Pentecost: Dependence on the Spirit
Teaching Pastor; Staff Governing Elder; Staff Director
As believers, we have new life in Christ. However, we still live in a fallen world and retain an inner sinful nature. This results in an ongoing battle between our brokenness and the voice of the Holy Spirit. Yet, if we continually surrender control to God, remember our identity as his children, and depend on the direction of the Holy Spirit, we will grow to be more like Christ.
Study Questions
As believers, we have new life in Christ. However, we still live in a fallen world and retain an inner sinful nature. This results in an ongoing battle between our brokenness and the voice of the Holy Spirit. Yet, if we continually surrender control to God, remember our identity as his children, and depend on the direction of the Holy Spirit, we will grow to be more like Christ.Application
What would it look like for you to slow down the pace of your life? Think of a few practical ways you can create margin in your daily and weekly rhythms in order to be intentional with your spiritual growth.
If we aren’t consistently in the Word of God, it’s difficult for the Holy Spirit to direct us. How are you currently engaging the Bible? In what ways can you grow in this area?
Take some time for self-reflection. What causes you fear or anxiety? How do those fears reveal what you value most? How do you respond when you feel a lack of control? Be intentional about telling someone (mentor, community group leader, friend) what you are learning about yourself.
Key Points
Even though believers have the Holy Spirit within them, they still have a sinful nature. This creates tension—an internal struggle between the pull of sin and the voice of the Spirit.
When we choose to let our sinful nature drive us instead of the Holy Spirit, our lives become marked by jealousy, division, selfish ambition, and other sins.
The answer to this ongoing battle is not to make a list or impose a framework of discipline in an effort to produce the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, etc.).
We must remember our identity as children of God. We were of this world, but God reconciled us to himself through the blood of Jesus and gave us new life.
Turning from our sins feels like death because it is a form of death. But when we surrender control to God and depend on the Holy Spirit to direct our lives, we will produce his fruit.