Concept:
The Holy Spirit is your constant companion and helper. Have you ever been given a task that is too big for you? Living like Jesus is impossible for us on our own. But that’s why God gave us His own Spirit—to help us live as new people. Jesus said, “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 14:26). As we saw in the last lesson, the Spirit is the stamp of God’s salvation and gives us new life. But He does a lot more. Let’s look at the things He does for you:
The Spirit Teaches:
Do you ever wonder how to live the Christian life? 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching.” “Inspired by God” is a reference to the Holy Spirit who is the life-giving breath of God. It’s like studying a book and having the author of the book there with you to help you through the hard-to-understand parts. Since the Holy Spirit inspired the Bible, He will help you to understand it and give you new life as you read it.
"For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God." - 1 Corinthians 2:11
"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 14:26
The Spirit Corrects:
2 Timothy 3:16 also tells us another benefit of the Holy Spirit: He corrects us. “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for showing people what is wrong in their lives, for correcting faults, and for teaching us how to live right.” As believers, we will experience the prompting of the Spirit in our lives when we do things that God does not want us to do. For example, sometimes we may not want to forgive someone for wronging us. The Spirit will keep reminding us of the importance of forgiving that person and how God has forgiven us.
The Spirit Leads:
John 16:13 tells us, “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all 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.” When you follow the leading of the Spirit, you follow God’s will for your life. Sometimes we resist the Spirit and do things of our own will and not God’s. To be self-willed only delays God’s blessing in our lives. The Bible tells us we must decrease the control we have over our lives and turn control over to the leading of the Spirit. This will lead to living the abundant life God has for you.
"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." - John 14:16-17
The Spirit Changes Us:
Gal 5:22-23 says, But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! The more we spend with the Holy Spirit, the more he will shape our mind, our will and our emotions (our soul) to exhibit His characteristics rather than those of who we were before we met Jesus.
Conversation Points:
Question: Since becoming a Christian have you experienced anything where you would say the Holy Spirit has taught you something, shown you something, or somehow spoken to you?
John 14:26 (AMP)
"But the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will help you remember everything that I have told you."
Let's look at HOW he helps us.
The Spirit Teaches:
Question: Have you wondered about how to live the Christian Life?
2 Timothy 3:16
"All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right."
Questions:
What do you think it means by "inspired by God"?
How do you think the Holy Spirit teaches us from the scripture?
1 Corinthians 2:11
"No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit."
Question: How can you know God's thoughts?
The Spirit Corrects
John 16:13
"When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future."
Question: According to this scripture, how do we find truth?
John 16:8
"And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.
Notice that it is the Holy Spirit who convicts of sin, righteousness and judgement."
The Spirit Leads:
Romans 8:14
"For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God."
Question: What do you think it means to be led by the Spirit of God?
Romans 8:26-27
"And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will."
See how the Spirit leads us in our prayer through tongues when we don't know how to pray.
The Spirit Changes Us:
Galatians 5:22-23 (AMP)
"But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law."
Question: Since you come to the Lord, have you seen any changes in your own nature?
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