Victory Groups

English

Finding Strength in God

𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠-𝗨𝗣 • What top three things do you do to recharge? • Tell us about the most physically exhausting activity you recently had to do. • What is something you had to ask someone stronger to do for you? What happened? 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘹𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥; 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩; 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘴; 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘺; 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵. 𝗜𝗦𝗔𝗜𝗔𝗛 𝟰𝟬:𝟯𝟬–𝟯𝟭 Isaiah spoke these words to God’s people while they were in exile. He wanted them to hope in God for restoration. Whichever generation we are part of, we will all experience being 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵 and 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘺. But God promises us through Isaiah that 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩. What are three things we can learn from this Scripture? 𝟭. 𝗪𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘆. 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘺, 𝘖 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘣, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬, 𝘖 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭, “𝘔𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘮𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥”? 𝗜𝗦𝗔𝗜𝗔𝗛 𝟰𝟬:𝟮𝟳 In exile, God’s people felt like He didn’t see them or wasn’t listening to them. This is a pattern we experience even today. In this life, frustrations and tiredness are unavoidable. Today, people put emphasis on acknowledging a person’s weakness and exhaustion instead of fighting or denying it. While that’s not wrong, it shouldn’t end there. God promises a greater hope for those who feel faint and weary. Tell about a time in the last few months you felt faint and weary, even as a follower of Christ. 𝟮. 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯? 𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥? 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩. 𝘏𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘺; 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦. 𝘏𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩. 𝗜𝗦𝗔𝗜𝗔𝗛 𝟰𝟬:𝟮𝟴–𝟮𝟵 Isaiah made the point that if the Israelites were asking such questions and doubting whether God could hear them, they must not have realized who God is. He reminded them: God is everlasting and the Creator of the whole earth; He knows and understands everything, and unlike us, He never gets tired. And as our good and merciful God, He even gives of His fathomless power to those of us who are faint and weary. How often do we need to be reminded of who God is? How can we take comfort knowing that God is above our circumstances? 𝟯. 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘹𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥; 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩; 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘴; 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘺; 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵. 𝗜𝗦𝗔𝗜𝗔𝗛 𝟰𝟬:𝟯𝟬–𝟯𝟭 To 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵 for the LORD means we look forward with hopeful expectation that something good is coming. We may experience frustrations and our future may seem bleak, like the Israelites in exile, but we eagerly wait for God because we can’t overcome our frustrations and struggles on our own. Even young people, who are known for their passion and reserves of energy, can grow tired, but we can put our hope in our everlasting God, who will give us this strength if we wait on Him. What does waiting on the Lord look like for you in your situation? 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 • What did you learn about waiting on God today? Is there a mindset shift you must make to start waiting upon Him for renewed strength? How does God refresh and renew your soul? • Do you sometimes feel like God isn’t listening to you or doesn’t see you? What is the truth about God’s character that you can hold on to? Take some time this week to pray through your situation and reflect on God’s faithfulness to you. • Memorize Isaiah 40:30–31. Claim this Scripture over situations you are facing where you feel tired and burned out. 𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥 • Thank God for who He is, that He would gladly give of His strength to those who are faint and weary. Thank Him for His love, mercy, and understanding that knows exactly what we are going through. • Pray for the refreshing of God over your soul day by day. Pray that He will renew your strength and reignite your passion beyond what the world throws at you. • Pray for friends or family members that you know are going through situations where they feel weary or burned out. Ask God for wisdom and courage so you can encourage them.

Fatherly Encouragement to Continue

𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠-𝗨𝗣 • What tradition did you learn from your parents that you want to teach your children? • Tell about something entrusted to you that wasn’t yours (e.g., dog, valuable belonging, home). How did this change how you cared for it? • Have you experienced building a grill fire or bonfire? Did you succeed? 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘭 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥 . . . 𝟮 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗬 𝟭:𝟴 (Read also 𝟮 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗬 𝟭:𝟱–𝟭𝟰.) Paul went through many hardships as he carried out his mission of preaching the gospel. This was causing people to abandon him and the mission. But relying on God as he went through these trials enabled him to impart valuable lessons to the next generation. He wrote this letter to Timothy, the young leader of the church in Ephesus, encouraging Timothy to stand firm and endure. Sometimes the hardship of pursuing God’s mission can deter us from pressing forward. What did Paul tell Timothy, and what can we learn from it? 𝟭. 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗵𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵. 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩, 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘰𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘌𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘥𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭. 𝟮 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗬 𝟭:𝟱 Timothy came from a godly family. Paul mentioned that both his mother and grandmother had a 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩 in Christ, and he believed that they had left this legacy to Timothy. Paul called upon this faith to help Timothy endure even if he felt like falling away. Though we don’t all have a direct legacy of faith passed to us by our immediate family, we are all recipients of the legacy of faith and obedience passed down through history. Every believer was first told the gospel by someone else. With this faith, we can endure, knowing that our hope is in God. How did you first hear about the gospel? 𝟮. 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗵𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝘆 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭. 𝟮 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗬 𝟭:𝟲–𝟳 Paul also encouraged Timothy to stand firm because he had the gift of God in him, which was the Holy Spirit. This Holy Spirit is within believers even now, and He is not a spirit of fear, but one of 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭. This is why we can stand firm in troubling times: We have the same Spirit within us, and He is not a spirit of fear. How has the gift of the Spirit helped you endure? How can you fan this into flame? 𝟯. 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗵𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗹. . . . 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯 . . . 𝘉𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘶𝘴, 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝟮 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗬 𝟭:𝟵, 𝟭𝟰 Paul reminded Timothy that he had been saved by God’s grace and called for His eternal purposes. In verse 14, he admonished Timothy to 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵 entrusted to him, 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 who dwelt within both of them. We have also been saved by God and called to His mission, and this good deposit, which is the gospel, has been entrusted to us as well. This includes making sure that the gospel is heard and understood by those we preach it to, and that they too will be able to communicate it accurately to others. According to Matthew 28:19, what are we called by Christ to do? 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 • We have a well of power to draw from: Even when we’ve hit rock-bottom, God never will. How can you draw on the bottomless well of God’s power every day? • We are assured that we can preach the gospel through God’s power and not our own. Knowing this, what can you do to preach the gospel to family and friends who don’t know Christ yet? • Is there anyone today you might need to encourage? How can you stand by this person in spite of your own challenges? 𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥 • Thank God for the legacy of faith and the gift of the Holy Spirit that causes believers to endure hardship. Thank Him for the salvation and calling that we have from Him. • Pray that with the Holy Spirit, you will be able to guard the good deposit of the gospel that God has placed in you. Pray that you will not rely on your own strength, but on God’s. • Pray for the legacy of faith in Christ to be passed on to the generations to come.