10. Commissioned

FLASHBACK

What did you experience with God this week?
In the last few days, did you have the opportunity to share an experience with God with someone close to you that doesn’t know Jesus yet? Or could you pray for them or help them practically?
Do you need God‘s help in an area of your life?

■ Pray together: Give thanks for your experiences, ask God for help where you need it.

■ Pray together to learn new things about God and that your relationship with God deepens and gets stronger.

BIBLE STUDY

Read the passage silently. What words or phrases stick out?
One person reads the passage out loud.
One person retells the passage in his/her own words (Bibles closed).
If necessary, the others complement what was said (Bibles closed).

Luke 3:21-22

²¹When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened²²and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

Luke 4:1-4; 14

¹Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, ² where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

³The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”

⁴Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”

¹⁴ Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.

Acts 1:4-8

⁴On 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.⁵For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

⁶Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

⁷He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.⁸But 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.”

Everyone by themselves:
- What words or phrases stick out now? Are there any differences to what you noticed before?
- Why do you feel drawn to those words or phrases?
- What can you learn about people?
- What could God be telling you?
Share in the group.

SPECIFIC QUESTIONS & ACTION STEPS

Why does Jesus emphazise the word “wait“ in Acts 1,4?
Which connections can you find in the four passages?
What role does the Holy Spirit play in Stephen‘s live? Read Acts 6:5-10.
Are you ready to submit fully to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and to be empowered by him? To do so, the concept of spiritual bre-athing can help you (see also unit: “Filled“):

■ Exhale: Confess to God, where you were living and thinking in di-saccord to his will. Commit to him fully and anew.

■ Inhale: Ask Got to fill and empower you anew with the Holy Spirit.

■ Pray that he fills you anew with God’s love for your student friends. Pray for wisdom and courage, that you can share an experience with God with someone that does not know Jesus personally yet. Pray that you can pray for them, so they can experience God themselves.

SCRIPTURE COMMENTS

Without the Holy Spirit, we cannot be true witnesses of Jesus, because it is the Holy Spirit who empowers and authorizes us. It is Him that proclaims to the spiritual realm that we are acting on behalf of King Jesus. In this world, Jesus was fully God and fully human. Jesus submitted himself completely to the Holy Spirit and did nothing out of his own (human) will. In doing so, he is our role model and shows us how we should live our lives.

OTHER LANGUAGES