INTRODUCTION

The Holy Spirit is promised to us for a victorious life, but that is not the lived reality for most of us. How can we have a deeper encounter with the Holy Spirit?

Romans 8 teaches us that:

1. The Spirit sets us free.
2. The Spirit guides our decisions.
3. The Spirit empowers our flesh.

The spirit sets us free (Romans 8:1-4)

Freedom means the ability, in this moment, to choose again. It does not guarantee that we will select what is righteous, but it gives us hope that we can be changed.

Paul contrasts the flesh and the Spirit. The only outcome of the flesh is death. In contrast, the Spirit gives us the ability to be entirely righteous. For believers who have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the difference lies in whether we choose to trust God or trust our thoughts and feelings.

Romans 6:11-12 

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 

The Spirit guides our decisions (Romans 8:5-8)

What we want (the flesh) is at odds with what God wants (Spirit). When we fixate on what we wish instead of what God wants, we make God our enemy.

How do we know what God wants? We have what is plain – the written word of God. For the less obvious, Jesus the Holy Spirit, after he left to be our advocate (John 14:26). An advocate not only teaches us but also fights for us.

The Spirit empowers my flesh (Romans 8:9-11)

Overcoming the desires of our flesh is truly beyond the limit of our ability. This might be news to us, but not to God. The same Spirit that raised Christ to life from death lives in us today. The same resurrection power is not just a nice-to-have but essential to live a righteous life.

Without the Spirit’s power, we either lower God’s standards or rely on our strength. 

Rhema word for each individual in FGA: Is there more?

God is looking at our lives and asking, is there more?

Is there a person you have to forgive because of Jesus? Is there something you need to walk away from because of Jesus? Is there something you’ve been holding on to that you have yet to let go of? 

God wants more of you. All of you.

DISCUSSION

1. From the sermon, what Scriptural passage(s) will you meditate on this week?

   For each passage:

2. What do you know of the passage’s context?
   a. Within the Biblical book
   b. Within the Bible as a whole
   c. Within the time and place it was written
   
   
3. What is happening in the passage
   a. Who is doing what to whom?
   b. And (based on the same Scripture) why?
   c. What questions (if any) do you have on what is revealed to us?
   
   
4. What might God be speaking to you through the passage?
   a. What aspect of the passage are you drawn to?
   b. Why are you drawn to it?
   c. How might this aspect of the passage speak to your current situation in life?
   d. What might the passage be calling for you to shift?

MEMORY VERSE

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. – Romans 5:6-8 (NIV)

AN E1R1 REFLECTION

Is your life a testament to living in the freedom of Christ?

If so, is there anyone in your life who needs to know that they, too, can experience the same freedom in Christ? 

As we move away from what we want to what God wants, this inevitably entails developing a heart of service for others. What is God saying about the ‘others’ in your life?