1 John 3:16-24We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters 17 If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? 18 Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. 19 Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. 20 Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. 22 And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him. 23 And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. 24 Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us. TLB
It is so interesting to me that this text says these two statements back-to-back: (vs 20) God knows everything and (vs 21) if we don’t feel guilty we can come to God with bold confidence.
God knows everything: There are no secrets in your life. None! You may have succeeded at hiding things from everybody else for your entire life but they still aren’t truly secret.
You can’t hide anything from Jesus. Unlike your friends or family, he knows every secret, every sin. And he loves you fully.You and I can look each other in the eye only revealing what we want to reveal hiding all we want to hide and this shapes the relationship. Friendship, dating and marriage have a progression of slowly letting somebody in.
With God there is no mask. He simply and absolutely knows. This relationship is like no other relationship. It’s breathtaking. If you relate to him at all, you relate to him as utterly laid bare, completely known. What an amazing relationship. There is one, and only one, who actually and totally knows you — only one. Your spouse’s knowledge of you, your best friend’s knowledge of you, is nothing compared to this.
Motives are the secrets behind your actions. What you want your motives to look like and what they really look like can be completely different.
If you are a person who works 60+ hours a week you might present to others that you love your job when you might actually be driven by a deeper motive of the fear of failure. There is always a motive behind the time and money you spend. Fear of being alone can drive you to spend a time and money on online dating. Fear of being rejected can drive you to spend time and money on fashion. There is something deeper driving the behaviors that show up in our lives.
John 12:3-6Then Mary took…expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4But… Judas…objected, 5"Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages. " 6He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. NIV
Jesus knew of Judas’ problem with money yet made him the keeper of the moneybag. Why would Jesus do this? Jesus was giving Judas the opportunity to admit his problem and get free. God knows what’s really going on.
You are complex with so many layers of emotional, intellectual and even chemical complexities. You do not know you the way God knows you. The only way to truly have self-knowledge is to come to Jesus.
He slowly walks you through the process of learning the deepest darkest secrets that exist within your soul. God knows what you can handle and he won’t overwhelm you with what He truly knows.
We Bring GP2RL Action Point:
Tell somebody you trust a secret about your life this week.
DISCUSSION GUIDE FOR COMMUNITY GROUP LEADERS
Click here for a downloadable pdf file of this guide.
LEADER’S NOTES: In this season we are addressing the deepest sense of insecurity that exists within humanity. Only God’s love can reach deeply enough into our souls to restore our lives. This is the place where we begin finding confidence and strength to love God and to love others as we love ourselves because we have learned to love ourselves.
THE POINT: We are more sinful and flawed than we care to believe. We are more accepted and loved than we can possibly imagine. God’s love unlocks our lives.
1 John 3:21 Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. TLB
1 Pet 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. NIV
ICEBREAKER DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What is your favorite candy? Color? Movie? Song?
2. Who would have been able to answer at least one of these questions right?
Our friends and family know us to some degree because they’ve learned things about us over the course of time. As a child each of us began learning things about ourselves. In many ways we discovered who we were by recognizing what we liked such as sports, theatre or other interests and hobbies. We are all on a life-long journey of truly figuring out who we are. King David identified the one who knew him better than he knew himself.
Psalm 139:1 Oh Lord you have searched me and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely. NIV
Clearly David knew God had searched him and knew everything about him. So if David knew God knew everything about him then why would he write these words after saying God knew everything about him?
Ps 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart... NIV
DISCUSSION QUESTION:
3. What do you believe David’s motive was in asking God to search him when he’d already stated how God already completely knew him?
David wasn’t asking God to search his heart for God to know. David was asking God to search his heart so David would know what God could see about his own heart.
You are complex with many layers of emotional, intellectual and even chemical complexities. You do not know you the way God knows you. The only way to truly have self-knowledge is to come to Jesus and invite God’s help in knowing what only He knows about you.
DISCUSSION QUESTION:
(If you have time at the end this is a great question to find out what God is speaking to your group overall.)
4. What is something God has been speaking to you or revealing in Scripture recently?
We Bring GP2RL Action Point:
Tell somebody you trust a secret about your life this week.