The Spirit Changes Everything

The Spirit Changes Everything

Ephesians 5:15-20

Take-Home Truth: The power of the Holy Spirit is unleashed in our lives when we speak about Christ, sing unto Christ, and celebrate the person of Christ with other believers.

Christ-Connection: Christ, in his kindness, has sought you out and given you the Spirit’s power to live in light of the glory of God.

Reflect: (Go deeper in the Word and in our world)

1. Richard used the illustration of the water pipe to show that believers can do 3 things with the Holy Spirit:

• • Be filled with the Spirit (bucket always full even when being poured out)
  • Quench the Spirit (bucket is not under the pipe)
  • Grieve the Spirit (jamming the pipe, stopping the flow of the Spirit)

What specific ways are you quenching and/or grieving the Spirit’s power in your life?

1. We increase the capacity of the Spirit’s power in our lives when we talk about Jesus and sing about Jesus with others. Do you truly desire to be more filled with the Spirit? In our individualistic culture it is easy to brush aside the importance of speaking and singing with other believers. How can you be intentional in your marriage, family, college, workplace, etc. to speak of the magnificence of Christ? Will you ask the Spirit this week to embolden you to speak and sing?
2. Being filled with the Spirit has nothing to do with how you feel. It has to do with the power that comes out of your life. God is gracious to give us this truth. Satan uses our feelings to distract us and weaken us. In light of Ephesians 5:15-20, how can you wage war against your feelings this week?

Respond: (Live out God’s truth with new affections, mindset, and actions)

1. Weakness is power. How are your weaknesses driving you to depend more on the power of prayer in your day to day life? What areas do you need to grow in accepting and acknowledging your weaknesses? (King Jehoash/Elijah/Elisha example in 2 Kings 13)
2. When we don’t come to church and sing we are saying that my individual life is more important than the believer’s next to me. How are you intentionally speaking and singing of Christ to elevate other’s lives above your own?
3. Do you live in an atmosphere of gratitude? List the ways God has shown you his unwavering love and kindness. Is it hard to be grateful in deep tragedy? How does the truth of Christ’s entering into “this story” (of earth) help your gratitude?

Resolve: What is the one thing you are committing to do this week?

Praise the Lord that we don’t have to do this in our own strength. He has given us the power of His Spirit which is the same power of Elisha and the same power of the resurrection!