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May 25-26, 2002 LIVING WITH POWER!
Selected USING YOUR POWER
WISELY! *** Eph. 3:16, 20 “I ask the Father in his
great glory to give you the power to be strong inwardly through his
Spirit. [20] With God's power working
in us, God can do much, much more than anything we can ask or imagine.” [New Century Version] WE CAN LET THE HOLY SPIRIT WORK IN
OUR LIVES! 1. BY
OPENING UP TO THE COUNSELOR! *** John 14:15-17 “I will ask the Father, and
he will give you another Counselor, who will never leave you. He is the Holy
Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world at large cannot receive him,
because it isn't looking for him and doesn't recognize him. But you do, because
he lives with you now and later will be in you.” [NLT] A. AVAILABLE! B. COMPASSIONATE! *** Heb. 4:14-15 “…Jesus, the Son of God…who
is able to sympathize with our weaknesses. He was tempted in every way that we
are, but he didn't sin.” [God’s Word] C. WISE! *** Proverbs 27:6 “You can trust a friend who
corrects you, but kisses from an enemy are nothing but lies.” [CEV] D. ENCOURAGING! *** Acts 9:31 “Then the church… was
strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit….” [New International
Version] *** Romans 15:13 “…you may overflow with hope
by the power of the Holy Spirit.” *** 1 Thes. 1:6 “…the joy given by the Holy
Spirit.” [NIV] *** Romans 5:5 “He gave us his love through
the Holy Spirit….” [NCV] *** Romans 14:17 “…peace, and joy in the Holy
Spirit.” [NCV] TO RECEIVE HOLY SPIRIT COUNSEL WE MUST: §
OPEN UP! -
Rev. 2:7 “Anyone who is willing to hear should listen to the
Spirit….” §
ASK FOR!
- James 1:5 “If you need wisdom—if you want to know what God wants you to
do—ask him, and he will gladly tell you.”
[NLT] §
ACT ON!
- John 14:15-16 “If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the
Father, and he will give you another Counselor, who will never leave
you.” *** Proverbs 27:9 “The
heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume.” [NLT] 2. BY
LEARNING FROM THE TEACHER! *** Proverbs 1:23 “Come here and listen to me!
I'll pour out the spirit of wisdom upon you and make you wise.” [NLT] *** John 16:13 “When the Spirit of truth
comes, he will guide you into all truth..” *** John 14:26 “But when the Father sends the
Counselor as my representative—and by the Counselor I mean the Holy Spirit—he
will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I myself have told
you.” [NLT] HOW DO WE LEARN FROM
THE HOLY SPIRIT? A. THROUGH HIS PRONOUNCEMENT! - 2 Tim. 3:16 “Every part of Scripture is
God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our
rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God's way.” [The Message] *** 2 Peter 1:21 “For prophecy never had its
origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by
the Holy Spirit.” [NIV] B. THROUGH HIS PEOPLE! - Acts 21:10-11 “Agabus, who also had the gift
of prophecy, arrived from Judea. When he visited us, he took Paul's belt and
bound his own feet and hands with it. Then he said, "The Holy Spirit
declares, 'So shall the owner of this belt be bound by the Jewish leaders in
Jerusalem and turned over to the Romans.' " [NLT] WHEN GOD SPEAKS THROUGH
PEOPLE: o IT WILL BE IN AGREEMENT WITH HIS WORD! o IT WILL BE CONFIRMED BY OTHER SAINTS! o IT WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY PEACE OF MIND! C. THROUGH PRAYER! - Acts 13:2 “One day as these men were
worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Dedicate Barnabas
and Saul for the special work I have for them." [NLT] 3. BY
LEANING ON THE HELPER! *** Romans 8:26 “In the same way, the Spirit
helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the
Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” [NIV] THERE ARE THREE KINDS
OF WEAKNESS: §
SPIRITUAL WEAKNESS! - John 16:8 “When the Helper comes, he will prove to the people
of the world the truth about sin, about being right with God, and about
judgment.” [NCV] *** 1 Peter 1:2 “… through the sanctifying work
of the Spirit….” [NIV] §
PHYSICAL WEAKNESS! - Zech. 4:6 "This is what the Lord says: It is not by force
nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty.” [NLT] §
EMOTIONAL WEAKNESS! - Ephes. 3:16 “I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources
he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit.” 4. BY
FINDING COURAGE FROM THE COMFORTER! *** John 14:26-27 “But when the Father sends
the Counselor as my representative—and by the Counselor I mean the Holy
Spirit…. I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I
give isn't like the peace the world gives. So don't be troubled or afraid.” [NLT] *** Romans 8:15 “The Spirit we received does
not make us slaves again to fear; it makes us children of God.” [NCV] *** 2 Tim. 1:7 “God did not give us a spirit
that makes us afraid but a spirit of power and love and self-control.” [NCV] “I NEED THE JESUS CHRIST FOR MY ETERNAL LIFE, BUT I NEED THE HOLY SPIRIT FOR MY INTERNAL LIFE!” |