FOCUS ON OTHERS | August Small Groups

hello and welcome to the first night of small groups we're so excited to be back with you i'm zane and i'm going to get it kicked off tonight we're going to get right into it i want to ask you a few questions here this evening the first one might be the easiest to answer do you love the lord now it's a simple question but it's one that we need to be asking ourselves from time to time if your answer is yes then there's another question that should soon follow how is the feeding going now that one might be a little bit strange so let me share a passage of scripture that might clarify that just a little bit in the 21st chapter of john the resurrected jesus is talking to simon peter and in the 15th verse he asked this question simon son of jonah do you love me more than these peter answers him in the next verse and says yes lord you know that i love you jesus replies with this bombshell feed my lambs jesus goes on to ask peter this question two more times and every time peter replies yes lord you know that i love you much like any of us would answer but jesus follows it follows it up every time with feed my lambs feed my sheep tend my sheep so the next question i ask should be self-explanatory do you think this was important to the lord loving the lord and serving him faithfully cannot be done without tending to others now looking to others is going to be a theme this year at small groups this semester we have a tendency to put the focus on ourselves now this is a natural tendency but it's not a godly one so the next question is how how do we do this over the coming months we're going to be getting into more specifics but i want to give you the first step here tonight it's asking for his spirit to come into and lead your life now the apostle paul asked a question to some believers he found in acts chapter 19 at ephesus he said did you receive the holy spirit when you believed go ahead and ask your neighbor that right now go ahead and ask him now some of you may have answered that question yes and thank the lord for that you know how much of a life-changing experience that was for you but some of you may have answered like the believers there in ephesus we didn't even know there was such a thing as the holy spirit let me stop long enough to say that if it hasn't happened for you there's a group there of people that would love to pray for that to happen tonight be brave ask someone around you to help you pray and it can happen right where you are tonight you don't have to have a church service you don't have to have to have an altar you just have to ask and the lord will fill you with his spirit right there in that living room or wherever you find yourself tonight with that said i want all of us whether we've been filled with his spirit for years or in jesus name we're going to be filled for the first time there at small groups tonight to have a good understanding about what this is for acts 1 and 8 jesus is fixing to ascend into heaven but before he goes he tells his disciples go wait for the promise he's talking about the holy spirit and he gives them some insight about what it will be for he says but you shall receive power when the holy ghost has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to me in jerusalem that's first in judea and samaria that second and to the end of the earth that means everywhere so if you didn't already know this your holy ghost isn't just about you now let me clarify is it essential for your personal salvation you better believe it is jesus told nicodemus in john 3 and 5 most assuredly i say to you unless one is born of water in the spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of god it's essential for you to be filled with the holy spirit but it goes so far beyond all that he fills you with his spirit for you first and trust me you won't regret it for yourself but he also feels you so that you can be a witness for him wherever you go now that's a bright statement i know and like i said earlier we'll get into more specifics as the semester goes forward but every topic we're going to be discussing this semester is about others and in every area being filled with his spirit is essential now some people say you might be one of these that they can't do anything in their day without coffee you have any coffee fans there tonight i'm not personally in that camp but let me tell you something i don't want to do anything in my day without the spirit leaving and guiding me so do you have trouble talking to people about the lord his spirit will give you the power to do that do you have trouble knowing what to pray for people and how to intercede for them his spirit will give you the power to do that do you struggle seeing the practical needs all around you and how to help others you guessed it his spirit will help you with that too his spirit in your life didn't put a frown on your face it didn't make you not like people and it sure didn't make you put the focus on yourself if reaching others around you is something that you struggle with then it's time to be refreshed and repurposed by his spirit tonight now i'm not going to belabor the point because i want you to discuss this amongst your group if any of you have taken care of animals you know that it involves work i learned this lesson early on growing up my grandfather used to take us on a trip every day he would take us down to the barn to feed the horses then we'd take a ride on the side by side and go down to the pond and feed the fishes now getting out that feeding pail and making sure all the animals were fed required being intentional you don't keep animals alive by feeding them when you feel like it no you have to do that every day the same should be said about our witness it's an everyday occurrence now if you're gathering in your group tonight i think it's safe to say that you love the lord so don't let your previous mess up stop you from letting the lord use you to be a witness and feed his sheep let's make up in our minds tonight that we're going to seek after his spirit get out the feeding pail and get to work i'm believing for great things this year in small groups so let's discuss this let's get into it let's feed those sheep

Channel: New Life Church Cabot

Views: 59

Rating: 5 out of 5

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Id: 6MTxZcC57CA

Length: 7min 56sec (476 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 26 2021