Life Guide!
Never Alone: Walking in step with the Spirit • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Transcript
Hook
Hook
Start off by asking the question: “ Have any of you started thinking about what would you like to do when you finish high school?
High school can be very exciting but also very unnerving. For all of you whether you are year 9 or 10, thinking about your future can be very unsettling, especially if you’re not sure what you are going to do with your life.
There’s alot of pressure are on you - instead of thinking about your future, its so much easier to get lost in a video game or scrolling through some TikTok videos, which is whole lot more fun, right?
Its often tempting to live in virtual world instead of facing reality. But the reality is, you have to face life and start thinking about your future.
Sometimes we avoid questions about our future because we are directionless. We honestly have no idea if we should get a job or go to college. And if we go to college, what do we even study? And no, we dont know where we want to be 5 years from now! Ah!
Lack of direction - disheartening and frustrating.
How do you even know what God wants to do with your life?
What do you do when you have no direction?
Question: Have you tried getting somewhere without any directions? If you have never been to that partiuclar place - goodluck finding it.
We dont have to worry about directions as much now because we have GPS systems. Some person with this dodgy accent tells us when and where to turn. All we have to do is be ready to follow instructions. Before you know it, viola, you’re at your destination.
Question: Wouldn’t it be cool if there was an app you could load on your phone that would tell you God’s direction for your life?
If you started liking someone, you could snap their picture, load it into the app and wait for message that reads , “Nope, dump them, they’re a weasle!” or maybe the message reads, “Yes!, they’re the one!”
What about college/university? Just opne the app, type in the university’s name, and wait for an answer.
What about if you are buying a car? Put in the specs and the app will tell you to buy it or keep looking.
If you had an app like that, you would probably use it more than you think. But lets be real, theres no such app!
So, what do we do? We confide in a friend and hope they can give us some direction. They may give you some things to think about, but can they tell you what university to attend, what you should study, or what you should do with your life? Not really! Your parents are a great starting place to get some guidance, but they can’t really decide for you either. Well maybe what university you should attend, if they are paying!
Trying to find some direction in your life can be very challenging, can’t it?
it is very easy to feel all alone when you are trying to have it figured all out. Thinking about life-changing decisions can cause you to feel anxious and afraid. Wat do you do? Where do you turn? Well, here’s some great news:
God doesn’t leave you alone on this life journey. As a follower of Jesus, He gave you a guide - someone you can trust to lead you! And this guide is better than any app you can download.
If you are a Christian - God has given you the Holy Spirit to live inside of you, and the Holy Spirit inside you wants to guide you! Did you her that ? The Holy Spirit inside you wants to guide you!
Lesson Content
Lesson Content
Introduce the series: Never Alone- Walking in Step with the Spirit.
Holy Spirit who is active in the life of every follower of Jesus!
Recap: Last week we learn’t how the baptism of the Holy Spirit gives our life meaning.
Tonight: We are going to learn how the indwelling of the Holy Spirit gives you direction.
Question: Have you ever been to a place where you needed a tour guide?
Question: Anyone here ever been whitewater rafting? When you go, every raft has a guide directing the crew. The guide is the expert, the one you knows the river, and more importantly, the rapids. Every rapid is different and each one has a specific way to make it through.
The guide will shout out orders to the crew like, “Hard left”, or, “Hard right”. The crew must respond and paddle like crazy to turn the raft and hit the rapid from the correct direction. Otherwise, the raft could flip, or a crewmate could end up drifitng down the river.
Whitewater rafting is extremly exhilarating, and it is absolutely crucial that you listen to the guide and do what he/she says. When you go whitewater rafting, one thing is for sure: You’re never alone in the raft with a guide.
Listen: As you follow Christ through this life, Jesus promised that you wont ever be alone without a guide, the Holy Spirit. Lets dive into the word.
John 14: In this passage, we read about a time when Jesus was talking with his disciples. He was explaining to them that He was getting ready to leave them, and the disciples were concerned about that. Jesus assured them that it would be better because He was going to send a Helper who would always be with them.
Why did Jesus do this? He did this so that we would never be alone. Look at what Jesus said to his disciples in John 14:16. Jesus said he would give us another Helper or Comforter who would abide with us forever!
Did you hear that ? Forever, never alone! Well who is this comforter? Jesus tells us who this Comforter is in verse 26. [Read John 14:26].
Show definition of Holy Spirit....
The Holy Spirit is God living inside of you!
Romans 8:11 - Get a student to read!
The Holy Spirit of God lives in you. There is a fancy theological phrase of that fact:
The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Here’s what it means. [Show Powerpoint]
For the purpose of this lesson, we will focus on the first part of that definition. The Holy Spirit lives permanently in all believers.
If you have trusted Jesus Christ as your saviour, the Holy Spirit lives inside you and the Holy Spirit inside you wants to guide you! So, heres the question: How does the Holy Spirit guide you?
3 primary ways: He guides you by teaching you, convicting you and comforting you.
The Holy Spirit Teaches You [John 14:26; John 16:13]
Lets read John 14:26 together. Get a student to read!
Earlier we read this verse to show us that the Helper that Jesus referred to was the Holy Spirit. But this veres also tells us that the Holy Spirit will teach us all things.
“All thing” - referes to the truth. We know this because, in John 14:17, the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Truth. We also find this description of the Holy Spirit in John 16:13. [ Read John 16:13]. Jesus assured that the Spirit of Truth would come and guide them into all truth.
If you look at verse 13 - Jesus said the Spirit of Truth doesnt speak of himself but only of things that he hears. Those are things are what the Spirit of Truth teches you. Are you confused yet? It’s really not that complicated. Here’s what that means:
The Holy Spirit teaches you the truth as revealed in the Word of God
God’s word, the Bible, is what God uses to speak to you. The Holy Spirit will teach you things found in the Bible. Have you ever read some verses in the Bible and noy understood what you read? It happens to everyone. Sometimes it’s hard to understand, but the Holy Spirit will guide you and teach you.
The Holy Spirit teaches you discernment.
Discernment is ability to know right from wrong. It’s actually a skill you learn in order to decipher good and evil. The more truth you learn, the easier it becomes to recognize the lies. There are alot of voices in this world telling us all kinds of lies. What are some of the lies you’ve heard?
[Im not good enough, Im such a loser, no one likes me, I can do what I want, swearing isn’t big deal, drinking alchohol isn’t a big deal]
The Holy Spirit will teach you discernment as you learn the truth from God’s Word. You will begin to view this world through biblical eyes and clearly recognize the lies of this world.
The Holy Spirit Convicts You
John 16: 7-8 - Get a student to read!
In this passage, Jesus told His disciples that the Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin , righteousness and judgement.
Here’s what the Holy Spirit does as He guides you. He lets you know when you get off course or when step out of bounds. It’s like a referee who blows the whistle when the ball goes out of bounds or someone commits a foul.
When you a play a sport , you have to obey the rules. Referees call fouls and illegal plays. The purpose isn’t to ruin the game but to keep the game honest and to ensure it is played correctly.
In a similar way, the Holy Spirit wants to help guide you to keep you on the right path. To do so, the Holy Spirit will convict you of sin, righteouness and judgement.
Sin: miss the mark. It means to violte the law of God. Everytime you violate God’s Word, the Holy Spirit is there to blow the whistle. In other word’s, He pricks your heart or your conscience to get you back in line with the truth.
Game ananlogy: When a player violates a rule, the ref blows the whistle and stops the game. He gets the players back in line with the game rules.
Instead of game rules, God gave us life rules. These rules are meant to help you live your life to the fullest. Your life will be most fulfilled when you follow the rules. When you don’t, the Holy Spirit will convict you of the sin you have committed so that you dont ruin your life.
Righteousness: The work of the Holy Spirit in your life is not just to “blow the whistle” when you violate a rule. He wants to show you how to “play the game”. In other words, the Christian life isn’t just about do’s and don’ts. It’s about becoming more like Jesus. It’s about growing and maturing in your faith and walk with God.
Think of it this way: The Holy Spirit covicts you regarding your actions and your attitutes. He convicts you of sin and righteousness. When your attitude is selfish, it’s not righteous. You see, the Holy Spirit desires to display love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control through your life. These attitudes are: Fruit of the Spirit. When you choose not to yield to the Holy Spirit, this “fruit” will not be displayed through you.
Judgement: Have you ever gotten into trouble and then realized you hve to go home and face your parents? Maybe they wont find out. You get home, sneak in the house really quietly, hide in your room as long as you can and hope they forget. You know in your’e in trouble, but you dont want to face the wrath of mum and dad. Her’es whats happening. You are experiencing the reality of judgement.
Listen: There are always, always consequences for your actions and attitudes. The Holy Spirit convicts you of judgement in order to get you to think twice about what you are about to do or say. The realist is that God hold you accountable for every deed and every word that you say.
The Holy Spirit Comforts You
The Holy Spirit is described as a Comforter or Helper. After you have given your life to Jesus, the Holy Spirit becomes your comforter. He takes the truth of God’s Word and uses it to bring you comfort, guidance, and peace. Your’e not going to feel him give you a hug, but you will sense his presence as a child of God the more you look to him as your comforter.
John 14:16 - It tells us that the Holy Spirit is with us forever! This means that you have the comforter every year, every month, every week, every day, every hour, every minute, every second for the rest of your life. Whatever difficulty you might face - when you need comfort - The Holy Spirit promises to guide you through such times! You are never alone!
That’s the indwelling of the Holy Spirit!
Connection
Connection
At the beginning of the lesson, we spoke about feeling directionless. Remember the illustration of using a GPS. There is something extremely important when using a GPS.... Listen and follow!
What good is a GPS if youre not willing to submit to where it tells you to go ?
In the same way… how helpful will He be if you’re not willing to listen?
So how does this work in your life in a practical way? We know the Holy Spirit guides you by teaching you the truth, convivting you of sin, righteousness nd judgement, and by comforting you on this life journey. But how does this work when you are making decisions about your future? Or what about decisions you are having to make now?
Here’s how it works: It involves asking yourself four questions. If you are violating any one of these four areas in question, you might need to rethink your decision or wait for clearer direction from the Holy Spirit:
Question 1: Does this violate God’s word?
The starting point for all your decisions should be God’s Word. Remember, The Holy Spirit teaches you ll truth. He will never guide you contrary to the Word of God. This means that you must submit to God’s Word even if it is different than your own desires or wishes. If the Bible is clear about an issue in your life, your decision must align with the Word of God.
Question 2: Does the violate my conscience?
Ask yourself if your conscience is clear. God gave everyone a conscience to know right from wrong. Whatever decision you are making, make sure that it doesn’t violate your conscience. To be sure of this, you have to be totally honest with yourself. It’s easy to allow what you want to suppress what is best for you.
Car Example: Choice of 2 cars. Decide which one. One looks awesome - expensive and outside your budget. Other one is average - reliable and below your budget. You really want the more expensive one because it looks cooler. Wht is your conscience telling you? You’ve found a car that fits your budget, but how much better would you look driving the better looking car?
Ther’es an inner struggle, but deep inside you know which car you should buy. The Holy Spirit is using your conscience to guide you in your decision. Are you going to submit and make the better decision?
Question 3: Does this violate the peace of God in my heart?
As a believer, you have made peace with God when you trusted Jesus as your saviour. Now, you let the peace of God rule in your heart. What does this mean? It simply means that God allows the Holy Spirit to guide you with his peace.
Have you ever wrestled with aming a decision and just didnt have peace about it? You may not understand why you don’t have peace about a particular decision, but there’s a reason why you dont. Maybe, it’s because God is trying to protect you because He knows how that decision is going to affect your life.
Question 4: Does this violate godly counsel?
It’s always a good idea to talk to people and get their perspectives before making important, life-changing decisions. You need people you trust and respect who will give you godly counsel - not just what you want to hear, but what you need to hear. Seeking godly counsel is wise and often extremly helpful.
Remember: The Holy Spirit inside you wants to guide you, and He does the best job of guiding you if you let Him. The question is: Are you willing to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit with submissive obedience?
Choice
Choice
You have a choice to make: If you are a follower of Christ - The Holy Spirit lives inside of you. Are you going to continue to live your life your way, or are you willing to let the Holy Spirit guide you? Are you willing to surrender your life to the Holy Spirit’s control?
If you are not a follower of Jesus, the Holy Spirit is guiding you to the One who dies for your sins, Jesus Christ. Are you willing to admit your need to trust in Jesus and give him your life? What’s holding you back? Tonight is the night to believe in Him for salvation! When you go to small groups, be sure to ask your leader how you can begin a relationship with Jesus Christ tonight!