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“And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.” The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the Spirit of God” (Genesis 41:33-38)
On Sunday our message was entitled, ‘Dreamers store and share by the Spirit’. The main point was that we can only share what we store.
Joseph was a man who was 'discerning and wise' and Spirit-filled, and if we are to be effective in living in the dreams (God's will) that the Father has given to us, we need to store these attributes.
'Discernment' is about knowledge. We store discernment through devotion to scripture.
It's interesting that one of the things that happened to the Early Church after The Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit fell so powerfully, was that,
'They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.'
If we want to be a Spirit-filled people, and if we are Spirit-filled, we will be devoted to truth. The Holy Spirit gave us His word. Paul wrote,
'All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.' (2 Timothy 3:16)
The promise is clear: If you want to be mature and be equipped to fulfil the dreams God has for you, you must be a student of God's word.
Finally, let's allow the Great Commission of Jesus to convict and fill us with hope that we also can be great bible-students! Jesus commands us,
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20
RESPONSE
Are you learning discernment from Jesus? Or are you learning principally from secular psychology, Radio 4, Netflix, YouTube, Self-help gurus...? Of course, we can learn a lot from sources other than the Bible, however, God has given us His word which is sufficient for all things. Are you picking up His word each day and asking, "Lord Jesus, what do you want to teach me today?"
COMMUNITY GROUP STUDY – DREAMERS STORE AND SHARE BY THE SPIRIT
Notices
It might be good to begin with notices. Please share from this week’s Church News
Suggested opener/Ice-breaker
What are you really good at and how did you come to realise this?
Introduction - please read in your group
Please read Genesis 41:33-38
On Sunday our message was entitled, ‘Dreamers store and share by the Spirit’. The main point was that we can only share what we store.
Joseph was a man who was 'discerning and wise' and Spirit-filled (Genesis 42: and if we are to be effective in living in the dreams (God's will) that the Father has given to us, we need to store these attributes.
'Discernment' is about knowledge. We store discernment through devotion to scripture.
'Wisdom' is about application of truth in life. We store 'wisdom' by putting truth into practice and paying attention to the lessons that God is teaching us in our lives.
Finally, it was said of Joseph, '“Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the Spirit of God” . We become Spirit-filled through investing in our relationship with God.
If we store in these areas, we will have something to share with others. We will be a real blessing.
Discuss/share/pray in smaller groups:
We were encouraged on Sunday, to take a lunch break each day in order to 'store' God's truth and invest in our relationship with God. How has this been going for you?
What is the Holy Spirit speaking to you about (maybe from Sunday's message)?
What will you do in response?
How can we pray for you?
Do you plan to invite anyone to our Alpha Course beginning Monday 15th June 7:30pm? Let's pray for our upcoming Alpha course and that we would make the invitation. For more details go to: https://www.communitychurchputney.com/alpha
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