WEEK 3 SERMON DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR GROUPS

Reset – Three questions for reset.

Introduction:

A life reset requires change. Identifying the areas in our lives that need to change is one thing, but actually changing them is another, especially the areas that are resistant to change. This week, we will look at the areas of our lives that seem to resist all efforts of change and what God says it takes to change them.

Bottom Line:

Something To Talk About:

There are many different types of resets. When we get off course and need to get back to what’s most important in our lives, we need a regular reset. When we feel like everything has fallen apart, nothing’s working, and nothing’s happening, we need a radical reset. This Sunday, we look at three questions we have to ask for both a regular and a radical reset to happen in our lives.

Where am I? To get where I want to go, I have to ask where I am, and that’s where Bartimaeus had to start, this basic question: where am I? It was this great day of celebration in the city where Bartimaeus lived. Jesus and the disciples were coming to town, and that was a pretty exciting thing on that day. Bartimaeus is just sitting beside the road in the middle of this celebration, begging because he is blind. But then by Mark 10:52, just a few verses later, he’s following Jesus on the road, seeing that it is a reset. That’s a total life reset. He’s sitting beside the road. And that is a picture of being sidelined. His total life was sidelined. He’s sitting beside the road, all the dreams that he had for his life, they aren’t happening because of his blindness. All the hopes he had for what might happen in any day even, he’s having to beg to make it through. And it’s a picture that a lot of us can relate to right now because a lot of people are feeling sidelined. Bartimaeus shows us how to get back on the road. Bartimaeus shows us how to find a reset. And it all starts with him recognizing where he was and asking himself, “Is this where I have to stay?”
Who am I listening to? Because who you listen to and what you listen to is going to have a tremendous impact on the direction of your life. Look what happened with Bartimaeus, Mark 10:47-48, “When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth was nearby, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”“Be quiet!” many of the people yelled at him. But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” He is shouting, “Have mercy on me” to Jesus. And the people are shouting, “Be quiet.” He doesn’t listen to the crowd. Jesus notices him and look what happens next, Mark 10:49 -50, “When Jesus heard him, he stopped and said, “Tell him to come here.” So they called the blind man. “Cheer up,” they said. “Come on, he’s calling you!” Bartimaeus threw aside his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus. Because he didn’t listen to the crowd, Bartimaeus is in a place where he can listen to Jesus. So the question is, are you listening to the crowd or are you listening to Jesus? If you want to hear Jesus instead of the crowd, it’s good to know the difference between the voice of the crowd and the voice of Jesus. The difference between the crowd and Jesus is that the crowd cares about itself, and Jesus cares about you. The crowd by nature of what a crowd is cares about itself. But Jesus cares about you. Where am I? Who am I listening to?
What do I want? This might be the most important question for a reset. Jesus asked this question of Bartimaeus, Mark 10:51, “‘What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked.“My Rabbi” the blind man said, “I want to see!” And Jesus said to him, “Go, for your faith has healed you.” Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus down the road.” So, the reset is complete. Bartimaeus has gone from a blind man begging beside the road to a disciple following Jesus on the road. It starts with this question: What do you want me to do for you? I want to see, he says, and God does this through his faith—this miracle of instantly granting him sight. And God wants to do the same thing in your life, in my life. I mean, you have this sense in this moment that Jesus is sitting with you, looking you in the eye, and saying, “What do you want me to do for you?” What do you have faith that He would do for you? And then you tell Him, and he works in your life like never before. That is a moment of faith, but let’s not ignore the tough question. What do you want me to do for you? Jesus asks you. What if what you say to Him isn’t what He wants in your life? If you want a reset in your life, if you want to live by faith in your life, I want to encourage you instead to sit in a relationship with Jesus and tell him what you want, because you’re telling Him what you want, not just to get what you want, but also to hear what He wants in your life.

Discussion Questions:

Which one of the three questions is the most difficult and why?
What comes to mind when you ask the question where am I?
Ask where am I: physically, emotionally, relationally, vocationally, spiritually.
Psalm 145:14 teaches that God is the one who gives us fresh starts by His power alone and not by our own strength. How does this change our approach to resetting our lives? How does this differ from what the world tells us?
What comes to mind when you ask, “who am I listening to?”
The crowd cares about itself. Jesus cares about you. Agree or disagree and why?
Think about the last 24 hours. Of the sources you listened to, which are influencing your thoughts, attitudes, and perspectives in an unhealthy way? How can we restrict or limit those influences so that their messages do not crowd out Jesus’ voice?
How can we increase our ability to hear Jesus’ voice in this noisy world?
What comes to mind when you ask the question, “what did I want?”
To reset our life – we should know where we want to go. However, what we think we want may not be what we need. Fortunately, God knows what each of us needs. To begin the conversation with God, tell Him what you think you want as honestly as you can so that He can begin His work.
What did you hear? What point in this message was most impactful for you?
What do you think? How did this message challenge, change, or affirm your thinking?
What will you do? How will you or your group put into practice what you’ve learned today?

Take one thing home with you:

Have you ever wished you could start all over again, maybe in your marriage, your relationship with your children, or your relationship with God? In a way, you can, because the Bible says, “…anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! ” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

The good news is that God is all about that. He wants you to have a fresh start in life, to have a new beginning, to do something new in your life. Isaiah 43: 18 says, “But forget all that—it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.” God is telling us to forget about what’s happened before because the book is closed on it. God is far more interested in our future than He is in our past.