RealLife Study Group

“A Season of Overflow”

Prepared for use during week of October 22^nd, 2006.

Ice Breaker: As You Arrive

Step One: Give each person in the group a copy of the list below. In silence, read over the list of accomplishments. Then go back and jot down the names of the people in your group next to the particular accomplishment they might achieve. Do not share what you are doing until the Leader reads Step Two.

_______be the first woman to win at the Indianapolis 500

_______be the used car salesman of the year

_______rise to the top in the diplomatic corps

_______strike I t rich in a football lottery

_______replace John Madden on Monday Night Football

_______write a best selling novel about their own love life

_______be a world famous hairdresser

_______make a fortune in pay toilet rentals

_______become an underworld detective

_______become a lobbyist for recycling cemetery lots

_______start a gossip column for the love-lorn

_______open a charm school for Harley Davidson alumni

_______skateboard across the country

_______discover a new use for underarm deodorant

_______become a soap opera celebrity

_______(compose your own)

Step Two: Ask one person to sit silently while the others explain where they put this person’s name. Then, ask another to sit in silence while the others explain what they picked for this person, etc., until everyone has been covered.

Text: I Samuel 9:1-10:7; Exodus 9:16

Hebrew Meanings:

Destiny: walking in the divine purpose of God for your life, a process not a destination

not just standing in, not just looking but walking in it.

Donkey: flow, the flow of your destiny

Ephraim: double fruitful, reference to victories of the past, remember but don’t stay there

Shelisha: intensity, when things intensify in your life

Shaalim: a place of hunting jackals, a place the enemy is defeated

Zuph: the place of overflow; overflow of miracles, anointing, health, finances, the glory of God, etc. Enjoy it, but don’t stay there, it is not the destiny.

Prophet: the one sent to affirm, confirm, anoint and launch you into your destiny

The Purpose of Destiny: He has raised us up to show His power in us, that His power may be expressed & displayed through you and that His name may be made know to all the world. (Ex. 9:16)

Study Group Discussion Questions:

What was Saul searching for when he came upon Samuel? What was this symbolic of?
What did Saul’s servant have that Saul gave to the prophet Samuel? Why?
Saul’s quest for destiny journeyed through five places, the first was Ephraim, the place of past victories. Tell of a past victory in your life. Ask yourself, have you moved on, or are you still trying to cling to that place.
The second stop on Saul’s journey was called Shebisha, the place of intensity. Tell of a time you felt the intensity of God’s presence and the intensity of the enemy at the same time, in your life.
Next, Saul went to Shaalim: the place of hunting jackals, symbolic of the place where the enemy was defeated. The intensity experienced at “Shebisha” was to prepare him for victory over the devil. Tell of a past victory over the devil or of a current battle you’re going through in which you need victory.
After Shebisha, Saul went to Zuph, the place of overflow. In what area of your life are you experiencing overflow? Where do you need it?
Has a prophet, man or woman of God ever affirmed your destiny and calling? Tell about it. What do you believe your personal destiny is?
God’s ultimate purpose for each of our lives is to work his power in and through us and to make his name known. In what way has this purpose been fulfilled in your life?
Ask each member to state what phase of their destiny they are in and pray for each to proceed towards overflow and purpose.

Ice Breaker Handout

“What will they be…..”