How well do you know the Holy Spirit?

Wednesday 07/31/19

Series: Thru the Bible

Message – How well do you know the Holy Spirit

Podcast: Download (20.0MB)

How well do you know the Holy Spirit

This past Sunday I handed out the above worksheet to facilitate deeper thought and involvement in the lessons I have begun to teach about our “helper from Heaven”.

As I mentioned on Sunday, Jesus’ final words to His disciples and by extension the future church, was about the Holy Spirit. This is true both before He was placed on trail and crucified as well as after His resurrection just before His ascension. This should speak volumes to us. Is it any wonder that the church knows so little about the Holy Spirit. There is either TOO much focus on the gifts the Spirit which “appear” flashy and eye-catching or there is an almost outright denial in His workings in the church at all following the apostolic age. Extremes are a human proclivity and it doesn’t change when one comes to Christ. What we are attempting to do here is encourage an ongoing awareness of the Spirit’s presence and willing ability to give us aid and strength without turning Him into a circus show for our juvenile entertainment. He needs to be acknowledged and drawn upon, honored and NOT grieved and if done in proper balance this will only heighten our awareness and knowledge of Jesus and the Father – not take from it.

So tonight with very little intro or wrap-up thoughts (which are on the recording) I had everyone divide up into groups of four to talk through these primer questions which are intended to stir up thought, awareness and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us – out helper, friend and most trusted confidant in the Christian life which is all about forming Christ in us and furthering His reign in the hearts of men.

I encourage you to take the time to download or open the questionnaire in your browser and work through it. This was not written in a way as to illicit “right or wrong” answers, but to facilitate thought and to help us all see where we are in our relationship and interactions with this most valuable person of the Godhead given to us from Christ Jesus Himself.

…Blessings!

I hope this message will bless you richly…not because I taught it, but because it reveals Christ. He alone is our blessing and if in any way – whether big or small, 100% accurate or even just partially so – I have revealed our great God and Savior to you in a relationally knowable way, then this was time well spent on both our parts.

We at Living Grace Fellowship encourage you to place your trust in Jesus Christ, deliberately choosing Him and bowing the knee to Him as your Master and Lord, so as to come to realize Him as your Savior.

You have a special place in God’s family & kingdom. The fact that you exist… that you are His creation, says you were in His heart, you are His delight!

If you do not know Him, please reach out to us. Give us a call at the number located on every page of this website or use our ‘Contact Us‘ page. We would be deeply honored, if you gave us the privilege of introducing you to the Lord. Neither money nor attendance at our church will EVER be mentioned.

If you HAVE been spiritually fed by this ministry and WANT to give, we truly appreciate that and you may do so here, but please understand that all the outreaches of this ministry are FREE for you and anyone to enjoy at no cost.

Blessings!

Pastor Mark

View posts by Pastor Mark

Hi my name is Mark and though I am opposed to titles, I am currently the only Pastor (shepherd/elder) serving our assembly right now.

I have been Pastoring in one capacity or another for nearly 30 years now, though never quite like I am today.

Early in 2009 the Lord revealed to me that the way we had structured our assembly (church) was not scriptural in that it was out of sync with what Paul modeled for us in the New Testament. In truth, I (like many pastors I am sure) never even gave this fundamental issue of church structure the first thought. I had always assumed that church structure was largely the same everywhere and had been so from the beginning. While I knew Paul had some very stringent things to say about the local assembly of believers, the point of our gatherings together and who may or may not lead, I never even considered studying these issues but assumed we were all pretty much doing it right...safety in numbers right?! Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong!

So needless to say, my discovery that we had been doing it wrong for nearly two decades was a bit of a shock to me! Now, this "revelation" did not come about all at once but over the course of a few weeks. We were a traditional single pastor led congregation. It was a top-bottom model of ministry which is in part biblical, but not in the form of a monarchy.

The needed change did not come into focus until following 9 very intense months of study and discussions with those who were leaders in our church at the time.

We now understand and believe that the Bible teaches co-leadership with equal authority in each local assembly. Having multiple shepherds with God's heart and equal authority protects both Shepherds and sheep. Equal accountability keeps authority and doctrine in check. Multiple shepherds also provide teaching with various styles and giftings with leadership skills which are both different and complementary.

For a while we had two co-pastors (elders) (myself and one other man) who led the church with equal authority, but different giftings. We both taught in our own ways and styles, and our leadership skills were quite different, but complimentary. We were in complete submission to each other and worked side-by-side in the labor of shepherding the flock.

Our other Pastor has since moved on to other ministry which has left us with just myself. While we currently only have one Pastor/Elder, it is our desire that God, in His faithfulness and timing, may bring us more as we grow in maturity and even in numbers.

As to my home, I have been married since 1995 to my wonderful wife Terissa Woodson who is my closest friend and most trusted ally.

As far as my education goes, I grew up in a Christian home, but questioned everything I was ever taught.

I graduated from Bible college in 1990 and continued to question everything I was ever taught (I do not mention my college in order to avoid being labeled).

Perhaps my greatest preparation for ministry has been life and ministry itself. To quote an author I have come to enjoy namely Fredrick Buechner in his writing entitled, Now and Then, "If God speaks to us at all other than through such official channels as the Bible and the church, then I think that He speaks to us largely through what happens to us...if we keep our hearts open as well as our ears, if we listen with patience and hope, if we remember at all deeply and honestly, then I think we come to recognize beyond all doubt, that, however faintly we may hear Him, He is indeed speaking to us, and that, however little we may understand of it, His word to each of us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling." ~ Fredrick Buechner

Well that is about all there is of interest to tell you about me.

I hope our ministry here is a blessing to you and your family. I also hope that it is only a supplement to a local church where you are committed to other believers in a community of grace.

~God Bless!