AWAKENING - WEEK 2

Making the Spirit the source of our Hope

Key Scriptures: Romans 5:1-5; Mark 9:14-25 (you could add Romans 15:13, but there
probably won’t be a slide for it.
What is the source of your hope?
Hope is easy to find when things are going well
Therefore, since we have been declared
righteous by faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have also
obtained access through him by faith into
this grace in which we stand, and we
rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
Romans 5:1-2
What about when things aren’t going so well
And not only that, but we also rejoice in our
afflictions, because we know that affliction
produces endurance, endurance produces
proven character, and proven character
produces hope. This hope will not disappoint
us, because God’s love has been poured
out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who
was given to us.
Romans 5:3-5
- God doesn’t want to just take away our afflictions. He wants to use them to build
our character!
- Whatever you are going through is an opportunity for God to reveal himself to you
and to those around you

Affliction produces Endurance – Endurance produces Proven Character – Proven Character
leads to Hope

When they returned to the other disciples,
they saw a large crowd surrounding them,
and some teachers of religious law were
arguing with them. When the crowd saw
Jesus, they were overwhelmed with awe, and
they ran to greet him. “What is all this arguing
about?” Jesus asked. One of the men in the
crowd spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought
my son so you could heal him. He is
possessed by an evil spirit that won’t let him
talk. And whenever this spirit seizes him, it
throws him violently to the ground. Then he
foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and
becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to
cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn’t do it.”
Mark 9:14-18
Side note
- God can use anybody’s story, but you have to be willing to speak up out of the
crowd.
Affliction
- Affliction calls for action! Bring your problems to God
Jesus said to them, “You faithless people!
How long must I be with you? How long must
I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.” So
they brought the boy. But when the evil spirit
saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent
convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing
and foaming at the mouth.
Mark 9:19-20

o Endurance isn’t easy. Building strength and endurance will always lead to
pain

“How long has this been happening?” Jesus
asked the boy’s father. He replied, “Since he
was a little boy. The spirit often throws him
into the fire or into water, trying to kill him.
Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.”
“What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus
asked. “Anything is possible if a person
believes.” The father instantly cried out, “I do
believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”
Mark 9:21-24
- Proven character doesn’t wait for proof.
o Don’t expect your problems to go away before you truly believe
- Hope does not disappoint
- Are you willing to wait for God to act in HIS timing
When Jesus saw that the crowd of onlookers
was growing, he rebuked the evil spirit. “Listen,
you spirit that makes this boy unable to hear
and speak,” he said. “I command you to come
out of this child and never enter him again!”
Then the spirit screamed and threw the boy
into another violent convulsion and left him.
The boy appeared to be dead. A murmur ran
hrough the crowd as people said, “He’s dead.”
But Jesus took him by the hand and helped
him to his feet, and he stood up.
Mark 9:25
- Romans 15:13: I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and
peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the
power of the Holy Spirit.
- Hope without the Spirit of God is nothing more than wishful thinking
- Awaken the power of the Spirit to guide your hope