Bible Study Notes 10/15/2024

Word Alive! Bible Study ©2024

Fall Series: Experiencing The Holy Spirit In & With Us © 2024

Concord Baptist Church of Boston in Milton

Conley Hughes, Jr., Senior Pastor

Tue., 8 & 15 Oct. 2024 Lesson 9, Parts 1 & 2, pp. 128-140

Quiet Time: H&M Blackaby, Experiencing the Holy Spirit

To the Extraordinary – It is through the presence and ministry of the Holy Spirit that ordinary people engage in extraordinary work. As Christians the lives we live and the ministry we engage in, is never the result of our own efforts alone. No effective work or ministry for God can be accomplished without the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We are called as Christians to first develop a relationship with God so we can have the humility to accept His instructions. In their book, Experiencing the Holy Spirit, Henry and Melvin Blackaby states this: “[God is] first concerned about our relationship to Him. Once we learn to walk with Him, we’re able to hear His voice and obey. And as we make the adjustment to do His will, He then equips our lives to complete the assignment He has for us… God desires to bring you into the middle of His activity. It’s then our lives move from the ordinary to the extraordinary.”  The transition from living a life with a mere human mindset to a spiritual life centered on the teachings of God and His wisdom, is the difference between the ordinary and the extraordinary. In the beginning of the great Psalm 119, the psalmist speaks of the necessity of knowing God’s instructions and the value of living by them. (Read, Psalm 119: 1-8, NLT). We note the psalmist realized the importance of the holy instructions and principles God has given, and how his behavior, actions, and entire life must be in line with these decrees. Jesus taught further, a committed relationship with Him was built on learning and following the commandments He taught. Jesus would send the Holy Spirit to continue teaching and leading His followers – and the Spirit’s presence would be near and inward. (Read, John 14:15-19, NLT). Our relationship with the Holy Spirit was never intended to be distant, but close and intimate. Melvin and Henry Blackaby emphasize, with the Lord “a commandment always precedes a commission.” It can be noted in Scripture, that an assignment was rarely given before a command or an instruction. When God speaks His will and we respond, we will then become spiritually enabled for an assignment He gives us.  Before Jesus ascended into heaven, the disciples did not make an arbitrary decision to go to Jerusalem. Jesus commanded the disciples to return to the city and promised them they would be commissioned to go further professing His teachings. The Holy Spirit would equip them for the assignment. (Read, Acts 1:3-5, NLT). Jesus has given us a great task to make disciples of all nations. (See, Matthew 28:16-20, NIV). The term used in the Greek New Testament is ethnos, which means literally “people groups.” Or pan ethnos, “all people groups.” Jesus commands Christians to share the Good News to every ethnicity; tribe; clan; nation; or dweller on the earth. Such a task cannot merely be accomplished through human means or with human insight. The Holy Spirit equips us to carry out the assignment Christ has given us. Jesus anticipating the presence and work of the Holy Spirit in believers after His ascension, said: “I tell you the truth anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12, NLT).  The Holy Spirit takes ordinary people and empowers them to do extraordinary work with God who is active in the world. In Christ, we are more than ordinary (Read, Acts 4:13, NLT)! With the presence of Christ and the Spirit, we’re more useful and effective.

To the Extraordinary Part 2 – In the great wisdom of God the ordinary often brings to fulfillment the extraordinary. This simply means, God can always use people who are not publicly known or celebrated to accomplish His purposes. There are many men and women in the Scripture who joined God in His work in the world, who were not a part of a noble genealogy. God’s concern is never about status, but it is about service to Him. Amos, one of the 8th century B. C. prophets, is an example of such a person. Amos was a farmer and shepherd in Tekoa, a small village in Judah. He defends his call to the prophetic ministry; by strongly communicating he was not a member of a special prophetic guild – and that he was not a descendant of any prophet. Amos responded to the voice and Spirit of God who summoned him to prophesy to the northern kingdom of Israel, for its injustice, idolatry, and mistreatment f the poor. (Read, Amos 7:13-15, NLT). Shepherds and farmers were among the despised classes of people in those days, and Amos was very aware of how he was perceived. When Jesus began His ministry, he appointed seventy-two other disciples whom he commissioned to minister in villages and towns in Judea. Little is known of this group of disciples, except Jesus gave them authority to perform specific ministries, for which they were successful. (Read, Luke 10:16-20, NLT). Jesus warned the group not to rejoice in what they may have perceived as their accomplishments. But they should rejoice because of their faith in Jesus and their eternal security through Him. We read in the Scriptures, before the Holy Spirit resided permanently in believers, they were endowed with the power of the Spirit to perform assignments for God. The Spirit of God also leads us in ways which may seem insignificant, but they have a great impact. Jesus pointed this out to the disciples as He observed people placing their offering in the Temple Treasury. Jesus noted the wealthier attendees gave large amounts of money. When the unsuspecting widow placed her money in the offering, it was two copper coins, which were worth about two cents. Even that amount was a hardship for the widow. She, like most widows of that period, subsisted on very little income. Jesus cited this ordinary woman as performing an extraordinary act of giving. The wealthy – known for their boastful pride - gave a large amount of money; but their offerings were but a fraction of their wealth. The woman was led to give all she had, and that was an act of exemplary faith and obedience to God. (Read, Mark 12:41-44, NIV). The narrative suggests the woman was “led” to give, what she thought was the best offering she could. We notice in the story; the woman did not succumb to any distractions. She is silent as for words, but her actions speak louder than words. When we’re led by the Spirit of God, we don’t need a fan club to cheer us on. We need only to listen intently to hear the Voice – the Lord speaking to us and directing us in our actions. In the darkness of the night, if the young boy Samuel had not listened and obeyed the voice of God; and the counsel of the elderly priest, Eli, he would not have become a great prophet, commissioned by God to lead the people and its leaders in Israel. The Scripture says: “And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and did let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord.” (1 Samuel 3:19-20, KJV). Jesus showed the disciples great miracles can be performed using ordinary people and basic resources. Trusting Jesus to perform His work with what we have, is how the Holy Spirit can work in our lives today. (Read, John 6:8-10a; 11, NLT).

Key Idea:

What We Believe!

1. “The Holy Spirit is in you and accompanies you!”

Key Verses:

Psalm 119:1-8, NLT

“Joyful are people of integrity who follow the instructions of the Lord. Joyful are those who obey His laws and search for Him with all their hearts. They do not compromise with evil, and they walk only in His paths. You have charged us to keep your commandments carefully. Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect your decrees! Then I will not be ashamed when I compare my life with your commands. As I learn your righteous regulations, I will thank you by living as I should! I will obey your decrees. Please don’t give up on me!”

John 14:15-19, NLT

“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. Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, since I live, you also will live.”

Acts 1:3-5, NLT

“During the forty days after He suffered and died, He appeared to the apostles from time to time, and He proved to them in many ways that He was actually alive. And He talked to them about the kingdom of God. Once when He was eating with them, He commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift He promised, as I told you before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 4:13, NLT

“The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men…They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.”

Amos 7:13-15, NLT

“Don’t bother us with your prophecies here in Bethel. This is the king’s sanctuary and the national place of worship!” But Amos replied, “I’m not a professional prophet, and I was never trained to be one. I’m just a shepherd, and I take care of sycamore-fig trees. But the Lord called me away from my flock and told me, “Go and prophecy to my people Israel.”

Luke 10:16-20, NLT

“Then He said to the disciples, ‘Anyone who accepts your message is also accepting me. And anyone who rejects you is rejecting me. And anyone who rejects me is rejecting God, who sent me.’ When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to Him, ‘Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!’ ‘Yes,’ He told them, ‘I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning! Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.’”

Mark 12:41-44, NIV

“Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people put in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.  Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty, put in everything – all she had to live on.”  

John 6 :8-10a; 11, NLT

“Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?” “Tell everyone to sit down.” Jesus took the loaves and gave thanks to God and distributed them to the people. Afterward He did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted.”