Transcription
[applause] All right, let's open up our Bibles to John chapter 14. John chapter 14. I want to jump in this morning. We're going to be in the upper room discourse for quite a little bit.
How many of you were at together last week? >> We got to pray worship with the with the Capitol C Church of Tampa. Thankful for all of you guys that were there. Um on the back end of together, typically our family gets away for a couple of days. It's a really busy season for us just to kind of debrief, spend some time together in family. And I just spent some time thinking about the day of Pentecost and how significant that day was for us as a people two 2,000 years ago where the promise of Joel 2 was poured out in Acts 2 in partial fulfillment where the Holy Spirit was poured out among a people 120 in an upper room and it changed everything.
>> So a couple of days into our vacation, my son was with our in-laws and he says, "Dad, are we Pentecostals?" And Destiny's like spiritfilled. You know, Pentecostals is a loaded word nowadays. It can mean all kinds of things. People thinks you if you're Pentecostal, you can handle stakes. You just don't know nowadays. Praise God. But I started to think about this phrase, what it means to be spiritfilled, to be a spiritfilled people. And and I think that's what distinguishes us from all of the rest. That there actually is a third part of the Trinity that is living inside of us >> that empowers us, that strengthens us, that convicts us. So I want to take a little bit of time and talk about the spirit, the person of the Holy Spirit and actually what it means for us to be a people that are spiritfilled. And so I was thinking about during worship the promise of Ezekiel in Ezekiel chapter 36. Um there's a promise given and it's this that moreover I will give you a new heart. Say a new heart. He's going to give us a new heart and put a new spirit within us. And he's going to remove a heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
>> And it's going to make our hearts tender and responsive. It's going to make our hearts where it once felt dull and rocky and cold um vibrant and alive. And that's the promise of those of us who have been filled with the spirit. And so if you gave your life to Jesus, you've got to know that you haven't just been given like a get out of hell free card. Yeah, >> you've been given the Holy Spirit as a deposit and that Holy Spirit is doing a lot within you. The mere fact that the third person of the Trinity is living inside of you is wild. And I think the plea today is for you to understand that the Holy Spirit isn't some power. It's not just a force. He's a person who's living in you who's looking for communion and cooperation.
>> And I believe he's looking to be invited back into the church. Not just for power demonstrations, >> not just so we can speak in other tongues, but so that something can be formed in and through us as a people and as individuals. Are you with me?
>> So in John chapter 14, Jesus begins to describe um this helper that he was going to give to us. And I think it's interesting if I was to go around the room and and talk and I would say to you, "Hey, can you describe to me your relationship with God?" You probably would have a few words to say whether you had a good earthly father, a bad earthly father, you'd have something to say about how you engage with God as father. And then Jesus is probably the simplest one, right? Some sort of in some sort of moment you had an engagement with Jesus or you're in the room because you're curious about Jesus. But if I was to ask you today, did define to me your relationship with the spirit. How often do you engage with a person of the Holy Spirit? What does your relationship with the Holy Spirit look like? For a lot of us, it gets it gets you get blank stairs, right? Because our relationship with the spirit becomes maybe maybe it's like this. Oh, it's day of Pentecost. Holy Spirit, come and do your thing. But how many of you know nobody wants to have a relationship with a person? You ever had a relationship with someone who just uses you for what they can get from you? like they need something and all of a sudden they're hitting you up, hitting you up, hitting you up, and then all of a sudden things go right in their life and they disappear.
>> Nobody wants to have a relationship with someone like that. Yet, that's how we treat the Holy Spirit, >> like he's some sort of vending machine.
>> When I need healing in my body, when I need an answer to a problem or a solution, now I ask of the Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit wants to engage with us in greater context than just in crisis.
>> That's right. And so Jesus in the upper room discourse, he begins to dis explain to the disciples and he's comforting them, right? He begins the upper room discourse with this. Do not let your hearts be troubled. And they're about to walk through a very troubling time. You're talking to people who have given up everything to connect themselves to knit themselves to who they thought was going to be the Messiah. And that Messiah in their mind was going to come and establish his kingdom in a very specific way. And so their world is about to get rocked because Jesus has been trying to for some time say, "Hey, I'm going to be I'm going to be taken. I'm going to be killed." But that's not the end of the story. But they could not comprehend what Jesus was saying.
>> So the upper room discourse is one of the most important scriptures. I mean, bodies of scriptures in all of the Bible. It all matters. But man, what is Matthew 5 through7, John 14-17? These are very important passages for how we live our lives. I mean, we are a church. That's John 15. Okay. In John 14, he begins to to give them comfort and he talks to them about oneness with the father. And in verse 16, he begins to describe to them their relationship with the Holy Spirit. If you want to turn there, John 14:16, he says this, "I will ask the father and he will give you another helper so that he may be with you forever." Say forever.
>> Forever. this helper. He is the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it does not see him or know him. But you know him because he remains with you and he will be in you. Can you see that? So this comforter, right, this word, this word helper is pariclete, right? It's someone who comes alongside there. There really isn't a specific oneword translation for how Jesus would describe the Holy Spirit. Like you can't fit this word into one specific word in the English phrase, but it can mean this. It can mean helper. It can mean comforter. It can mean advocate. It can mean counselor. So Jesus is saying, listen, it's better for you that I go.
>> Which is a wild statement because they've been walking with someone who has healed the sick, who's raised the dead, who's opened up blind eyes. He is they have seen Jesus do things that nobody else has seen. And now this man is standing before them and saying, "It's better for you that I go because I'm going to send you one that's going to come alongside of you." Right? The word another in the in the Greek means this. I'm going to send another of the same. So what he's saying is, I know I've been with you. I'm sending you someone who's just like me.
>> He's going to be with you and he's going to live within you. Right? You understand what he's saying? I'm going to send you someone that's going to be with you forever until I return. and he's going to be with you and he's going to live within you. And then he calls him the spirit of truth. I want to drop down to verse 20 25. He says, "These things I have spoken to you while remaining with you. But the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the father will send in my name, he will teach you all things." Say all things.
>> And remind you of all that I've said to you. So he says, I'm going to send you another helper, the pariclete. And I want you to see that the Holy Spirit, he's not just like some AI algorithm.
>> He's not just a vending machine that we get things from. The Holy Spirit has thoughts.
>> He has a will. He has emotions. Right? In First Corinthians, Paul would tell us this. He searches the deep things of God to reveal them to you. Yes, >> the Holy Spirit. There's activity that the Holy Spirit has that has to move us from the third song and us getting some tingly wigglies.
>> Okay, I got goosebumps. Holy Spirit's here. Okay, cool. But he's here. And one of the things he does is he searches the depths OF GOD TO SHOW THEM TO YOU, to reveal them to you, so you can actually have intimacy with God.
>> When you read this Bible, the Holy Spirit, he opens our eyes to see truth. Yeah, >> he reveals things to us. Not only does he has intellect, but he HAS A WILL, RIGHT? He says in 1 Corinthians 12, he distributes gifts as he determines.
>> Think about this. The Holy Spirit is searching the earth for faith and he's distributing gifts as he determines.
>> Wow.
>> This is this is the Holy Spirit who's dwelling in the room right now.
>> He has a will. He has intellect. Then he has emotions. In Ephesians 4, he says he can be grieved.
>> So he say do not grieve the Holy Spirit. Do you know that this person can be grieved?
>> Now in church, no like we have a context now for church. We we can no longer tell people what to do.
>> Even if the Bible says like who are you to tell me what to do? Number one, Jesus is Lord >> for starters.
>> Okay? And the Bible says this, where the spirit of the Lord is, there is what? liberty, there's freedom, and we with unbuild faces, right, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed.
>> Another way that this phrase can be said in in the Greek to English is this. Wherever the Lord is spirit, wherever the spirit is Lord, there is freedom.
>> Think about this. WHEREVER THE SPIRIT OF GOD is Lord, meaning he has lordship, he has authority, supreme authority. in that place within you and around you. There's liberty.
>> That changes the context. That means you can't just be in the room with people and coast off of their freedom.
>> Somebody else's activity of the spirit in your life doesn't mean that your chains are going to be broken.
>> But if THE SPIRIT OF GOD IS LORD IN your life, he breaks every chain and every yoke.
>> That's why we that's why the scripture tells us the anointing breaks the yoke. Yeah.
>> So the Isaiah 61 anointing, right? Beauty for ashes, joy for mourning, praise for heaviness. WHERE THE SPIRIT OF the Lord is, there is freedom. But let me say it to you this way. Wherever the spirit is Lord, in that place, there is liberty. Which means we have to honor him. We have to host him. We have to be mindful of what grieves him. Meaning, we can't watch everything everybody else watches. We can't listen to everything everybody else listens to. And and if you view that as religion, that's your problem.
>> Because the very same people that take offense with being told what to do are living under demonic oppression.
>> Like, I don't get why God won't liberate me because the spirit is not Lord in your life.
>> And if we remain Lord of our lives, we live under the dominion of our own lordship.
>> And that's hard >> because we come into room and become offended with God. GOD, WHY WON'T YOU? GOD, WHY don't you? And the scriptur is clear. He has emotions and he can be grieved. So again, when we begin to treat the Holy Spirit, whether we know it or not, as a vending machine, I come to you when I need from you. And if I don't need from you, I'll do my thing.
>> I'm I'm going to I'm going to self-medicate in any way I want to medicate.
>> I'm going to spend time on whatever I want to spend without thought of how it grieves the Holy Spirit. and we become dull and we become numb.
>> You see, the Holy Spirit is a person. And if he is a person, then we have to ask, what is this person actually doing?
>> If he's a person, what kind of activity is this person doing? Right? You've got to begin to ask yourself, I want you to just ask yourself right now, how do I in my life relate to the person of the Holy Spirit? Because again, Holy Spirit is not contained to when a few charismatic people get into a room. The primary work of the Holy Spirit is inside of you. And he's actually trying to produce fruit more than he's trying to demonstrate power.
>> So when the Holy Spirit is only talked about in the context of power encounters, we miss all of Galatians 6 >> where he talks about the kind of fruit he is trying to produce, which will land there.
>> But then Jesus in the very same upper room discourse, just turn the page. John 16. It's page number 1559 if you got the right Bible. It's a joke. Gosh. John 16 verse 7. But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I'm leaving. For if I do not leave, the helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, look at the activity. When he comes, he will convict the world regarding sin, righteousness, and judgment. Regarding sin because they do not believe in me. Regarding righteousness because I'm going to the father and you're no longer going to see me. And regarding judgment because the ruler of this world has been judged. Then he says, "I have many more things I want to say to you, but you cannot bear them. But when he, the spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into some truth."
>> No. When he comes, he will guide you into all truth. FOR HE WILL NOT SPEAK on his own, but whatever he hears, he will speak. And he will disclose to you what is to come. And he will what? Glorify me. For he will take from mine and he will disclose it to you.
>> All things that the father has are mine. And this is why I said he takes from mine and he will disclose it to you. So what does the holy spirit do? Number one, he convicts. I want to say to you, beloved, conviction is not a cuss word.
>> That's right.
>> It is the kindness of God to convict us of things that will cause lovelessness to grow in our hearts.
>> It's his kindness that leads us to repentance.
>> So that that nudge, right? Romans is clear in Romans 8. There is therefore no condemnation. Thank God that there's no condemnation. that you don't have to live under the the shame and guilt and weight of condemnation, but condemnation and guilt are condemnation and conviction are not the same thing.
>> That's right.
>> Condemnation is a yoke that tells you you are.
>> Conviction is a scalpel.
>> That's right.
>> It's surgical. It's speaking to you about those things that actually impede you from full relationship with the father.
>> That's right. So the Holy Spirit comes and he convicts us and he names something specific so that the Holy Spirit can heal it >> so he can make you whole. So he convicts us. And so I want to invite YOU TO WELCOME AGAIN THE conviction of the Holy Spirit.
>> Bless God for everybody else's freedom. They're free. Listen, what's okay for one may not be okay for you. So the goal of our Christianity is not to see how close we can get to the line until we cross it.
>> Are you hearing what I'm saying to you?
>> It's like how close can we live in the grave before we cross OVER INTO SIN? THE GOAL IS HOW FAR CAN I BE REMOVED from sin and how close can I remain to Jesus so that nothing is impeding mine and him's relationship >> so I can actually abide and remain and dwell with him without the yoke and the bondage of sin.
>> And we're light on sin in the church nowadays. It feels hard in the room to talk about sin, but sin becomes your master.
>> It masters you. It costs you more than you want to pay. It overpromises. It underdelivers. And we don't talk about sin in the church anymore. It's like God loves you and he loves ALL OF YOU. NO. GOD HATES SIN.
>> He loves you, but he hates sin. The Bible's clear. He despises SIN TO THE POINT that he sent HIS SON SO YOU NO LONGER have to live under the yoke of sin, but you can live free. SO GUESS WHAT THIS MEANS? YOU DON'T HAVE TO LIVE under the yoke of pornography.
>> You don't have to live depressed. You don't have to live. You don't have to live cold.
>> The Holy Spirit empowers us for our hearts to remain vibrant, to remain alive. And he does this by convicting the areas in our hearts where we want to self-preserve and we want to put ourselves on top and we want to live comfortable lives.
>> I believe thousands if if we would open up our hearts to the conviction of the Lord and his voice, thousands would be sent to the nations. Yeah.
>> What would your life look like if you simply just stopped telling God no?
>> How radically different would it look if you just DIDN'T ASSUME THAT GOD didn't have more for you? But you opened up your heart to the Holy Spirit and you allowed him to speak to you.
>> Everybody loves THE GOD STORIES. NOBODY loves the journey.
>> That's right.
>> It's like you want to get to a book AND READ THE LAST PARAGRAPH OF THE BOOK. THERE'S A WHOLE 200 CHAPTERS or 200 pages of that book that you didn't read that had to do with conviction, that had to do with sacrifice, that had to do with obeying the voice of the Lord when nothing makes sense. So, he comes to convict, but he also guides. He guides us into truth. How many of you are thankful that we don't have to wander? But the Holy Spirit, he guides us into truth. So, let me say it to you like this. I love seminary. I did four years of seminary. Really, seven years. But you don't have to go to seminary to know truth.
>> Okay? Se the truth of God isn't reserved for people with four-year degrees.
>> You can actually spend time with Jesus and present continuously. He will guide you into truth. He will show you. HE WILL REVEAL. SO, IT'S NOT A ONE-TIME DOWNLOAD.
>> It's a continual revelation of the beauty and worth of Jesus, of who he is and who you are in light of him. And he wants to guide you into truth that every lie would be dismantled.
>> Amen.
>> And once you walk into this truth, his ultimate aim is to glorify Jesus.
>> It's it's that Jesus the ultimate assignment of the Holy Spirit is to glorify the son.
>> It's so wild. And you know what the sun does? Behold the father.
>> It's the ultimate love deferment. Everybody points to the other. Jesus gives us the spirit. The spirit points to Jesus. And Jesus is like, "Look at my dad."
>> And I'm thankful >> because one of the things Holy Spirit does is he's been put in us. And it says this, we've been given the spirit of adoption.
>> So no matter where you are in the room today, you could have had the worst dumpster fire moment last night. All the things you said you'd never do, you did them. And you come into church today and you're living under this I don't even know if I should be in the room. You know people I heard man if I stepped in the church hole would open up in the ground I'd burn. I'm like bro give me 30 minutes in Starbucks I'll let you know [laughter] it didn't happen
>> because no matter who you are in the room when Jesus died he sent the spirit and he says this. We've been given the spirit of adoptions. Let's go to Romans.
>> Are you alive? It requires cooperation. Say cooperation.
>> Cooperation.
>> I'm going to preach my voice out. I got to preach across the street in 30 minutes. Praise God. Romans 8:9. However, you are not say not.
>> Not.
>> Oh, you I just want you to by faith say it. You are not in the flesh, but in the spirit. If indeed the spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him. That's a capital H.
>> Yeah.
>> Okay. So, the spirit of God isn't isn't a side issue. It's a main issue.
>> And if he's not in you, you can't belong to him being Jesus. Okay.
>> If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit who dwells in you. That's good news. That deserves more than Mark's woo. So then, brothers and sisters, we are under we are under obligation not to the flesh, but to live according to the flesh. For if we live according to the flesh, you're going to die. But if by the spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all, say all,
>> all.
>> All who are being led by the spirit of God. These are the sons and daughters of God.
>> For you have not, not not not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear. You've been you have not been given a spirit of fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons and daughters, whereby we cry out, "Aba, Father." The spirit of himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God and if children heirs and if heirs heirs with Christ if indeed we suffer with him so that we may be glorified with him. So Paul listen to me Paul is not describing passive theology.
>> He's not doing that. Well maybe one day he's he's actually speaking to you about active theology >> of how to live life in the spirit. Number one, we walk by the spirit.
>> We walk by the spirit. Now, I know that these phrases have gotten hijacked by hyper charismatics >> that have made it something that feels icky, but it doesn't remove truth from the Bible.
>> That's right.
>> Okay.
>> We are meant to be a people who are led by the spirit of God.
>> I'd rather you ask more, right? I'd rather you over ask than not ask at all.
>> Like, how often do I need to ask? Holy Spirit, do I brush my teeth? Holy, no. Brush your teeth. [laughter] God says brush your teeth. But I've watched so many people get into high intense crisis moments. And I sit across the couch from them and we're counseling about what decision to make. And when I asked them, "What is God saying?"
>> They give me a blank stare.
>> You know, if if you get into if you when you get married, how many of you know it takes communication to have a healthy relationship?
>> If the only time you're conversating is in front of a counselor, you're in trouble >> because you have to communicate before the crisis comes to be able to navigate the crisis >> effectively. Which is why there's an invitation for you every day, right? Jesus says when you go into the secret place, close the door behind you.
>> If it was modern day, it'd be like leave your phone too >> so that you can commune with the father. And and that relationship comes via Holy Spirit.
>> Where he begins to touch places in your heart that were once alive but are now dead. where he begins to touch areas of hope deferred which makes your heart sick. Where he begins to speak to you about people you need to forgive because it's cancer to your soul.
>> All of the things that we like, I wish there was a sermon. No, no sermon can do for you what the Holy Spirit can do for you.
>> No person can lay hands on you and deposit in you what the Holy Spirit wants to give you. But it is without doubt, 100% that whenever the Holy Spirit fell in the upper room in Acts two, everything changed.
>> And the emphasis of the moment wasn't, wow, they spoke in tongues.
>> That wasn't the emphasis.
>> If you read the scripture, it's like, oh my gosh, everybody's selling their possessions. They no longer consider the things their own. Their whole life seems to revolve around God. They're devoting themselves to one another. There's this one anotherness where their lives are shared and mutual. The apostles are performing miracles and Paul later on there's extreme miracles. I don't even know what that means. How do you move from miracles to extreme miracles? Extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul. What does that even look like? What power did the apostles walk in that Peter would walk down a road and his shadow would heal people?
>> That's not Pentecostal charismania. That's Bible.
>> I know it's gotten weird, but it's in there.
>> What kind of power and presence did they walk in that Paul's handkerchiefs were healing the sick?
>> I'm not saying let's sweat on rags and sell them. That's not what I'm saying. I'm just saying there was obviously something happening in the Bible that we are very far removed of today. So, we've got 50,000 self-help books, but nobody who wants to spend one-on-one time with the Holy Spirit.
>> How many podcasts?
>> How many podcasts on how to live your best life now, not how to store up treasures for them?
>> And so, we get into rooms like this and we sing songs like Marinatha and we have no pool.
>> There's no pool. There's no appetite because you can't even really have a marin cry without the holy spirit.
>> It doesn't say the bride sings come. The spirit and the bride say come.
>> And so it's not a surprise. You I don't even get offended when we come into I'm like why don't like why is there no reach in the room >> when we're singing about the return of Jesus? Yes.
>> Because it's actually the Holy Spirit in us that provokes us and opens up our eyes that we're not living our lives for ourselves.
>> That the goal of this life is not to amass an amount,
>> but that we are actually, if I can get you to believe this, it would change your whole life. that your life now is to be lived for them.
>> That's right.
>> That the well done before him is is more beautiful than any well done from any person on this earth.
>> And that the things he's saying well done to and the things that are being said well done to down here are not always the same.
>> So we walk by the spirit. We are led by the spirit which implies following, listening, relationship. And then he says this, set your mind on things of the spirit.
>> Yes.
>> Think about how much of your brain energy, my brain energy goes towards things that don't matter. Squat.
>> I was telling my wife, I slept terrible last night. I don't even know why. I woke up at like 2, five, and six thinking about God knows what. It wasn't anything about the spirit. And I'm reading the scripture and Paul's admonishing us, set your mind on things of this. This is a deliberate, a disciplined act of attention because we get to choose what our minds dwell on.
>> We choose that.
>> So I want to land this on Galatians 6. Are you okay?
>> Good. I want to preach on sorry Galatians 5. I want to preach on the spirit because next week is Burning Heart Sunday and we're going to give you an opportunity to come into the room and to commune with the spirit. Not just with pastors and leaders, but with the spirit of God. Amen.
>> Galatians 5:16. Again, Paul saying to the church of Galatia, but I say, watch the context here. Verse 15, he's talking about the church biting, devouring, and chewing one another. He says, "Take care that you are not consumed by one another." But I say, so the remedy for a people who are divided, biting, devouring, and chewing is, but I say this, walk by the spirit that you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
>> Did you hear that? Yeah.
>> For the desire of the flesh is against the spirit, and the spirit is against the flesh.
>> For these are in opposition to one another in order to keep you from doing whatever you want. I'm just going to say law for a moment.
>> And they're like, I'm just going to do me and you let me do me. And if you tell me what to do, I'll go somewhere where they won't tell me what to do. The spirit of God according to Paul is saying it's keeping you from doing whatever you want.
>> Those desires, those pools, the spirit of God is he's constraining us and he's aligning us.
>> But it but if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident evident. These are the deeds of the flesh. Sexual immorality, impurity, indecent behavior, idolatry, witchcraft, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outburst of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions and factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these which I which I forewarn you just as I forewarn you that those practices such things will not inherit.
>> Do you see the list? Look at the list.
>> This isn't like maybe this is why the Holy Spirit matters so much because like G the most sobering words in the Bible to me are that one day there are going to be people standing before the Lord who did amazing things for him and Jesus said you're going to have to depart for me because I never knew you. I never knew you. Which means you can be powerful externally but little and small internally. Do you hear what I'm saying?
>> Yes.
>> You can be known, man, that guy has power and God uses him and he's anointed but internally you're small.
>> And these things, a lot of them are, listen, [music] jealousy, strife, envy, wanting what you do not have. These kinds of people, they will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the spirit is this. I want you to see what the Holy Spirit is wanting to produce in us. Can you see it? Put your eyes on it. The spirit of God, the fruit of the spirit is this. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against [music] these things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
>> Do you see that? So, like here's how I interpret this. If if I'm still living, and again, I'm not trying to put a heaviness on anyone. We just got to call a spade a spade. If I'm living my life, and there are parts of [music] me that are still operating under the spirit of jealousy and envy and strife, outbursts of anger, we can't make excuses. We have to ask the Holy Spirit to help us put those things to death. [music] We we can ask him for self-control and patience and kindness. We can we we can like [music] because he promised it. We can ask him, God, you said that I can be a person who operates in love, in joy, in peace, [music] in patience, in kindness. So I hear people say it's just the dumbest stuff, brother. You know, I don't want to pray for patience [music] cuz patience comes with the opportunity to be patient. That's the stupidest thing I ever heard. So you're not going to ask for one of the fruit [music] of the spirit cuz you don't want to engage in hard.
>> That's just dumb. [music] You're missing out on one of the profound things he wants to give you. He's like, I don't want to I don't want that rub in my life. I want to pray for [music] patience cuz then I'm going to have to be patient. Like, yeah, that's the only way you can be patient is by having opportunities to be patient. The only way that you can operate in love is by dealing with people who are challenging to love.
>> The only way to be kind is to have someone abuse you emotionally and to [music] not pay them kind, to not pay them back as they deserve, but to operate in a spirit of gentleness. The only way to be faithful is to be in situations that all hell seems to be breaking loose, but you say, "God, [music] I'm not going to change the subject. I'm going to stay steady. I'm going to choose the long road of obedience even when it doesn't make sense. And I'm not saying something [music] to you that's easy. The reason that we've made the power of the Holy Spirit all about all about gifts and all about healings is because that has nothing to do with something that's [music] cultivated in you. But if I lay hands on someone and they get healed, that's God's mercy over that person. That says nothing about my internal life.
>> Says nothing about what's going on on the inside. you. We've seen many people that they have many miracles performed by their hands and then they're in adultery. You're like, "How could that be?" Because that has more to do about the kindness of God over that person than it does about God's stamp of approval over them. Therefore, we've got to raise the bar of how we actually gauge maturity and stop saying, "How [music] many prophetic words have they given? How many people have they healed?" I want to know, men, have you been faithful?
>> Can you be kind? Are you loving? Are you gentle? Are you steadfast? And this is the work of the Holy Spirit that I believe he's looking for in the church, beloved. In the charismatic church, this is weak sauce. And I think it's because we we have so elevated the gifts of the spirit that we've forgotten about a fruit of the spirit. Now listen, I want us to heal the sick. [music] I want us to raise the dead. I want us to send to the nations. I believe in all of it.
>> But I believe there's a marrying of spirit and truth >> that he's wanting to do within our family. And so I I want to ask you again. I want to ask you now how we started. What does your relationship with the Holy Spirit look like? Man, what would it look like for you this week? Instead of driving on your 30-minut trip to work, [music] if you turned down the music, you got still and you said, "Holy Spirit, what do you want to say to me today? We're adverse to this because the moment Holy Spirit starts speaking to us about the person to forgive the thing [music] to like I I ain't trying to hear that. Want to hear about glory and portals and fire. But I'm telling you this internal work of the Holy Spirit matters for us as a family. [music] So I thought we should end today with just simply making space. [music] Paul's words are hit heavy today. If we live by the spirit, let us follow the spirit as well. Ephesians Galatians 5, let us follow the spirit as well. So, I just want to make some some space [music] this morning to simply wait before the Lord. Maybe name an area, relationship, a decision where we've been navigating without him and then just ask the Holy Spirit [music] to speak to us. So, let's do this. Let's close our eyes really quick just all across the room.
>> [music]
>> Father, we want to repent this morning of any places where we have treated the Holy Spirit not as a person, but as a force or a feeling [music] or a formality. But we ask this morning, would you reintroduce us to the Holy Spirit? Holy Spirit, we invite [music] you. God, we're asking. We want to see the miracles, the signs, and the wonders, but we also want to see people who are gentle, kind, loving, patient. We [music] ask you this morning, would you marry spirit and truth in us? I want to ask you this morning, Holy Spirit, to baptize [music] people aresh.
>> [music]
>> Just for a moment, let's just be still. I want to ask if there's anyone in the room that just two two groups of people really, but if there's anyone in the room that you you just acknowledge, you know, I've been living as Lord of my life. Again, wherever [music] the spirit is Lord, there's freedom. There's liberty. But maybe you've been in the room and you've been living under the lordship of the world, the lordship of self, the lordship of try harder. I want to ask you to stand just as a sign of like I'm I'm stepping out [music] of that. And we want to pray over you that the spirit would fall upon you. fresh. This is not a shame thing, [music] man. We've all been in moments where we've gone astray a little bit and we've operated under self. Just stand up right now. We're going to pray over these. [music] I know it's a vulnerable moment, but man, I've been doing it in my own strength and I want to yield this morning. Let's come around these who are standing just all across the room just for a moment. We just want to bless you. [music] We bless you even now. We bless you. We speak strength over you, Father. We pray right now. Would you fill them? We yield and we surrender. Father, we pray that all heaviness would be lifted off of them that confusion, doubt, fear. We thank you that you've not given [music] us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind. So, Father, we ask all over the room, would you bless them? Would you fill them? Would you break every yoke, God, every every bondage? [music] We pray heaviness be lifted off of you. Shame and condemnation be lifted [music] off of you. Anger, depression. God, make them loving. [music] Make them kind. We bless you. We speak over you that the way things are now is not as they are always [music] going to be. We pray the peace of God over you. We tell the just like Jesus spoke [music] into the storm, peace be still. We say peace be still over that storm. Peace be [music] still over that storm. You give beauty for ashes [music] and joy for mourning and a garment of praise for a spirit of [music] heaviness. [music] God, we repent for idolatry, for having other gods before you. We repent for putting ourselves, possessions, entertainment, sin. God, [music] we repent. We repent. We turn. We trust you.
>> [music]
>> The second group I want to pray for is just if you're in the room and you [music] need a fresh touch of the Holy Spirit, you just feel a little dry, a little dull, I want to pray in accordance to Ezekiel [music] 36 over you that he would make your heart tender and responsive. So if you just want to stand and put your hands up, we want to pray that too. Just lift up your hands. Father, [music] I pray for a fresh filling. A fresh filling all over the room. Not because Gio says, but you promised us that you'd put a new spirit within us. That you would make our hearts tender and responsive. [music] We pray, Holy Spirit, would you fill them aresh? Fill them aresh. Fill them aresh, God, like you did in Acts two, in Acts six. God, would you fill them aresh? Fill them aresh. [music] Spirit of God, would you blow? Would you blow? Give them a steadfast and loyal spirit. We thank you, Holy Spirit, for giving us eyes to see and ears to hear. Thank you for being the spirit of truth. For identifying everything within us that is in opposition to the beauty of Jesus and his lordship. God, we make you Lord again. We make you Lord again.
>> [music]
>> I just want to end all together. Can we just lift up our hands? Holy Spirit, [music] we open wide. We open wide. We open our hearts. We open our minds. We open our calendars. God, our energy, our devotion, our time, we yield to you. We surrender aresh. I pray over marriages. I pray over businesses. I pray over over family units. Holy Spirit, [music] we say have your way. We yield. We surrender. Oh that you would take first place. Oh that you would take first place. Holy Spirit, anoint us. We make room for you. We welcome you. We welcome your conviction. We welcome your leadership. Anoint us [music] once again with your power in Jesus name. All God's people said amen and amen. Hey, listen. I don't feel pressured to try to make all things happen [music] in one moment, but next week for Burning Hearts, we're going to make space for you to commune with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I want to welcome you to come, but that you also do this in your [music] alone time. 15, 30 minutes to make room for the Holy Spirit. Amen. We love you. Bless you. See you in prayer room. See you at house church. Go visit Diamond's table outside in the lobby. We'll see you over the week or next Sunday.
>> [music]