On Wednesdays, we are exploring what may be missing in a Christian’s life — the evidential work of the forgotten God.

Join us at 7 p.m. in room 101 for a group discussion and time of prayer.

This week’s discussion material is here:

The Lord challenges us to suffer persecutions and to confess him. He wants those who belong to him to be brave and fearless. He himself shows how weakness of the flesh is overcome by courage of the Spirit. This is the testimony of the apostles and in particular of the representative, administering Spirit. A Christian is fearless. — Tertullian (c. 160 – c. 220 AD)

1. What is Tertullian’s point in this statement? What is he saying that God desires in us?
2. Chan asserts that many Christians are “afraid” to explore the Holy Spirit. Some even become defensive when such teaching is presented. Why? How can one personally avoid/overcome it?

Luke 11:13(NIV) ¹³If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

3. Jesus speaks of asking the Father for the Spirit. Chan suggests that some fear doing so because they feel God failed to show up when they prayed in the past. How does his statement, “There’s a difference between believing what God has promised and praying for things you’d like to be true,” (p. 49) address the problem of “unanswered prayer”? How does it apply to the ministry of the Spirit?
4. A second fear some have regarding the Holy Spirit is not that he won’t show up, but that he will. What are common things that Christians fear when they imagine the Spirit interacting in their lives?
5. A third fear that keeps us from asking the Holy Spirit to fill our lives is the fear of what others will think. We want to be “Christians” but we want to be “respectable”. What if the Spirit leads us to do something radical? What kind of fear is this? How can we escape it?
6. The Bible speaks of healthy fear concerning the Holy Spirit. What ones do you see in the following passage? How can we be sure to act correctly as we observe what we believe to be the work of the Holy Spirit?

1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 (NIV) ¹⁹Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; ²⁰do not treat prophecies with contempt. ²¹Test everything. Hold on to the good. ²²Avoid every kind of evil.

7. What standards are we given in the following verses to evaluate what is presented as the work of the Spirit?

1 Corinthians 13:2(NIV) ²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

1 Corinthians 14:3(NIV) ³But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort.

1 Corinthians 14:31(NIV) ³¹For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged.

Take some time to consider what fears you have about the Holy Spirit. It may take a while to pinpoint exactly what your attitudes and responses toward the Holy Spirit have been. Don’t hide your fears. Admit them, first to yourself, and then to God (who knows all of them already yet desires to have us share our fears with Him). As you come to Him, be honest about how you fear disappointing people more than quenching His Spirit, or how you don’t really trust Him to come through on His promises, or whatever else you may be feeling to Him. – Francis Chan, pp. 56-57