Session 7: Rise Into Glory

How Can I Discover The Deeper Things of God?

READY

What is it that allows some athletes to soar to the top of their sport? Many athletes have strong skills, are disciplined, and strive with determination, but a few rise above the crowds into glory and greatness.

1. Describe a time when you found your authentic swing, when you were “in the zone,” or when you rose into a level of play beyond your normal experience. During that time, what was the focus of your heart, soul, mind, and strength?

2. Which outside factors or internal beliefs tend to distract you from playing “in the zone” or playing out of your own glory?

In the same way that passion and single-minded focus on the goal help us find our authentic swing or get into “the zone“ in sports, passion and single-mindedness will take us into God’s “zone” in a way that discipline and techniques never will.

SET

As competitors, it’s easy for us to focus on performance, but the key to rising into the glory of our lives is not about performance. It’s about heart and soul. It’s about realizing who we really are, about connecting deeply and personally with God, and about living out of the individual glory God created within each of us.

God's Heart Toward You
If you’re going to trust God to direct your life, then you need to understand His heart toward you. We all, at times, have doubts about whether God really cares.

Read Isaiah 49:15-16 and Zephaniah 3:17.

3. Sure God loves everybody because He’s God. But how personal is His love for each of His children—for you—according to Isaiah 49:15-16 and Zephaniah 3:17?

4. How does it make you feel that God has “inscribed you on the palms” of His hands where you’re always before His eyes?

Your Favored Position On God's Team
God lavishes His love on His children who place their faith in Jesus. Because of nothing except God’s extreme love, we’ve been given an incredible position that few of us understand, and even fewer live in. The enemy clearly wants to keep this hidden.

Read Romans 8:14-17 and Colossians 3:1-4.

5. What amazing privileges do each of us receive when we become children of God, with the full status of a firstborn son (Romans 8:14-17 and Colossians 3:1-4)?

GO

God Pursues Us
We now know how much God really enjoys each one of us. He also longs for deep
relationships and has deep feelings for us. That’s a new revelation to many of us.

Read Song of Songs 2:8-10.

6. The “love” or “lover” in Song of Songs 2:8-10 refers to God, and the object of His affection is you. Which words in this poem illustrate God’s love toward you? How does this compare with your current views of God?

Read Ezekiel 34:12,15-16.

7. According to Ezekiel 34, how does God deal with us when we get lost in the fog or confused by the darkness in life? How does God’s personal promise apply to our own life issues, hurts, and spiritual struggles?

God is thrilled about you, and longs to see you excited about life with Him. He also wants you to rest in His arms, comforted in those times when you’re unable to pursue God because you’re tired, trapped, or struggling. In those times, He’s still pursuing!

Pursuing God
We also need to be pursuing God to deepen our relationship with Him.

Read Psalm 42:1-2; Matthew 7:7-8,13-14; and 2 Corinthians 4:16-18.

8. Each of these passages has emotion and passion; that’s what God wants from us. What key passion do you see in each of the following verses? How is it demonstrated?

• Psalm 42:1-2—

• Matthew 7:7-8—

• Matthew 7:13-14—

• 2 Corinthians 4:16-18—

9. What’s our motivation to press on through the hard things of life (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)? How do the struggles we experience now compare to the unseen reality that awaits?

God created you so that your deepest desires would be satisfied only through a close personal relationship with Him. There’s no doubt that we can get very excited and passionate about our favorite teams or winning a competition. Discovering the deeper things of God is a lifelong journey powered by passion. Spend an extended time with God this week, and ask Him how He feels about you and what He enjoys about you.