8-15-21 | Go Deeper
GO DEEPER
How do we go deeper?
1. EXPERIENCE THE HOLY SPIRIT
Acts 19:1-2 – “While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions until he reached Ephesus, on the coast, where he found several believers. ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’ he asked them. ‘No,’ they replied, ‘We haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.’”
Acts 19:3-4 – “‘Then what baptism did you experience?’ he asked. And they replied, ‘The baptism of John.’ Paul said, ‘John’s baptism called for repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the One who would come later, meaning Jesus.’”
Acts 19:5-7 – “As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus. Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all.”
2. DISCOVER YOURSELF IN CHRIST
Acts 19:13 – “A group of Jews was traveling from town to town casting out evil spirits. They tried to use the Name of the Lord Jesus in their incantation, saying, ‘I command you in the Name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out!’”
Acts 19:14 – “Seven sons of Sceva, a leading priest, were doing this. But one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, ‘I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?’”
Acts 19:16-17 – “Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house, naked and battered. The story of what happened spread quickly all through Ephesus, to Jews and Greeks alike. A solemn fear descended on the city, and the Name of the Lord Jesus was greatly honored.”
Acts 19:10-11 – “This went on for the next two years, so that people throughout the province of Asia—both Jews and Greeks—heard the Word of the Lord. God gave Paul the power to perform unusual miracles.”
Acts 19:12 – “When handkerchiefs or aprons that had merely touched his skin were placed on sick people, they were healed of their diseases, and evil spirits were expelled.”
James 4:7 – “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
3. CLEAN HOUSE!
Acts 19:18 (NASB) – “Also many of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices.”
Acts 19:19-20 (NLT) – “A number of them who had been practicing sorcery brought their incantation books and burned them at a public bonfire. The value of the books was several million dollars. So, the message about the Lord spread widely and had a powerful effect.”
1 Samuel 15:23 (NLT) – “Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. So, because you have rejected the command of the Lord, He has rejected you as king.”
Discussion Questions:
1. If you are comfortable, share your experience of receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. Was it a tangible experience? Why or why not?
2. Do you know your place of authority in Christ? Why or why not?
3. What does intimacy with Jesus look like for you? And how could it potentially deepen?
4. Are there some things from your past that need to be confessed before the Lord?
5. Are there some items from your past that the Holy Spirit is leading you to get rid of?