Is that You God?...What do I do now?

Is that You God?
What do I do now? by John Burke - August 31, 2008
So, now we’ve gone through two weeks of this series about God trying to get our attention - through both the good and bad things in life, and in this message John addressed what we do once God has our attention. And the answer is (so simple yet hard): have faith in Him. He wants to build a relationship with us.

1. John began by talking about how faith in someone is based on knowing that person and he described some of the wrong impressions he had about Kathy his wife, before he got to know her. Have you ever had any experiences like that with someone. Think about your circle of friends or other associates right now. Is the anyone in that group who you had a very different impression about before you got to know that person better? Who was it and how did your impression change? Take some time to share peoples experiences with initial misperceptions experiences for a few minutes.

2. John made the point that it is impossible to go through life without exhibiting faith in things we can’t be sure of. His example was flying in an airplane: you trust the airline to make sure the pilot, the plane, and the flight control were in order – you don’t actually KNOW those things. So think about all the things you “trust” as you go through your daily life. Go around the group and try to come up with several examples of the kind of faith (another word for trust) we use to get through each day.

3. So, having faith is nothing new to us, whether it is God we are trusting in or not. Think for a minutes about what makes you trust someone or something. What do you need before you “trust” someone? John said that knowledge is an important part of it. But so often, we have an impression of God that is not based on real knowledge, but on our impression of what God wants from us. Take some time to talk about that: What are some of the common impressions people have of what God wants… either ones YOU had or have or ones you hear about from other people?

4. If we need to know more about God to trust him, there are different ways we can get that information. From the Bible, from prophesy, and from Jesus’ life, we can learn something about how God works. In the message, John used the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus to make a point about how God approaches us. Read the story below and then discuss what things you can learn about God from that story.

5. The first step in building a relationship with God is to accept his invitation - like the one he made to Zacchaeus: He wants to “come home with us”. Then like any relationship, our relationship with God grows as we as we trust Him more and more. That’s really all He wants from us – to build a relationship based on trust. So, where are you in that relationship building? First step of trust? A new area of trust in your relationship with Him? Do you feel like there is something He’s wanting you to trust about Him now? Reflect on that for a minute, and then plan to follow John’s “trust” prescription: 1) Tell God you want to trust Him and follow His direction; 2) Do your own “heart-check” and make sure you really do want to trust… or at least you’re willing to be willing; 3) Ask God to show you, through circumstances or your own heart, what He wants you to trust Him for; 4) Step on out in faith. During the week (or more), revisit this faith step with God and note whether and how the “trust” relationship is growing.

Bible verses from the message:

“Without faith it is impossible to please God.” Hebrews 11:6

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. Romans 1:20

No one has ever seen God, but the one and only [Son], who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known. John 1:18

Then they asked [Jesus], "What must we do to do the works God requires?" Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." John 6:28-29

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation… So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God. Romans 5:8-11

"Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. James 2:23

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4

Zacchaeus story: Luke 19: 1 – 10
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.' " But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount." Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

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