1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,400 All right. 2 00:00:02,400 --> 00:00:05,360 Everybody, my name is Greg Hampton. 3 00:00:05,360 --> 00:00:07,240 I am one of the pastors here. 4 00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:12,600 We are six weeks into a nine-week series that, yes, we are calling the Blueprint. 5 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:17,800 The Blueprint is just a basic plan for discipleship. 6 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:21,680 We started by asking why we need a plan, right? 7 00:00:21,680 --> 00:00:22,680 Why do we need a plan? 8 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:25,880 Then we said that the first page of that plan is to rest. 9 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:27,420 Then we live at the table in community. 10 00:00:27,420 --> 00:00:29,040 We abide in prayer. 11 00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:31,160 And then we meditate on the Scriptures. 12 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:38,320 And that leads us really well into the day where we listen to the Spirit. 13 00:00:38,320 --> 00:00:46,080 I do want to point out that all of these steps are building intentionally, right? 14 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:47,680 They're building intentionally. 15 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:50,880 They are in an order, and they are in this order on purpose. 16 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:57,120 We rest first so that we don't learn that church attendance is what saves us. 17 00:00:57,120 --> 00:00:58,120 Yeah? 18 00:00:58,120 --> 00:01:01,160 We think, oh, I've got to get to the church if I'm a bad Christian. 19 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:02,160 No, just rest. 20 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:03,960 Be at peace. 21 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:07,200 Let go of that and just be in the presence of God wherever you are. 22 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:13,200 But then we live at the table in church community so that we don't atrophy from inactivity, 23 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:16,520 only resting and never connecting. 24 00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:17,520 We pray. 25 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:22,120 We abide in prayer so that we learn that we can abide in the presence of Jesus outside 26 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:24,400 of the walls of a church building. 27 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:28,160 We meditate on the Scriptures and continue to learn what the Lord has said because His 28 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:33,800 Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light to our path. 29 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:39,040 When we've taken these steps, these pages of the blueprint prepare us all the more to 30 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:42,120 listen to Spirit. 31 00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:46,200 So they are ordered intentionally even day by day. 32 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:50,880 And that can actually be really helpful for some people when I say day by day, they can 33 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:52,160 be ordered day by day. 34 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:57,480 Because if you're finding it difficult to rest consistently, I'll tell people, all right, 35 00:01:57,480 --> 00:01:59,960 well, just choose a day and start there. 36 00:01:59,960 --> 00:02:01,960 I say Saturday is a great day if you can. 37 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:04,680 Saturday, I'm just going to choose to rest on Saturday. 38 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:09,160 Historically, back to the beginning of time, Friday night to Saturday has been the Sabbath 39 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:10,240 for the Jewish people. 40 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:12,840 So why not start there? 41 00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:15,680 So if you're finding it difficult to rest, just choose some time. 42 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:16,680 Maybe not even the only. 43 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:19,840 Just start with some time to rest. 44 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:23,840 Sunday is a church day for millions of people around the world. 45 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:28,720 If you're feeling lonely or like you're lacking community, I know when and where you might 46 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:30,800 find it. 47 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:34,040 At a church on a Sunday morning, come on. 48 00:02:34,040 --> 00:02:38,020 If you don't pray, set aside some time on a Monday and just go, you know what? 49 00:02:38,020 --> 00:02:41,740 Every Monday I'm going to make an attempt at abiding in prayer. 50 00:02:41,740 --> 00:02:43,880 If scripture hasn't been your thing, go, you know what? 51 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:46,600 But every Tuesday, see how it's building? 52 00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:53,480 Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, put a little reminder in your calendar that 53 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:58,760 pops up at a certain time that reminds you to really try to listen to the Holy Spirit 54 00:02:58,760 --> 00:02:59,760 today. 55 00:02:59,760 --> 00:03:06,000 When we start with something, we avoid doing nothing. 56 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:15,480 But I also want to say, after you learn a plan like this, you don't have to be legalistic 57 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:16,840 about it. 58 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:20,440 You don't have to always, okay, this is the thing I always do on Saturday and this thing 59 00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:21,440 I always do on Sunday. 60 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:25,880 Oh, I can't do the thing I do on Tuesday on Monday because that's the thing I do on Tuesday. 61 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:27,400 That is not the point. 62 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:32,080 You can piece these ideas together in whatever way makes the most sense for you because each 63 00:03:32,080 --> 00:03:39,280 of us is going to put more emphasis on some of these than others, and that is good. 64 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:40,760 It's completely okay. 65 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:47,520 You should be able to improvise this discipleship plan however works best for you because Jesus 66 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:53,880 isn't hoping that any of us get stuck following the rigid order of any one discipleship plan. 67 00:03:53,880 --> 00:04:01,060 Remember, we're just using a plan to follow, to learn to follow Jesus. 68 00:04:01,060 --> 00:04:03,760 We aren't following the plan. 69 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:05,360 We're trying to follow Jesus. 70 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:07,360 Does that make sense? 71 00:04:07,360 --> 00:04:08,360 Yeah. 72 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:14,120 So it is my view, it is my opinion that a good plan should be something that can be 73 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:16,520 applied until you're able to improvise. 74 00:04:16,520 --> 00:04:18,480 Does that make sense? 75 00:04:18,480 --> 00:04:24,520 So that is why I think that listening falls where it does in this plan. 76 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:28,440 After we've been introduced to some ideas, there's still some more ideas to come, but 77 00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:34,040 listening falls right here because listening to the Spirit is where spiritual improvisation 78 00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:37,040 begins. 79 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:38,520 Who remembers Comedy Sports? 80 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:39,520 Anybody? 81 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:40,520 Comedy Sports? 82 00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:42,320 Have you been to Comedy Sports, Regina? 83 00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:43,800 Have you been to Comedy Sports? 84 00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:44,800 Yeah, all right. 85 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:46,600 Did you all hear it's coming back? 86 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:48,520 It's coming back. 87 00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:51,040 It's coming back, baby. 88 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:52,040 Yep. 89 00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:54,240 In mid-November, it's coming back. 90 00:04:54,240 --> 00:05:00,920 Twenty-two years ago when I was a much younger man, I was in Comedy Sports for what I call 91 00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:05,080 a hot minute, maybe six months. 92 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:13,160 At the audition, I remember them saying that improv has far more to do with listening than 93 00:05:13,160 --> 00:05:16,400 being funny. 94 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:21,600 Listening creates space for the funny to happen. 95 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:24,080 It's the same with the Spirit. 96 00:05:24,080 --> 00:05:27,120 Listening creates space for something to happen. 97 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:32,640 I remember they had us do this listening exercise to see if we could listen, right? 98 00:05:32,640 --> 00:05:37,040 Because if you can't listen, they don't want you up on stage in front of a bunch of people, 99 00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:38,040 okay? 100 00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:41,400 If you cannot listen, then you probably cannot do improv. 101 00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:45,280 You could be a prop, but you can probably not do the improv. 102 00:05:45,280 --> 00:05:49,600 So they had one person stay in the middle with someone on either side of them. 103 00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:56,360 The person in the middle had to talk nonstop to one of the people about a subject that 104 00:05:56,360 --> 00:05:58,400 they had been given. 105 00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:01,600 Nonstop, okay? 106 00:06:01,600 --> 00:06:09,880 Until the person behind them was talking to them about a different subject nonstop. 107 00:06:09,880 --> 00:06:12,240 And then someone would say, switch. 108 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:18,600 And then the person in the middle has to turn and tell this person everything they had been 109 00:06:18,600 --> 00:06:23,120 told while they were talking to someone else. 110 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:26,480 And they're telling them everything they had been told while now this person starts talking 111 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:29,600 to them about a new subject. 112 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:33,760 Sounds easy, right? 113 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:41,080 Moms, moms have an unfair advantage. 114 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:44,280 I actually thought to today that it would actually be fun to demonstrate this because 115 00:06:44,280 --> 00:06:52,200 we actually have some past and present new comedy sports players with us today. 116 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:54,960 Brennan Hampton is going to be, he's a trainee. 117 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:55,960 Brennan, come on up. 118 00:06:55,960 --> 00:06:59,760 And we have Andy and Kristin Koski if they want to come on up. 119 00:06:59,760 --> 00:07:00,760 And we're going to be a village. 120 00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:05,240 We're going to help raise the kids and watch Connor and Quinn, okay? 121 00:07:05,240 --> 00:07:07,600 All right, so this is what we're going to do. 122 00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:12,600 I'm going to have Andy in the middle, Kristin on one side, Brennan on the other, okay? 123 00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:17,000 And you're going to start by talking to Kristin about one subject while you talk to him about 124 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:18,160 a subject, okay? 125 00:07:18,160 --> 00:07:23,780 When I switch, I'll say switch and you'll start talking to him about, and they've done 126 00:07:23,780 --> 00:07:24,780 this before, right? 127 00:07:24,780 --> 00:07:26,800 But you, you're going to have a new subject. 128 00:07:26,800 --> 00:07:28,520 I'll tell you what that subject is, okay? 129 00:07:28,520 --> 00:07:31,120 And we're probably going to do three or four rounds, okay? 130 00:07:31,120 --> 00:07:33,920 All right, so you're going to talk to her first, yeah? 131 00:07:33,920 --> 00:07:38,480 Okay, so you're going to talk about Iowa, how great it is. 132 00:07:38,480 --> 00:07:40,060 Talk about Iowa. 133 00:07:40,060 --> 00:07:42,320 And you are going to talk to him about NASA. 134 00:07:42,320 --> 00:07:44,320 Okay, ready, set, go. 135 00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:47,320 So basically, NASA is this corporation kind of thing. 136 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:54,320 They send stuff into space with like rockets and stuff and they like take measurements 137 00:07:54,320 --> 00:07:59,320 of like the stars and the nebulas and the rocks and the fancy rocks and like Mars was 138 00:07:59,320 --> 00:08:02,320 not, is it this rover and Mars? 139 00:08:02,320 --> 00:08:07,320 And the thing about it is, if you notice, the guy has like a fork to pinch for and one 140 00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:08,320 thing if you look very closely. 141 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:11,320 Okay, switch, you're talking about Ikea. 142 00:08:11,320 --> 00:08:16,320 Ikea is so great because we took all the stuff together though, and then we put it all together 143 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:19,320 and then we turned it back to real. 144 00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:24,320 And then we turned it back to real, and then we turned it back to real. 145 00:08:24,320 --> 00:08:27,320 And then we turned it all the way back. 146 00:08:27,320 --> 00:08:30,320 Switch, you're going to talk about NOAA. 147 00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:33,320 NOAA is this guy that I know. 148 00:08:33,320 --> 00:08:36,320 He's like a kid. 149 00:08:36,320 --> 00:08:41,320 His name is on this Earth and everybody loves that guy. 150 00:08:41,320 --> 00:08:46,320 Everybody's talking about him all the time, constantly, and he brought him up with him. 151 00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:49,320 Switch, an idea. 152 00:08:49,320 --> 00:08:52,320 Any idea you have. 153 00:08:52,320 --> 00:08:54,320 Just an idea, yep. 154 00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:57,320 Sometimes in the pictures, it seems like they didn't get it right. 155 00:08:57,320 --> 00:09:01,320 The two lions that both have names, but that's not really a worry about it. 156 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:03,320 You don't really think about biology. 157 00:09:03,320 --> 00:09:05,320 And done. 158 00:09:05,320 --> 00:09:07,320 Round of applause for our players. 159 00:09:07,320 --> 00:09:08,320 Good job, guys. 160 00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:09,320 Good job. 161 00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:10,320 They make it look easy. 162 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:11,320 You guys can have a seat. 163 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:13,320 Five points to both teams. 164 00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:16,320 Yes. 165 00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:17,320 All right. 166 00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:19,320 They really do make it look easy. 167 00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:24,320 I'm sure afterwards you can talk to Andy and see if his brain is completely scrambled or not. 168 00:09:24,320 --> 00:09:27,320 It looked like he was doing pretty good though. 169 00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:30,320 Now, remember the two minutes for one question. 170 00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:40,320 That voice that no matter how loud the room gets, that voice will always pierce through the noise. 171 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:43,320 That's what we hope for with the Spirit. 172 00:09:43,320 --> 00:09:54,320 That you can be full on living life in the middle of a conversation and still understand what the Spirit is saying. 173 00:09:54,320 --> 00:10:01,320 Because when we rest and live at the table, when we abide in prayer and meditate on the Scriptures, 174 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:08,320 we learn the timbre and tone of the voice of the Holy Spirit. 175 00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:14,320 I would be curious if it was easier for Andy to listen to Kristen than it was to listen to Brennan, 176 00:10:14,320 --> 00:10:19,320 because he was more familiar with her voice. 177 00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:21,320 Now, with that, let's open our Bibles. 178 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:23,320 Let's open up the Scriptures. 179 00:10:23,320 --> 00:10:28,320 I'm going to read from two different places today, from John 14 and Ephesians 1. 180 00:10:28,320 --> 00:10:32,320 You can open to either, or if you're a superstar, you can try and do both. 181 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:35,320 If you do not have a Bible, we have Bibles out in the lobby. 182 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:38,320 You can just take one. They are free. 183 00:10:38,320 --> 00:10:42,320 Or you can download a Bible from any digital app store. 184 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:44,320 We're going to be John 14, Ephesians 1. 185 00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:47,320 We have a tradition of giving the Scriptures our full attention. 186 00:10:47,320 --> 00:10:49,320 You can do that in any number of ways. 187 00:10:49,320 --> 00:10:54,320 You can sit or you can stand with me as you are able, body or spirit, as we read. 188 00:10:54,320 --> 00:10:56,320 Ready? Here we go. 189 00:10:56,320 --> 00:11:00,320 John 14, starting in 16, it says this. 190 00:11:00,320 --> 00:11:07,320 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever, 191 00:11:07,320 --> 00:11:09,320 the Spirit of truth. 192 00:11:09,320 --> 00:11:13,320 The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. 193 00:11:13,320 --> 00:11:16,320 But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 194 00:11:16,320 --> 00:11:18,320 And then jump to verse 26. 195 00:11:18,320 --> 00:11:23,320 But when the Father sends the advocate as my representative, that is the Holy Spirit, 196 00:11:23,320 --> 00:11:26,320 he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. 197 00:11:26,320 --> 00:11:31,320 I am leaving you with a gift, peace of mind and heart. 198 00:11:31,320 --> 00:11:35,320 The peace I give you is a gift that the world cannot give. 199 00:11:35,320 --> 00:11:37,320 So don't be troubled or afraid. 200 00:11:37,320 --> 00:11:40,320 And then Ephesians 1, verse 13 through 18. 201 00:11:40,320 --> 00:11:45,320 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, 202 00:11:45,320 --> 00:11:50,320 the gospel of your salvation, when you believed you were marked in him with the seal, 203 00:11:50,320 --> 00:11:53,320 the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit, 204 00:11:53,320 --> 00:11:58,320 guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession. 205 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:03,320 To the praise of his glory for this reason ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus 206 00:12:03,320 --> 00:12:07,320 and your love for all God's people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, 207 00:12:07,320 --> 00:12:09,320 remembering you in my prayers. 208 00:12:09,320 --> 00:12:13,320 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, 209 00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:20,320 may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may know him better. 210 00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:22,320 Let us pray. 211 00:12:22,320 --> 00:12:26,320 God of every tribe, every tongue, every color, every nation, 212 00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:31,320 we thank you for the scriptures that they have persisted throughout the millennia. 213 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:33,320 We have them still today that we can read. 214 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:37,320 Pray that whatever you have for us to learn today, that it would stick, 215 00:12:37,320 --> 00:12:42,320 that it would become a part of the framework of our faith, that our faith would become stronger. 216 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:45,320 You would become more like your son Jesus. 217 00:12:45,320 --> 00:12:47,320 Amen. Amen. 218 00:12:47,320 --> 00:12:52,320 Thanks, y'all. You can have a seat. 219 00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:56,320 Well, first things first. 220 00:12:56,320 --> 00:13:01,320 It needs to be said, if you believe in Jesus, 221 00:13:01,320 --> 00:13:06,320 if you have told Jesus, I believe in you, you are God, 222 00:13:06,320 --> 00:13:11,320 then you need to know that you have the Holy Spirit. 223 00:13:11,320 --> 00:13:17,320 Jesus said, you know the Spirit, for he lives with you and will be in you. 224 00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:21,320 Some of us have heard or been taught that you have to receive the Spirit separately at a different time. 225 00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:29,320 And there are, I think, a couple places, at least two, in the scriptures that describe something like that. 226 00:13:29,320 --> 00:13:35,320 We can all, all of us, every single one of us, experience more of the presence of the Spirit. 227 00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:39,320 But all of the other examples in Scripture of the Holy Spirit working in our lives, 228 00:13:39,320 --> 00:13:45,320 the presence of the Spirit is immediately present because of the belief in Jesus, 229 00:13:45,320 --> 00:13:53,320 not because of a second event. The Spirit lives within us and in us because we believe in Jesus. 230 00:13:53,320 --> 00:13:57,320 That is the promise that Jesus gave us. 231 00:13:57,320 --> 00:14:02,320 Okay, but why is it important to understand and believe that you have the Spirit of God within you? 232 00:14:02,320 --> 00:14:12,320 Because if you don't believe that the Spirit is there, you probably won't be listening for his voice. 233 00:14:12,320 --> 00:14:19,320 If you do not believe that the Spirit is there, you will probably not be listening for his voice. 234 00:14:19,320 --> 00:14:23,320 Thinking again about that voice that you'd recognize through a crowded room. 235 00:14:23,320 --> 00:14:26,320 Okay, I need you, let's do an imagination exercise here. 236 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:31,320 Imagine that you're in a crowd and you're waiting and looking for that person. 237 00:14:31,320 --> 00:14:35,320 Because you know that they are there. 238 00:14:35,320 --> 00:14:36,320 Yeah. 239 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:42,320 Even if you're having a great conversation about NASA with someone else, 240 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:51,320 when you hear that person's voice, you're confident that it is that person because you know they are there. 241 00:14:51,320 --> 00:14:56,320 Compare that to when you're in a crowd and you hear the voice of someone that you know, 242 00:14:56,320 --> 00:15:00,320 you recognize their voice, but you don't believe that they're there. 243 00:15:00,320 --> 00:15:03,320 This has happened to most, if not all of us. 244 00:15:03,320 --> 00:15:07,320 Just yesterday Cindy was telling me that she thought she heard Leah Hodges voice somewhere. 245 00:15:07,320 --> 00:15:12,320 And she was like, I thought I heard Leah Hodges voice. 246 00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:20,320 Imagine you hear that voice, but you don't believe they're there because they live 2,000 miles away. 247 00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:23,320 How could they be there? 248 00:15:23,320 --> 00:15:29,320 So you ignore it. You heard it, but you move on. 249 00:15:29,320 --> 00:15:33,320 It actually reminds me of a story in 1 Samuel 3. 250 00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:37,320 The high priest, his name is Eli, and he's been given a charge, 251 00:15:37,320 --> 00:15:41,320 someone that has been dedicated to the temple that's going to be raised in the temple. 252 00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:44,320 He's going to grow up in the temple named Samuel. 253 00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:51,320 And Samuel as a child, what happens is that one night he keeps hearing someone call to him, call his name. 254 00:15:51,320 --> 00:15:57,320 And each time what he does is he gets up and he goes to Eli, to the high priest, and he says, 255 00:15:57,320 --> 00:16:00,320 I'm here, I am. How can I help? 256 00:16:00,320 --> 00:16:02,320 In the middle of the night. 257 00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:07,320 And Eli keeps sending him back to bed. It wasn't me, go to bed. 258 00:16:07,320 --> 00:16:13,320 Again, maybe some parents can relate to this feeling. 259 00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:18,320 Third time he comes to Eli, to the high priest. 260 00:16:18,320 --> 00:16:23,320 And finally Eli, either out of frustration, just not wanting to be woken up anymore, or out of actual insight, 261 00:16:23,320 --> 00:16:29,320 he says, listen, next time if you hear the voice, just say, speak Lord, your servant is listening. 262 00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:33,320 Because maybe it's just God trying to talk to you. 263 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:38,320 And so Samuel goes back, he goes to bed, he falls asleep, and he hears the voice again. 264 00:16:38,320 --> 00:16:43,320 He has this opportunity to speak with God. 265 00:16:43,320 --> 00:16:48,320 Here's the thing, Samuel did not know that God spoke in that way. 266 00:16:48,320 --> 00:16:53,320 So he did not know to say, speak Lord, your servant is listening when he heard the voice. 267 00:16:53,320 --> 00:16:58,320 Because he did not know it was possible. 268 00:16:58,320 --> 00:17:00,320 So what did he do? 269 00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:06,320 He assumed that it was someone else. 270 00:17:06,320 --> 00:17:08,320 He assumed that it was Eli. 271 00:17:08,320 --> 00:17:13,320 If we do not believe that the Spirit is here, 272 00:17:13,320 --> 00:17:18,320 when we hear the Spirit, we will either ignore it, 273 00:17:18,320 --> 00:17:25,320 or we will go to the wrong source asking for more information. 274 00:17:25,320 --> 00:17:28,320 Who that'll preach? 275 00:17:28,320 --> 00:17:30,320 Come on, come on, come on. 276 00:17:30,320 --> 00:17:33,320 Amen. 277 00:17:33,320 --> 00:17:38,320 If we do not believe that the Spirit is there, that is exactly what we will either ignore it, 278 00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:44,320 or we'll go, well, I heard something, I better go to a source to get more information. 279 00:17:44,320 --> 00:17:49,320 It happens every single day in our lives. 280 00:17:49,320 --> 00:17:56,320 We need to begin from the position of listening, believing that the Spirit is present, 281 00:17:56,320 --> 00:17:59,320 and that the Spirit is speaking. 282 00:17:59,320 --> 00:18:04,320 Second, if we know that we have the Holy Spirit, then know this. 283 00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:09,320 The Spirit wants to bring peace to your heart and to your mind. 284 00:18:09,320 --> 00:18:14,320 Jesus said, I am leaving with you a gift, peace of mind and heart. 285 00:18:14,320 --> 00:18:19,320 Throughout the Gospels, Jesus says multiple times, even in a passage that we just read, 286 00:18:19,320 --> 00:18:23,320 do not let your heart be troubled. 287 00:18:23,320 --> 00:18:33,320 The sign and a signature of the Holy Spirit speaking is the presence of peace in our hearts and minds. 288 00:18:33,320 --> 00:18:38,320 So let's be honest, can we be transparent with each other for just a second? 289 00:18:38,320 --> 00:18:42,320 Show of hands, honesty. 290 00:18:42,320 --> 00:18:46,320 Show of hands, transparency. 291 00:18:46,320 --> 00:18:52,320 In the last seven days, has your heart been troubled? 292 00:18:52,320 --> 00:18:55,320 Yeah, you can put your hands down. 293 00:18:55,320 --> 00:19:03,320 My hands up, because in the last seven days, my heart has been troubled. 294 00:19:03,320 --> 00:19:08,320 One night, Cindy told me, oh, you had bad dreams last night. 295 00:19:08,320 --> 00:19:12,320 The next night, I remembered the bad dream that I had. 296 00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:17,320 Sometimes I wake up worried about my credit card, worried about the health of my children, 297 00:19:17,320 --> 00:19:21,320 worried about whether I'm being the husband that my wife deserves. 298 00:19:21,320 --> 00:19:26,320 My heart is troubled sometimes. 299 00:19:26,320 --> 00:19:33,320 But I believe this, and I remind myself of this truth in those moments. 300 00:19:33,320 --> 00:19:38,320 The gift of the Spirit is peace of heart and mind. 301 00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:44,320 And that because they are a gift of the Spirit, because the Spirit is present, 302 00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:49,320 I do not need to go find peace somewhere else. 303 00:19:49,320 --> 00:20:02,320 In the moment that I am troubled, my ear can be open to the Spirit telling me that His peace is already here. 304 00:20:02,320 --> 00:20:04,320 So first, we believe that the Spirit is here. 305 00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:09,320 Second, we accept, even if it feels naive, that if the Spirit is here, 306 00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:14,320 that peace of mind and heart are also present and available. 307 00:20:14,320 --> 00:20:23,320 And then I think that third thing here is listening to the Spirit is actually listening for wisdom. 308 00:20:23,320 --> 00:20:27,320 There's something deeply calming about wisdom. 309 00:20:27,320 --> 00:20:35,320 Have you ever been offered a solution to a difficult problem and immediately felt better? 310 00:20:35,320 --> 00:20:40,320 Yeah? Like something's been bothering you, you can't come up with the solution. 311 00:20:40,320 --> 00:20:46,320 And then somebody else, maybe it was a scripture, maybe it was just a friend, 312 00:20:46,320 --> 00:20:51,320 provides a solution, provides an answer, and you immediately feel better. 313 00:20:51,320 --> 00:20:56,320 The problem still exists. 314 00:20:56,320 --> 00:21:04,320 You have not yet applied what you have been told or changed, anything. 315 00:21:04,320 --> 00:21:12,320 Just having the answer has brought you peace. 316 00:21:12,320 --> 00:21:18,320 There's something about the wisdom of God, the wisdom of the Spirit that Paul is praying that they will receive. 317 00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:30,320 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom. 318 00:21:30,320 --> 00:21:38,320 So I think we're going to spend a little time doing that, listening for wisdom, for the Spirit, listening for answers. 319 00:21:38,320 --> 00:21:44,320 But first, just real quick, I want to go all the way back to that listening game. 320 00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:46,320 Okay? Just pull it back up in your minds. 321 00:21:46,320 --> 00:21:49,320 Okay? I have a couple questions for you. 322 00:21:49,320 --> 00:21:54,320 I'm testing to see if you were listening. 323 00:21:54,320 --> 00:22:02,320 Does anybody remember all five prompts? 324 00:22:02,320 --> 00:22:03,320 He talked about something. 325 00:22:03,320 --> 00:22:04,320 Well, he talked about something. 326 00:22:04,320 --> 00:22:08,320 That's two, then three, then four, then a fifth prompt. 327 00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:12,320 Does anybody remember all five prompts? 328 00:22:12,320 --> 00:22:14,320 Raise your hand if you remember any of the prompts. 329 00:22:14,320 --> 00:22:17,320 Okay? What was one of the prompts? 330 00:22:17,320 --> 00:22:20,320 Oh, dang girl. 331 00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:22,320 All right. What do you got? 332 00:22:22,320 --> 00:22:25,320 Iowa? NASA? 333 00:22:25,320 --> 00:22:28,320 An idea? 334 00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:30,320 Round of applause. 335 00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:33,320 Round of applause. 336 00:22:33,320 --> 00:22:39,320 Now, when we did this exercise, not right now, now that you've heard the words again, 337 00:22:39,320 --> 00:22:45,320 but who noticed that they were all four-letter words? 338 00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:48,320 Anybody? 339 00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:53,320 And not now, but when it was happening, and now that you've heard the words and heard they're all four-letter words, 340 00:22:53,320 --> 00:23:01,320 who noticed that they all ended in A or an A sound? 341 00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:03,320 Two things. 342 00:23:03,320 --> 00:23:05,320 Good news. 343 00:23:05,320 --> 00:23:11,320 With the Holy Spirit, you do not need to hear the Spirit the first time the Spirit speaks, 344 00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:19,320 or understand everything or all the layers of what the Spirit is saying the first time the Spirit speaks. 345 00:23:19,320 --> 00:23:25,320 The depth of skill, of listening, of awareness that it would have required anybody in this room, 346 00:23:25,320 --> 00:23:31,320 even a seasoned comedy sports veteran, to notice, remember all five words, 347 00:23:31,320 --> 00:23:37,320 to notice they were all four letters and see that they all ended in the letter A or sounding A, 348 00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:40,320 would have been phenomenal. 349 00:23:40,320 --> 00:23:46,320 You do not need to catch everything the Spirit says every time the Spirit speaks, 350 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:52,320 because God can remind you later. 351 00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:55,320 That is a major purpose of the Spirit. 352 00:23:55,320 --> 00:23:57,320 Did you guys catch that in the passage that we read? 353 00:23:57,320 --> 00:24:00,320 If you read everything that Jesus said, he literally says, 354 00:24:00,320 --> 00:24:08,320 one of the jobs of the Holy Spirit is to remind you of what Jesus said later. 355 00:24:08,320 --> 00:24:14,320 Second thing about this is that I believe that the Spirit speaks simply, 356 00:24:14,320 --> 00:24:25,320 but even when the Spirit speaks simply, there are probably always layers to our understanding of what the Spirit has said. 357 00:24:25,320 --> 00:24:31,320 Noah, NASA, Ikea, Iowa, an idea, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 358 00:24:31,320 --> 00:24:37,320 And then you find out, oh, oh dang, they were all four letters, oh, they were all this, oh, I wonder if there's another connection. 359 00:24:37,320 --> 00:24:39,320 Anyone think of the other connection yet? 360 00:24:39,320 --> 00:24:42,320 Anyone? Anyone? 361 00:24:42,320 --> 00:24:47,320 There isn't one. I'm just riffing here. 362 00:24:47,320 --> 00:24:51,320 Ah, ah, ah. 363 00:24:51,320 --> 00:24:54,320 Right, right, right. I'm cracking myself over here. 364 00:24:54,320 --> 00:24:59,320 Those are the best jokes, those are the best moments, yeah. 365 00:24:59,320 --> 00:25:05,320 There's always more that maybe we can notice, but I do think that the Spirit begins simply. 366 00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:12,320 And so like the last couple weeks, I want to actually give us a tool for listening to the Spirit and listening for wisdom. 367 00:25:12,320 --> 00:25:14,320 Now, I'm not in charge of the Holy Spirit. 368 00:25:14,320 --> 00:25:20,320 I cannot ask us all to close our eyes and promise the Spirit is going to say something to each of us right now. 369 00:25:20,320 --> 00:25:29,320 I don't think that that's how it works, but I am 100% sure that the Spirit has already spoken to all of us about something at some point. 370 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:35,320 Maybe a decision that we're having to make right now, a decision that we've already made and we still wonder about it. 371 00:25:35,320 --> 00:25:40,320 And I think that we have a tool that can help us think about what we heard. 372 00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:50,320 It's a tool that I've actually taught about before. It's called 4D Wisdom, or you could call it a Wisdom Matrix. 373 00:25:50,320 --> 00:25:58,320 So in order to do this, what you need to do is think about a decision that you need to make or a decision that you've already made. 374 00:25:58,320 --> 00:26:02,320 And if you have something to draw with, that might actually help. 375 00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:08,320 But I'll actually post, I'm going to have some pictures up on the screen and then I'm going to post these online later, okay? 376 00:26:08,320 --> 00:26:14,320 I think that the Spirit, the Spirit of Wisdom will give us insight in at least four ways. 377 00:26:14,320 --> 00:26:19,320 Good, bad, right, wrong, mature, immature, and wise, foolish. 378 00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:25,320 And so that first image that we can put up, Claire, is about good, bad. 379 00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:29,320 Good, bad. It starts with that line down there, good, bad, okay? 380 00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:34,320 This is the first base layer of listening to what the Spirit might be saying. 381 00:26:34,320 --> 00:26:40,320 The easiest layer for us to hear is, is this good or is this bad? 382 00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:47,320 Right? The point here when you're thinking that you might be like, Greg, my thing is way bigger than that, right? 383 00:26:47,320 --> 00:26:50,320 But let's start simple. 384 00:26:50,320 --> 00:26:58,320 The point of this layer is to oversimplify the thing that you are thinking about. 385 00:26:58,320 --> 00:27:03,320 So that we can hear the most simple thing that the Spirit might be saying. 386 00:27:03,320 --> 00:27:06,320 Think about it like babies in outlets. 387 00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:10,320 We all know the right answer when it comes to babies in outlets. 388 00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:18,320 Outlets are not bad, but babies in outlets are bad. Right? 389 00:27:18,320 --> 00:27:21,320 Outlets aren't bad. Babies in outlets are bad. 390 00:27:21,320 --> 00:27:24,320 And so what we want to do is we're thinking about our thing. 391 00:27:24,320 --> 00:27:28,320 Let's put up that next one. You can plot. Let's plot something on here. Okay? 392 00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:34,320 Yeah, I think that this is very good. This thing. You might go, you know what? This is pretty bad. 393 00:27:34,320 --> 00:27:38,320 Now, we don't stop just because something gets plotted somewhere here, okay? 394 00:27:38,320 --> 00:27:44,320 Because the next thing we want to think about is, is the Spirit saying this thing is right or wrong? 395 00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:47,320 Good, bad, right, wrong. 396 00:27:47,320 --> 00:27:50,320 We're starting to create a little bit of a graph here, okay? 397 00:27:50,320 --> 00:27:54,320 We're going, okay, I can put this here. I can think about, think about a 10-year-old in outlets. 398 00:27:54,320 --> 00:27:57,320 Not babies in outlets. Think about a 10-year-old in outlets. 399 00:27:57,320 --> 00:28:05,320 We know that outlets aren't bad. Outlets also aren't wrong. Right? 400 00:28:05,320 --> 00:28:09,320 A 10-year-old is old enough to plug something in. 401 00:28:09,320 --> 00:28:14,320 We can probably, most of us. It depends on how protective you are of your children, I suppose. 402 00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:23,320 But should that 10-year-old be responsible for having a space heater plugged in and left on all the time? 403 00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:25,320 No, that's wrong. 404 00:28:25,320 --> 00:28:32,320 And then that actually starts bringing the goodness of a space heater or the goodness of an outlet back towards that bad. 405 00:28:32,320 --> 00:28:36,320 We want to be thinking, is this good and is this right? 406 00:28:36,320 --> 00:28:38,320 So let's see that plotted on there, okay? 407 00:28:38,320 --> 00:28:43,320 And so you're trying to go, okay, I want to be up here away from these lines a little bit. 408 00:28:43,320 --> 00:28:49,320 With the way that I'm listening to the spirit, with this thing that the spirit might be saying. 409 00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:51,320 Okay, let's do the next one. 410 00:28:51,320 --> 00:28:55,320 And we reach the layer that adds some depth, okay? 411 00:28:55,320 --> 00:28:59,320 So far we have been dealing in two-dimensional decisions. 412 00:28:59,320 --> 00:29:04,320 It's pretty easy to answer those questions. Is it okay for babies in outlets? 413 00:29:04,320 --> 00:29:10,320 Is it okay for a 10-year-old to have a heater on absolutely all the time? 414 00:29:10,320 --> 00:29:16,320 But then we ask, is this mature or is this immature? 415 00:29:16,320 --> 00:29:20,320 Because maturity and immaturity is actually part of being wise. 416 00:29:20,320 --> 00:29:26,320 It is what gives depth to some of the decisions that we make. 417 00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:29,320 I have an outlet. 418 00:29:29,320 --> 00:29:32,320 I use it to charge my phone. 419 00:29:32,320 --> 00:29:34,320 Good, okay, good. 420 00:29:34,320 --> 00:29:36,320 Right. 421 00:29:36,320 --> 00:29:41,320 Should I lay in bed with my phone plugged in doom scrolling for three hours? 422 00:29:41,320 --> 00:29:44,320 Probably not. That's immature. 423 00:29:44,320 --> 00:29:50,320 I mean, should I post everything that comes through my mind on my phone, wireless? 424 00:29:50,320 --> 00:29:53,320 Is the phone bad? No, the phone isn't bad. 425 00:29:53,320 --> 00:29:55,320 Is the phone wrong? No. 426 00:29:55,320 --> 00:30:01,320 But how you use that phone speaks to your maturity. Yeah? 427 00:30:01,320 --> 00:30:05,320 Start to think about the decision that you had. 428 00:30:05,320 --> 00:30:09,320 Start to think. Let's see how we would plot this, Clara. 429 00:30:09,320 --> 00:30:15,320 So we want to be plotting out into the depth of this decision. 430 00:30:15,320 --> 00:30:19,320 The spirit brings depth to our decisions. 431 00:30:19,320 --> 00:30:23,320 It's not just a question of is it good or bad, is it right or wrong, 432 00:30:23,320 --> 00:30:32,320 but is this mature and maturity starts taking us out away from things that are just two-dimensional. 433 00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:39,320 And then lastly, what we do is we ask is this wise or is this foolish? 434 00:30:39,320 --> 00:30:44,320 And that's the thing that really connects all the sides, it connects all the dots. 435 00:30:44,320 --> 00:30:50,320 And what we find out is that foolishness collapses everything from the outside. 436 00:30:50,320 --> 00:30:56,320 But wisdom can expand our entire lives from within. 437 00:30:56,320 --> 00:31:01,320 Think about the decision that you have. 438 00:31:01,320 --> 00:31:03,320 Might be easy to go, is this good or bad? 439 00:31:03,320 --> 00:31:08,320 You might go, yeah, this thing is definitely good. This new job is definitely good. 440 00:31:08,320 --> 00:31:13,320 Is it right or wrong? Yeah, I mean, as long as I give two weeks notice, it's right. It'll be good. 441 00:31:13,320 --> 00:31:15,320 You go, oh, immature, immature. 442 00:31:15,320 --> 00:31:20,320 Actually, it is something that I've been wanting to do that I feel like God has been gifting me to do. 443 00:31:20,320 --> 00:31:22,320 And so we're starting to get into depth. 444 00:31:22,320 --> 00:31:29,320 And then the last layer of listening to the spirit is asking is it wise or is it foolish? 445 00:31:29,320 --> 00:31:36,320 And the reality is that I cannot give you an example, a simple example, 446 00:31:36,320 --> 00:31:42,320 that will tell you how to hear the spirit on this level. 447 00:31:42,320 --> 00:31:49,320 We practice listening to the spirit by going good, bad, right, wrong, mature, immature. 448 00:31:49,320 --> 00:31:56,320 But only the Holy Spirit can truly teach you whether it is wise or it is foolish. 449 00:31:56,320 --> 00:32:00,320 Because we can look back through the course of time, we can ask the disciples, 450 00:32:00,320 --> 00:32:03,320 hey, do you think it's good or bad to follow Jesus? 451 00:32:03,320 --> 00:32:06,320 Oh, this is good. Is it right or wrong to follow Jesus? 452 00:32:06,320 --> 00:32:10,320 Oh, it is. It's right to follow Jesus. He's the Messiah. Is it mature or immature? 453 00:32:10,320 --> 00:32:15,320 Man, this is the depth of relationship and things that I'm learning about God, the way that is maturing me. 454 00:32:15,320 --> 00:32:18,320 This is nothing has been better. 455 00:32:18,320 --> 00:32:28,320 It's wise or foolish if you knew that a year from now you'll be martyred following Jesus. 456 00:32:28,320 --> 00:32:38,320 We get to this level where some decisions are not going to be as cut and dried or easy as ABABAB. 457 00:32:38,320 --> 00:32:45,320 But we get to a place with the spirit to understand what the spirit is saying about wisdom and foolishness 458 00:32:45,320 --> 00:32:50,320 by practicing these other three layers first. Does that make sense? 459 00:32:50,320 --> 00:32:59,320 I hope that this is something that can help us because we spend a lot of time having hearts that are troubled 460 00:32:59,320 --> 00:33:05,320 because we're not talking to the spirit through these layers. 461 00:33:05,320 --> 00:33:11,320 And I'll tell you right now, it is not the desire of our Lord Jesus Christ, 462 00:33:11,320 --> 00:33:17,320 the Son of the Glorious Father, for our hearts to be troubled. 463 00:33:17,320 --> 00:33:23,320 It is his hope and his desire and his promise that we will have the Holy Spirit 464 00:33:23,320 --> 00:33:30,320 and that the gift of the Holy Spirit will be peace of heart and mind. Amen? 465 00:33:30,320 --> 00:33:34,320 Amen. All right, let's pray. 466 00:33:34,320 --> 00:33:41,320 God, thank you for your wisdom. The book of James, the author, the brother of Jesus wrote, 467 00:33:41,320 --> 00:33:53,320 If anyone lacks wisdom, all they have to do is ask. And God, who is generous, will give them wisdom. 468 00:33:53,320 --> 00:33:58,320 I pray that you would develop our hearts to listen to your spirit, 469 00:33:58,320 --> 00:34:02,320 that you would move us past just simply what is good, bad, right, wrong, 470 00:34:02,320 --> 00:34:09,320 or even just what seems mature and expand our lives from within by the power of your Holy Spirit, 471 00:34:09,320 --> 00:34:32,320 by your wisdom, by your spirit. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.