Guide 03: Partner with the Holy Spirit

Joining the Conversation God Is Already Having

Darrell Johnson from Regent College said: “Evangelism is joining a conversation the Holy Spirit is already having with another person.”

What if this is what God is doing in all our friends and family who do not yet know God

When we realize God is already at work, our job becomes slowing down and seeing where the Father is working, so we can join in.

Four Movements

The story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch gives us a paradigm for how to partner with the Holy Spirit.

1. Listen

   • The story begins with God speaking to Philip a word of direction: “Go south to the road.” Philip was listening.

   • And as I go throughout my day, I want to continue to listen: God, what are you doing right now? How do I join in?

2. Look

   • Philip goes to the road. No idea what God has for him there! God just drips the next step to him (“Go to the road”), then the next: “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”

   • Each time, do this small act, then wait for me to move.

   • But this requires us to learn to really see where God is at work.

3. Ask

   • Philip starts by asking a question.

   • Asking questions is often the best way to start a conversation.

   • And questions are the best way to move a conversation deeper: Shallow conversations don’t lead to God; but you can ask people about their pain, or beliefs about the meaning of life.

4. Risk

   • There comes a time when you just have to step out in faith and risk a moment.

   • There is a reciprocal relationship between our capacity for risk, and the stories we get to tell of God’s power at work through our lives.

Words, Works, and Wonders

Graham Tomlin, the Anglican bishop and theologian from St. Mellitus in London, has a threepart framework: We announce the kingdom of Jesus through words, works, and wonders.

Jesus’ followers are empowered by the Spirit of Jesus to demonstrate the arrival of the kingdom of God, through what the New Testament writers call “signs and wonders.”

We err when we regulate these “signs and wonders” to Jesus only, or the early church only; when we have two thousand years of stories of the ongoing arrival of the kingdom through Jesus’ followers, up to the present day.

Key Scripture Passage and Context

1. Acts 8v26-39: The story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch

   • This demonstrates the pattern of partnering with the Holy Spirit through listening, looking, asking, and risking.

2. “I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.” —1 Corinthians 2v3-5

   • We need God’s empowering presence to share the gospel.

Discuss Together: is there anything that stood out to you in this section? Anything you’re struggling to embrace?

Exercises to complete before next meeting (5 Minutes)

Baseline Exercise: Get together with someone who is not a follower of Jesus and practice listening to them as deeply as you can. Read through Exercises Guide below on your own before our next meeting for more help with this exercise.

Reach Exercise (optional): Ask to pray for someone who is not a Christian. See Exercises Guide for more help.

Keep Growing (optional):

• Read: The Gospel Comes with a House Key by Rosaria Butterfield (Chapters 07-09)

• Listen: Rule of Life Podcast on Witness (Episode 03)

Discuss Together: Are there any ideas, questions, or concerns you have with the exercise?

Close in Prayer (10 minutes)

Before we close, let’s take some time to pray for each other. What can we offer to God in prayer for you?

Remember: everyone prays, and everyone gets prayer.