troubles is terribly painful. Perhaps you might want to risk talking to your leader or a member of the group. To share our pain with another is often a very helpful exercise. Trust is a process we learn one step at the time. It is like going to the beach and finding the water cold, we begin by just putting our toes in, then a bit more until we feel we can put our whole body into it.

Practice

AFTER THE GROUP

Homework Application

Meditate and journal on what you have learned about God’s faithfulness and love for us. As you journal, also write down your difficulties in trusting and why.

• What is the most helpful thing you have learned about God?

• In light of what you have learned, what difference does it make in your life?

• How would you practice the truth you have learned about trusting God even when the circumstances speak to the contrary?

• What is your plan to practice the truths you have learned? Please be prepared to share your findings with the group.

Prayer

Use the following space each week to write down the prayer requests of group members and to reflect on the Holy Spirit’s work in your own life.

i Wayne Jacobsen, He Loves Me! (Newbury Park, CA: Windblown Media, 2007), p. xv.

ii Eugene H. Peterson, Leap Over a Wall: Earthy Spirituality for Everyday Christians (San Francisco, CA: Harper, 1998), p .9.

iii Wayne Jacobsen, He Loves Me!, pp. 36-37.

iv Curt Thompson, The Soul of Shame (Downers Grove, IL: Inter Varsity Press, 2015) pp. 83-84.