bigidearesources.combigidearesources.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Unseen-Big-Id… · Web viewThe word angel comes from the Greek angelos which means “messenger.” The Hebrew

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SERIES BIG IDEALearning to see the unseen helps us recognize that our story is part of God’s

bigger story of redemption.

SERIES OVERVIEWWhat we see is not all there is. The material world we can touch, taste, hear, and

see is not the only reality around us. What is unseen? This series will challenge

us to open our eyes to the spiritual realm so that we can live in the power of the

Spirit and fight against the powers of darkness.

WEEK 1 | OCTOBER 22 | UNSEEN REALM Scripture: 2 Kings 6:8-23 (Focus: 6:15-17), Genesis 1:1, Genesis 1:26, Hebrews

1:14, Hebrews 13:2

Message Big IdeaGod created spiritual beings who carry out his work of redemption.

15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next

morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my

lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked. 16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet

answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”17

And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord

opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and

chariots of fire all around Elisha. -2 Kings 6:15-17

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. -Genesis 1:1

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26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness…” -

Genesis 1:26

14 Therefore, angels are only servants—spirits sent to care for people who will

inherit salvation. -Hebrews 1:14 NLT

Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have

shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. -Hebrews 13:2

Message DescriptionThere is an unseen world all around us (2 Kings 6:15-17). Like Elisha’s servant,

most of us live unaware of the larger cosmic story of which our story is just a

part.

Yet, at the same time, we see a fascination with the unseen world in our culture.

Here we’ll want to share cultural examples from movies, TV, collectibles, etc. that

deal with the unseen realm. We can also share information on how prevalent

belief in supernatural beings is among Americans (Scot McKnight cites two

studies - In one, 82% of Americans believe in angels. In the other, 77% of

American adults believe in angels. The Hum of Angels, p.11). And, though

people tend to be embarrassed to talk about it, more people than you might think

wonder if they’ve had an encounter with an angel.

Scripture actually talks about the unseen realm a lot. So what does it actually

say?

This unseen world was created by God and contains beings that were made in

his image. These beings have free will just like the human beings he created in

the seen world. Some of these beings chose to follow God, others rebelled.


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In this first message, we’ll spend some time on beings who carry out God’s

purposes. We’ll focus on angels.

There are over 200 references to angels in the Bible. The word angel comes

from the Greek angelos which means “messenger.” The Hebrew word malak also

means “messenger.” Angels are messengers or spirits on mission. (Hebrews

1:14) Angels are sent from heaven to earth to accomplish God’s purposes. They

do God’s bidding.

Possibly talk about the various forms angels take in Scripture.

Possibly combat some of the false ideas we have about angels (i.e. that people

become angels when we die).

Possibly zero in on a few purposes we see angels fulfill in Scripture.

Angels sent to announce news/give information - Shepherds (Luke 2:8-15),

Women (Luke 24:1-8), John (Revelation 1:1-2).

Angels sent to reassure and comfort - Paul (Acts 27:13-26)

Angels sent to rescue and deliver - Peter (Acts 12:1-11).

Angels sent to direct people on mission - Philip (Acts 8:26-25).

In the conclusion of this message, we’ll need to address why all of this matters.

How does being aware of the unseen help us in the seen world? This can also

foreshadow next week.

Docent Requests: 2 Kings 6 Commentary (focus on v.15-17).

Genesis 1:1 - Commentary on “heavens.” Do scholars see this as referring

to the creation of the supernatural realm?

Genesis 1:26 - Commentary on “our.” Is the majority consensus that this is

not trinitarian but rather refers to the created supernatural beings?


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Hebrews 1:14 - Commentary on what this verse tells us about angels.

Hebrews 13:2 - Commentary.

Overview of the various forms angels take in Biblical stories.

How do various theologians/authors answer these questions: Why bother

learning about the unseen realm? Why is it important to be aware of it?

How could an increased awareness make a difference in our lives?

Cultural examples illustrating our interest in the unseen world (movies, TV,

fascination with the paranormal).

Humorous examples of cultural depictions of angels.

Common misconceptions people have about angels.

Stories that were in credible news sources about angels.


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WEEK 2 | OCTOBER 29 | UNSEEN BATTLE Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-18; Proverbs 3:5-6; 2 Corinthians 10:3-4

MESSAGE BIG IDEAEvery one of us is in an unseen battle that God equips us to fight.

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor

of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our

struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the

authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces

of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that

when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you

have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled

around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with

your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In

addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all

the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword

of the Spirit,which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions

with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep

on praying for all the Lord’s people. -Ephesians 6:10-18

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight - Proverbs

3:5-6

3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The

weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they

have divine power to demolish strongholds. - 2 Corinthians 10:3-4


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MESSAGE DESCRIPTION"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, but we are spiritual

beings having a human experience." - Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Whether you realize it or not, you are living in the crossfire of a spiritual battle.

You have an enemy who is determined to destroy everything and everyone

important to you. But how did we get here? Where did this enemy come from?

The Bible lifts the curtain of our visible existence so that we can see the world as

it really is. Through the lens of Scripture we discover not only that there is an

unseen world...but there is an unseen battle as well. In fact, this is the enemy’s

greatest tactic - to stay “under the radar,” keeping us unaware of the battle at

hand.

Paul's use of the personal pronoun "our" in Ephesians 6:12 shows us this war is

not just a spat between two cosmic forces that has little to do with us. We cannot

shrug our shoulders when we read about it and say "I don't have a dog in that

fight." We all have a stake in this battle.

How can we not only survive, but win the war that has been waged against us?

Paul encourages us to "put on the full armor of God, that we may be able to

stand firm against the schemes of the devil."

Author Neil Anderson compares the world of Satan and his demons to the world

of germs. We know that germs, though invisible, are all around us. They inhabit

our food, our water, our air, and other people with whom we come in contact.

Some people are absolutely phobic about germs and spend their lives trying to

insulate themselves from any contact with them.


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But the right diet, appropriate rest and exercise, and practicing some simple

principles of hygiene will protect you from most infections. You do not have to

obsess about germs to be free from them. Yet, without an awareness of these

microbes — and the ways to protect yourselves from them — you would be more

prone to illness and even death.

We need to exercise balance in our understanding of this complex subject of

spiritual warfare. But do not equate "balance" with "passive." As the ancient

warrior Sun Tzu observed:

The art of war is of vital importance.... It is a matter of life and death, a road to

either to safety or to ruin. Under no circumstances can it be ignored.

There is an enemy

There is a battle

There is a battlefield

There is a victory

Docent Requests: Commentary work on key Scriptures

Examples/illustrations of things that are true/real that we often fail to

see/recognize.

Where did the enemy come from? How did they rebel against God?

Context regarding how an ancient Jewish audience would’ve understood

“battle” imagery and language.

What are the ways we often misinterpret concepts like “spiritual battles”?

What were some early church practices for guarding against unseen

battles?

WEEK 3 | NOVEMBER 5 | UNSEEN GOD


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Scripture: John 14:15-20,25-27, John 15:26, John 16:7-15, Acts 1:1-9, Acts 2:1-4

NOTE – This is Time Change Weekend – Gift Mart promotion begins

MESSAGE BIG IDEAThe Spirit is the unseen presence and power of God in our lives.

15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will

give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of

truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him.

But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[c] in you. 18 I will not leave

you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me

anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day

you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.

25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy

Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will

remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace

I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be

troubled and do not be afraid. -John 14:15-20, 25-27

26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the

Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. -John 15:26

7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go

away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8

When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and

righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me;

10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see

me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now


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stands condemned. 12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now

bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the

truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will

tell you what is yet to come.14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he

will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is

mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known

to you.” -John 16:7-15

In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to

teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through

the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he presented

himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He

appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of

God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this

command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised,

which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a

few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 6 Then they gathered around

him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to

Israel?” 7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father

has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit

comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and

Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9 After he said this, he was taken up

before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. -Acts 1:1-9

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.2 Suddenly

a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole

house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire

that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with


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the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. -

Acts 2:1-4

MESSAGE DESCRIPTIONAfter lots of talk about angels and demons and spiritual warfare, this week we’re

going to talk about the most important being in the unseen world...God. And

specifically, how God is present with us through the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the supernatural presence and person of God living within

anyone who has committed their life to Christ.

Could be good to do a brief overview of where we see the Holy Spirit in Scripture.

He was there in the beginning. He shows up in the lives of significant leaders and

events in the Old Testament. He makes appearances in the first pages of the

New Testament at Jesus’ birth and baptism.

But after Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension, the Holy Spirit shows up in a

whole new way. When Jesus leaves the earth physically, the Spirit of God, for

the very first time in history, takes up permanent residence inside people who

commit to following Jesus. God isn’t just the Creator of the universe that is

somewhere out there… if you’re a follower of Jesus he is in you!

The Holy Spirit’s role is so important that Jesus says it will actually be better for

us to have the Spirit than it would have been for Jesus to stay.

Our focus in this message will be to discover what Jesus said about the Holy

Spirit and the role he would play in our lives after Jesus returned to heaven.

Some things we learn about the Spirit from Jesus...


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The Spirit guides us to truth. The Spirit teaches us and reminds us of what Jesus

taught. He makes the word of God known to us.

The Spirit convicts us of sin.

The Spirit gives us power.

If you are a Christ-follower, the Holy Spirit is present with you and lives within

you. The question is… How much influence will you allow him to have in your

life? Will you let him carry out his purposes as you relationally walk with him

moment by moment?

When you do, you will begin to see evidence of his work in your life. The kind of

evidence we’ll talk about in Week 4 of this series.

Docent Requests: Commentary on the John and Acts passages.

Provide a brief overview of times the Holy Spirit is mentioned in Scripture

from Genesis 1 through Jesus’ baptism. What do we know about the Spirit

pre-Jesus’ teachings?

Analogies or word pictures spiritual writers give to describe the Holy Spirit.

Misconceptions about the Holy Spirit and/or his role.

Ideas/Quotes from spiritual writers on how the Holy Spirit operates in our

lives.

What are some practices available to us to open us up to the work of the

Spirit?


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WEEK 4 | NOVEMBER 12 | SEEING THE UNSEEN Scripture: Galatians 5:16-26, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, Acts 2:17-18

MESSAGE BIG IDEAThe unseen becomes seen as we invite the Holy Spirit to work in and through us.

16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17

For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary

to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do

whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and

debauchery;20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage,

selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the

like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the

kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance,

kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such

things there is no law.24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the

flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in

step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each

other. -Galatians 5:16-26

4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There

are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of

working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.8

To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a

message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the

same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another

miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between


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spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the

interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit,

and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines. -1 Corinthians 12:4-

11

17 “‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons

and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will

dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my

Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. -Acts 2:17-18

MESSAGE DESCRIPTION

Every Christ-follower is given the Holy Spirit, but in Galatians 5, Paul exhorts us

to make sure we walk by the Spirit...that we keep in step with the Spirit. This is

about living in partnership with the Spirit, letting God do what he wants to do in

and through our lives.

When we do, the unseen becomes visible. We begin to recognize evidence of

the Spirit’s work. We begin seeing the unseen.

This message will be about how the Spirit becomes visible through us.

The unseen work of the Spirit becomes seen through…

The Fruit of the Spirit - As we allow the Spirit to work in our lives, he transforms

us from the inside out. This transformation will start to become visible through the

“fruit” he produces in our lives.

The Gifts of the Spirit - The Spirit gives gifts to every member of the Christian

community for the good of the community. When we exercise these gifts, serving


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one another with our given gifts, we will see evidence of God at work in our

community.

Words given by the Spirit - In Acts 2, Peter says one way we will see the work of

the Spirit is that the Spirit will empower members of the Christian community to

speak words of insight, direction, promises, or calls to obedience. The Spirit

wants to give us these “words” for each other.

That third one, prophetic words, makes a lot of us uncomfortable. Certainly there

have been many instances in church history (and maybe in our personal history)

where this practice has been wrongly implemented. Yet, we need to be cautious

about throwing out something God intends for us because at times it has been

twisted or abused. The Holy Spirit appears 59 times in Acts, and in thirty-six of

those appearances, we see him speaking through someone. Empowering

prophetic speech is the primary thing the Spirit does in Acts (Greear, Jesus

Continued, 135). It is a significant way that the unseen work of God becomes

seen.

J.D. Greear offers some “Ground Rules” that can be helpful (Jesus Continued,

145-146):

Ground Rules for Giving WordsNever claim the authority of God on your words. Don’t say, “God says…” Rather,

“I believe God might have put this on my heart to say…”

Prophetic words are strongest when tied to actual Scripture.

Prophetic words are meant to build up the church and guide the mission. Use

only for those purposes.


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Ground Rules for Receiving WordsIt’s OK to be a little skeptical. But don’t let that keep you from receiving what God

might have for you.

Ask: Does this “word” contradict what God says in Scripture?

Ask: Does this “word” line up with other things I see God doing in my heart/life?

Ask: Does this “word” glorify God or the one giving it?”

We’ll want to get practical at the end of this message. If we want to walk by the

Spirit, be in step with the Spirit so that the unseen becomes visible in our lives,

what should we do? (i.e. Prayer - Ask God to fill you with his Spirit, Spiritual

Disciplines, LifeMAP).

Docent Requests: Commentary on the Biblical passages.

In particular, make sure we get commentary on what it means to “walk by

the Spirit” and keep “in step with the Spirit.”

Illustrations of something unseen becoming seen.

Stories of God giving someone a “word” to give to a total stranger that

proved to be prompted by the Spirit.

Unpack the difference between “judging” and “judgmentalism” with

regards to discerning fruit of Spirit.

Practical suggestions for “walking in the Spirit” - something often seen as

impractical/hard to define.

History of what “prophetic words” meant and have meant throughout

history.


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