How can we thrive by living in partnership with the Holy Spirit?

30 May 2021 - 11am Service

Holy Spirit Series: Wind - Mystery of the Spirit

We wrap up our preaching series Holy Spirit with a message from Steve Ballard on ‘Wind - Mystery of the Spirit’.

This May, we’ve been looking at key symbols used in the Bible to help us understand how to encounter and live life with the Spirit of God.

In this series, we’ll be unpacking scripture’s use of symbols describing the Holy Spirit as we try to better understand what it means to be a new creation and anointed with spiritual gifts. What is it that makes us well up from a deep place or speak in tongues? How do we deal with the mystical and transrational? How does God guide through the Spirit?

Remember, our 11am service covered the same topic and Philip Jinadu shared a message with us. Check it out!

DISCUSSION NOTES

INTRODUCTION John 3:8, John 20 and Acts 2

In many languages, including Greek and Hebrew, the words for Wind, Spirit, Breath are interchangeable. Interestingly in two post resurrection accounts of impartation of the Spirit on the disciples, John 20 says ‘Jesus breathed on them and said receive the Spirit’ in Acts 2 as well as fire the Spirit comes like a mighty rushing wind.

The wind of the Spirit is very tangible, but also mysterious (John 3:8). How do we recognise the tangible presence of the Spirit with us corporately or individually?
Jesus said in John 5 ‘I only do what I see the Father doing’. He spoke about driving out demons by the Spirit of God. It seems as if Jesus sought to be guided by the Holy Spirit. How does God guide us through the Spirit?
What keeps us in step with the Spirit, (or not) (Gal 5: 22-25)?
How do we distinguish between our subjective experiences, our imagination and the
guidance of God? What would you say to someone who says ‘God told me to do this..’ but it
seems unwise or not quite right to you?
How does the gift of discernment work in our lives as a Church community (c.f. Acts 13:2-3)