GHOST - Week 3

SPIRITUAL GIFTS


•A SPIRITUAL GIFT IS A SUPERNATURAL ABILITY GIVEN TO ALL CHRISTIANS TO DO GOD’S WORK ON EARTH.

1 Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant…4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. 1 Corinthians 12:1, 4-6 NIV

7 A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. 1 Corinthians 12:7 NLT

SPIRITUAL GIFTS ARE NOT

1) NATURAL TALENTS.
2) GIVEN TO THE ELITE FEW.
3) SIGN OF SPIRITUAL MATURITY.
4) FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT.
5) SOMETHING TO FEAR.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE SPIRITUAL GIFTS?

6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. Romans 12:6-8 NLT

7 A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. 8 To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. 9 The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. 10 He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. 11 It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have. 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 NLT


HOW DO YOU DISCOVER YOUR GIFTS?


1) STUDY WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT GIFTS.
2) ASK GOD TO SHOW YOU YOUR GIFTS.
3) EXAMINE WHAT YOU ENJOY AND DO WELL.
4) TAKE A SPIRITUAL GIFT TEST. There is an online test available here: http://www.churchgrowth.org/analysis/index.html.
5) DO WHAT THE HOLY SPIRIT LEADS YOU TO DO.

10 God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. 11 Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 4:10-11 NLT


THE ULTIMATE GIFT

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23


• What are your spiritual gifts?
• How did you discover them? if you don’t know what your gifts are, then discuss some ways to uncover them.
• How has God used your spiritual gift to make an impact?

GHOST - week 2

THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT



4 On one occasion, while (Jesus) was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit…”8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:4-5, 8

dunamis (doo'-nam-is); a force; a miraculous power, the explosive power of God.


HOLY SPIRIT GIVES YOU THE POWER



1) TO SHARE CHRIST BOLDLY.

4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power. 1 Corinthians 2:4-5

2) WHEN YOU ARE WEAK.

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. Romans 8:26

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me... For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

3) TO HAVE HOPE IN A HOPELESS WORLD.

13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

4) TO EXPERIENCE ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD.

16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:16-19

Use your talk notes to turn a great message into a great conversation.


•Describe a time when you were aware of the Holy Spirit in your life.


•When have you had a conversation with someone and the Holy Spirit gave you the words to speak?


What is the Holy Spirit saying to you through this message? Uncover deeper answers with the printable Talk It Over guide at www.lifechurch.tv/talkitover.

GHOST - week 1

THE PRESENCE OF THE HOLY


2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Genesis 1:2

ruwach (roo'-akh); wind; breath, a violent exhalation; blast of breath.

pneuma (pnyoo'-mah); a current of air, blast of breath, a strong breeze; or spirit.

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever- 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. John 14:16-17

Counselor: parakletos (par-ak'-lay-tos); an intercessor, consoler, advocate, comforter, helper.

But it is actually best for you that I go away, because if I don't, the Counselor won't come. If I do go away, he will come because I will send him to you. John 16:7 NLT


WHY ARE MANY LIVING A SPIRIT-LESS LIFE?



· SOME AREN’T AWARE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit." Acts 19:1-3

· SOME RESIST THE HOLY SPIRIT. "You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Acts 7:51


THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL



· COMFORT YOU.
16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever… John 14:16 KJV

· COUNSEL YOU.
13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. John 16:13

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’” Isaiah 30:21

· CONVICT YOU.
8 When (the Spirit) comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: John 16:8


Discussion Questions


1.What was your understanding about the Holy Spirit before this week’s message?


2.When you think back, can you see a time when the Holy Spirit was leading you? Did He comfort, counsel, or convict you?


3.Describe the need you feel for His presence in your life. What steps are you willing to take to live a Spirit-filled life?

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