The Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit Empowers             

#1 Empowerment is for a reason and reason is to be a Witness.  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Read Acts 1:4-8

  1. Matthew 28:16-20 is our task
  2. John 13:34-35 is the method of accomplishing our task
  3. John 14:9-21 explanation of the source of the power for doing our task and the expected results.
  4. We must be united with Christ
  5. Obedience to Jesus mission and Father’s heart
  6. Motive are to bring glory to God – not self
  7. Love is overriding and driving force in life
  8. Spirit aware, Spirit dependent, Know Spirit (Truth – Ephesians 6:17) and Spirit obedience
  9. Spirit is Jealous for the Bride of Christ

Asbury Revival 2023:  Revival as we often use the term is a fresh breathe of God’s Spirit in a given place and time.  At this writing it is happening in Asbury College in Kentucky.  In this recent Holy Spirit encounter on Asbury campus there was a calm peace, repentance, worship and praise, intercession prayers for God’s justice and battle against racism,  plus a sense of Presence that is bigger than human conjuring up.  Instead, there is an outpouring of the Spirit that making the participant feel attached and united to Christ and each other.  A craving by participant wanting to remain in that setting for as long as possible to absorb God’s presence plus receive what God is doing and giving.

The end of slavery took place as an outcome after a similar encounter of God’s presence (called the Great Awakening revival) in the late 1800’s.

  • Why might the Holy Spirit have chosen now to allow and facilitate such a  movement? (Only time will truly tell.)
  • What are areas of American culture that need the Holy Spirit’s intervention and empowered followers of Jesus?
  • Encountering the Presence of the Holy Spirit is life altering? Have you experience any special moments of close encounters with God?
  • What did you learn or glean from that moment?
  • These type encounters are rare and we usual encounter the Spirit in the daily? Name a couple times in your recent life that you realize the Holy Spirit was working?  (The Spirit is always working; we just recognize it clearly occasionally?
  • How might you remain more attentive to God’s Spirit’s movement and empowerment in your life?
  • Are there things you can do be make your more alert to God’s daily movements?

 

 

#2 Continuation of Jesus’  ministry/Jesus’ view of Holy Spirit

 

 

 

Read:  John 14:9-31

    1.        How does the Holy Spirit function in the same way as Jesus?
    2.         Is the Holy Spirit different is any ways from Jesus?
    3.         In verse 26 we are told the Spirit will “teach and remind” you of everything of I have said to you. Is that still true for today’s believers?  Is that true for you?
    4.         What is the Spirit teaching you right now?
    5.         What is the Spirit reminding you that Jesus wants from you?
    6.         When you pray do you accept the Holy Spirit’s nudges in your life to do things?
    7.         Does the Holy Spirit have to use a Bible text for you to know it is Him talking?
    8.         Do you experience the Holy Spirit as calling for you to take more risks?  To develop more skills?  In what area?

 

 

Discerning the Voice of God.

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 John 4:2-3 Is the Spirit Speaking consistent with the character of Jesus?

  • What is the tension between Jesus’ kingdom and world’s kingdom?
  • Follow Jesus calls often for Uncommon Sense.  Do you agree with this?

Matthew 15:21-29 gives us an awkward interaction between Jesus and a Canaanite woman. She came to Jesus seeking help for daughter.  Jesus’ response was “I’m busy helping the Jews.”  Her response was “help me anyways.”  Jesus’ response to that was “Okay.”

  • Does this create any struggles for you?
  • What lesson can we learn about the Uncommon sense of Jesus’ character from this story?
  • What does Jesus’ Spirit want you to take from this?

1 John 4:4-6 Is this word in tension with the world?

  • Does it challenge established assumptions?
  • Does this change my angles of vision toward Jesus?

1 John 4:7-8 Is this word from the Holy Spirit moving me toward Love?

  • Love extends us toward relationship not rightness, how is that different?

                                                          

#3 Paraclete: Advocate, counselor, comforter, helper, instructor, one who walks alongside.        

“ We have no single word in our language that can express the rich, powerful meaning of “Paraclete,” the English translation of the unique title John uses for this Holy Companion. Para in the Greek means “alongside,” and the root of kletos is “to call.” So this “Helper” whom Jesus will send will be alongside the disciples as Jesus has been, “calling out” as an “encourager,” a “counselor,” an “advocate,” a “witness,” and as a “judge.” “Paraclete” means all this and even more. And He is given to His disciples. The Paraclete comes into the world as Jesus was sent into the world. He is the promised gift of the Father, sent at the Son’s request. But He is given only to those who have received the Son, loved Him, and kept His commandments.  Translations of Paraclete:  helper, intercessor, consoler, counselor, advocate, comforter, instructor, or one called alongside to help.”[1] [1]Kurian, George Thomas: Nelson's New Christian Dictionary : The Authoritative Resource on the Christian World. Nashville, Tenn. : Thomas Nelson Pubs., 2001

Jesus view of Holy Spirit

Read: John 14:14-17, 25-27 (vs 26) Teach and Remind

Read: John 16:5-15 Continuing the Work of Jesus

PARACLETE:

Para: “Alongside”

Kletos: “to call”

  1. “The Helper” whom Jesus will send to us is to come “alongside” his disciples of every generation just as Jesus did with the first 12 disciples.
  2. The Paraclete will “calling out” to those who have committed to the person of Jesus and his kingdom.
  3. The Paraclete has come into the world just as Jesus was sent into the world to empower us for witness.
  4. The Paraclete is the promised gift of the Father, sent at the Son’s request.

Read:  Acts 1:4-8

  • What is our assignment that will require empowerment?

To Be Witnesses Of and For Jesus

  • Why do we need empowered to give witness of great news & tell of a person that transformed our life?

Two reason:

  • - Jesus is a threat to the existing systems and people of this world.  His teaching and lifestyle are a complete contradiction and call for complete loyalty to another way.
  • - Those that don’t want to accept his message or have too much to lose by give Jesus’ primary role in their life and world will want to silence any witnesses to a better way.

This is why you need EMPOWERMENT.  There are forces at work that loss greatly when Jesus’ story is told.  When people tell what a difference he has made in their lives.

  • A witness does not tell others what to do or what to believe.
  • A witness does tells people what they have seen, what they believe to be what happened and what they believe to be true.
  • So to be a witness for Jesus you are telling who you believe Jesus to be, what you have experienced accepting this truth and interacting with Jesus.
  • And then if this person or people accept your testimony you tell them how they can experience this amazing person and reality in their life.

The Holy Spirit will as “Paraclete” help you tell your story effectively since the word Jesus choose was a word with many meanings all in one word.  Following are words that would help define the Greek word for Paraclete:

Helper                                                          Intercessor

Consoler                                                       Encourager

Counselor                                                     Advocate

Comforter                                                      Instructor

Witness                                                        Judge.

  1. How does the Holy Spirit provide us assistance and empowerment in each of the above roles that is played as Paraclete?
  2. Do you ask the Holy Spirit for this type of assistance?
  3. Are you looking to the Spirit for this type of assistance?
  4. How would you know it was the Spirit offering assistance?

There appears to be three things that we must we bring to the table?

Availability, Reliance on The Holy Spirit and Courage/Confidence

The Holy Spirit will provide results and empowerment:

  • How are these three things different from results and empowerment?
  • How do you succeed and struggle in one or all of these areas?
  • What might you do to improve?

Summary

What will happen if we, this generation, choose to not live or model courage?  Courage being a combination of GRIT, patience, perseverance, self-sacrifice and purposeful giving and living for God’s kingdom.  Might we stifle and short change the literal DNA of our descendants. We could affect both biologically and spiritually our descendants of strength and the resources needed to be faithful and experience greater maturity than others think would be possible.  We could diminish the future by our present lack of courage in the present times we live, by not  being like Jesus, no matter how difficult we are stealing literally from our descendance making them weaker.

  • - How can we live more courageously?
  • - How can you work on developing more courage and confidence?
  • - Do you think this author is over emphasizing courage?  Why?

 

We have to find out how to live grace and truth.  To be vulnerable and wise.

Presently we have a lot of two opposing models:

There is the blunt, rude and mean yet wanting to be truthful.

We have wishy washy, quick to deflect and unwilling to risk misunderstanding for the cause of getting along.

Jesus was direct but kind, was truthful but not mean, was confrontational but inviting, was supreme but restrained, was Lord but loving sinner in the middle of sin, was understanding but not compromising, spoke with authority yet not a dictator, felt like a contradiction but lived perfectly and purely, corrected misunderstanding of what his Father said by focusing on intent not just words.

His Spirit, the Holy Spirit does the same thing.  Invites and warns, challenges and listens, accepts & rejects, secures & divides, comforts and urges, encourages and convicts, confronts and waits.  Crazy how the same Spirit can do all this yet does not condemn but wants to do God’s intent “that none would perish”.  The Holy Spirit convicts of sins and accepts the sinner.

  1. -  Are you able to function well in your cooperation with the Paraclete?
  2. -  What are skills you must learn?
  3. -  Keeping these in balance is difficult.  Do you tend to lean with the first or second of the above models?
  4. -  What is the strength and weakness of your approach?
  5. -  How does your approach come in conflict with the Paraclete?

 

#4 Mystery hidden  “I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness-- 26 the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. 27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:25-27 (NIV)

God is with us, is in us, comes to us, and works through us - These terms are about connection, connecting and attachment.  We are interconnected in everything and in everyway!

  • How would you describe the mystery of interacting with God all day everyday?
  • Has this mystery of our capacity to engage with the creator and savior of the world loss its wonder?
  • How do you keep exploring this mystery?
  • What are you discovering about the mystery of being attached/connected to the Ruler of the Universe on a regular basis?
  • What are you discovering about the gifts that the Spirit is handing out?
  • Are you aware of the gifts you been given and to fully engage and use these gifts to bring God glory?
  • This is all quite mysterious, being empowered by a source (the Holy Spirit) that we can’t see but can see the movement of. How do you explain this relationship to your unbelieving friends/
  • Are you hesitant in any way to asked the Holy Spirit to turbo charge your witness with gifts?

Part of this great mystery is that we are in a battle all the time.   

Battle plan that reflects God rightly - Conflict – Internally and Externally Paradox:  We are victorious yet we are still in the battle.  “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Eph 6 

 

We are told a few ways to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in this battle;

  • Be on your guard: Mark 13:33, Luke 12:1, 12:15, Acts 20:18-31, 1 Cor. 16;13-14 #379
  • Wear armor and cloth yourself with. Two outfits for all occasions
  • Call to Bless not curse
  • We are Battling for Justice: Called to vindicate God’s name – Hallowed be your name (Honor). Bring things under God’s order (Lordship).

 

These 4 steps are about cooperating and coordinating in battle.  Which do you have the most experience with?

  • Which does you struggle with and why?
  • Do you consider it a great week if we have not had to struggle for our faith and been attacked by the enemy?
  • What is the flaw of this view of life?
  • Perseverance is one of the great skills needed in spiritual battle. What would you assess your perseverance level?
  • How do you learn to improve in rejoice while persevering?
  • Philippians is full of advice on this subject, particularly rejoicing. Do you know how to return to joy the Big Six emotions of: fear, sadness, anger, disgust, shame/guilt, hopeless/despair.