Jeremiah 1:5 says before I formed you in the womb, I knew you so you existed before you existed. Rev 13:8 says Jesus was slain from the foundation of the world so you were fixed before you were broken.
So if you existed before you existed and Jesus died before the world began then you were fixed before you were broken and it’s time to lay down our excuses and get on with God’s plans! Paul writes this amazing declaration to the Church of Ephesus. As you read it you can just hear the call to something deeper that exists within these believers! We have eternal potential that God wants to call out of us.
Ephesians 1:1-18 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. 11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will…16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people. NIV
Since you existed before you existed there are things that exist within you that have their origin in the spirit. Getting the atmosphere of your life right is vitally important to the growth of these spiritual things.
In the wrong atmosphere your weaknesses grow. In the right atmosphere your strengths grow. In the wrong atmosphere problems grow. In the right atmosphere promises grow. What is the spiritual atmosphere of your life?
Sometimes things are in you that you don’t know exist within you until you get around the right people in the right atmosphere and it begins to put a demand on you and draw something out of you.
Psalm 92:13 Those who are planted in the house of the LORD will flourish in the courts of our God. NIV
You can get blessed without flourishing if you never get planted in the atmosphere God has purposed to awaken you. God uses people to unlock potential. We’re not called to a place we’re called to a people.
Sometimes just one connection takes you to the next dimension. God never gives you desires and dreams on the inside of you and not provide you with the potential to release those desires unlock those dreams. Those that delight in the Lord he gives them the desires of their heart. The more you delight yourself in me the more I put the desires on the inside of you that are in alignment with the purposes for which I created you. You’ll begin to want what God wants.
Paul wrote to Philippian church:
Philippians 2:13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. NKJV
Philippians 2:13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. NLT
God desires to awaken things within you if you are willing to pursue his purposes.
The things you get distracted by will never be as important as the things you get distracted from. This is why it is so important to live a life that is focused on the deeper things of God!
You are actually designed by God to imagine things that cannot be contained by your imagination because they are designed by God to be born out of your spirit! This is why it is so important to develop your spirit man and to be healthy and strong spiritually! This has to do with the spiritual atmosphere of your life!
What is the spiritual atmosphere of your life like? Word? Prayer? Community? Giving tithes & offerings as worship? Loving others sacrificially?
We Bring GP2RL Action Point:
Purpose a sacrificial time of prayer this week thanking God for the conclusion of the year believing for guidance in the coming year.
CREATED FOR CONVERSATION: KINGDOM POTENTIAL
DISCUSSION GUIDE
Click here for a downloadable pdf file of this guide.
UNDERSTANDING THE SEASON: Words are powerful! God created everything and sustains it all by his word. God sent his WORD to redeem us and awaken life-giving conversation that transforms us and everyone around us. In this season will grow in more effective conversation with God and with others.
God’s plan is for us to hear his voice together as a family. This is why we start each group with the first question:
DISCUSSION QUESTION:
1. Where are you reading in your Bible and what are you sensing from God? Share your New Year’s Revelation for 2022 if you have one.
Ask each person in your group to answer the discussion questions below after reading the verses. Don’t move on to the next question until everybody who is willing to share has had the opportunity to give their perspective.
LUKE 1:31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. ESV
EPHESIANS 1:1-18 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. 11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will...16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people. NIV
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Have each person give a 60 second summary of what these verses are saying, in their own words.
What do these verses teach us about God?
What do these verses teach us about people?
What should you do this week in response to what we are reading and what God is revealing?
Who comes to mind when considering a person you might share this with this week?
We Bring GP2RL Action Point:
Purpose a sacrificial time of prayer this week thanking God for the conclusion of the year and believing for guidance in the coming year.