Spirit
Pre-Game Warm-Up
It was a brisk, but beautiful, Christmas day in Hereford, Texas, when a teenage friend, named Jason Paetzold, watched his dad step into the small single engine airplane his uncle had just received as a Christmas gift. A short routine flight, and “I’ll be back in 30 minutes, Son,” were his dad’s final words as he latched the door and waived “adios.” Jason’s big blue eyes were filled with wonder as the plane crewed by the two men he loved the most parted and soared above him. Then in an instant, the morning of beauty turned into a morning of horror. On final descent back into the airport the plane crashed.
The landing was a ball of fire and smoke. Jason’s uncle somehow escaped unscathed and ran for an ambulance. Jason’s dad was severely burned and unable to move. As he lay dying on the west Texas soil, he was granted thirty minutes of consciousness alone with his son, expressing his final words of exhortation and encouragement. He quoted Scripture to Jason. He affirmed his love. In tears the boy and his dad sang parts of hymns they had shared in church together. The dad gave the boy his final words of wisdom and then he was gone.
Jason came to our sports camp that next summer and recounted the experience. With tear-filled eyes, he clung to every word and every precious moment they had shared. In those cherished final moments, Jason’s heart was filled with memories from the hero he’d never forget.
So it was with Jesus and His followers the night before the crucifixion. John recalls the final night in great detail: “Jesus, knowing that His hour had come, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” (John 13:1)
Though they understood little that night, they never forgot His words. “I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you. I will ask the Father and He will give you another Helper, that is, the Spirit of Truth. He will bring to you remembrance all that I told you. He will guide you into truth. He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment. He will comfort you and glorify Me. He will speak God’s words to your heart.” (John 14:15-16 excerpts)
Like Jason, the disciples cherished those final departing words and walked in those words every day of their lives. Romans 8:9-10 promises that when you trust Christ and give Him your heart, you, too, will receive the Holy Spirit to live in you and do His work through you. “Walking in the Spirit” is the privilege available to every follower of Christ as we “put to death the deeds of the flesh” and “seek the things above.” “Walking in the Spirit” enables you to say, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
“Walking in the Spirit” not only gives you freedom from the penalty of sin but also freedom from the power of sin. The Holy Spirit convicts a believer of things that are dishonoring and displeasing to God as He subsequently gives you and me the strength to deny that sin and abandon it in freedom. The Holy Spirit is the “engine under the hood with two four-barrel carburetors and power to burn”. Following Christ without Him is like pushing the car up the hill. Depending on and abiding in the Spirit is firing up the engine and embarking on the greatest drive a person could ever imagine.
Understanding God’s Spirit
Mark these Key Words: Spirit God
Old Testament Viewpoint
Ezekiel 3:14; Numbers 11:26; I Samuel 10:10; 1 Samuel 16:14a; Joel 2:28
Ezekiel 3:14 So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away; and I went embittered in the rage of my spirit, and the hand of the LORD was strong on me.
Numbers 11:26
But two men had remained in the camp; the name of one was Eldad and the name of the other Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them (now they were among those who had been registered, but had not gone out to the tent), and they prophesied in the camp.
1 Samuel 10:10 When they came to the hill there, behold, a group of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him mightily, so that he prophesied among them.
1 Samuel 16:14a Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul.
Joel 2:28 It will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
New Testament Viewpoint
John 14:16, 17, 26 & John 16:8, 13-14; 2 Corinthians 1:4
John 14:16-17, 26 I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.
John 16:8 And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment;
John 16:13-14 But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.
2 Corinthians 1:4 Who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
OBSERVATION:
What is God saying?
1) What is the difference in the role the Holy Spirit plays in the Old Testament and the New Testament? Compare and contrast the different ways He worked before Christ and after Christ.
2) Joel’s prophecy gives an amazing prophetic description of the Holy Spirit’s new role. What event changed His
role and style of work so drastically?
3) Describe the attributes (characteristics) of the Holy Spirit, as written in the book of John.4) The word for “helper” Jesus uses to describe the Holy Spirit is the Greek word “paraklete” which means “the one called alongside,” He comforts us or gives us bravery in times of personal difficulty. When have you experienced His “comfort”?5) Name two specific works or ministries the Holy Spirit accomplishes in a believer’s life.
PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS:
What else of significance do you see God saying in this passage?
APPLICATION:
How does this passage relate to me today? What changes does it bring to my life?
LOCKER ROOM:
How can you walk more fully “in the Spirit” this week? What is hampering you from succeeding in that?
Memory Verse: 2 Corinthians 1:4
Who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to
comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
My Prayers
A Adoration: Father, today I praise You for…
C Confession: Father, please forgive me for…
T Thanksgiving: Father, today I’m thankful for…
S Supplication: Father, the people & things that I wish to pray for today are…
