Proof of Life: In Denial
1 John 2:18-29
Connect:
Share how you have seen God in the Highs and Lows of your week.
Prayer:
Pray that God would lead your discussion time and bring fresh insight, conviction, and hope through your time together.
Review:
This series, Proof of Life, is looking at how we KNOW that we are saved, born of the Spirit, alive in Christ… and what that looks like in our daily walk! This week we looked at the repercussions of denying critical Biblical truths that God has revealed to us… and how to correct that!
The Grand Tour of the message: Thinking back on what you heard this Sunday…
o What did you learn about God?
o What did you learn about people?
o What did you learn about yourself?
o What do you want to commit to putting into practice?
Reflection:
Personal Experience:
Let’s say you are talking to your car mechanic. When you hear an explanation that “just doesn’t sound right”, like, “We need to replace your entire brake system because of a leaky hose on the right front wheel”, how do you respond? Ask for more info, say “No WAY!”, get a second opinion, pay whatever is recommended… how do you tend to respond?
Group Discussion:
Read 1 John 2:18-19
John said, “This is the last hour”… 2000 years ago. If your 12 year old asked you “What did he mean by that?!?” how might you respond?
John says here “the antichrist” and then immediately talks about “many antichrists”. Is there one or many? (Read the context here and then look at 2 Thes 2:3-4, Rev 13:1-18 as well as Matt 7:15, 2 Peter 2:1, 2 Tim 4:3-4).
John says, “Their going showed that they did not belong to us”. Scott said, “people in denial will break away from true community.” Why does that happen— why do false teachers choose to leave rather than engaging the group in discerning right doctrine from Scripture?
Read 1 John 2:20-23
This anointing that lets us discern what is true— what is John talking about (John 14:26, John 16:13, 1 Cor 2:10-14)
Someone says, “I feel led by the Spirit to divorce my husband live with my boyfriend”. How would you respond to that? (Mal 2:16, Matt 19:6, 1 Cor 7:10-11).
Let’s say you challenged them on their sense of what God is saying to them, and they respond “Don’t judge me; how do you know what God is saying to me? That is between me and God!” How would you respond (Matt 18:15-17, Gal 6:1, James 5:19-20, Titus 3:10-11).
John said, “No one who denies the Son has the Father”. How would that have challenged the false teaching going around the churches John had planted that Jesus was not really ‘the Word made flesh” (John 1:1, 18, 14:6)?
Read 1 John 2:24-29
What does it mean to “let God’s Word remain in us”?
What is the connection between saturating ourselves with God’s Word and abiding in His presence? (Deut 30:14, John 14:23, Col 3:16, John 15:7)
John says, “the righteous will do what is right”. Is He talking about being perfect and sinless all the time in every way? If not, what is this about? (Phil 1:6, 2 Cor 3:18, Eph 4:22-24, Rom 8:29, 1 Thes 5:23, John 17:17).
Application:
What is it going to take to reverse the direction of our “drift to sin” in these areas of our lives where the Holy Spirit is already convicting us?
Prayer:
Change hurts, but the Holy Spirit can work in us the will and the ability to live our lives as He wants us to live (Phil 2:13). Spend some time together praying for the Lord’s strength when we are again faced with the choice to do things God’s way or our own, living in the conviction and power of His Spirit to walk with Him!.
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