Wisdom from the Holy Spirit

Key Verse: John 14-16

People are facing things and challenged with a life reality they don’t understand.  We can search books and go to academy and still now know what to do.   We  don’t know what to think anymore.  We live in an age of confusion.  But, we are the people of God and have the knowledge and wisdom available from God.  

It is very possible for us to be Christians and not be filled with the Holy Spirit.  The reason we see so few standing strong is because there is a power outage, the lack of the Holy Ghost.

Ephesians 5:18 (ESV)

It is a command in scripture that the Church be constantly filled with the Holy Spirt.  Jesus never intended for us to do this alone.  We should always be connected to the power and knowledge of God. 

Q. What evidence do you see that your life is controlled by the Holy Spirit?

John 20:20-22 (ESV)

When we believe in Jesus we do receive the Holy Spirit.  We can have the Holy Spirit like the disciples did, but not be filled with the Holy Spirit for the power we need to live in a world of crazy and confusion as we are now.

Q. What areas lacked change in your life because you had not been filled with the Holy Spirit?

GOD GIVES WISDOM THROUGH THE SPIRIT IN TIMES OF GREAT CHALLENGE  AND CONFLICT TO EVERYDAY PEOPLE.

1. The Holy Spirit gives Wisdom to STAND STRONG in the FACE of ANIMOSITY.

John 15:18 (ESV); John 15:26-16:1 (ESV)

We are not in a popularity game, we are not in the people pleasing game.  We are going to be hated.  People will hate us because they hate God.  The Holy Spirit roots us in the love of God so the hatred of the world does not devastate our faith.

Q. What was a time that you may have you felt defeated in your walk with Christ and why?

There are many examples in the Bible where everyday people stood strong by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Three of them are Joshua, Daniel, and Jospeh.

Deuteronomy 34:9 (ESV)

Joshua who goes from and average ordinary slave to a mighty conquering general by the laying on of hands and receiving the Holy Spirit of God and had the wisdom of God through the Holy Spirit.  

Daniel 5:14 (ESV); 

Daniel lives and leads through three successive pagan regimes because he had the wisdom of God in his life through the Holy Spirit.

Genesis 38:40 (ESV)

Joseph was rejected by his bothers, hated, thrown into a pit, sold into slavery but God had given him wisdom through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Time and time again in the midst of dark places and confusing atmospheres God had his people filled with his Spirit and they knew what to do.  That is the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  There is no better or necessary time in our world’s history than now that we need to know the Holy Spirit can come into everyday ordinary Christians and fill them with wisdom from heaven.

Q.  How has God given you wisdom through the power of the Holy Spirit when you had absolutely no idea what to do? 

2. The Holy Spirit gives Wisdom to DISCERN TRUTH in the AGE of LIES.

The Holy Spirit, is the Spirit of truth.  Many Christians don’t know what to believe anymore.  Tv does not help. We can have a connection to the truth.  Let God be true and every man a liar.  The Holy Spirit guides us, He directs our steps. 

John 15:12 (ESV)

God wants to give us a Spirit of revelation so we can know the truth and not follow everyone else.  We cannot do this on our own.  We need to say: ’yes’ to the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 2:11-12 (ESV)

Only our spirit knows what we are thinking.  The Only One that truly knows what God is thinking is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes in and gives us God’s thoughts!

Q. What might be a revelation you have had from God that the Holy Spirit revealed to you (something you never knew before that you now understand)?

3. The Holy Spirit gives Wisdom to PREPARE our lives for the END of the WORLD.

John 16:13 (ESV) 

Jesus is saying that the Holy Spirit is not just going to fill us with power for now, He is going to fill us with wisdom for then. It has been two thousand years since Jesus rose from the dead and told His disciples this is what is going to happen that the world is going to get confused, the world is going to get dark, and people are going to love themselves, there will be famines, there will be plagues but the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Leader:  at the end of the services all were given the opportunity to be filled with the Holy Spirit.  Ask your group if any of them came forward to tell their story.

For those who did not come forward, give them opportunity during your prayer time to be filled and baptized in the Holy Spirit.