The resources God has given us to live a thriving life are His Word, Spirit, and People.
Read God’s Word:
Acts 18:19 – 19:41
Act 3: God’s New Covenant People
Scene 4: Christ’s Church: God’s People Advance the Kingdom
Background Information: Acts 18:19 – 19:41
Paul encountered what he believed, at first glance, to be a group of disciples in Ephesus. Circumstances must have aroused his suspicion that something was amiss because he asked them whether they had received the Holy Spirit. His suspicions were confirmed when they said that they had never even heard of Him! It turns out they were baptized by John or one his disciples, but had not fully understood the gospel of Jesus. The language is concise, but we can rightly assume that this was a much longer conversation. After Paul explained the gospel to them, they believed in Christ and were baptized in his name. At the point of their conversion, they received the Spirit; it was not the result of their baptism or Paul’s placing his hands on them. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Spirit “came on them,” which is language for a manifestation or external evidence of the Spirit’s work through them. The Spirit in them was released in power through them. The Spirit was in them because they had become Christians, and he was released through them in order to bring glory to Christ. Scripture is clear that no one can become a Christian without receiving the Holy Spirit. We have all of God’s Spirit when we believe, but very often God does not yet have all of us. God will patiently, over time, reveal areas of the new believer’s life that remain uncommitted to him. As we continually say “yes” to him and as we walk in faithful obedience to God, we are positioned to release the power of God’s spirit in and through our lives. This could be manifest through some sign gift or a miracle pointing others to Christ, but this is the exception not the norm. Miracles are not normative, in Scripture or in our lives today. Normally, God works through his normal means. Normal means doesn’t mean void of God’s spirit. The “normal Christian” life is to be a life lived in the fullness of the Holy Spirit. What does this mean? It means that fruit of the Spirit is evident by our growth in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. It means hope and an understanding of life purpose is growing in us. It means we will be verbally witnessing to the truth of the gospel. It means we will continually mess up, fess up, and move on as we see our sin and respond to the Spirit’s prompting. It means we will see where God is at work around us and join him there. Christian, you have all of the Holy Spirit; make sure that he has all of you today.
Pray:
Praise God for…
Thank God for…
Confess your sins to God
Pray for students as they prepare to return home for Thanksgiving break. Ask God to strengthen them in their faith and lead them to remain steadfast in the ways they have grown this semester.
Ask God for… (what else concerns you?)
Reflect:
Write down one passage of scripture that stood out to you today.
Write down why this passage stood out to you.
Engage Community:
Text or call someone now and tell them…
– What you are praying for.
– What stood out from God’s word today.