In Us to Through Us

God wants to do something great in us before He does something great through us.

This week we are shifting from what God can do IN us—through Bible reading, prayer and rest that connects us to Him—to what He can do THROUGH us when we give our time, talents and resources to Him. God wants to do something great in us before He does something great through us. So, let’s review how that can happen:  When we read, study and memorize Scripture, we learn more about God and His principles. It keeps God at the forefront of our life.  Through prayer, we communicate with God, sharing the real us with the real God and looking...
 upward, inward and outward.

1. When we take a Sabbath day and really rest, our will, mind, body and soul realigns with Him.
2. When we give to Him what we have, approaching Him with an open hand, He will multiply it.

This is what it looks like to move closer and closer to Jesus every day. God meets us right where we are, but doesn’t leave us there. As one author wrote so eloquently, “When we give, God reminds us who He is, who we are and what our relationship should be to that which He allows us to manage in His name.” 

READ, THINK and LIVE… Read and apply the Bible.

The multiply mindset starts not in having all the answers, but with a heart that is willing to give. Let’s look again at Genesis 15:4-10.

Question: How does God respond to Abraham’s question about the promise? With what kind of heart does Abraham respond?

Genesis 15:4-10 (New Living Translation) ⁴ Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” ⁵ Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!” ⁶ And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith. ⁷ Then the Lord told him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as your possession.” ⁸ But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, how can I be sure that I will actually possess it?” ⁹ The Lord told him, “Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” ¹⁰ So Abram presented all these to him…

 Answer:

Think back over this past week:

1. What can you commit to give to God starting today (time, talent, resources)?
2. In what ways could giving this to God grow you closer to Him?
3. Review and pray over any hesitations that have come up. What is one tangible step you can take to move away from hesitation and towards giving it to Him?

PRAY… God, what do you want me to know and do?

Ask God to show you the areas of your life where He can work in you so that He is able to do great things through you.

Digging Deeper with this week’s teaching pastor:

Click here to go deeper using the Life Group DVD by the teaching pastor or view the message, including bonus discussion questions.

Thank you for reading today’s LivingItOut! We encourage you to take it one step further by participating in a Daily Bible Reading plan. There are thousands of individual reading plans available and there is ONE that is just right for you!CLICK HERE to download a basic “Bible in a year” plan. Customizable reading plans available at Youversion.com or Biblegateway.com.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS—Answer these questions with your friends and family:

1.  In Genesis 15:5, God took Abram out into the night sky and told him to look up at the stars and count them if he could. Think of a memorable time when you were stargazing and trying to count them. Share the details and why it was memorable.

2.  Throughout Scripture, God repeatedly demonstrates His principles for multiplication as Ben outlined this past weekend. Which of these math equations resonated the most with you? Why do you think growth is so important to God?  

Number X Zero =       ;Number X One =       ; Number X Two (or 3, 4 and so on) =

3.  A multiplication mindset is the belief that life increases with an open hand more so than with a closed fist. Do you agree with this? Why or why not?  Have you seen a multiply mindset play out in your own life or in the lives of those around you? Discuss.

4.  Have you already allowed God to multiply His love and life to others through you? If yes, great! Discuss with the group. Your next challenge is to ask yourself, “Who else could I bring alongside of me?” If you have not, have you identified your spiritual gifts or taken a next step in getting connected through serving?

5.  During this “Back to School” series, we’ve been talking about how God wants to do something in you before He can do something through you. Looking back over the series from Bible reading to prayer to rest to multiplication, have you begun allowing God to use you in a new way in any of these areas? How do you think that may equip you so that He can do more through you?

What is God calling you to give so that His principle of multiplication can become real in your life?

August 2015 Memory Verse:

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

-Hebrews 4:12 (New Living Translation)