The Third Person of the Trinity
“If the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the church today, 95 percent of what we do would go on and no one would know the difference. If the Holy Spirit had been withdrawn from the New Testament church, 95 percent of what they did would stop, and everybody would know the difference.” ― A. W. Tozer
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. Then you will tell people about me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria. And you will even tell other people about me from one end of the earth to the other.” – Acts 1:8, NIrV
The Holy Spirit is often the most neglected and misunderstood person of the Trinity. And it is to our peril. Because the Holy Spirit’s ministry is to enliven the follower of Jesus. He equips, empowers, enables, guides, encourages, comforts, intercedes, gifts; well you get the idea. Our life is to be lived in and by the Holy Spirit. My own Christ following has at times involved both ditches that I described on Sunday: the one being a functional non-trinitarian God, where its just Jesus and the Holy Spirit and the other being an unhealthy chasing after certain manifestations of the Holy Spirit. What has been difficult is staying between the ditches in the healthy space of life lived by the Spirit. I hope that this series helps us all to grow in our understanding of the Holy Spirit. I hope even more that it helps us live by the Holy Spirit!
Questions for further discussion/application:
· What is the biggest hinderance to you living by the Holy Spirit? Information? Application? How can you begin to remove that hinderance?
· Looking back over your story, was there a season or moment when you felt more surrendered to the Holy Spirit than you do right now? What were some possible causes?
· How can our church grow more responsive to the Holy Spirit and His ministry?
Blog Bonuses:
Here is a great video teaching on the Holy Spirit
Here is a link to the first of the Forgotten God videos that go along with Francis Chan’s book by the same name.