Here are the notes and words for the fill-in-the-blanks in our “Help Is Here” women’s Bible study with Max Lucado (via DVDs). You are welcome to join us any time for this study @ 7:00-9:00pm on Thursday evenings!
Acts 19:1-2 (TLB) – “Paul traveled through Turkey and arrived in Ephesus, where he found several disciples. ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’ he asked them. ‘No,’ they replied, ‘we don’t know what you mean. What is the Holy Spirit?’“
John 14:15-17 (NIV) – “If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 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.“
1. Followers of Christ have been given access to the Holy Spirit. Just like a big brother, he chooses each day to be our powerful ally.
2. The Holy Spirit is the executor of God’s will, come to infuse us with strength. He equips us not to just get by but to actually infuse, shine forth, and live the abundant life that Jesus spoke about so often.
3. Challenges come with life, but they need not define your life. Help is here. And he comes with the promise of power.
4. The power of the Holy Spirit does not only apply to us as individuals. Yes, the Spirit is always there to fill us when we approach him. But sometimes he pours out his power over entire communities.
5. You can be a part of this great outflowing of power. A contributor to this raging flood. For you have something to offer to others who are thirsty.
6. When the Living Water of our Lord and Savior pours into our hearts, the Holy Spirit flows out of us and electrifies the dead places of the world. This is how revival happens.
Homework: p. 11-20 [optional: read chapters 3 & 7 of the full book (not workbook) “Help Is Here“]
Ezekiel 36:26-27 (TLB) – “I will give you a new heart—I will give you new and right desires—and put a new spirit within you. I will take out your stony hearts of sin and give you new hearts of love. And I will put my Spirit within you so that you will obey my laws and do whatever I command.“
John 3:5-8 (NIV) – “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.“
1. We dare not think for a minute that we have the power in and of ourselves to be the people God calls us to be. But we must also not think for a minute that he will not equip us for the task.
2. Nicodemus was obsessed with what a person can and cannot do. He was all about human effort, human gumption, human achievement. In his view, the gate to heaven was opened with elbow grease.
3. Where rowboat Christianity fails, powerboat Christianity thrives. Instead of relying on our own efforts, we rely on God. The Holy Spirit is the spark in our engine that drives us forward and equips us to do all the things that God wants us to do.
4. The difference between rowing your own boat and trusting in the Spirit is not ease, but effectiveness.
5. The Bible is the primary communication tool of the Holy Spirit. God will speak to you through its pages. His will is found in his Word.
6. God didn’t put you here on this earth to go it alone. You’re part of a community called the Church. Your captain is none other than your heavenly Father. So learn to hear his voice.
Homework: p. 31-40 [optional: read chapters 5 & 6 of the full book (not workbook) “Help Is Here“]
John 14:27 (TLB) – “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart! And the peace I give isn’t fragile like the peace the world gives. So don’t be troubled or afraid.“
Matthew 3:13-17 (NIV) – “Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?‘ Jesus replied, ‘Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’“
1. The Holy Spirit is the calming presence of God in the world today. He will help us defy the voices of fear and come into his presence of peace.
2. The inaugural activity of the Holy Spirit was to hover over a frenzied world. When we turn to the New Testament, we find this same image.
3. There are times in which our spirits are troubled and anxious. We long for the tranquil assurance of a loving mother. For this, we turn to the Holy Spirit.
4. Sealing is the act that says, ‘This is mine, and this is protected.’ The Holy Spirit’s work is in sealing not only your present salvation, but also your future blessing.
5. Your salvation, and your eternal inheritance, are guaranteed by God’s Spirit. You will never lose them. You will never be separated from God. You can take that truth to the bank.
6. Even in a world defined by chaos, we are undeniably God’s own children. We can persevere through the storms that rage not only around us, but also inside us.
Homework: p. 51-59 [optional: read chapters 4 & 9 of the full book (not workbook) “Help Is Here“]
Job 16:19 (TLB) – “Yet even now the witness to my innocence is there in heaven; my advocate is there on high.“
Romans 8:22-27 (NIV) – “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. 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 through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.“
1. The Bible tells us the raw appeals of our hearts find their way into the presence of God. How can we be sure? Because they are entrusted into the care of the Holy Spirit.
2. Each of us has a way that we would like to pray when we are in need. We want to pour out clear, eloquent, and passionate petitions before the throne of God. We desire to pray with power and confidence, shaking the rooftops and forcing the enemy to flee.
3. The power the Holy Spirit provides enables us to do amazing things for God. Yet of equal importance is this gentle aspect of the Holy Spirit’s nature. He curates our incoherent prayers borne of grief into the tribunal of heaven.
4. Throughout the Bible, we find accounts of the Lord reassuring his people that he loved them, was with them, and was working on their behalf. At times, the presence of God’s Spirit was symbolized through an act known as anointing.
5. The moment you became a child of God, his grace covered you. His sovereignty stretched over you. The pathway to heaven was laid out before you. And the heart-healing oil of the Holy Spirit was poured over your life.
6. When you pray, preach, prophesy, or live out your faith, you are empowered by the Holy Spirit’s presence. So lean into him. You may grow weary, but the Spirit never does.
Homework: p. 73-83 [optional: read chapters 8, 12, & 13 of the full book (not workbook) “Help Is Here“]
2 Corinthians 3:6 (NCV) – “The written law brings death, but the Spirit gives life.“
Matthew 3:11-12 (NIV) – “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.“
1. The Holy Spirit is the ultimate gift from God. A gift he gave to empower you, guide you, bring you peace, intercede and advocate for you. But the Holy Spirit is also the ultimate gift-giver.
2. A soul baptized in the Spirit is a soul that is ablaze. Just like fire, the Holy Spirit will not be quenched as long as we provide fuel for him to do his work.
3. The book of Acts reveals the Holy Spirit to be the ultimate gift-giver. He garnished the believers with supernatural abilities that glorified God, blessed the needy, and edified the Church.
4. When you look at Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 12:8-11, you find the gifts fit into categories:
Category 1: Discerning Gifts
- A word of wisdom is a message rightly suited for the occasion.
- A word of knowledge is a gift of information that a person has no way of knowing apart from the Holy Spirit.
- Discerning of spirits is an ability to identify and fight against evil spirits.
Category 2: Dynamic Gifts
- To have the gift of faith is to enjoy a sense of supernatural, contagious confidence.
- Gifts of healing include the choice of the Holy Spirit to render restoration through the prayers of a saint.
- Working of miracles happens when God chooses to alter a person’s circumstances.
Category 3: Declarative Gifts
- To prophesy is to build up and encourage.
- Speaking in tongues and the interpretation of tongues are as magnificent as they are controversial. The gift of tongues was actually on display on the Day of Pentecost.
5. When Paul used the phrase, “gifts of the Spirit,” he almost always used the Greek term charisma or charismata. A charisma is a gift in the purest sense of the word.
6. Jesus gave his Spirit as he had given himself on the cross. As a gift, pure and undeserved.
Homework: practice what we’ve learned!