REALLIFE STUDY GROUP

"Pack Up"

 

ICEBREAKER:  Each person in the group makes the following statement, filling in the blank, "I'm going on a trip and I'm packing “__________," and each time you have to give your answer but you also have to say all the answers that were given before yours in the order they were given.

 

INTRODUCTION: How many times have you chosen to, or had to, pack up your things and move to another home, job or environment? The process of deciding what to keep and what to discard can be overwhelming. Just packing up our babies' diaper bag when they were small seemed like a daunting task. In life, many times we pick up so much stuff along the way. Often the invisible, intangible things are what weigh us down the most. Things like painful memories, negative attitudes and sin. We carry so much baggage from yesterday that impacts how we live today and face tomorrow.

 

Many people throughout the books of the Bible were given the difficult job of packing up and relocating without the the luxury of modern technology. Adam and Eve were exiled from the Garden of Eden. Noah had built a massive suitcase called an Ark and packed up his family and all those animals. The Hebrew people left Egypt after some 400 years of bondage. Abraham moved from Ur to Canaan. Jacob packed up and left Laban's house. Joseph's brothers packed up for Egypt. Jonah packed up and shipped out to run from his call to Nineveh. Ruth and Naomi moved from Moab to Bethlehem (from famine to the house of bread). Daniel and three Hebrew boys were taken as prisoners of war back to the Persian Gulf. They had no time to pack. Mary and Joseph packed up for Bethlehem, then Egypt, then Nazareth. Paul packed up his tent for his missionary journeys.

 

We will discover that while there are some things we need to discard, there are many things we will need to be successful in the journey of life.

 

CONFESSION: I choose to stop packing and hauling painful memories, unresolved conflict, stifling un-forgiveness, misdirected frustration, debilitating fear, unproductive regret, repulsive self-pity, inconsiderate selfishness, condescending attitudes and every other heavy weight that impedes my upward momentum.  I will pack all the weapons, instruments, tools and resources I will need to reach my daily and my eternal destination successfully.

 

DEFINITIONS:  Pack Up: To store up in order to carry. To prepare in advance for what will be needed later.

 

OUTLINE: Things Not To Pack For The Journey Of Life

·        Don't pack the idols

(Be consecrated to the one true God not consummated to many false gods)

·        Don't pack the bad attitudes

(Be positive not negative)

·        Don't pack your mindsets

(Be transformed not conformed)

·        Don't pack your prejudices

(Be a unifier not a divider)

·        Don't pack your unproductive traditions

(Be historical not hysterical)

·        Don't pack your shame

(Be remorseful not regretful)

·        Don't pack the iniquities

(Be a repenter not a repeater)

·        Don't pack the fears or the worry

(Be a warrior not a worrier)

·        Don't pack the unhealthy habits

(Be refined not confined)

·        Don't pack the uncontrolled anger

(Be productive not destructive)

·        Don't pack the rebellion

(Be obedient not obstinate)

·        Don't pack bondage and addiction

(Be liberated not incarcerated)

Secrets of packing for your promotion

Don't leave home without packing:

·        Memories of past victories

·        Weapons of past battles

·        Memories of past outpourings

·        Prophetic Words fulfilled and yet to be fulfilled

·        The visions, dreams and desires you have written down

·        The skills, talents and abilities you have developed

 

TEXT:  Ezekiel 12; Mark 6:7-13

 

Then David took his shepherd's staff, selected five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the pocket of his shepherd's pack, and with his sling in his hand approached Goliath. (1 Samuel 17:40 MSG)

 

Then Joshua ordered the officers of the people, “Go through the camp. Tell the people, ‘Get your supplies ready. In three days you will cross the Jordan River to take possession of the land the Lord your God is going to give you.’” (Joshua 1:10, 11 GWT)

 

Message : Pack your bags

Amp: Prepare your provisions

NIV: Get your provisions ready

Good News Translation: Get some food ready

American Standard Version: Prepare you victuals

 

STUDY GROUP QUESTIONS:

1.    How many times have you moved in your life?

2.    What was the last victory in your life that you have packed up in your memory bank?

3.    What did Jesus tell his  disciples to pack up with them in Mark 6:7-13? Why would he tell them that?

4.    Identify something people often carry with them through life that they need to deal with?

5.    Identify someone in the Bible that had to pack up and move. How difficult would it have been to move hundreds of miles without modern technology?

6.    How does the parable of Ezekiel 12 relate to our society today?

7.    What is the heaviest memory or thing that you have been carrying?

 

PRAISE REPORTS & PRAYER REQUESTS:

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

 

ACTION POINT: This week I will ask God to help me deal with the extra baggage I have picked up along the highways of life.