Signs of the Spirit - Week 1

The Spirit Experience of Jesus

Focus: Jesus announced the ultimate good news that God’s Kingdom was coming near to dwell with humanity; and this good news once heard would change everything, for all time, for all people. In Jesus would come a new covenant of life, favour, and freedom founded on His resurrection; empowered not by human strength but by His Spirit. For “...I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you…” (Ezekiel 36:26).

Study by: Ivan Cooper
Sermons can be viewed on the Hope Valley Church YouTube Channel

Praise, Thanks, and Reflection

Invite people to share from one or more of the questions below. It can be done as a whole group or in subgroups. It can also involve a worship song.

What are you thankful for?
Where have you seen God at work?
How has God used you?
How have you gone living out God’s Word since our last gathering?
Where have you struggled to follow the way of Jesus?
Where and with whom have you witnessed to the love and good news of Jesus?

Care and Prayer

In prayer, capture the things you have shared above after also inviting people to share any personal needs for prayer or support.

2. Opening God’s Word

Setting the Scene

After the miracle of Jesus’ baptism, in which we see a divine glimpse of the Father, Son, and Spirit united (trinity), we reach a shocking surprise. Jesus was led into the wilderness and severe testing, not by evil, but by the Spirit. Despite the incredible, unrivaled spiritual moment of His baptism, a deep wilderness valley was approaching our saviour. This can challenge us to rethink our perspective within hardships, trials, and difficulties; grappling with the truth that God can work everything, at all times, for good (Romans 8:28).

This passage follows through the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness fasting during this period of testing and reaches a new climax as He announces the beginning of his earthly ministry and mission. This statement, quoted from Isaiah, was a reference to the year of Jubilee. In ancient Israel, every 50 years the people would celebrate the year of ‘jubilee’ or ‘the Lord’s favour’; when slaves were freed, debts canceled, and property was returned. When Jesus began his ministry, He referenced this and announced the ultimate new hope or time of favour had come as God’s Kingdom was now breaking in (Luke 4:18-19). Everything that was once only hoped for at a distance was now becoming reality, as God had arrived in person. Jesus was proclaiming the message of salvation, freeing people from sin and its consequences. He had come, the messiah, at long last, to redeem humanity.

Read: Luke 3:21-22, 4:1-19
Take turns reading these verses together.

What first caught your interest or stuck out to you as you read these verses? Alternatively, what questions do you still want answered?
In Luke 3:22 it reads: ‘...And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”’
Describe the time when you were welcomed into the Christian family as a dearly loved child of God. How did your story begin?
In Luke 4:1-2 it describes Jesus being led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness, in which He would face temptation, hardship, and trial. When have you faced times of trial, difficulty, and hardship in your life as you have sought to follow the whisper of the Holy Spirit? How did you see and experience God’s sustaining power and strength? What encouragements could you share?
In Luke 4:3 and 4:9 we read the same beginning phrase, “If you are the Son of God…” This was a direct challenge to what God the Father had already spoken at Jesus’ baptism. This phrase was even recorded in Matthew 27:40 as people passed by demanding if Jesus was the Son of God He should prove it by coming down from the cross.
During the fog of difficulties, trials, and hardships, it can be easy to doubt God’s Word and truth within. How did Jesus respond during these times? What encouragements can we take from this passage?
Read Luke 4:18-19 in the Phillips translation:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”

This was how Jesus proclaimed the beginning of His earthly ministry and mission. How would you write your personal mission statement as a follower of Jesus?
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me to…”?

3. Living out the Heart of God

How and where can we reach out to bless others as followers in this mission of Jesus?
In what situations could we pray for the transforming power of the Holy Spirit to come?

Prayer for each other

Break into 2s or 3s to pray.
Pray for your 5 (from your Relational Map – See ‘The Heart of God’ Study – Week 1).
Pray that we would be continually filled by the power of the Holy Spirit to grow ever more into the image of Christ so as to shine His love to the world around us.

Contacts

If you would like more information or further help, please contact:
scott.button@hopevalleychurch.com.au