Following the Holy Spirit

In one paragraph

This message closed out Tribe's "Walking in the Spirit" series by connecting the biblical feast of Shavuot to the question of what it actually looks like to follow the Holy Spirit. Brian worked through the book of Ruth alongside passages from Deuteronomy and Luke to show that following is a theme running through scripture and through Jesus' own life. The setting was the TMC rather than the...

Read together

1. Philippians 2:13 God works in us to give us both the will and the power to do what pleases him
2. Deuteronomy 16:9-12 the feast of harvest instruction to bring a voluntary offering in proportion to how God has blessed you
3. Ecclesiastes 3:11 God has planted eternity in the human heart, giving every person an inner compass toward him
4. Luke 4:1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, was led by the Spirit into the wilderness
5. Joel 2 Peter quoted Joel on the day of Pentecost to explain the outpouring of the Spirit
6. Romans 2 our conscience bears witness, either condemning or affirming our actions

What was said

• Go back through your week and write down specific ways God has blessed you, then let that list shape how generously you respond to him.
• Catch up on the Walking in the Spirit series on Spotify, iTunes, or YouTube if you missed any of the earlier conversations.
• When you feel the Holy Spirit nudging you in a direction that surprises you or costs you something, resist the urge to read hard circumstances as a sign you are off track.
• Stop using a name for yourself that God would not use, and replace it with what he actually says about you in scripture.
• If you are a man, show up to the men's Bible study Monday at 6PM at the TMC, where the group is working through a book on walking with the Spirit.

Talk about it

1. Brian talked about God's family feasts being an invitation to remember, recalibrate, and rehearse. Which of those three feels most alive or most lacking in your own life right now, and why?
2. The free will offering in Deuteronomy 16 is voluntary but guided by the principle of giving in proportion to how God has blessed you. What would it actually look like for you to sit down and take stock of what God has done for you before deciding what to give back?
3. Naomi wanted to rename herself Mara, but the author of Ruth keeps calling her Naomi throughout the story. What is a name or label you have tried to put on yourself that God would refuse to use?
4. Brian used the example of Ruth following Naomi and Boaz to illustrate what it looks like to follow the Holy Spirit, and pointed out that the Spirit sometimes leads in a direction we did not expect or want. Has there been a time when following God meant a hard right turn or a u-turn? What did that reveal about what was in your heart?
5. Brian drew a parallel between Moses trying to deliver Israel through his own strength and the danger of doing God-given work outside of partnership with the Holy Spirit. Where in your life right now might you be pursuing something genuinely good but in your own strength rather than under His leadership?