Concept
 

Who is the Holy Spirit? And what does He have to do with your life?  Have you ever put a label on something to show others it is yours? When you became a Christian, God put a stamp on you, claiming you as redeemed and forgiven. That stamp is His own Spirit. And this Holy Spirit is your greatest friend and helper in life. He prays for you, helps you deal with the challenges of life, and is the power that transforms your life. Think of it this way: before we accepted Christ we were like a light bulb without electricity. But now, the Holy Spirit is the “electricity” that lights up our lives.
 

 "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." - Joel 2:28
 

 "I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." -  Matthew 3:11
 

A New Life
 

The Spirit gives you a whole new life. Jesus, in John 6:63, says, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” The Bible talks about being “born again.” What that means is simply that the Spirit has given you a fresh start and an entirely new nature to live differently. Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” It’s like a car that was constantly breaking down, and someone came and put in an entirely new engine. If you are a Christian, you already have the Holy Spirit living inside of you; now you just need to learn how to relate with Him and walk in the new life He has for you. Read on in the next lessons about what exactly the Holy Spirit does to change your life and how to receive His power and grace.
 

 "In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory." - Ephesians 1:13-14

 

Coversation Points
 

Question: What do you know about the Holy Spirit
 

The Holy Spirit is God

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the trinity.
 

Genesis 1:2
"The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters."
 

John 14:15-18
“If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you."
 

The Holy Spirit is Personal - not an impersonal force
 

A Mind                 /             Rom 8:27

A Will .                 /             1 Cor 12:11

Emotions .           /             Rom 15:30

Speaks .               /             Heb 3:7

Speaks Clearly   /             1 Tim 4:1

Teaches               /             1 Cor 2:13

Grieved                /             Eph 4:30

Insulted .              /             Heb 10:29

 

The Holy Spirit is the active agent of the Godhead on the earth today
 

- Jesus is Not here
 

John 16:7
"But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you."
 

Acts 1:11
“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”
 

The Coming of the Holy Spirit
 

Acts 1:6-11
"So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?” He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”
 

Acts 2:1-18
"On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.

At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers. They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee, and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages! Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!” They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other. But others in the crowd ridiculed them, saying, “They’re just drunk, that’s all!”

Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, “Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this. These people are not drunk, as some of you are assuming. Nine o’clock in the morning is much too early for that. No, what you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel:

‘In the last days,’ God says,
    ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
    Your young men will see visions,
    and your old men will dream dreams.
In those days I will pour out my Spirit
    even on my servants—men and women alike—
    and they will prophesy."
 

 Question: Have you seen the evidence of the Holy Spirit in anyone since becoming a believer?