We are Society, pt. 6—The Great Commission: God with us… in Spirit

Joel 2:28-29 ESV
Then, after doing all those things, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions. In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on servants—men and women alike.

Ezekiel 36:24-28 ESV
 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

Matthew 28:16-20 NIV
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

John 14:23-29 NIV
Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them. Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me. And remember, my words are not my own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent me. I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. But when the Father sends the Advocate (the one who comes alongside) as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. Remember what I told you: I am going away, but I will come back to you again. If you really loved me, you would be happy that I am going to the Father, who is greater than I am. I have told you these things before they happen so that when they do happen, you will believe.

Acts 1:1-11 NIV
In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

PURPOSE #1 of THE HOLY SPIRIT- FOR MISSION

The Holy Spirit brings empowerment for & mission-

Acts 2:1-4 NIV
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.  Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Acts 2:42-47 NIV
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Our God is a God (Missio Dei):

• • Father sends the Son. John 20:21-22
  • Son sends the Spirit. John 15:26
  • Spirit sends the church. Acts 1:8

“It’s not a matter of choosing between worship or mission; nor are we faced with the false dichotomy of church or world, cathedral or city. To the contrary, we worship for mission; We gather for sending; we center ourselves in the practices of the body of Christ for the sake of the world; we are reformed in the cathedral to undertake our image bearing commission to reform the city…. We gather to be sent, and we are sent to undertake Christian action that participates in the Missio Dei (mission of God).” — James K.A. Smith, Imagining the Kingdom

4 Ways to Become a Missionary People:

PURPOSE #2 OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: PERSONAL

Who is the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is the of God—
The Advocate, (The Parakletos in Greek)  “The one who comes alongside, in aid to the other”.

John 14:26- AMP
But the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will help you remember everything that I have told you.

“If many configurations of cultural practices function as quasi liturgies, as formative pedagogies of desire that are trying to make us a certain kind of person, we need to ask ourselves: is there a place that could form us otherwise, a space of counter formation?… The core claim of this book Is that liturgies are either sacred or secular shape and constitute our identities by forming our most fundamental Desires in our most basic Attunement to the world. In short, liturgies make a certain kind of people, what defines us is what we love… Our ultimate love/desire is shaped by practices, not ideas that are merely communicated to us.” —James KA Smith, Desiring the Kingdom

PURPOSE #3 OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: A LIFE

Ephesians 2:10 BSB
For we are God’s workmanship (masterpiece), created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.

John 10:10 NIV
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Psalm 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

3 Common Ways of Living
View Diagram

1. The

Not interested in God or what God might be doing in our life. Where interests are directed by ambition,  acceptance and appetites often resulting in discord and frustration. 

2. The Self- Christian

Attempting to live the Christian life on our own strength where interests are still directed by ourself and will still lead to discord and frustration. 

3. Follower of the

Living a life where our interests are directed by the Spirit which will lead to harmony with God’s plan, purpose and providence.  A commitment to becoming and living  out of the love of God.

Luke 11:13 NIV
So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”

John 7:38-39 NIV

Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

Answer Key: Empowerment; Discipleship; Missionary; Incarnation, Proclamation, Demonstration, Recreation; Transformation; Presence; Fulfilling; Wanderer, Directed, Way