Forgotten GOD ch1 I've Got Jesus Why Do I Need the Spirit
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INTRO
Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit Chapter 1: I’ve Got Jesus: Why Do I Need the Spirit?
The reality is that the early church knew less about the Holy Spirit than most of us in the church today, at least in the intellectual sense. But they came to know the Spirit intimately and powerfully as He worked in and through their lives. All throughout the New Testament, we read of the apostles whose lives were led by the Spirit and lived out by His power.
INTRO
I. The Why
A. Have u ever felt like ur missing something? Like ur getting by, but ur life lacks something crucial, something extraordinary?
a. Our Spirituality consists o going 2 Church for 1.5hrs on sunday (if the preacher doesn’t talk 2 long)
b. maybe a mid-week bible study
c. might occasionally pray (especially in the middle o tragedy)
B. but is that all there is?
a. sure, the music is good…maybe the preacher is interesting (at least sometimes)
1. but…there’s something missing.
C. this missing thing, I believe, is directly connected 2 the dissatisfaction most o us feel w/ & in the church.
a. We understand something very important is missing.
1. The feeling is so strong that some have run away from the church & God’s Word completely.
2. Let’s face it, this something missing has caused many 2 decide that the church is
i. outdated
ii. irrelevant
iii. false
iv. & Non-Essential…despite what the president might have recently said
-The question is…in light o what is missing…r they right?
b. I believe that this missing something is actually a missing Someone—namely, the Holy Spirit.
1. W/out Him, people operate in their own strength & only accomplish human-size results.
i. & let’s face it, the world isn't moved by love / actions that r of human creation.
II. What 2 Expect Frm Class
A. In this class we aren’t going 2 find some hidden truth about God & his H.S.
a. mostly we will hear adjectives such as
1. Obvious,
2. neglected,
3. & crucial 2 describe the truths presented.
B. The Aim 4 this class is that over the next 7 weeks 2gether
a. we discover a deeper, more regular fellowship w/God’s Spirit
1. as we learn & implement what it means 2b lead day-by-day & even min-by-min.
b. that we would experience the promises we read in scripture regarding His leading, empowering, & fruit producing…
1. that we actually live out practically what is promised in Scripture…
2. That our lives line up w/what is read in scripture
III. Video
A. As we consider what to expect frm this class Let’s listen to a msg frm Francis Chan
a. Author o the book “Forgotten God” among many others
B. Play Video
C. What stood out to u about this video?
BODY
I. The H.S.’s value
A. This session is titled: “We have Jesus, why do we need the H.S.?”
a. Thoughts?
b. Would u say that the H.S. is important 2 our lives; why?
1. Does our life reflect that opinion?
B. Did Jesus value the H.S. ?
a. Jesus didn’t begin his earthly min until after his baptism & the H.S. came upon him (Mk 1:10)
b. Jesus even said...
7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.
c. Jesus told his disciples 2 wait until after they were empowered by the H.S. 2 begin ministry
4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me;
5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
II. How we developed our understanding o the H.S.
A. What r some beliefs that you have about who the H.S. is & what he does?
a. Being as open as possible, do u think ur beliefs r shaped more by the Scriptures / by what u’ve been told & what u’ve come 2 experience as the normal Christian life? Why?
B. Illust. raised on an island
a. What if u grew up on a desert island w/nothing but the Bible 2 read.
b. Imagine being rescued after 20yrs & then attending a typical evangelical church.
1. What discrepancies might u find btwn what u’ve read & come 2 expect & what u experienced?
i. Chances r u’d b shocked...
- stunned by the apparent absence of the Spirit in any manifest way.
- & this, I believe, is the crux of the problem.
ii. Having read the Scriptures outside the context o contemporary church culture,
-we would b convinced that the H.S. is as essential 2 a believer’s existence as air is 2 staying alive.
iii. We’d know that the Spirit
- led the 1st Christians 2 do unexplainable things,
- live lives that didn’t make sense 2 the culture around them,
- & ultimately 2 spread the story o God’s grace around the world.
C. There seems 2b a big gap btwn what we read in Scripture about the H.S. & how most believers & churches operate 2day.
a. So, if we disregarded our own experiences & just read what the N.T. said about the H.S.’s impact on our life, what would u expect 2 observe as the H.S. entered a person’s life?
III. The H.S.’s work @a glance
A. Let’s take a quick look @ a few psgs describing What the H.S. does in/through Jesus followers
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
a. Pwr 2 witness
31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
b. Tangible impact on the physical & Spirit empowered boldness o God’s people
5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.
8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
c. Helps us to consider life frm the spirit’s perspective
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
d. Helps us 2 pray, intercedes of us
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.
13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,
10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,
5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,
16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
The Spirit in our life should b as evident as if it were written on our forehead & hand, shouldn’t it?
What if people didn’t have 2 wonder if a Jesus follower really followed Jesus?
Would u agree that 4 many people in the American church 2day, everyday life does not match these biblical descriptions?
Why do u think that is?
Have you ever observed Christians & non-Christians interacting? In many cases, it is all but impossible 2 discern who has the Spirit & who doesn’t.
Sure, the Christians may be a little nicer / more morally conscientious, but is that really all the H.S. came 2 do in our lives? Shouldn’t the difference b supernatural?
How So?
Paul’s letter 2 the Gal is all about how we r set free frm the Law
2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you.
3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.
In Christ, we have been set free from the law.
But without the law, how do we please God?
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
We please God by loving our neighbor…but how do we love our neighbors as ourselves?
Let’s look 2gether @ Pauls words in
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,
20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,
21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
For Paul, the answer is simple: Walk by the Spirit.
The evidence for walking by the spirit is the fruit of the spirit
it’s not that christians have a loving disposition, but that we love selflessly, serve others (biblical love)
it’s not inner peace, but shalom…living in restored relationship w/othes
we aren’t kind hearted, but we treat others w/kindness
we aren’t good natured, but r good (acted justly) to others
we are loyal, gentle, not hot tempered
The point Paul is making is that a Jesus follower, filled w/HIS Spirit should act peculiar
6. According to Galatians 5:16–25, what should distinguish a Spirit-filled person from a non-Christian?
If the Holy Spirit is being neglected in our churches & in our lives, is it any wonder that we don’t look much different from the rest of the world?
Look at Galatians 5:16 again: “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” Perhaps we’ve gotten so caught up in trying to live the Christian life that we’ve overlooked the Source.
Life-change comes through the power of the Holy Spirit. At times we try so hard—but if we have forgotten about the Holy Spirit, then we’re missing the whole point.
Too often we work in our own strength to be the kind of people who stand out—the kind of people who look like Jesus. This is the right goal, but when we try to do this without relying on the Spirit, we’re missing the whole point.
8. If the Spirit works through us, how should the supernatural results differ from what we can accomplish on our own?
I know that there are people in the church who live every day in the power of the Spirit, depending on and following Him in every aspect of life. Maybe you’re one of those blessed few. Praise God if that’s the case! But we all have room to grow. None of us has too much of the Spirit. We are all in danger of pursuing supernatural results through our own strength.
It’s time for us to stop assuming that we know everything we need to know about the Holy Spirit. Some of us need to study a little deeper and find out who the Spirit is and what He does. This is an important step in the process. But all of us need to begin applying the obvious biblical truths about the Holy Spirit to our lives. Maybe you haven’t missed the obvious doctrinally—maybe you’ve missed it practically. Until we actually apply a truth to our lives, we can’t claim to believe it—at least not with any integrity.
let’s look at some possible motives for seeking the H.S.
what are some reasons we might seek the H.S.?
10. Rather than thinking about what the H.S. can do for you, what r some clear & practical ways that the Spirit can work through u to bless the people around u?
Chapter 1 of the book Forgotten God ends with a powerful analogy about the confusion a caterpillar must experience:
For all its caterpillar life, it crawls around a small patch of dirt and up and down a few plants. Then one day it takes a nap. A long nap. And then, what in the world must go through its head when it wakes up to discover it can fly? What happened to its dirty, plump little worm body? What does it think when it sees its tiny new body and gorgeous wings?
As believers, we ought to experience this same kind of astonishment when the Holy Spirit enters our bodies. We should be stunned in disbelief over becoming a “new creation” with the Spirit living in us. As the caterpillar finds its new ability to fly, we should be thrilled over our Spirit-empowered ability to live differently and faithfully. (Forgotten God, 37)
11. For all practical purposes, we seem to have forgotten that the Holy Spirit is powerful—He radically transforms lives.
This week, reflect on these questions…let’s do a gut check
Are you open to being transformed, no matter what that may mean for your life?
If you do want to be changed, why do you desire this?
If you don’t, what is keeping you from desiring change?
Spend some time praying that God will give you the humility to be open to what He wants to teach you—even if it means you’ve spent years overlooking the obvious.
Then ask Him to begin using these truths to change the way you live.