Stonecroft Ministries Youth Trinity Bible Study Where is the Holy Spirit series adapted for youth in Africa Lesson 1

At the end of the 'Who is Jesus?' Series you were given these 'Weekly Bible Verse Readings' to take home.

Lets discuss now how the Jesus Series impacted your life. (Allow time for the students to share)

.......(He would pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground)

(Who was Zechariah referring to when he spoke about the 'one they have pierced'?)

.........(They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them)

(Why were the God-fearing Jews from every nation who were in Jerusalem amazed?)

.........(Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. )

.............(They, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.)

In this new 'Where is the Holy Spirit? Series we will learn that He is living and working in the lives of those who belong to Jesus Christ.Remember Jesus promised that He would pray to His Father to send us a Helper.

• Learn who the Holy Spirit is
• Appreciate the role of the Holy Spirit in convicting us of our need of salvation
• Learn that the Holy Spirit is given to us when we receive Christ
• Know that believers have the Holy Spirit in their lives whether they realize it or not

Begin the lesson at the assigned time by welcoming everyone and having them introduce themselves.

Father in Heaven, We have come to study Your Word. Help us to understand what we read. Enlarge our minds to be able to see Your majestic greatness, as well as Your love and mercy. We pray in Jesus’ name, amen.

Before we start our study on the Holy Spirit, we will take a few minutes to read the Stonecroft Bible Studies Guidelines listed on page 6 in our Study Books.

Since we are from various backgrounds (including sometimes assorted churches), we will respect each other’s opinions and beliefs.

“There is no part of the Christian’s
life which is not governed and empowered
by the Holy Spirit.”
—John MacArthur

Bible teacher John MacArthur says that every part of the Christian’s life is influenced, strengthened, and enabled by the Holy Spirit.

Since this is true, it is necessary to learn more about the Holy Spirit, who works in perfect harmony and oneness with God the Father and Jesus the Son. We also need to recognize the vital involvement of God’s Holy Spirit in a Christian’s personal life.

The Holy Spirit is co-equal, co-existent, and co-eternal with God the Father and Jesus the Son.

1. Before Jesus was crucified, He told the disciples that after He was gone, another person would be sent in His name.

26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

The Holy Spirit is a person. When we think of a person, we visualize how he looks. But we have difficulty visualizing a spirit because a spirit does not have a body.

Most of us have no problem thinking of Jesus as a person. We know Jesus had a body when He was on earth, even though we do not know the details of His appearance. However, it is harder to visualize God and the Holy Spirit as persons because they do not have the limitations of a physical body.

We can learn two things from this verse:
• God and the Holy Spirit are both spirits;
• We cannot worship God without the help of the Holy Spirit.

God and the Holy Spirit are individual personalities, but they do not have faces or physical bodies that we can picture in our minds.

Many people make the mistake of limiting the Holy Spirit to a force, an influence, or a power. To say that He is a force, an influence, or a power is to take away His personality and His ability to do things that human beings can do. The Holy Spirit is a spirit person.

Look at Question 2 and see what else the Bible says about the Holy Spirit being a person.

26 "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me."

2. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, "Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."

26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

3. Jesus told the disciples He would send the Holy Spirit after He left.
When the Holy Spirit came, what was His purpose?

21 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, 22 who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

(The Holy Spirit enters believers’ hearts as a guarantee that God owns them and has blessings in store for those who receive Him.)

4. What did Jesus say the Holy Spirit (the Helper) does for the people of the world?

7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

(The Holy Spirit reveals the truth of God and shows people that they are wrong in not believing in God.)

The Holy Spirit proves to the world that they are wrong about what they believe about sin and judgment. Isaiah 5:20 says, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil . . .”

The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin in our lives. He tells us we are wrong when we think that God will ignore our sin. We want to think that He means only evil people will be judged—not ourselves! But He tells us judgment is coming.

14 Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, 15 to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him."

16 These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words , flattering people to gain advantage.

God will bring judgment on all who speak against Him and who do evil things. In other words, God will punish those who disobey Him.

When we believe the fact that Jesus’ death on the cross was the full payment for our sins, we ask God to forgive our sins and take control of our lives. At that moment, we are born into God’s family and receive His Holy Spirit into our lives. He takes up residence in our lives to give us guidance every day.

5 Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'

4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

The new birth is the work of God’s Spirit. It happens instantly, not in stages. When we realize our hopeless condition of being separated from God and pray for Him to save us, the Holy Spirit of God enters our life and gives us life that will never end.

When you trust Jesus as your Savior, what do you receive? We learn the answer in John 3:16. . . . .

17 And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

Although the Holy Spirit invites everyone, not all become Christians. More than a person’s intellect is involved. To receive the salvation which Christ’s death provides, a person’s will is involved. No one else can make this choice for him or her. It is a conscious act of will.

When we surrender to the Lord, He takes our sin-filled life and, in exchange, gives us the righteousness of Christ. For this to happen, it is necessary for our will to be involved.

We are born again instantly when we receive Jesus Christ. But even though we are Christians, we do not always see clearly at the beginning of our new Christian life. Our vision is marred by sinful habits of thinking and behaving.

Our vision clears as we learn what the Bible says. We must choose to obey what we learn and apply self-discipline. We soon realize that learning how to live as a Christian is a process that takes time.

One of the benefits of Bible study is learning to apply God’s Word to our daily lives. The application of this study of the Holy Spirit has to do with our attitude rather than our behavior. Changing an attitude is usually more difficult than changing a behavior.

The names and titles of the Holy Spirit reveal His relationship to God and Jesus Christ.

9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.

Locate two different names the Holy Spirit is called. . . . . (God’s Spirit and the Spirit of Christ)

When we study about Jesus, we learn that one of His names is I Am, which the Bible says is God’s name. Jesus said He and God are one.

This may be hard for our limited minds to comprehend. However, when we read verses that say the Holy Spirit and God are one, we are able to understand this because they are both Spirit.

The Bible teaches from the beginning to the end that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit have the same characteristics. They are one and work together in perfect harmony and unity.

We have one God who has three different roles and with whom we have three different relationships.

To completely understand this concept is beyond our comprehension. God is infinite, but our minds are only finite. They are not big enough to understand all that God is. That is one of the reasons God sent Jesus to earth—to reveal God’s nature and greatness in a way that we can understand.

When we trust Jesus as our Savior, God gives us His Spirit to teach and guide us. The more we read and study God’s Word, the more we will understand the oneness of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit has all the divine attributes which God has. The next question reveals what those attributes are.

7. The Holy Spirit possesses all the divine attributes of God and Jesus. Three of those attributes are mentioned in the following verses.

Which of the following attributes do each of these verses reveal about the Holy Spirit?

11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.

14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

God saved us through the Holy Spirit, who gives us new birth and new life. The Holy Spirit enables us to accomplish God’s plan for our lives. We do not know what God’s plan is, but when we invite Him to control our lives, He will fulfill His original, unique plan for each of us.

When we first become Christians, we are surprised to find that having Jesus in our lives changes our behavior and even causes us to think differently! We are eager to know what God says and what He expects of us.

Many times, we make the mistake of looking to other Christians and begin to pattern our Christian life after theirs. Or we may be influenced by what Christian people expect of us.

Unless we go to God’s Word and learn what He says we are to do and how to do it, the original creative plan God has for our life is hindered. We must have a personal desire to grow in faith and obedience under the direction of God’s Holy Spirit. He will help us understand His Word. This will prevent us from patterning our life after what people expect, rather than what God expects.

When the Lord Jesus Christ is the center of our lives and we love Him with our whole heart, our thoughts naturally turn to God. When we are doing something that does not demand our full attention, our thoughts naturally go to prayer, or praise and worship songs. We think about our relationship with God or what we can do to serve someone whom He wants us to reach with His love.

Enable the youth to come forward to pray and ponder the word. Ask them "How does being aware of the Holy Spirit’s presence in your life affect what you say and do? "

"How does being aware of God’s Spirit in your life affect your fellowship with God?"

Apply this truth to your life this week—be aware that God is with you. What unspeakable joy it will give you as you live moment by moment in fellowship with Him.

Father in Heaven, Thank You for the Holy Spirit. Help us hear Him when He speaks to us. We may not understand everything we have talked about today, but we know that all we have to do is believe. Help us to learn what we need to know as we study the next lesson this week. We pray in Jesus’ name, amen

During the week, while at home, read the Bible verses below and write in your own words what the Bible say about the 'Promise of the Holy Spirit?'

1. Ezekiel 36:26-27
Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.

(What will God do for us? Where will He put His Spirit? What will it enable us to do?)

2. Isaiah 44:3
‘For I will pour out water on the thirsty land
And streams on the dry ground;
I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring
And My blessing on your descendants;

(What did God promise to do?)

3. Haggai 2:5
‘As for the promise which I made you when you came out of Egypt, My Spirit is abiding in your midst; do not fear!’

(What are we not to do?)

4. Joel 2:28-29
“It will come about after this
That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind;
And your sons and daughters will prophesy,
Your old men will dream dreams,
Your young men will see visions.
“Even on the male and female servants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

(Who will God pour His Spirit over? What will the children do? What will the elderly do? What will the youth do? Is it just for the Pastor? Just for the men?)

5. Matthew 3:11
“As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

(What did John Baptise with? What did he promise Jesus would do?)

6. Galatians 3:14
in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

(How do we receive the promise of the Spirit)

7. Ephesians 1:13
13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,

( When are you sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise?)

Source: Promises-Of-The-Holy-Spirit

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NEXT WEEK: We will learn what the Old Testament says about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit came upon certain people during Old Testament times, giving them the ability to fulfill a certain God-given task. In Old Testament times, God took His Spirit from the person when their task was completed or they willfully disobeyed Him. Psalm 51 tells us of David’s repentance and his prayer "Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me".

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