If you missed Sunday's broadcast, please catch up by following the link below. (For the foreseeable future, we be running our Sunday morning services digitally. Please go to our website on Sundays at 10:30 to join in)
We have seen that Joseph was ‘discerning’ - He knew what was true; and he was also ‘wise' - He put truth into practice. Finally, he is described by Pharaoh,
“Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the Spirit of God” (Genesis 41:38)
The Spirit of God gave Joseph his dreams, his ability to interpret dreams, his conviction and self-control to flee from temptation, his ability to endure suffering, his administrative skills…
The life of Joseph mirrors that of David in many respects. David was also empowered by the Spirit for what God was calling him to do. We read,
‘So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David…’ (1 Samuel 16:13)
Both David and Joseph are ‘types’ of Christ. The word ‘Christ’ is a Greek word meaning ‘the anointed one’. David was anointed with oil when he was chosen as king. Oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit empowering someone for a task. Jesus -the Christ- is the one who is ‘The Anointed One’ - the great, promised, Saviour King, but He is also the one who gives the Holy Spirit for all that His church needs. John the Baptist says of Jesus,
“…I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptise with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptise with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.” (John 1:33-34)
RESPONSE
The Father knows our needs. That is why we are inspired by these examples and are also encouraged to ask for the same power that they had,
‘“If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”’ (Luke 11:13.
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