Prep+ Podcast #1
00:00:00:27 - 00:00:19:35
Unknown
Welcome. You're listening to our Prep Plus podcast, where we're seeking to energise and equip you as a great group leader to have a wonderful session with your group. Growing as disciples of Jesus. This is the first Prep Plus podcast in our series on the Holy Spirit and I'm joined by Ellen. Welcome. Thanks. Great to be with you. You wrote these studies.
00:00:19:35 - 00:00:37:30
Unknown
We're going to be sure we're going to be sharp. We're going to be on target, seeking to equip you, to do a great time with your group, own study one. What's our big prayer? And would you pray it for us and for our group? I'd love to. We pray that, that we know God's love for us in the Lord Jesus.
00:00:37:30 - 00:01:13:46
Unknown
And may we obey him all the more. So let's pray that, loving father, please help us as we open Your Word to know more of your love for us. That wonderful love shown to us in the Lord Jesus. And may we respond in obedience and joyful obedience as we read and study His Word together. Amen. Amen. You can find those big prayers on page two of your booklet now, if you haven't already, why don't you pause this and go and prep run through those questions, reflect on the application, and then come on back.
00:01:13:51 - 00:01:36:37
Unknown
But if you have prepped, let's plough on. So those big prayers are really helpful. They're going to kind of give you a shape, for each study where you're shooting at. And you'll also notice as you flick through the booklet as I am now, that there's an introduction section there, which is really explaining you could use this with your groups, or you could just read it yourselves, which really kind of explains why are we looking at this part of the Bible?
00:01:36:37 - 00:01:59:04
Unknown
Usually we follow the sermon series and do the same passages, but actually. Oh, and we're looking at really John 14 to 16 while the sermon series is going to do five talks and I'll actually say what they are so that you get a flavour for what is the work of the Holy Spirit. This is a real crucial series, I think, for us to understand people can have all sorts of backgrounds and questions.
00:01:59:09 - 00:02:20:46
Unknown
And some of what we get is not really from the Bible, and some of it is, and some of his promises, we don't really take hold of as much as we could. So the five talks that we're going to do in church is the Spirit and Christ, which is looking at John 14 to 16. So you would have already heard a talk on this whole section, which is going to help you orientate these studies.
00:02:20:51 - 00:02:46:40
Unknown
The second talk is on the Spirit and World Mission. Third, talk the Spirit and God's Word for talk, the spirit and holiness, the transformation of the believer and final talk, the spirit and church. But oh, and why have we zoomed in on John 14 to 16 for these four great group studies? I guess we've said we said this is the Jesus's comprehensive teaching on the Holy Spirit, found in this section.
00:02:46:51 - 00:03:11:15
Unknown
Now, that's not to say Jesus is saying everything that is to be said about the Holy Spirit. It is contextual. It is a particular moment when he's in the upper room with his disciple, with the apostles, with his disciples. But he he goes pretty fully in speaking about the spirit and how the spirit coming, who will be sent to them, will empower them to witness.
00:03:11:15 - 00:03:37:30
Unknown
And so it's just it just important. I mean, it's it's five promises. Jesus makes five promises here. It's just important sort of whole section about their witness to the world. That's really helpful. Particularly said this is a particular moment he's giving these we sometimes call it the upper room discourse is in his upper room teaching. When they were in the upper room, the night before his death.
00:03:37:31 - 00:03:57:07
Unknown
Yeah. Starting when he he washes their feet, if you remember that. So he's kicked off with that and then has this section, which just means, wow, this is what he really wanted to teach them that last night. And while it is the longest section we have in the New Testament about the Holy Spirit, and it's definitely his longest kind of teaching section on this, there are other passages about the Holy Spirit as well.
00:03:57:12 - 00:04:19:46
Unknown
Yeah. So there's going to be themes about the Holy Spirit that come out more strongly in this section, perhaps about, the role of the apostles and how they, they knew what to, you know, they could be trusted as authors of the New Testament about witness to the world. But perhaps there's a bit less about, like what the spirit gifting the church or, those kind of aspects as well.
00:04:19:55 - 00:04:34:51
Unknown
That's not even transformation of the believer in kind of sanctification. So those are getting covered more in the talks. But we're zooming on this section. That's right. And you wouldn't expect Jesus to be giving this is Jesus. Not aim is not like the whole sort of, set of teaching on the on the Holy Spirit doing a doctrine lecture.
00:04:34:53 - 00:04:54:04
Unknown
No, he's not talking to these particular people in that particular moment, which is such a key moment in his ministry. Now, before we get into the questions, though, you said something else. You kind of said apostles, disciples. Yes, we need to understand what those two things are, because it's the same group of people that he's talking to, but he kind of talks to them.
00:04:54:09 - 00:05:23:13
Unknown
You know, they are both apostles and disciples, but I'm a disciple and not an apostle. So can you tell us what they are and why that matters? Yeah, you can see that on page seven. This is in study one where we say all apostles disciples, but not all disciples are apostles. And so we're trying to think carefully here when Jesus is making a promise, is he making a promise to them, as the apostles mandated, who were going to be prepared for the witness that they're going to have in the world, which is their particular witness?
00:05:23:18 - 00:05:40:33
Unknown
Yes, we too will witness in the world, but not quite in the same way that they do. I'm not that original messenger. That's right from the lips of Jesus. But I am a learner. I am a disciple. That's right. Now this will come up again in study two, but it's worth just flagging this difference now because it's going to kind of carry through at different points.
00:05:40:37 - 00:06:04:45
Unknown
Yeah. Sometimes we're going to be thinking, actually when Jesus makes a promise is he is he making that a promise to all disciples of all time? There will be moments where that is clear, where Jesus uses that language, like anyone who, well, anyone who wants to follow me must. Well, that's clearly to everyone. But there would be times when he says, the spirit will come and remind you of all that I have taught you.
00:06:04:49 - 00:06:22:54
Unknown
Well, that's not quite a promise that we can take. We haven't been reminded of what Jesus said directly to us. So anyone say the words themselves are going to help us make those? That's right. Make those distinctions. So study one. You might want to do just a general check in if you're coming back after the holidays, how are people going?
00:06:22:58 - 00:06:46:46
Unknown
And then we have a kind of a share question then about eavesdropping in because we get to listening in on this incredible conversation and such a helpful table there right away. Is this a promise? Is this verse about just to the 11 because it remember at this point Judas has left, he's betrayed Jesus. So they're down to 11 disciple apostles.
00:06:46:51 - 00:07:06:23
Unknown
Or is it one that the that we could say is also to us as disciples in general? I'm interested in verse 26. That might be one if I would slow down and make sure that you have it. Have a think about verse 26, and if you think it's to them or to us or and what you think of writing that, do you think there's some good guidance that you could give us all one about what to look for?
00:07:06:23 - 00:07:31:21
Unknown
Notice in that verse. Well, just a quick reading. It's straight reading. He'll be sent in Jesus name. He will teach you of all things and bring to your remembrance all that I've said to you. That seems to be something to them, doesn't it? Remembering. And that straight away tells me what they're writing in the scriptures in the New Testament is, is is for us.
00:07:31:26 - 00:07:54:47
Unknown
So but secondarily for us. It's not that we're remembering Jesus's words. We're remembering his words through their remembering. So good. So I like I think what you've helped me see on is that we can actually look at the words, we don't have to read this back into it. We can actually see the way that Jesus frames these promises to actually say clearly, who the promises were to.
00:07:54:52 - 00:08:12:23
Unknown
So I'm interested in the dig deeper. Can I just say something? We have set this up so that study one is a bit longer. We need to know that we need to remember, study one deals with two promises. And then the rest of the study three, two, three and four. Deal. One each. So you just need to what your time is.
00:08:12:23 - 00:08:28:21
Unknown
Study one. Be careful with study one because you you're going to be dealing with two promises. That's helpful. So do keep moving along and do get to those dig deeper questions I love, your first question. Oh, and why would it be wrong to think that the spirit comes to us as a result of our own effort?
00:08:28:22 - 00:08:45:27
Unknown
Because that can be rolling around in our minds a little bit? Like, do I have to kind of level up in my relationship with God to get a full, kind of full filling of the Holy Spirit? And sometimes there is teaching like that rolling around. Well, I think you're zooming in on that language of it's a gift.
00:08:45:27 - 00:09:05:00
Unknown
Yep, yep. I'm giving this to you. I'm giving him to you. And that's actually worth being clear on. Let's not call the Holy Spirit in eight, or a witch, but he's a who? He's a person of the Trinity. And you footnote there also is just helpful. You've got the word helper coming up. Sometimes you've got the word advocate.
00:09:05:00 - 00:09:33:04
Unknown
It depends on a little bit on your translation. The footnote there helps. This is a unique word I think, that Jesus is using. We say this Paraclete. I will give you another Paraclete. It it's pretty unique to this moment, although it does come up in one John where, where you see this used as well. Helper advocate, I think the footnote seems to be saying what we're saying here, that no one word gets at all.
00:09:33:09 - 00:10:00:45
Unknown
And that's the thing about translation, isn't it? It's there's not it'll be unusual for there to be an English word that exactly replicated an ancient Greek word. And so you might have yet helper, advocate, comforter, but they all doing that. Paraclete. I always think of parakeets, but, that would. And just if you want to jot down these references 1416, 14, 26, 15, 26, 16, seven and one John two one, those are the five instances of that word being used in the New Testament.
00:10:00:50 - 00:10:18:45
Unknown
I love the conflict question here. And I love how it would have been such a comfort, given the context that they were in, that their beloved Jesus was going away, but there was incredible comfort on its way. So do you take the time to think through those, dig deeper questions and choose the ones that might be more relevant to your group?
00:10:18:50 - 00:10:39:19
Unknown
And then we kind of zoom in over the page. Now, on the second promise, and again, I feel like there's a way that this brings us comfort. Comfort in knowing that when we read the New Testament, we're reading the words that Jesus wants us to read. He wants us to know. So do you have any final thoughts to help us on that?
00:10:39:28 - 00:10:56:16
Unknown
Second promise that the second promise 25 yeah, I I've, I've said these while I'm still with you, but the help of the Holy Spirit, who the father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all I've said to you. No, I don't think I've got anything to say. So that's it, guys.
00:10:56:16 - 00:11:20:57
Unknown
Always worth writing the rest. And I think it is a helpful finish there that Christian spirituality down the bottom of the leave it out question is, is obedience? I don't know, sometimes obedience gets a bad rap. But we do. We follow our Lord and Saviour. And so we are going to do, what he asks, knowing that it is for our good so that there is quite a lot in that study.
00:11:21:01 - 00:11:36:16
Unknown
So you might need to watch your timing carefully. And if people have got questions and you're finding things coming up, you might even want to set aside a piece of paper that's like our Holy Spirit questions page. And you could revisit it each week. You can see how they getting answered through the sermon series. Yes.
00:11:36:24 - 00:11:50:33
Unknown
Don't feel like you're going to have to have all the answers all the time. Write down those questions. Come back to them as they come up in the text and in the sermons. And let's investigate and learn together. You've been listening to the Plus podcast.