Experiencing God
Day 1: God Centered Living
Unit 2: Looking to God
Verse to Memorize
“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”— Psalm 20:7
College Campus Bible Studies
A church I pastored began to sense God leading us to an outreach ministry to the university campus. Neither I nor our church had done student work before. Our denominational student-ministries department recommended we begin with a Bible study in the dormitories. For over a year we tried to start one, but it did not work.
One Sunday I pulled our students together and said, “This week I want you to go to the campus, watch to see where God is working, and join Him.” They asked me to explain. God had impressed on my heart these two Scriptures:
• “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God” (Rom. 3:10-11).
• “No one can come to me [Jesus] unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44).
I explained, “According to these passages, people don’t seek God on their own initiative. They won’t ask about spiritual matters unless God is working in their lives. When you encounter someone who is seeking God or asking about spiritual matters, you are seeing God at work.”
I also told our students, “If someone asks you spiritual questions, whatever else you have scheduled, cancel your plans. Go with that individual and look to see what God is doing in that person’s life.” That week our students went out to see where God was at work on their campus and to join Him.
On Wednesday one of the young women reported, “Pastor, a girl who has been in classes with me for almost two years came to me after class today. She said, ‘I think you might be a Christian. I need to talk to you.’ I remembered what you said. I had a class at that time, but I skipped it. We went to the cafeteria to talk. She said, ‘Eleven of us girls have been studying the Bible, and none of us are Christians. Do you know somebody who can lead us in a Bible study?’ ”
As a result of that contact, we started three Bible-study groups in the women’s dorms and two in the men’s dorm. For two years we had tried to do something for God and failed. For three days we looked to see where God was working and joined Him. What a difference that made!
Day 1: God-Centered Living
To know and do God’s will, you must deny self and return to a God-centered life.
Part of the Book of Genesis is the record of God’s accomplishing His purposes through Abraham. It is not the record of Abraham’s walk with God. Can you see the difference in focus? The focus of the Bible is God. The essence of sin is a shift from God-centeredness to self-centeredness. The essence of salvation is denying self instead of affirming self. We must deny ourselves and return to God-centeredness in our lives. Then God has us in a place where He will accomplish His eternal purposes through us.
A Self-Centered Life
• Is focused on self
• Is proud of self and self’s accomplishments
• Is self-confident
• Depends on self and abilities
• Affirms self
• Seeks to be acceptable to the world and its ways
• Looks at circumstances from a human perspective
• Chooses selfish and ordinary Living A God-Centered Life
• Places confidence in God
• Depends on God and His abilty and provision
• Is humble before God
• Denies self
• Seeks first the kingdom of God and His righteousness
• Seeks God’s perspective in every circumstance
• Chooses holy and Godly living
In your own words record definitions of the following terms.
Self-centered: ____________________________________________________________
God-centered: ____________________________________________________________
In each pair of biblical examples, record G before the one that illustrates God-centeredness. Record S before the one that illustrates self-centeredness.
___ 1a. God placed Adam and Eve in a beautiful, bountiful garden. He told them not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Eve saw that the fruit was pleasing to the eye and desirable for gaining wisdom, so she ate it (see Gen. 2:16-17; 3:1-7).
___ 1b. Potiphar’s wife daily begged Joseph to go to bed with her. He told her he could not do such a wicked thing and sin against God. When she tried to force him, he fled the room and went to prison rather than yield to temptation (see Gen. 39).
God promised to give the land of Canaan to Israel. Moses sent 12 men into the promised land to explore it and to bring back a report. The land was bountiful, but the people living there appeared to be giants (see Num. 13–14).
___ 2a. Ten of the spies said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are” (13:31).
___ 2b. Joshua and Caleb said, “If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land. … Do not be afraid of the people of the land” (14:8-9).
___ 3a. King Asa was facing Zerah the Cushite’s army in battle. He prayed, “L ORD, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O L ORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. O L ORD, you are our God; do not let man prevail against you” (2 Chron. 14:11).
___ 3b. King Asa and Judah were being threatened by Baasha, the king of Israel. Asa sent gold and silver from the temple and his own palace to Ben-Hadad, the king of Aram, asking for his help in this conflict (see
2 Chron. 16:1-3).
Self-centeredness is a subtle trap because it makes sense from a human perspective. Like King Asa, you can avoid it at one time and fall into its trap at another. God-centeredness requires the daily death of self and submission to God (see John 12:23-25). Illustrations of God-centeredness are 1b, 2b, and 3a. The others illustrate self-centeredness.
John 12:23-25
“Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”
God’s Purposes, Not Our Plans
To live a God-centered life, you must focus your life on God’s purposes, not on your own plans. You must seek to view situations from God’s perspective rather than from your own distorted human outlook. When God starts to do something in the world, He takes the initiative to reveal His will to people. For some divine reason He has chosen to involve His people in accomplishing His purposes.
Answer the following questions. Find and read the Scriptures listed
if you do not already know the answers.
a. What was God about to do when He asked Noah to build an ark
(see Gen. 6:5-14)? __________________________________________________________________
b. What was God about to do to Sodom and Gomorrah when He came to Abraham (see Gen. 18:16-21; 19:13)? __________________________________________________________________
c. What was God about to do when He came to Gideon (see Judg. 6:11-16)? __________________________________________________________________
d. What was God about to do when He came to Saul (later called Paul) on the road to Damascus (see Acts 9:1-16)? __________________________________________________________________
e. At each of these moments, what was the most important factor? Select one.
❏ a. What the individual wanted to do for God
❏ b. What God was about to do
God was about to destroy the world with a great flood when He approached Noah. When God prepared to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, He told Abraham. God came to Gideon when He was about to deliver the Israelites from the oppression of Midian. God encountered Saul when He wanted to carry the gospel message to the Gentiles around the known world. Without a doubt the most important factor in each situation was what God was about to do (b).
Let’s use Noah as an example. What about his plans to serve God? They would not make much sense in light of the coming destruction, would they? Noah was not calling God in to help him accomplish what he was dreaming of doing for God. God never asks people to dream up something to do for Him. We do not sit down and dream what we want to do for God and then call God in to help us accomplish it. The pattern in Scripture is that we submit ourselves to God. Then we wait until God shows us what He is about to do, or we watch to see what God is already doing around us and join Him.
Write your Scripture-memory verse for this week. Then review your verse from last week.
SUMMARY STATEMENTS
To know and do God’s will, I must deny self and return to a God-centered life.
I must focus my life on God’s purposes, not on my own plans.
I must seek to see from God’s perspective rather than from my own distorted human outlook.
I must wait until God shows me what He is about to do through me.
I will watch to see what God is doing around me and join Him.
Review today’s lesson. Pray and ask God to identify one or more statements or Scriptures He wants you to understand, learn, or practice. Highlight them. Then respond to the following.
What was the most meaningful statement or Scripture you read today?
Reword the statement or Scripture into a prayer of response to God.
What does God want you to do in response to today’s study?
From Death Row to Life Row
God-centered living always affects other lives. Being certain God is always at work around you will affect your relationships with others.
When Karla Faye Tucker was on death row in the Gatesville Women’s prison in Texas, she became a Christian. Some faithful Christians led her through Experiencing God. Her life was so changed, she began to teach other inmates on death row. So many came to know Jesus as Savior, the women themselves renamed it Life Row because they came to know true life in Christ. Eventually, Karla was executed for her crime, but her testimony affected a nation and touched a world.
What was the most meaningful statement or Scripture you read today?
Reword the statement or Scripture into a prayer of response to God.
What does God want you to do in response to today’s study?