1. Relating to God
He’s standing at the door knocking. If you hear His voice and open the door, He will come in, and will share a meal with you as a friend. (Revelation 3:20) And then ... ?

2. Thinking it over
When you think about knowing God, what comes to mind? Is there something that you can compare it to? What are some examples of different ways you’ve viewed this in your life?

3. Knowing God is like ... what did you come up with?
knowing my great aunt Jane Easton
knowing MTV
knowing the government
nothing else ... knowing God is somewhat transcendental
But I’ll try to clear away some of the ambiguity. However, He is entirely allowed to remain rather mysterious in some ways.

4. Father, Son, and the other guy.
For people that follow Jesus, we tend to spend a lot of time thinking about, listening to sermons about, and praying to the Father and the Son.
Tonight I’m going to start with the Holy Spirit. He’s really a pretty good guy.

5. From His facebook profile (which can be found in the Bible)
John 7: : Spirit given to those that believe, satisfies our hearts
John 14: : Counselor, Spirit of truth, lives in us
1 Corinthians 2: & 3: 1 - 3: spiritual understanding, discernment
Romans 8: : leads our minds in life and peace, leads us in righteousness, testifies to our adoption by God
Galatians 3:3 & 5: : sanctifies us, forms in us the character of Christ (fruit of the Spirit)
Romans 12: 1 - 2: living sacrifices, transformed by renewal of our minds
Ephesians 3: & 4: 30: dwells in our hearts through faith, by Him we are sealed for the day of redemption (done deal)
Note: this is a partial list - there is a lot more about Him

6. Not an “it”
From the way Jesus talks about the Holy Spirit, it is clear that He views the Spirit as a person.
Consider this verse of scripture:
John 14: And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
The Lord’s use of personal pronouns shows that the Holy Spirit is not an “it”. He is ... Him.

7. Talking it over In pairs or groups of three, share your thoughts:
Is there anything so far that changes the way you view God (especially the Holy Spirit)? If there was something that could/should have been said but wasn’t, what is it?

8. The work of the Holy Spirit is like a dance.
And it really does take two to tango. He will do His part, but we must do our part also:
John 7:37-39 – Come and drink; believe
Galatians 5:16-25 – Walk in the Spirit; keep in step with the Spirit
Ephesians 5:18 – Be filled with the Spirit
(these are all things that WE are commanded to do)

9. Filling or Indwelling?
We are definitely given the Holy Spirit the moment that we believe (indwelling) ... so what’s the difference between that and filling? When we sin do we lose the Holy Spirit?
Hebrews 10: : as believers, all of our sin has been forgiven
1 John 1:9 & 5: : if we ask for God’s will He will give it to us
Ephesians 5: 18: command to be filled

10. Spiritual Breathing
A word picture which can help you experience moment-by-moment dependence upon the Spirit.
Exhale: Confess your sin the moment you become aware of it - agree with God concerning it and thank Him for His forgiveness, according to 1 John 1:9 and Hebrews 10:1-25. Confession requires repentance - a change in attitude and action.
Inhale: Surrender control of your life to Christ, and rely upon the Holy Spirit to fill you with His presence and power by faith, according to His command (Ephesians 5:18) and promise (1 John 5:14-15).
How does the Holy Spirit fill us with His power?

11. The Empowering Presence
We are filled with the Spirit by faith, enabling us to experience intimacy with God and enjoy all he has for us.
The essence of the Christian life is what God does in and through us, not what we do for God. Christ’s life is reproduced in the believer by the power of the Holy Spirit. To be filled with the Spirit is to be directed and empowered by Him.
By faith, we experience God’s power through the Spirit. "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith" (Ephesians 3:16,17).

12. The Empowering Presence
By faith claim the fullness of the Spirit according to His command and promise:
God COMMANDS us to be filled with the Spirit. "... be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18)
God PROMISED He will always answer when we pray according to His will. "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we ask of him" (1 John 5:14-15).

13. Making the connection Three important questions to ask yourself:
Am I ready to surrender control of my life to our Lord Jesus Christ?
Am I ready now to confess my sins? (1 John 1:9) Sin grieves God's Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). But God in His love has forgiven all of your sins - past, present, and future - because Christ died for you.
Do I sincerely desire to be directed and empowered by the Holy Spirit? (John 7:37-39)

14. Making the connection
We are filled with the Holy Spirit by faith alone.
Sincere prayer is one way of expressing our faith. The following is a suggested prayer:
Dear Father, I need you. I acknowledge that I have sinned against You by directing my own life. I thank You that You have forgiven my sins through Christ's death on the cross for me. I now invite Christ to again take His place on the throne of my life. Fill me with the Holy Spirit as you commanded me to be filled, and as You promised in Your Word that You would do if I asked in faith. I pray this is the name of Jesus. I now thank you for filling me with the Holy Spirit and directing my life.
Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? If so, you can pray right now and trust God to fill you with His Holy Spirit.

15. Talking it over
As you consider walking in/abiding in/being filled with the Holy Spirit, how is this similar to other relationships that you have? In what ways is this unique?
How important is knowing the Holy Spirit in the life of a follower of Jesus?

16. Final thoughts & questions
Are there any?