Weekly Stay Focus

Freedom in the Spirit

 

Wherever the Spirit of God goes, freedom follows. If His Spirit dwells in you, you will experience more freedom than you have ever known. You will no longer be inhibited by selfishness and resentment. You will be free to do what you were created to do; live in right relationship with your Creator. Don't struggle to free yourself. You haven't the power or the strength. Invite God's Holy Spirit to come inside your heart and free you in the process. This is good advice to stay focus!

Week # 5 Questions/Answers

 1).     What does it means to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit?

When an individual accepts Christ as personal Savior, the Holy Spirit gives the believer the life of God, eternal life, which is really His very nature (Titus 3:5; 2 Peter 1:4), and the Holy Spirit comes to live within him spiritually. The fact that the believer's body is likened to a temple where the Holy Spirit lives helps us understand what the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is all about.

2).    How do we depend on the Holy Spirit?

The Spirit is the purchase of the Son, bequeathed to us through his death, resurrection, and ascension to God's right hand. He gives the Spirit to give us life and to secure, seal, sanctify, and assure us. It is by the Spirit that we live, walk, worship, pray, serve, and suffer. The Spirit opens eyes, strengthens hearts, enables holiness, and fills us with the fullness of God. We depend on Him by seeking to hear His voice through trust.

3).    What does the Holy Spirit do?

He assures you that you belong to God. He teaches you to call God, "Father" (Romans 8:15-16). He bring things back to your remembrance. He is God's seal of ownership and your guarantee of complete salvation (Ephesians 1:13-14).

He is making you to be more like Jesus Christ.

4).    How can we do what pleases God?

We must obey Him in the fullness, and love Him back. Accept the Holy Spirit and not ignore Him or try to live the Christian life without depending on Him.

5).    What do it means to cooperate with the Holy Spirit?

Cooperating with the Holy Spirit means to depend on Him and His divine resources, and by keeping in step with the Holy Spirit; we must submit to Him.

6).    How does God's Holy Spirit works?

God's Holy Spirit always works in and through His Word.

7).    What does the Word train in 1 Timothy 4:7 means?

It means daily sustained effort. Just as it takes practice to be skilled in a particular sport, so it takes practice to be skilled in living the Christian life through the Holy Spirit.

8).    Who do you turn to for daily guidance on how to live or what decision to make?

The Holy Spirit will guide you into all the truth; He will not speak on His own , but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come, (John 16:13).

9).    What do you think about this statement "are there any conditions placed upon guidance of the Holy Spirit in our lives?"

Yes there are! We must stay yielded to the Holy Spirit, and we must say yes to the Holy Spirit when He prompts us to take a certain action or say a certain word, and then we must obey the Holy spirit and follow through with it.

10).  How do the Holy Spirit speak to us?

The Spirit often speaks to us in the stillness of our hearts with a word of conviction or assurance. I can actually say, this is true !!

11).   How can you know if you are yielded to the Holy Spirit?

You are yielded to Him when you can say to Him, "Here is what I desire. But if Your answer to this is 'no,' it's all right. I'll do what You say."

12).  What did the Holy Spirit come to do for us?

The Holy Spirit has come to reveal the truth to us, and He has come in His all-knowing ability to impart to us what we need to know in order to live obedient and faithful lives.

I MISSED FRIDAY

Day 6        Good FRIDAY:

 

The Bible does not instruct Christians to remember Christ's death by honoring a certain day. The Bible does give us freedom in these matters, however. Romans 14:5 tells us, "One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind." Rather than remembering Christ's death on a certain day, once a year, the Bible instructs us to remember Christ's death by observing the Lord's Supper. First Corinthians 11:24-26 declares, "...do this in remembrance of me...for whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes."

Why is Good Friday referred to as "good"? What the Jewish authorities and Romans did to Jesus was definitely not good (see Matthew chapters 26-27). However, the results of Christ's death are very good! Romans 5:8, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." First Peter 3:18 tells us, "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit."

Many Christian churches celebrate Good Friday with a subdued service, usually in the evening, in which Christ's death is remembered with solemn hymns, prayers of thanksgiving, a message centered on Christ's suffering for our sakes, and observance of the Lord's Supper. Whether or not Christians choose to "celebrate" Good Friday, the events of that day should be ever on our minds because the death of Christ on the cross—along with His bodily resurrection—is the paramount event of the Christian faith.

Day 7

 Covered by the Blood

 

…They shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses…. —Exodus 12:7

God instructed His people to apply the blood of the lamb to the side posts and upper doorposts of their houses. Thus, they would make a type of the Cross and be covered by the blood of the Passover lamb that had been slain for their deliverance. God was giving His people a portrait of redemption, pointing ahead to the time when Jesus would come and shed His blood at Calvary. God told them, "The blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt" (Ex. 12:13). That night, death struck the firstborn of every household in Egypt where the blood was not applied. Where the blood was applied, death passed over. Judgment didn't fall on those residing within; instead, they went free. In the same way, when Jesus' blood is applied to us as we make Him our Lord and Savior, final judgment passes over us, and we step into eternal glory. We know from Hebrews 9:22 that without the shedding of blood, there's no remission of sins. The blood of the lamb was the sacrifice that allowed the Israelites to walk out of Egypt's bondage. And it's the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, that enables us to walk free of every demonic bondage—including the bondage of sickness and disease.

Confession: I've applied the blood of the Lamb of God to my life. Therefore, I'm free from every yoke of bondage, including sickness.

Bible Study: “The Seven Habits of a godly life.” Week # 5

(By Dr. Charles Stanley)

Prayer:

Father God, in Jesus' name, we come to You with thanksgiving in our hearts today. The joy of the Lord is our strength. We desire to live a godly life unto You, and in the presence of others. Glory be to God! Hallelujah to Jesus! We praise Your holy Name. This week is a blessed week because of what our Lord did for us. Thank You for forgiving us. Thank You for Your mercy and grace on our lives. Thank You God, You answer our prayers according to Your perfect will. Help us to know that You know exactly what we need, and what is best for us. Grant us this day the knowledge, understanding, and wisdom as we study this lesson. Help us and all that study this lesson to learn to depend on You only even through others as You lead us. This we pray in Jesus' name. AMEN.

 

Subject Lesson:        Dependence upon the Holy Spirit.

 

Let's recap and then study more on

 

 Every believer in Jesus is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, but the apostle Paul also tells us to "be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18). The Greek verb signifies that this is a continuous action of filling. It means to live in obedience to Him, relying on Him to equip, empower, strengthen, teach, and guide us each day. Only as we depend on the Spirit will we be and do what God desires.

 

How do we depend on the Holy Spirit?

 

John 14:26:

"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."  As Christians, we understand that salvation is not a matter of earning God's favor by our own effort. Rather it is transferring our trust from what we can do to get ourselves to heaven to what Jesus Christ has already done. Yet, the same Scripture that tells us that we are not saved by good works tells us that we are saved to do good works (Ephesians 2:8-10). To put it another way, the God who has saved us from the penalty of sin now intends to change us--to remove the sinful habits and selfish attitudes in our lives so that we can become more like His Son, Jesus Christ (Romans 8:28-29). To accomplish this goal, God has not left us alone to live the Christian life in our own strength. Actually that would be impossible. But God's power can do the impossible--that is, enable us to live the Christian life. The following study is designed to help you understand the work of God's Holy Spirit (the third member of the Godhead) and how you can cooperate with His daily work in your life.

What does the Holy Spirit do?

He united you to Christ at the moment of conversion; He caused you to believe (2 Thessalonians 2:13). He placed you into Christ's body (1 Corinthians 12:13), and He is the bond that makes you belong to Jesus (Romans 8:9).

He assures you that you belong to God. He teaches you to call God, "Father" (Romans 8:15-16). He is God's seal of ownership and your guarantee of complete salvation (Ephesians 1:13-14).

He is making you to be more like Jesus Christ. By progressively freeing you from sinful habits and transforming you into the likeness of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:17-18). By empowering you to replace ungodly habits with godly fruit such as love, patience, and self-control (Galatians 5:18-23).

You can do what pleases God because His Spirit gives you power. He is your life and strength. That is why you must not ignore Him or try to live the Christian life without depending on Him. His work will not cease until it is completed at Christ's second coming when our bodies will be transformed to be like Christ's body (Philippians 3:20-21).

Because the Holy Spirit is at work in you, you need to understand...

How You Can Cooperate With His Daily Work In Your Life

Cooperating with the Holy Spirit means dependence on Him and His divine resources. We must keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25). Keeping in step with the Spirit sounds very mysterious. Actually it means that we submit to and rely on the Spirit. We look to Him for help--daily trusting Him and praying to Him for understanding and strength (Ephesians 1:17-18). We must be filled with (or controlled by) the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18); being filled by the Spirit has the idea of control by (Note the contrast with drunkenness). It has the idea of being totally saturated with (Colossians 3:16).

To be filled with the Holy Spirit and to have Christ's Word dwell in you mean the same thing. 

God's Spirit always works in and through His Word.

Cooperating with the Holy Spirit means the disciplined use of His divine resources. Change occurs as you learn to put off the old ways of thinking and responding and put on God's new ways of thinking and responding. This begins by daily renewing your mind with the life-changing truth of God's Word (Ephesians 4:22-24; See verses 25-32 for some specific examples). As you learn to practice the truth, you gradually become more and more-godly--like Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 4:7).

The word train" in 1 Timothy 4:7 is an athletic term. It means: daily sustained effort. Just as it takes practice to be skilled in a particular sport, so it takes practice to be skilled in living the Christian life. God does not expect you to be perfect; He expects you to be growing. Your part in growing is exerting daily sustained effort to apply His Word to your life.

 

Who do you turn to for daily guidance on how to live or what decision to make?

Scripture tells us the only Guide worth trusting is the Holy Spirit. He is the One who knows our past completely, from the moment we were conceived to the present, and who also knows our futures, from this day to eternity. He knows God's plan and purpose for us today and for each day of our lives. He also knows what is good and right for us.

 

Jesus repeatedly referred to the Spirit as the "Spirit of truth." Note what He said about the Holy Spirit's activity in your life: "He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come" (John 16:13). The Spirit of truth is like an inner compass in our lives—always pointing us toward what Jesus would be, say, or do in any given moment.

 

God desires to make His will known to you. He wants you to know what to do and when to do it. Therefore, you can trust the Holy Spirit to be your daily Guide! After the Lord poured out the Holy Spirit on the disciples, they found themselves led in profound ways by the Spirit. The verses below give just a few examples of how the Holy Spirit dealt with His people in ways that provided very personal and specific guidance. What He did for them then, He desires to do for you today.

 

"The Spirit told me to go with them without misgivings" (Acts 11:12).

 

"While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them'" (Acts 13:2).

 

"They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia" (Acts 16:6).

 

The leaders of the early church relied on the Holy Spirit to give them this kind of specific, personal guidance, and we are wise to do likewise. Both Romans 8:14 and Galatians 5:18 refer to our being "led by the Spirit"—the norm of the Christian life.

 

You may ask, "Are there any conditions placed upon the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our lives?"

 

Yes.

 

First, we must stay yielded to the Spirit. We must say yes to the Spirit when He prompts us to take a certain action or say a certain word. We must give mental assent to the Spirit's direction, and then we must actually obey His prompting and follow through by doing or saying what He has called us to do or say.

 

The Spirit often speaks to us in the stillness of our hearts with a word of conviction or assurance. When the Holy Spirit is directing us away from something harmful, we very often have a heaviness, feeling of trouble, foreboding, or uneasiness in our spirits. When the Holy Spirit is directing us toward helpful things, we tend to feel a deep inner peace, an eagerness to see what God will do, and a feeling of joy.

 

How can you know if you are yielded to the Holy Spirit? You are yielded to Him when you can say to Him, "Here is what I desire. But if Your answer to this is 'no,' it's all right. I'll do what You say."

 

Second, we must believe and obey His guidance. We are much more likely to hear what the Holy Spirit has to say if we are actively listening for Him to speak. We are much more likely to see the Holy Spirit's direction if we are looking for Him. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that God is a "rewarder of those who seek Him." We are to be diligent in seeking His guidance, asking for it, watching for it, anticipating it, and receiving it.

 

The Holy Spirit has come to reveal the truth to us. He has come in His all-knowing ability to impart to us what we need to know in order to live obedient and faithful lives. Trust Him to guide you, now and always!

 

 

Week #5

 

Questions:

 

1).     What does it means to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit?

2).    How do we depend on the Holy Spirit?

3).    What does the Holy Spirit do?

4).    How can we do what pleases God?

5).    What do it means to cooperate with the Holy Spirit?

6).    How does God's Holy Spirit works?

7).    What does the Word train in 1 Timothy 4:7 means?

8).    Who do you turn to for daily guidance on how to live or what decision to make?

9).    What do you think about this statement "are there any conditions placed upon guidance of the Holy Spirit in our lives?"

10).  How do the Holy Spirit speak to us?

11).   How can you know if you are yielded to the Holy Spirit?

12).  What did the Holy Spirit come to do for us?

 

Weekly Stay Focus:

Weekly Life Principle:

Weekly Prayer Focus:

Closing Prayer:

Weekly reading assignments: (Hebrews 9-10)

Closing Prayer

Jesus, my Lord and Savior, help us to become obedient and be like a child so we might enter into You Kingdom. As we study these lessons help us to be obedient to Your Word we study in these lessons. Jesus, come what may, help us to never leave Your love. Give us the child-like trust to keep ourselves in Your love. Obedience is better than all sacrifices as we read in Your Word.  Father, we are praying for all Prayer Warriors, and others in our circle of family or friends to choose to live in obedience to the Word...Help them be those who faithfully obey You. May they/we desire to obey You and what You ask of us in Your Word as an expression of our love for Jesus. Your Word says we are slaves to what we obey, so I ask You to help them/me become slaves to obedience, the obedience that leads to right living and holiness. (Deuteronomy 28:11a; John 14:15; Romans 6:16, 18, 19b) Open our eyes to see the wonderful truths of the Bible, and teach us to choose the way of truth, setting our hearts to live as You say we should live. May we be eager to learn what You want us to do, for You have set our hearts free! (Psalm 119:18, 30, 32) Teach us to follow Your commands; help us to understand them. Give us the desire to obey You with all our hearts. Take away our foolish desires. (Psalm 119:33–34, 37) May we love You and follow Your commands, for they’ll not too difficult. In every weakness, Christ, who was obedient even to death, is their strength!  And You are faithful to bring us through every temptation;(1 John 5:2; Philippians 4:13; 2:8b; 1 Corinthians 10:13). In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

Weekly reading assignments: (Hebrews 7-8)

I have read my weekly reading assignment!

Week # 4 Devotional Sharing:

The Requirements of Obedience

 

Key Passage: Psalms 32:8-11

 

Supporting Scriptures: Joshua 1:9 | Joshua 6:1-20 | Psalms 119:105 | Proverbs 3:5-8 | Isaiah 64:4 | John 16:13| Acts 5:28-29 | Acts 16:5-10

 

Summary:

 

We all need guidance now and then, but whom are we allowing to influence us?

 

There are many strange voices in the world clamoring for our attention and offering to help us with whatever concerns us. However, all these voices could lead us astray. The only one who can give us perfect guidance is our heavenly Father. But to receive His instructions, we must listen, trust, and obey Him.

 

Sermon Points:

 

Obedience can be defined as doing what God says, how he says, and when He says to do it.

All three of these aspects are required, or it's disobedience. To intentionally ignore what the Lord says and do what we desire in the way we want and according to our time schedule is outright rebellion. In essence we are telling Him that our way is better, and we want control of our lives. Now, we might try to excuse our deliberate disobedience by claiming it was just a mistake, but in reality, we are rebelling against almighty God.

Life at its best is only found in obedience to the Lord. He created us, loves us, and knows exactly how we should live and what we should do. Therefore, to turn our backs on His plans for our lives is equivalent to rejecting the best He could possibly give us. The wisest thing we can do is to submit to the Lord and learn what is required to live in obedience to Him.

Obedience requires that we . . . "not lean on your own understanding" (Prov. 3:5).

Meditate upon God's Word. Since the Bible is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path, we need to carefully consider what it says so we won't stumble or lose our way in life (Ps. 119:105). Meditation includes reading the Word, thinking about it, and asking God questions regarding its meaning and application. The world constantly bombards us with messages designed to lead us astray, but when we make the Scriptures a vital part of each day, our hearts and minds are protected and tuned in to the Lord so we can discern His guidance.

Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. God has given us the awesome gift of His Spirit who lives within us. He's the one who convicted us of sin and opened our hearts to accept Jesus' wonderful offer of salvation. Now one of His jobs is to guide us into all truth (John 16:13). When we read the Bible, He helps us interpret it. Then throughout the day, He reminds us of those truths or convicts us if we sin. No one can live the Christian life without Him. Only as we listen to the Spirit will we become Christlike and accomplish what God desires.

Be sensitive to God's timing.Whatever the Lord tells us to do is to be done according to His time schedule, not ours. Isaiah 64:4 says that the Lord acts in behalf of those who wait for Him. If we're consistently listening to God through His Word and His Spirit, over a period of time, He will train us to discern not only what He's saying, but when He wants us to act. Since God is omniscient, He knows the perfect timing for every situation. If we get ahead of Him or lag behind, we'll miss what He had in mind. To help us, He's given us an internal timer in the person of the Holy Spirit. When we're sensitive to His voice, He shows us when to move ahead.

Walk where the way is not always clear. Obedience would be much easier if we knew exactly where we're going, but sometimes God calls us to step out in faith when the way is not clear. When doubts arise, we should remember that the sovereign God of the universe gave us the assignment. Proverbs 3:5 reminds us to trust in Him and not in our own limited understanding. If He chose the path, He will reveal the way as we move forward in obedience.

Follow God's instruction even if it seems unreasonable. The Lord might ask us to do something which seems illogical or beyond our ability. Even if we feel unqualified, afraid, and resistant, instead of making excuses or denying that God could have possibly said that, we should be like Joshua. When the Lord told him to conquer Jericho by marching around it seven times, he must have thought it was the strangest battle plan ever devised. But God knew exactly what He was doing and secured the victory through Joshua's trusting obedience. We can never put the Lord in a box by confining Him to what seems reasonable to us.

Have courage. When God called Joshua to accomplish the gigantic task of leading the Israelites, He told him, "Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go" (v. 1:9). And the same is true for us today. Courage is essential for obedience in the Christian life. If we're afraid of the challenges God places before us, we need to keep listening to Him and move ahead believing that He will be with us every step of the way.

Accept conflict. Sometimes obedience to the Lord results in conflict with others. This is what happened to Peter and the apostles when they were preaching about Jesus in Jerusalem. When they were confronted by the Council, they replied, "We must obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29). If we stop doing what God says every time someone objects, we'll never fulfill His will.

Be willing to be corrected by God.There may be times when the Lord alters our course. During Paul's second missionary journey, he was redirected several times until he finally perceived where God wanted him to go (Acts. 16:6-10). We should always hold our plans loosely so the Holy Spirit has our cooperation when He wants to change them.

Our responsibility is to obey God and leave all the consequences to Him.

Since the Lord has promised to guide us, we have nothing to fear if we're following His leadership. He is sovereign over everything and controls all the consequences. There is nothing He cannot handle or will not provide for us if we'll listen, trust, and obey Him.

Response Personally:

Think of a time you disobeyed the Lord by either not doing what He said, not doing it the way He desired, or doing it at the wrong time. What happened as a result? What lessons did you learn?

Have you ever sensed the Lord calling you to something that seemed unreasonable? How did you respond? Looking back, what have been the results of your choice to either obey or disobey?

Look at the list of requirements for obedience. Which ones have you done or experienced? Which ones do you need to work on?