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Sermon Notes
I Believe in the Holy Spirit
John 14:15-27
John 16:4b-15
I. He comes to live in us: the first gift is presence, not power.
- Jesus promises another Helper who will not merely be with us but in us (John 14:16–17).
- The One who moves in is fully God, the Spirit who searches the depths of God (1 Corinthians 2:10–11).
- He is a Person to know, not a force to harness.
- Because He is a person, we can grieve Him and quench Him by neglecting the relationship (Ephesians 4:30; 1 Thessalonians 5:19).
II. Because He lives in us, we are not orphans, and we have peace.
- The first thing He produces is peace, the settled state of a house God has moved into (John 14:27).
- The Spirits' coming is Jesus’ own coming, and it ends our spiritual orphanhood (John 14:18).
- He is the Spirit of adoption, and our cry of "Abba, Father" proves we belong (Romans 8:15–16).
III. Because He lives in us, we can finally obey.
- We hear the commands as pressure and exhaust ourselves trying harder from the outside.
- He does not move in because we obey; we obey because He moved in (John 14:15, 21, 23).
- God puts His Spirit within us and grows obedience from the inside (Ezekiel 36:26–27).
- The result is fruit, not manufactured achievement (Galatians 5:22–25).
IV. Because He lives in us, He now moves out through us.
- The Helper comes only because Jesus goes, so His mission is all grace (John 16:7).
- He convicts the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8–11).
- He guides us into all truth and glorifies Christ, never Himself (John 16:13–15).
- He sends us as witnesses, but only as the overflow of an indwelt life (Acts 1:8).
Reflection/Application Questions
Read John 14:15–27 and John 16:4b–15 together.
- Do you relate to the Holy Spirit as a Person you are getting to know, or as a power you reach for when you need something? What is one piece of evidence from this past week?
- We give time and attention to every relationship we value, yet often give the Spirit none. What would it look like this week to nurture and tend to His presence the way you tend to your most important human relationships? Name one specific practice you will actually do.
- When God feels distant, our first instinct is to assume He is the one who left. In your own life, can you tell the difference between a genuine, unexplained dry season and a distance you created by neglect? Why does being honest about which one it is change how you respond?
- Jesus answers the fear of abandonment with "I will not leave you as orphans." Where are you still living like a spiritual orphan, working to secure a peace that His presence has already made yours?
- The are able to obey His commandments BECAUSE the Holy Spirit lives in us. Where have you been white-knuckling obedience by sheer willpower, and what would change if you trusted the indwelling Spirit to grow it from within instead?
- We are told we will receive power from the Holy Spirit to be His witnesses throughout the world.
- Who is one person the Spirit may be prompting you toward, and how does His presence in you, rather than your own adequacy, change the way you would approach them?
Time of Response
Take a few minutes of silence. Allow your own thoughts to quiet and be still. Where does the Holy Spirit want you to decrease so that Christ could increase in your life? What part of your life, if reduced, would make more room for you to thrive spiritually?
QUESTIONS TO ASK WHILE READING SCRIPTURE
What does this reveal about God?
What does this reveal about you in relation to God?
What do you need to do about it?
The Covenant Prayer from John Wesley's Covenant Service, 1780 (adapted)
I am no longer my own,
but Yours.
Put me to what you will,
rank me with whom you will.
Put me to doing,
put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for You or laid aside for You,
exalted for You or brought low for You.
Let me be full,
let me be empty.
Let me have all things,
let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things
to Your pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
You are mine,
and I am Yours.
So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.
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How Can I Be Intentional When Reading Scripture?
One Method To Use When Reading Scripture:
The S.O.A.P.S. Method
S.cripture: Write down the Bible passage you will be studying.
O.bservations: Examine the text and write down what you notice and see. Start with the obvious and move to the deeper.
A.pplication: Apply God’s Word to your life in a practical way. What is God saying about Himself, about you and about what He is calling you to?
P.rayer: Respond to God’s Word with your own words.
S.hare: Commit to share what God is showing you with someone else.
- Inductive Bible Study:
- Observation (what does the passage say?)
- What is happening in the passage?
- Who is involved in the passage?
- What happened before and after the passage.
- Where are they located and how is that influencing the passage.
- Interpretation (what does it mean?)
- What is the passage saying considering everything I have observed and what I know from the rest of Scripture
- What does the scripture say within context of the entirety of Scripture?
- Application (how does it apply to my life?)
- What does the passage say about God?
- What does the passage say about me and to me?
- What am I being called to DO because of the passage of Scripture?
How do I talk with God?
WAYS TO PRAY
One Way to talk with God is to:
Pause.
Rejoice.
Ask.
Yield.
ANOTHER OPTION
Adoration
Confession
Thanksgiving
Supplication: Requests
