Gifts and Fruit of the Spirit with Amy Gannett
Today we get to hear from Amy Gannett on the topic of the gifts and fruit of the Holy Spirit. If you don’t know her, Amy has joined us on the podcast twice already! Her first book Fix Your Eyes: How Theology Shapes our Worship was released by B&H Publishers on October 5. As you’ll hear, Amy is a wife, mother, and church planter with her family in Greenville, NC. We pray this episode with Amy encourages you to dig into God’s Word as you seek to know and love him more.
Also, don’t forget to check out the Journeywomen Shop, which is open until November 12th!
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Different church traditions deal with the topic we’re dabbling in today—the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit—differently. Can we briefly discuss that spectrum of differences and what we all have in common?
Why is it important that we study the Holy Spirit?
What are the things we can know about the Spirit? How is his work unique and distinct?
How are we filled with the Holy Spirit? What evidence will we see if we are filled with the Spirit? How can we be “people of the presence”?
What has the Spirit already done in the lives of those who look to Christ in faith? And what is he continuing to do?
How should the reality that God has taken up residence in us change the way we go about our days? How does this reality impact your days as a wife, mother, church-planter, and teacher?
What are the fruit and gifts of the Holy Spirit?
Why is this an important, yet often neglected, part of the conversation?
What is the Holy Spirit doing in the Church and how are we to use the gifts he’s given us to bring about his work in the world? How is the Spirit at work in the world today?
How should/can our ministry in the Spirit resemble his work? What should our lives consistently testify to?
How does the Spirit help us cling to Christ?
NOTEWORTHY QUOTES
“We don’t have to have all the details identical to still have church unity. In the essentials we want to have unity, but God isn’t seeking uniformity.”
“The Trinity is made up of Father, Son, and Spirit. And the Spirit indwells believers and is doing the sealing and regenerating and sanctifying work that Christ accomplished on our behalf in salvation.”
“Because we trust the God of Scripture to be good, to be holy, to be for us; as believers because we believe he’s a loving Father who cares for his children, because we believe him to be righteous, we can lean in. We don’t have to be afraid that we will discover that God is someone we thought he wasn’t and that he’s going to be a disappointment. If ever we learn something about God in Scripture that we didn’t know was there before, it’s going to be only for our benefit.”
“Scriptures testify to us three very specific things about the Holy Spirit: 1. The Holy Spirit dwells in believers, 2. The Holy Spirit equips us with gifts that are meant to serve the church, 3. The Spirit is the one doing the sanctifying work in our lives.”
“Jesus, Emmanuel, was God with us, but the Spirit is actually God in believers.”
“This isn’t an abstract, far away theological concept. It’s as close as we can imagine it coming; the Holy Spirit is personal for us.”
“We come to be filled by the Spirit at the time of salvation.”
“The Spirit is given to us by God himself. God himself is giving us himself. This should not surprise us because ever since the beginning God has given himself for us and for our salvation.”
“The Holy Spirit is the third member of the Trinity, giving himself for our spiritual lives and spiritual sustenance.”
“God has given us the deposit of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and it’s a promise not just that we will be forever secure in the life to come; this deposit assures us we will have life with God now because the Spirit is in us. He’s going to see us through to the new heavens and new earth because he cannot withdraw upon himself. He actually gives us himself and he cannot lose himself.”
“God gives us the Holy Spirit as a deposit for life now. The Holy Spirit enables us to live spiritually alive lives now.”
“Patience is not natural. Joy is not natural. Love is not natural. But by the Spirit we’re going to see more and more evidence that those things are being brought about in our lives.”
“The Spirit keeps my eyes on Jesus and what he’s doing rather than on myself, and that’s really a miraculous work.”
“The Spirit is actually growing and nurturing and cultivating likeness of God in our hearts.”
“God really is doing the work of breaking up the fallow ground of hearts, planting the seed of his Spirit in our lives, and cultivating, nurturing, watering—this is all language used throughout the New Testament—these attributes in our hearts and lives. So we’re going to see it progressively throughout our lives, we’re going to become more like God, our character is going to more aptly reflect his character as we rely on the Spirit, yield to the Spirit, and let him do this cultivating work in our lives.”
“We have been given unique gifts, and they are things to gift to the local church through our service.”
“As we exercise our gifts, they are meant to be a benefit and blessing to the church.”
“We receive gifts from the Spirit, but we also share them with others so that the church might be built up and unified together.”
“God is actually by his Spirit sending his gospel message out far and wide in our community beyond our reach, beyond the reach of people in our congregation, and that is by the power of his Spirit.”
“The Spirit is doing things around the world that we would do well to pay attention to.”
“God does not rely on us for the gospel to go forth; God is not reliant on us to build his church. He is doing it and we have the privilege of being involved in that work by his invitation.”
“One of the coolest things that we get to do as Christians is to accept God's invitation to bear witness to his presence in the world.”
“God’s presence is the craving of the human heart, and it has been from the beginning.”
“We actually get to be living temples that hold the presence of God within our very bones. What an incredible invitation that is.”
“We get to walk through this world proclaiming that the presence of God is available through the person and work of Jesus Christ. This is the hankering and hunger of every human heart; to be made right with God and be brought into his presence.”
“The Spirit of God testifies to the heart of God in our lives.”
“You are very dependent on God to be holy.”
“Our souls are hungry for God. As much as we need food to sustain our bodies, we need God to sustain us in our spiritual lives.”
RESOURCES
Spiritual Gifts and the Church, Journeywomen episode with Matt Lantz
Noticing all the ways the Spirit is at work in the Old and New Testaments
MORE RESOURCES FROM AMY
Fruit of the Spirit cards from Tiny Theologians
Fruit of the Spirit, Journeywomen episode with Amy
Why Women Need Theology, Journeywomen episode with Amy
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
SIMPLE JOYS OF KNOWING AND LOVING GOD
Valley of Vision and other prayer helps
The discipline of silence
Being a part of the local church
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
How might turning to prayer help you to more deeply notice and lean on the Spirit’s work in your day-to-day life?
What are some ways you can use the gifts the Spirit has given you to serve your local church?
What are some evidences you see of the Spirit’s work in your life, in your community, and in the world?
In what passages in the Old and New Testaments do you see the Spirit at work? Consider memorizing one of these passages.
What are you going to do or implement based on the truths you learned in this episode?
IMPORTANT NOTE
Journeywomen interviews are intended to serve as a springboard for continued study in the context of your local church. While we carefully select guests each week, interviews do not imply Journeywomen's endorsement of all writings and positions of the interviewee or any other resources mentioned.
Affiliate links used are used where appropriate. Thank you for supporting the products that support Journeywomen!
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