We had five girls this past Friday. If the Holy Spirit reminds you about this prison Bible study on Friday nights, please pray for me and Sandy, my co-teacher. Please pray for all prison ministries throughout the world, that God would “open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me [Jesus]” Acts 26:18.
Please pray for Shaina, she was a drug runner to Philadelphia and faces State time. Her boyfriend died of an overdose. Then she tried to overdose on Fentanyl but survived. She realizes God saved her for a purpose. She has three children and cries herself to sleep over her many losses. She is growing in her faith but needs your prayers. Theresa has been very faithful in attending the Bible Study but is now legally blind because of cataracts. Another girl, Tiffany, returned from State prison for a hearing. She was so glad she came to the Bible Study because she really needed to know how the Holy Spirit helps her. The following is my Bible study. I only completed points one and two. The ladies were so grateful to understand the role of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
Friday, July 21, 2023
The only way we can be victorious over addiction or bad habits is to rely on the Holy Spirit, who gives us power and will lead us on the right path. Only He can keep us on the narrow path that leads to life. We cannot do it on our own or by willpower. But, when you cease to abide in Jesus and the Word of God, then temptations will lead you astray to the path that leads to destruction (Matt. 7:13-14; look up and read). Remember, James 4:7 (look up and read). If you do not submit your thoughts to God’s truths every moment, especially when you are tempted, then the devil will lead you away from the path of life. So, what is the role of the Holy Spirit in your life?
I shared my testimony of how the Holy Spirit helped and protected me when I got involved with the wrong group of people and dated a bad character who led me down the path of destruction. The Holy Spirit convicted me of my sin and kept reminding me of the truths that I learned as a child. I stayed in the party scene until my third year of college. A Christian friend invited me to go to a Christian Campus group and a local church, but I was still partying. During a Christian concert, the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, “Either walk with me or don’t, stop walking the fence.” I made the decision that night to submit to God and walk with Him. After that, I found going out with my party friends very distasteful, and I found joy and peace in following Jesus. I struggled with my faith for a time, but the Holy Spirit encouraged me.
The following is my outline and questions on the role of the Holy Spirit. I hope you are encouraged.
1. The Holy Spirit is our helper.
John 14:26; “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
John 15:26; “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.”
___ How do you receive someone’s help?
___ When someone teaches you something, what do you do with what you learn?
___ Why can’t a prideful person receive help?
The Holy Spirit helps you pray.
___ What is prayer?
___ How often should we pray?
___ Why do you pray?
Rom 8:26-27 states, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27And he [God] who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
___ What weakness do you need the Holy Spirit to help you with?
___ Is God’s will always what your will is? Whose will is better?
Eph 6:18-20 states, “Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.”
___ How do you pray all the time in the Spirit?
___ How do we keep alert in prayer?
___ Why should we pray at all times?
1 Peter 5:8-9 tells us, “Be sober-minded; be watchful [stay in prayer]. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.”
He will lead you and tell you what to do or say.
Act 13:2 states, “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
Act 16:6 states, “And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.”
2 Peter 1:21 states, “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
___ How do you know when the Holy Spirit is speaking to you? (I shared the various times the Holy Spirit spoke to me and lead me to go places and to do something.)
2. The Holy Spirit gives you power.
Act 1:8 states, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
____ How do you know you have power?
___ What does it mean to be a witness?
Act 10:38 states, “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.” (Jesus was fully human, and I believe the anointing happened when the Holy Spirit descended on Him when He was baptized. I explained how God wants to heal them from the oppression of the devil.)
Romans 15:13 states, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
___ Why does the power of the Holy Spirit give you hope?
Next week, we will cover the next two roles of the Holy Spirit.
3. The Holy Spirit renews us.
Titus 3:3-7; For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.
4But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit
6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
4. He helps you put off your old life and put on the new life: Eph 4:22-24; Col 3:5-15;2Cor 5:17; 2Cor 7:1.
1 Thessalonians 4:7-8 states, “For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.”
Your old life of sin is full of destructive pain and guilt. Ask God to expose the sinful actions that hurt others or yourself, seek His forgiveness, and ask God to remove your guilt and the oppressive spirits from that memory and heal your emotions. Ask God to remove pridefulness so you can humbly seek forgiveness to help them be free from the pain you caused them. If you are angry or anxious, seek God to show you why. Then forgive those who betrayed you and ask God to heal your heart and remove the oppressive spirits attached to the resentment that controls your thoughts and emotions. God wants to purify you and heal your memories so you can put off your life of sin and put on a new life of righteousness, love, joy, and peace.
To read my other Prison Ministry Reports.
Hope for Complete Healing 