Read Acts 3:1-16. Miracles are not contrary to nature, but only contrary to what we know about nature. 7

Transcription

1 BE EMPOWERED By The Spirit, Part III SECTION 1: A Story of Being Empowered Read Acts 3:1-16 LESSON 7 About three o clock in the afternoon, Peter and John were going to the temple for the prayer service that accompanied the offering of the second sacrifice of the day. They continued to follow Jewish tradition in order to preach Christ to fellow Jews. As they came to what was called the Beautiful Gate, they happened on a beggar, a man lame from birth asking for money. This man, over forty years of age, had never known anything other than depending on the charitable kindnesses of others. When he asked Peter and John for alms, they looked directly at him. Peter, led and empowered by the Holy Spirit, commanded him to look at them. When he did, Peter informed him that while they were without the financial means to meet his request, they had something for him something that would change his life dramatically. Peter received a gift of faith from the Holy Spirit regarding God's will for this man and said, In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. When Peter took him by the hand and lifted his withered body up, the power of God surged through his whole being producing a creative miracle as he was completely and supernaturally healed. The man s response to this awesome event was to walk and leap and shout praises to God. Fellow worshipers, who knew this man very well, were filled with awe. Through this amazing sign and wonder, the door was opened for Peter to preach that it was faith from the Holy Spirit in the authority of Jesus' name that gave this lame man the healing and miracle they had witnessed. Five thousand people believed the message of the gospel that very day. Belief in miracles, far from depending on an ignorance of the laws of nature, is only possible in so far as those laws are known. We have already seen that if you begin ruling out the supernatural you will perceive no miracles. We must now add that you will equally perceive no miracles until you believe that nature works according to regular laws. If you have not yet noticed that the sun always rises in the East you will see nothing miraculous about his rising one morning in the West. 6 "One of the major functions of miracles and supernatural living is to offer immediate, irrefutable proof of what God wants to happen on earth. It demonstrates who God is by showing what His reality looks like". Miracles are not contrary to nature, but only contrary to what we know about nature. 7 We must remember that the Book of Acts is not simply the story of committed followers of Christ who lived long ago. The Book of Acts is our story as well. The Jesus that, by the Holy Spirit, granted gifts of faith to produce gifts of healings and miracles then, is the same Jesus who desires to move powerfully in and through us. Let s make ourselves available to be channels of his love and resurrection power to the lost and the lame in our world. 1 6 The Supernatural Power of a Transformed Mind, Bill Johnson, Destiny Image, Shippensburg, p. 34, Augustine, Philosopher and Theologian, A.D.

2 SECTION 6: Go Further Here are some additional readings for you as you are empowered by the Spirit: God has made provision that physical healing would be a ministry of His Church, and that gifts of healings would operate along with faith. Healing is so common in the ministry of Jesus and in that of the Apostles, that a church without gifts of cures would seem far removed from the Bible pattern. In addition to gifts of healings, all elders (pastors) are to be ready to anoint with oil all the sick who call for them, and to pray over them the prayer of faith; God has promised to raise up the sick and to forgive their sins (James 5:14-16). 3 What is a miracle? An event or action that apparently contradicts known scientific laws and is hence thought to be due to supernatural causes, especially to an act of God. 4 I believe that one of the biggest reasons that the body of Christ hasn't made a greater impact on our generation today is because of our failure to operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Without a doubt, Jesus and the first apostles used the gifts like a bell, calling men to their message and confirming that God was truly the One speaking through them. 5 3 Foundations of Pentecostal Theology, Guy P. Duffield/ N. M. Van Cleave, Webster s New World Dictionary of the American Language, How to Flow in the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Andrew Womack, 2011 The Definition What does it mean to be empowered by the Spirit? Read John 5:1-9 The gifts found in 1 Corinthians 12 are tools available to you through the power of the Holy Spirit. They impact your life and are used to transform the lives of others. They are gifts of grace given to you and as you are expectant and hungry for them the Holy Spirit gives them to you as He wills. The gifts of the Holy Spirit found in 1 Corinthians 12 can be categorized as the vocal gifts, the revelation gifts and the power gifts. In this lesson, you will learn about the power gifts: the gift of faith, gifts of healings and working of miracles. The gift of faith is a supernatural confidence and trust that God is going to act in a powerful or miraculous way. Often, as God is getting ready to move in a powerful way through you, a gift of faith arises in you to infuse you with confidence that what God is wanting to do will indeed happen. Trust the Spirit if He is imparting faith to you that you are about to be a part of something miraculous! Gifts of healings release God s power causing people to be restored to health physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. You see examples of this in the Bible on a couple of occasions when a person with leprosy was healed by Jesus or one of His followers. Not only was that person physically healed, but they were no longer an outcast. They could return to their loved ones and could rejoin society. They no longer had the death sentence of leprosy hanging over them. The healing was holistic. This is how the Spirit works in healing people He touches their hearts, minds and spirits, not just their physical bodies. Working of miracles are events in which people or circumstances are affected and changed in supernatural ways by God s power working through believers. These not only include gifts of healings, but they are also when God supernaturally meets any other need through immediate provision and power. It is important to remember that the working of miracles is appropriate and available for any need or circumstance, be it emotional, financial, physical, etc. As with the other gifts of the Spirit, these three gifts often go hand-inhand working together to radically restore people s lives spiritually, physically, mentally and emotionally. 2

3 Why do I need to be empowered by the Spirit? Read Mark 16:15-18 and Romans 15:17-19 Our Lord Jesus walked in the power of the Spirit and in the fullness of the gifts of the Spirit. He calls you to do the same. As He prepares to ascend to the right hand of the Father, He reminds His disciples of two things: 1) the Promise of the Father, the Holy Spirit, will come, and 2) He will clothe you with power. 1 He says to you that as you who have believed preach the gospel, you will see people healed and set free. The gift of faith, gifts of healings, and working of miracles are signs and wonders. Signs are meant to point us to God. They show you and others that He is at work, verifying the truth that you are speaking in faith. Wonders are the supernatural works of God. Every time the disciples stepped out in faith, signs and wonders happened, but they were all done by the power of the Spirit of God, and they all pointed to God. When you operate by faith in these gifts, signs and wonders should follow and point the way to God. People s lives will be touched by the power of God, and as a result, they will freely give their lives to the Lord. The Word of God shows this time and time again. If you are to impact those in your sphere of influence for God, you need to walk in the power of God given to you through His Spirit. You can see lives transformed, people set free and people radically healed from the oppression of the devil and his power. How can I be empowered by the Spirit? Read Luke 4:18-19, Acts 4:23-31 and Acts 19:11-12 SECTION 5: The Marks of Maturing As a discipleship small group, ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with His gifts of power. Stir up your hunger and expectancy to be used by the Holy Spirit to move in His power for His glory. In prayer, place your confidence in trusting and believing in the Lord to use you to impact others. If there is anyone in the group that specifically needs a gift of faith, gifts of healings, or a gift of miracles, boldly pray for one another, knowing that He will hear your prayers. These are the Marks of Maturing as someone who is empowered by the Spirit. How well do they describe you? Use the journal pages provided to write your response. A disciple is someone who regularly uses the tools given to them by the empowerment of the Spirit through the power gifts of faith, healings and working of miracles. A disciple is someone who lives as Jesus lived, walking in the fullness of the power gifts to see lives transformed, people set free and people radically healed from the oppression of the devil and his power. A disciple is someone who walks in the power of the Spirit, hearing Him, obeying Him and expecting Him to use them to impact people around them. You can be empowered with the gifts of faith, healings and miracles by the power of the Spirit. Notice what Jesus says in Luke 4 as He reads from the book of Isaiah. 2 What He is to accomplish by the power of the Spirit is to preach the gospel to the poor, heal the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, set at liberty those who are oppressed and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. He was empowered by the Spirit with the gifts of the working of miracles and healings. 1 Luke 24: Isaiah 61:

4 SECTION 3: The Memorizing of Scripture Follow these guidelines as you commit 1 Corinthians 2:4-5 to memory. 1. Set aside the time you need each day to memorize scripture. 2. Pray and ask the Lord to help you commit scripture to memory. 3. In addition to the help you ll receive from the Holy Spirit, the key to memorization is repetition, repetition, repetition! 4. After locating the scripture in your Bible, read out loud through the chapter and, if helpful, the book where the scripture is found so that you understand the context of the scripture. 5. Speak the scripture aloud several times, saying the scripture reference before and after. 6. You may find it helpful to break up the scripture into smaller portions, repeating those portions by themselves, and then putting them together. Or you might utilize the help of 3x5 note cards or sticky notes to write out the scriptures so that you can keep them before you each day. 7. Once you have memorized a scripture, dedicate yourself to living what the scripture says, as well as sharing the scripture with those in your sphere of influence. SECTION 4: The Discussion Use the journal pages provided to write your response to each of these questions in preparation for a group discussion. In what ways have you been impacted and transformed by the gift of faith, gifts of healings, or gift of miracles? Share a time when you have been a recipient of one of these power gifts. Would you consider yourself to be hungry and expectant for these gifts of power from the Holy Spirit? Why or why not? Share an example of a time when the Holy Spirit gave a gift of faith, gifts of healings, or a gift of miracles to you to share with someone else. Describe how this sign helped point others to God. How did this power gift help you to impact your sphere of influence for Christ? 9 The same Spirit works in you today. Your part is to choose to have confidence by trusting and believing that the Lord desires to use you in the same way. He desires to give you these gifts as tools to help bring people into freedom and healing. As a believer in Christ, you already have faith. The gift of faith will empower you to go further and to see His power manifest itself on the earth. Believe that the gift of faith is for you, ask for a gift of faith when you need it, and watch the Holy Spirit impart great faith to you. As you believe and obey what the Spirit is revealing to you, you will be able to use the gifts of healings and working of miracles. The Spirit worked differently through Jesus and the disciples because they were dependent on and obedient to the Holy Spirit with each circumstance they faced. Power was released because they obeyed the leading of the Spirit. Likewise, you can walk in the power of the Spirit as you hear Him, obey Him and expect Him to use you to impact people around you. Take 10 minutes and examine your heart. Using the journal pages provided, answer these questions: Do you believe that the gifts described in this lesson are active in these days? Is it easy for you to choose to confidently trust that God will use you in the same way He used Jesus and the disciples? Why or why not? Consider your life as a disciple of Christ. Have you seen the signs and wonders of God happen every time you ve stepped out in faith? Does a gift of faith, gifts of healings and the working of miracles regularly mark your encounters with people? Describe a time where this was the case. Each day, ask God to break down any barriers blocking your belief in and use of the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit through the gift of faith, gifts of healings and the working of miracles. Contend for breakthrough and freedom in your life and the lives of those in your sphere of influence. 4

5 SECTION 2: Inductive Bible Study Worksheet The Study This inductive Bible study will help you respond in obedience to the truth of God s word. Use the Inductive Bible Study Guidelines for Examine, Express and Exercise at the beginning of your handbook and the worksheets provided on the next pages to help you. As you look at each passage of scripture below, examine what it says, express what it means, and consider how you will exercise it in your life. Read Hebrews 2:1-4, write it down using the journal pages provided, and specifically follow the instructions at the beginning of your handbook entitled Inductive Bible Study Guidelines: EXAMINE. Now read these scriptures aloud and declare your commitment to their truth in your life. Use the worksheets provided to rewrite these scriptures in your own words. Write down 2-3 action steps that you will take based on the truth of Hebrews 2:1-4 using the journal pages provided. 5 8

6 Inductive Bible Study Worksheet Inductive Bible Study Worksheet 7 6

7 Inductive Bible Study Worksheet Inductive Bible Study Worksheet 7 6

8 SECTION 2: Inductive Bible Study Worksheet The Study This inductive Bible study will help you respond in obedience to the truth of God s word. Use the Inductive Bible Study Guidelines for Examine, Express and Exercise at the beginning of your handbook and the worksheets provided on the next pages to help you. As you look at each passage of scripture below, examine what it says, express what it means, and consider how you will exercise it in your life. Read Hebrews 2:1-4, write it down using the journal pages provided, and specifically follow the instructions at the beginning of your handbook entitled Inductive Bible Study Guidelines: EXAMINE. Now read these scriptures aloud and declare your commitment to their truth in your life. Use the worksheets provided to rewrite these scriptures in your own words. Write down 2-3 action steps that you will take based on the truth of Hebrews 2:1-4 using the journal pages provided. 5 8

9 SECTION 3: The Memorizing of Scripture Follow these guidelines as you commit 1 Corinthians 2:4-5 to memory. 1. Set aside the time you need each day to memorize scripture. 2. Pray and ask the Lord to help you commit scripture to memory. 3. In addition to the help you ll receive from the Holy Spirit, the key to memorization is repetition, repetition, repetition! 4. After locating the scripture in your Bible, read out loud through the chapter and, if helpful, the book where the scripture is found so that you understand the context of the scripture. 5. Speak the scripture aloud several times, saying the scripture reference before and after. 6. You may find it helpful to break up the scripture into smaller portions, repeating those portions by themselves, and then putting them together. Or you might utilize the help of 3x5 note cards or sticky notes to write out the scriptures so that you can keep them before you each day. 7. Once you have memorized a scripture, dedicate yourself to living what the scripture says, as well as sharing the scripture with those in your sphere of influence. SECTION 4: The Discussion Use the journal pages provided to write your response to each of these questions in preparation for a group discussion. In what ways have you been impacted and transformed by the gift of faith, gifts of healings, or gift of miracles? Share a time when you have been a recipient of one of these power gifts. Would you consider yourself to be hungry and expectant for these gifts of power from the Holy Spirit? Why or why not? Share an example of a time when the Holy Spirit gave a gift of faith, gifts of healings, or a gift of miracles to you to share with someone else. Describe how this sign helped point others to God. How did this power gift help you to impact your sphere of influence for Christ? 9 The same Spirit works in you today. Your part is to choose to have confidence by trusting and believing that the Lord desires to use you in the same way. He desires to give you these gifts as tools to help bring people into freedom and healing. As a believer in Christ, you already have faith. The gift of faith will empower you to go further and to see His power manifest itself on the earth. Believe that the gift of faith is for you, ask for a gift of faith when you need it, and watch the Holy Spirit impart great faith to you. As you believe and obey what the Spirit is revealing to you, you will be able to use the gifts of healings and working of miracles. The Spirit worked differently through Jesus and the disciples because they were dependent on and obedient to the Holy Spirit with each circumstance they faced. Power was released because they obeyed the leading of the Spirit. Likewise, you can walk in the power of the Spirit as you hear Him, obey Him and expect Him to use you to impact people around you. Take 10 minutes and examine your heart. Using the journal pages provided, answer these questions: Do you believe that the gifts described in this lesson are active in these days? Is it easy for you to choose to confidently trust that God will use you in the same way He used Jesus and the disciples? Why or why not? Consider your life as a disciple of Christ. Have you seen the signs and wonders of God happen every time you ve stepped out in faith? Does a gift of faith, gifts of healings and the working of miracles regularly mark your encounters with people? Describe a time where this was the case. Each day, ask God to break down any barriers blocking your belief in and use of the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit through the gift of faith, gifts of healings and the working of miracles. Contend for breakthrough and freedom in your life and the lives of those in your sphere of influence. 4

10 Why do I need to be empowered by the Spirit? Read Mark 16:15-18 and Romans 15:17-19 Our Lord Jesus walked in the power of the Spirit and in the fullness of the gifts of the Spirit. He calls you to do the same. As He prepares to ascend to the right hand of the Father, He reminds His disciples of two things: 1) the Promise of the Father, the Holy Spirit, will come, and 2) He will clothe you with power. 1 He says to you that as you who have believed preach the gospel, you will see people healed and set free. The gift of faith, gifts of healings, and working of miracles are signs and wonders. Signs are meant to point us to God. They show you and others that He is at work, verifying the truth that you are speaking in faith. Wonders are the supernatural works of God. Every time the disciples stepped out in faith, signs and wonders happened, but they were all done by the power of the Spirit of God, and they all pointed to God. When you operate by faith in these gifts, signs and wonders should follow and point the way to God. People s lives will be touched by the power of God, and as a result, they will freely give their lives to the Lord. The Word of God shows this time and time again. If you are to impact those in your sphere of influence for God, you need to walk in the power of God given to you through His Spirit. You can see lives transformed, people set free and people radically healed from the oppression of the devil and his power. How can I be empowered by the Spirit? Read Luke 4:18-19, Acts 4:23-31 and Acts 19:11-12 You can be empowered with the gifts of faith, healings and miracles by the power of the Spirit. Notice what Jesus says in Luke 4 as He reads from the book of Isaiah. 2 What He is to accomplish by the power of the Spirit is to preach the gospel to the poor, heal the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, set at liberty those who are oppressed and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. He was empowered by the Spirit with the gifts of the working of miracles and healings. SECTION 5: The Marks of Maturing As a discipleship small group, ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with His gifts of power. Stir up your hunger and expectancy to be used by the Holy Spirit to move in His power for His glory. In prayer, place your confidence in trusting and believing in the Lord to use you to impact others. If there is anyone in the group that specifically needs a gift of faith, gifts of healings, or a gift of miracles, boldly pray for one another, knowing that He will hear your prayers. These are the Marks of Maturing as someone who is empowered by the Spirit. How well do they describe you? Use the journal pages provided to write your response. A disciple is someone who regularly uses the tools given to them by the empowerment of the Spirit through the power gifts of faith, healings and working of miracles. A disciple is someone who lives as Jesus lived, walking in the fullness of the power gifts to see lives transformed, people set free and people radically healed from the oppression of the devil and his power. A disciple is someone who walks in the power of the Spirit, hearing Him, obeying Him and expecting Him to use them to impact people around them. 1 Luke 24: Isaiah 61:

11 SECTION 6: Go Further Here are some additional readings for you as you are empowered by the Spirit: God has made provision that physical healing would be a ministry of His Church, and that gifts of healings would operate along with faith. Healing is so common in the ministry of Jesus and in that of the Apostles, that a church without gifts of cures would seem far removed from the Bible pattern. In addition to gifts of healings, all elders (pastors) are to be ready to anoint with oil all the sick who call for them, and to pray over them the prayer of faith; God has promised to raise up the sick and to forgive their sins (James 5:14-16). 3 What is a miracle? An event or action that apparently contradicts known scientific laws and is hence thought to be due to supernatural causes, especially to an act of God. 4 I believe that one of the biggest reasons that the body of Christ hasn't made a greater impact on our generation today is because of our failure to operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Without a doubt, Jesus and the first apostles used the gifts like a bell, calling men to their message and confirming that God was truly the One speaking through them. 5 3 Foundations of Pentecostal Theology, Guy P. Duffield/ N. M. Van Cleave, Webster s New World Dictionary of the American Language, How to Flow in the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Andrew Womack, 2011 The Definition What does it mean to be empowered by the Spirit? Read John 5:1-9 The gifts found in 1 Corinthians 12 are tools available to you through the power of the Holy Spirit. They impact your life and are used to transform the lives of others. They are gifts of grace given to you and as you are expectant and hungry for them the Holy Spirit gives them to you as He wills. The gifts of the Holy Spirit found in 1 Corinthians 12 can be categorized as the vocal gifts, the revelation gifts and the power gifts. In this lesson, you will learn about the power gifts: the gift of faith, gifts of healings and working of miracles. The gift of faith is a supernatural confidence and trust that God is going to act in a powerful or miraculous way. Often, as God is getting ready to move in a powerful way through you, a gift of faith arises in you to infuse you with confidence that what God is wanting to do will indeed happen. Trust the Spirit if He is imparting faith to you that you are about to be a part of something miraculous! Gifts of healings release God s power causing people to be restored to health physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. You see examples of this in the Bible on a couple of occasions when a person with leprosy was healed by Jesus or one of His followers. Not only was that person physically healed, but they were no longer an outcast. They could return to their loved ones and could rejoin society. They no longer had the death sentence of leprosy hanging over them. The healing was holistic. This is how the Spirit works in healing people He touches their hearts, minds and spirits, not just their physical bodies. Working of miracles are events in which people or circumstances are affected and changed in supernatural ways by God s power working through believers. These not only include gifts of healings, but they are also when God supernaturally meets any other need through immediate provision and power. It is important to remember that the working of miracles is appropriate and available for any need or circumstance, be it emotional, financial, physical, etc. As with the other gifts of the Spirit, these three gifts often go hand-inhand working together to radically restore people s lives spiritually, physically, mentally and emotionally. 2

12 BE EMPOWERED By The Spirit, Part III SECTION 1: A Story of Being Empowered Read Acts 3:1-16 LESSON 7 About three o clock in the afternoon, Peter and John were going to the temple for the prayer service that accompanied the offering of the second sacrifice of the day. They continued to follow Jewish tradition in order to preach Christ to fellow Jews. As they came to what was called the Beautiful Gate, they happened on a beggar, a man lame from birth asking for money. This man, over forty years of age, had never known anything other than depending on the charitable kindnesses of others. When he asked Peter and John for alms, they looked directly at him. Peter, led and empowered by the Holy Spirit, commanded him to look at them. When he did, Peter informed him that while they were without the financial means to meet his request, they had something for him something that would change his life dramatically. Peter received a gift of faith from the Holy Spirit regarding God's will for this man and said, In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. When Peter took him by the hand and lifted his withered body up, the power of God surged through his whole being producing a creative miracle as he was completely and supernaturally healed. The man s response to this awesome event was to walk and leap and shout praises to God. Fellow worshipers, who knew this man very well, were filled with awe. Through this amazing sign and wonder, the door was opened for Peter to preach that it was faith from the Holy Spirit in the authority of Jesus' name that gave this lame man the healing and miracle they had witnessed. Five thousand people believed the message of the gospel that very day. Belief in miracles, far from depending on an ignorance of the laws of nature, is only possible in so far as those laws are known. We have already seen that if you begin ruling out the supernatural you will perceive no miracles. We must now add that you will equally perceive no miracles until you believe that nature works according to regular laws. If you have not yet noticed that the sun always rises in the East you will see nothing miraculous about his rising one morning in the West. 6 "One of the major functions of miracles and supernatural living is to offer immediate, irrefutable proof of what God wants to happen on earth. It demonstrates who God is by showing what His reality looks like". Miracles are not contrary to nature, but only contrary to what we know about nature. 7 We must remember that the Book of Acts is not simply the story of committed followers of Christ who lived long ago. The Book of Acts is our story as well. The Jesus that, by the Holy Spirit, granted gifts of faith to produce gifts of healings and miracles then, is the same Jesus who desires to move powerfully in and through us. Let s make ourselves available to be channels of his love and resurrection power to the lost and the lame in our world. 1 6 The Supernatural Power of a Transformed Mind, Bill Johnson, Destiny Image, Shippensburg, p. 34, Augustine, Philosopher and Theologian, A.D.