How Ordinary People Become the Leaders God Called Them to Be Ed Riddick, November 3, 2013 Three Essentials 1. Building on the Foundation of God’s Word 2. Living from the center of prayer 3. Living from the center of prayer I. Cliffs Notes on the Holy Spirit seems mysterious to me, but it is clear that… Oswald Chambers said… “The Spirit is the first power we practically experience, but the last power we come to understand.” Two Anchor Verses Matthew 28:19-20 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Father Matthew 28:19 2 Corinthians 13:14 Son Holy Spirit Two Anchor Verses 2 Corinthians 13:14 “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” Why is this important? What was in the beginning before the beginning? - Relationship “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”” (Genesis 1:26, ESV) What was in the beginning before the beginning? - Love “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.” (John 17:24, ESV) What was in the beginning before the beginning? - Intimacy “that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.” (John 17:21–23, ESV) Father is not Son Holy Spirit The Father is GOD is The Son is The Holy Spirit Holy Spirit is God “Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? …Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.”” (Acts 5:3–4, ESV) Definition “The work of the Holy Spirit is to manifest the active presence of God in the world, and especially in the church.” - Dr. Wayne Grudem Every Christian has the Holy Spirit “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” ( John 14:15–17, ESV) Every Christian has the Holy Spirit “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.” 1 Cor. 12:12–13) 1. He creates life Genesis 1:2 “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” (Genesis 1:2, NIV84) Genesis 2:7 “the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” 1. He creates life “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.”” John 3:7–8 2. The HS speaks truth to you and me • “the Spirit of truth” (John 14:16–17; 16:7–15) 1 Cor 2:12 “We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.” 2. The HS speaks truth to you and me Acts 8:29 “The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” Acts 10:19 “While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you.” 3. The HS is the presence of God in your life Acts 9:31 “Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.” 4. The HS enables you to speak for God Luke 21:10-15, “…they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. This will result in your being witnesses to them. But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.” 4. The HS enables you to speak for God Acts 4:8, 19-20 “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people!..But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” 5. • • • • The Spirit directed the ministry of the early church Acts 8:39 Acts 13:2, 4 Acts 16:6-7 Acts 20:28 6. The Spirit directed decision-making • Acts 15:22, 28 • Acts 20:22-23 7. It is the Holy Spirit that brings genuine change in our lives • Phil 2:12-13 “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” At work in my life!