Empowered
Empowered To Be Holy.
Week 1,
Signed, sealed and delivered.
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you needed God to act, so you did whatever you could to get God’s attention? Perhaps you fasted, prayed like never before, spoke in tongues for a set time each day, etc. While all the above are great disciplines, you did them trying to get Gods attention. What the bible reveals is that you already have Gods attention.
1 Peter 5:8 tells us that Satan walk around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. This roaring in the end is directed at tripping us up, convincing us we don’t have Gods attention. Convincing us we aren’t “Holy” enough, or have done right enough, to receive it.
While Satan tries to convince us we don’t have Gods attention, the reality is that the Holy Spirit applies to Gods people what Jesus won for Gods people. According to Ephesians 1:13-14 in the message, you have been signed, sealed and delivered. Satan can roar all he wants, but you have been signed, sealed and delivered.
Discussion
What stood out to you in Ps. Robs message on Sunday?
Have you found yourself asking other people to pray for you because you deem them more “Holy” or Spiritual? Have you considered that the same Holy Spirit that lives in them lives in you?
Read 1 Peter 5:8. How does the enemy roar at you?
You belong here! Do they belong if they don’t behave right? Does someone belong here if they don’t yet believe? How would your answers line up with how Jesus interacts with the outsiders of his day?
Read 2 Timothy 1:5-6. How can you fan into flame what has been signed, sealed and delivered for you?
Prayer Focus
The enemy is roaring. Spend time praying against that roaring. Spend time praying over and reminding individuals how they are signed, sealed and delivered.
Week 2,
Guided to life.
A guide leads you where you need to be, so you can do what you need to do.
Ever arrived at a crossroad, and been unsure which direction to turn? That is the role of the Holy Spirit, to guide us in the right direction. Like Jesus says in John 16:13 the Spirit of Truth will guide you into all truth.
To make a note, all truth isn’t information like, what car is the right one, what job should I get, or what person should I marry. All truth is defined as... #1, discovering who God is as revealed throughout the bible. And #2, who it is he created you to be. That is something we will spend the rest of our lives unpacking. But regardless, that is the “all truth” the Holy Spirit is leading us into. Who you are and God’s promises for you, are directly tied to us allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us into the discovery of all truth.
The big idea Ps. Rob looked at in his message was that a guide leads you where you need to be, so you can do what you need to do. This is one of the roles of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He’s our guide, leading us into all truth and towards the purpose God has in store for us.
Discussion
What stood out to you in Ps. Robs message on Sunday?
Read John 16:13 in the NLT. What is the “all truth” Jesus is referring to here? How did Ps. Rob’s definition of “all truth” help you in your understanding of it?
Have you found yourself camping on the edge of the wilderness where you might be free (have received salvation, gone up for prayer, etc.) but you aren’t living in the promised land?
How do you feel the Holy Spirit leads you in your day-to-day life?
Being led isn’t comfortable, it is confronting. Have you found the Holy Spirit’s leading as confronting at times? Share a time if you can.
How does the thought of rules are a confirmation, not a condition of a relationship with God, encourage you to follow some confronting leading of the Holy Spirit?
Read Genesis 50:25, and Exodus 13:19. What bones are you carrying that serve as a reminder of the promise/direction God has in store for you?
Prayer Focus
Spend time praying over one another, that the Holy Spirit beings to rattle the bones they are carrying. That the bones encourage them to keep going.
Take time to prophecy over people. Make some deliberate effort to encourage people in prayer time, if they have a word for someone, to share it with them. Allow prophecy to flow, and for words to become bones for them to carry.
Week 3,
Be filled… Repeatedly.
When we are under the influence of a substance it “influences” how we think, talk and act. For example, when we are under the influence of alcohol, we think differently, talk differently and act differently. Likewise, when we are under the influence of the Holy Spirit we’ll think differently, talk differently and act differently. Alcohol may give you the confidence to try something you couldn’t do, but the Holy Spirit will give you the ability to do what you cannot do, in the form of spiritual gifts.
Ephesians 5:18 says; Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit.
This word “be filled” is a present tense verb. So perhaps the most literal translation for “be filled” is “continue being filled.”
Being filled with the Holy Spirit isn’t a one-off encounter, it is a continual happening. This is why Jesus says in John 7:37b-38b, anyone who is thirsty may come and drink......, Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.
The living water flows out of our hearts, when the Holy Spirit is flowing into our hearts. Unless there is an inflow, there is no outflow.
Discussion
What is one thing that stood out to you in Ps. Robs message on Sunday?
What questions do you have about the Holy Spirit.
Why do you feel people tend to erase or neglect the Holy Spirit? Do you feel you neglect the Holy Spirit.
How have you experienced the Holy Spirits activity in your life, even if you didn’t know at the time it was him?
Would you like to experience more of God through his Holy Spirit? Why or why not?
Is there any area of your life right now where you need the Holy Spirit to work?
Prayer Focus
Spend time praying over one another, that everyone encounters and is filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit.