The Great Experiment - Day 8 (day)

The Great Experiment, Day 8 (day)

Here are this morning's video devotional, Bible reading, prayer points, and guide for Day 8 of The Great Experiment.

Blessings,

Matt Bennett
Founder and CEO, Christian Union

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Transcript:

Hey. My name is Justin. Thanks for taking a couple of minutes just to study the Bible today...Excited that we have a few minutes together. I want to read a passage from John Chapter 7. I'm reading the English Standard Version. John Chapter 7, verse 37. I'm going to read all the way down to 39.

Let's just take this time, just to be open. I want to talk today a little bit about the Holy Spirit, the third person in the Trinity who was promised by the Father and the Son and was received on the day of Pentecost and can be an active person in our lives every single day. I want to just read a couple verses where Jesus introduces the Holy Spirit. It says, "On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up, and cried out, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.'"

I wonder today, as you watch this video, are you thirsty for God? Is there a thirst in your heart for God because Jesus says if there is, come to him and drink. He says, "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’”, verse 39. “Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified." Now, we know we live in a time when Jesus has been glorified, and the Spirit has been given. And so you and I have an opportunity to live in fellowship with the Holy Spirit.

Jesus uses this illustration of water. Now, there's a lot going on here we don't see. This was the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, and so it was a day where the priests would historically dump water out before the people and remind them about the time where Moses struck the rock and water poured forth and God sustained the people of Israel through the miracle water. What Jesus is saying here is he's saying, "Hey, listen, the Holy Spirit is the actual miracle water of the soul." What he's trying to teach us in this moment is that it's the Spirit of God who makes you come alive. If you're here today, and you feel dead. You feel drained. You feel dry. I would urge you, in Jesus name, invite the Holy Spirit to make you come alive.

That last little phrase where it says they were to receive the Spirit is an important understanding that we much grasp in order to operate with a life in the Holy Spirit every day. That little word is the Greek word lambano. Typically, two words were used in the New Testament to describe receiving. One was this word dechomai. It's this word that talks about a passive receiving. It's as if you sat down at a restaurant, and a waiter came and brought you the food. That would be receiving the food, right? But the word used in this passage, in John 7, is an active receiving. It's this word lambano and what it means is you got up, you went to the buffet, you filled your plate, and then you came back and ate. You had a responsibility to get up and receive what was available. In other words, Jesus is saying, "The spirit of God is available to the believer."

You can access his power, his presence, his nearness, his grace, his joy, his life, his love, his fruit, his gifts, if you actively receive. How do you do it? By believing in the gospel. "Whoever believes in me," Jesus said, "out of his innermost being would flow rivers of living water."

My prayer for you today is that you access God's Holy Spirit. You walk with God's Holy Spirit. You apply the truth of what God has made available to you so that we can operate by the spirit today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Here is this morning's guide for the “Five Rs” of The Great Experiment, June 1-10, 2019.

1. Read and Pray

Romans 1:16-17 – For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."

Read Romans 1:8-17 for more context.

This Morning's Prayer Points

• Pray that we will be completely unashamed of the gospel, and on the contrary, our hearts will be inflamed with desire to share Jesus near and far.
• Pray for opportunities to witness to Christ today.
• Ask the Lord to speak to you about specific people to reach out to today.

2. Repent.

What sins do I need to repent of today? What hindrances to my devotion to Christ can I remove today?

3. Respond to the Holy Spirit.
Holy Spirit, what is the one thing you most want me to do today? (Write it down, and do it today).

4. Represent Christ. 
How will I bear witness to Christ today? With whom shall I share the Gospel today?

5. Raise Your Faith.
Be bold and courageous in living out your faith (Joshua 1:8,9). Choose from one of the following options for a “Joshua Faith Challenge”:

1. Host an all-night prayer meeting. Set a date during June 1-10 and invite friends to come and pray with you for revival in America.
2. Every day, pray for ten friends and family members to come to faith in Christ and look for opportunities to share the gospel with them.
3. Share an evangelistic post on social media every day from June 1-10.
4. Anything else the Lord burdens you to take on that will require courageous faith.