Remark-able #3 – TRUST
ICEBREAKER: Have you ever allowed someone to lead you around while blindfolded or have you ever played the trust game where you let yourself fall backward hoping the other person would catch you? How did it make you feel?
Proverbs 3:5,6 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
1. How do you define trust? How do you define faith? How do you believe they differ and how do they work together? (Consider Hebrews 11:1,1 Peter 5:7)
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
1 Samuel 17:4, 8-11, 14, 16, 26, 33-37, 45-47 4Then a champion came out from the armies of the Philistines named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span… 8 He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel and said to them, “Why do you come out to draw up in battle array? Am I not the Philistine and you servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will become your servants, but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall become our servants and serve us.” 10 Again the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day; give me a man that we may fight together.” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
14 David was the youngest. Now the three oldest followed Saul… 16 The Philistine came forward morning and evening for forty days and took his stand… 26 Then David Spoke to the men who were standing by him, saying, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt the armies of the living God?”
33 Then Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth.” 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck and killed him. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God.” 37 And David said, “the Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul Said to David, “go, and may the Lord be with you.”
45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel whom you have taunted. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands.”
2. Why were the Israelites afraid of Goliath? Do we face similar fears in our lives today?
3. How long did the Israelites allow Goliath to challenge them without a reply? (vs16) Are there challenges in your life that you have delayed in responding to?
4. What or who does the fear of the Israelites show they were trusting in?
5. Why do you think the other Israelites or even King Saul did not trust God to the same extent as David? (vs 34,35; James 2:26)
James 2:26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
6. Why did David trust God so deeply? (v.37)
7. How was their trust or lack of trust affecting their relationship with God? How does this affect our relationships with God and others today?
8. From David’s later writings how do we know David learned of God? (Psalms 1:1,2) How do we learn of God today?
Psalms 1:1,2 1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.
9. From David’s later writings what do we know about how David perceived God? ( Psalms 59:16)
Psalms 59:16 But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength; yes, I shall joyfully sing of your lovingkindness in the morning, for You have been my stronghold and a refuge in the day of my distress.
Sara stated in her lesson on Sunday that, “our self-awareness or lack of has a direct bearing on our relationship with God and to others and in relation to our own soul.”
10. How can we tell if we are trusting more in ourselves than God?
Sara also stated in her lesson that “ultimately God wants to deal with the deepest layers of our trust structures. The deepest areas where we are relying on ourselves and not God.”
11. What experiences have you had where God provided for you that have helped develop your trust in Him?
12. What practices do you have in your life that have helped you identify the deepest layers of your trust structure?
13. What would be some ways we could give God opportunities to build our trust in Him in our lives? (ex. In our personal lives, in relations with other people, in decisions we make, etc.)
1 Peter 5:6,7 6 Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.