1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:08,740 So some of you are familiar with the Timothy Initiative, TTI, and have taken their course 2 00:00:08,740 --> 00:00:10,840 called Disciples Making Disciples. 3 00:00:10,840 --> 00:00:14,240 And it's an excellent manual on disciple making. 4 00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:19,360 It includes how to craft and share your story, give your testimony, how to share God's story, 5 00:00:19,360 --> 00:00:23,060 the gospel, how to know that you have assurance of salvation. 6 00:00:23,060 --> 00:00:28,900 It has teaching on prayer and devotions and how to study the Bible, how to really experience 7 00:00:28,900 --> 00:00:34,800 God as our Heavenly Father, talks about baptism and how to get plugged into a church and how 8 00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:37,880 to disciple new believers and much more. 9 00:00:37,880 --> 00:00:43,640 What is the first lesson in that book, The Spirit Fill Christian Life? 10 00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:48,840 So why does a study manual designed to equip disciples to become disciple makers, which 11 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:53,640 is our church's vision, why does it begin with the importance of the Holy Spirit and 12 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:55,760 the Spirit Fill life? 13 00:00:55,760 --> 00:01:00,440 Because it is the Holy Spirit who empowers us to do everything else in the book. 14 00:01:00,440 --> 00:01:05,280 It is the Holy Spirit who empowers our witness and who assures us of our salvation and who 15 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:09,960 motivates and directs our prayer life and gives us insight and understanding into the Bible 16 00:01:09,960 --> 00:01:14,880 and draws us into intimacy with God as our Heavenly Father and gives us spiritual gifts 17 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:17,620 to build up the church body. 18 00:01:17,620 --> 00:01:23,320 Our church vision of every Christ follower, a disciple, every disciple, a disciple maker 19 00:01:23,320 --> 00:01:28,080 will be fulfilled only in the power of the Holy Spirit. 20 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:33,320 So as we continue our series on Cornerstone's core values, it is significant that one of 21 00:01:33,320 --> 00:01:39,760 those core values, as listed in your sermon notes, is Spirit Fill Living. 22 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:44,800 Because the Holy Spirit is the source of our victory, we respond to Him with lives that 23 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:48,960 are empowered by and exhibit the fruit of the Holy Spirit. 24 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:55,360 In the power of the Spirit, we proclaim God's truth, we pray, we serve, we worship and song, 25 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:58,340 and we love God with all that we are. 26 00:01:58,340 --> 00:02:00,960 That will be the focus of our message this morning. 27 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:03,960 I'd like to invite Tanner Custer up here right now. 28 00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:08,600 There'll be several scriptures we're looking at, but Tanner is going to read a couple of 29 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:10,120 them for you at this time. 30 00:02:10,120 --> 00:02:11,120 Tanner, go ahead. 31 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:19,480 Acts 1, Acts 1, 8, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and 32 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:24,720 you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends 33 00:02:24,720 --> 00:02:30,520 of the earth. 34 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:38,920 Ephesians 5, 15 through 21, look carefully at how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise, 35 00:02:38,920 --> 00:02:43,520 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 36 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:49,720 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is, and do not get 37 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:53,000 drunk with wine, for that is debauchery. 38 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:57,920 But be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in Psalms, hymns, and spiritual 39 00:02:57,920 --> 00:03:04,520 songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and 40 00:03:04,520 --> 00:03:10,440 for everything, to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one 41 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:12,960 another out of reverence for Christ. 42 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:13,960 Good time. 43 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:15,600 Next to it right here. 44 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:20,680 Father, I pray for Tanner that he would experience the reality of what he has just read, that 45 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:24,040 he would experience the reality of the Spirit-filled life. 46 00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:29,680 I pray that for all who are here today, that we would experience the reality of the Spirit-filled 47 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:30,680 life. 48 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:35,640 I pray that also for our Panama mission team right now, that they will be filled with the 49 00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:40,520 Holy Spirit as they minister your love to those around them during this coming week. 50 00:03:40,520 --> 00:03:41,960 We pray this in Jesus' name. 51 00:03:41,960 --> 00:03:42,960 Amen. 52 00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:43,960 Thank you. 53 00:03:43,960 --> 00:03:47,680 Please be seated. 54 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:52,800 So let's take a look first of all at the person of the Holy Spirit. 55 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:54,880 So who is the Holy Spirit? 56 00:03:54,880 --> 00:04:00,000 I grew up in a Bible teaching church, and I developed a personal relationship with Jesus 57 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:05,480 as my Savior and Lord, and with God as my Heavenly Father, but I knew practically nothing about 58 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:06,480 the Holy Spirit. 59 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:10,760 And it didn't help that he was often referred to as the Holy Ghost. 60 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:13,740 How do I develop a relationship with a ghost? 61 00:04:13,740 --> 00:04:17,360 Do I even want a relationship with a ghost? 62 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:21,760 And I remember the Holy Spirit referred to as a power source. 63 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:24,520 Does that mean the Holy Spirit is kind of like electricity? 64 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:29,840 No, I learned that the Greek word for power is dunamis, from which we get the word dynamite. 65 00:04:29,840 --> 00:04:31,280 Great. 66 00:04:31,280 --> 00:04:36,440 The Holy Spirit is a ghost who blows things up. 67 00:04:36,440 --> 00:04:38,840 So I kept the Holy Spirit at arm's length. 68 00:04:38,840 --> 00:04:41,840 I either ignored him or kept my distance from him. 69 00:04:41,840 --> 00:04:45,400 I guarded myself against him. 70 00:04:45,400 --> 00:04:46,720 How about you? 71 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:50,960 What kind of a relationship do you have with the Holy Spirit? 72 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:55,280 What is your understanding of who he is and what he is like? 73 00:04:55,280 --> 00:04:59,440 The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 74 00:04:59,440 --> 00:05:03,360 He is not an impersonal force or a ghost-like entity. 75 00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:08,080 He is a person equal in every way with the Father and with the Son. 76 00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:14,320 Same character, same infinite intellect, same emotions, same will, and perfect alignment 77 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:17,280 with the will of the Father and the Son. 78 00:05:17,280 --> 00:05:20,800 Jesus called him another paraclete. 79 00:05:20,800 --> 00:05:25,360 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another helper, paracletes, to be with 80 00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:29,840 you forever, even the Spirit of truth from the world cannot receive because it neither 81 00:05:29,840 --> 00:05:31,520 sees him nor knows him. 82 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:36,480 You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. 83 00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:41,560 The word translated to your helper is the word paraclete in Greek, meaning the one called 84 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:42,560 along beside. 85 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:49,520 It can also be translated comforter or advocate or counselor or encourager. 86 00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:51,760 The Holy Spirit is all of those things. 87 00:05:51,760 --> 00:05:57,760 And as Jesus said, He both dwells within us and also dwells with us. 88 00:05:57,760 --> 00:06:04,240 He dwells with us as a companion and as a friend. 89 00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:08,860 Have you ever thought of the Holy Spirit as a companion and friend? 90 00:06:08,860 --> 00:06:13,040 We sing, What a friend we have in Jesus, and He is. 91 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:16,800 But it's also true that Jesus now dwells at the right hand of God in heaven, and He sent 92 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:21,120 the Holy Spirit to be with us here on earth. 93 00:06:21,120 --> 00:06:26,200 Jesus calls him another paraclete because as Jesus was to the disciples dwelling with 94 00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:30,840 them, so also the Spirit is with us dwelling with us and in us. 95 00:06:30,840 --> 00:06:35,760 And every character quality that you would attribute to Jesus or to the Father is also 96 00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:37,840 true of the Spirit. 97 00:06:37,840 --> 00:06:43,960 He is merciful and gracious and compassionate and wise and strong and powerful and kind 98 00:06:43,960 --> 00:06:47,160 and abounding and steadfast love. 99 00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:52,080 In fact, Jesus even said, Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage 100 00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:54,440 that I go away. 101 00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:58,520 For if I do not go away, the helper will not come to you. 102 00:06:58,520 --> 00:07:01,800 But if I go, I will send him to you. 103 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:04,120 That's astounding. 104 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:09,560 Jesus says, We are better off with the Holy Spirit dwelling with us and in us than the 105 00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:14,760 disciples were with Jesus walking beside them in the flesh. 106 00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:16,320 Why? 107 00:07:16,320 --> 00:07:21,680 Because Jesus being fully human as well as divine could only be in one place in one time 108 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:23,440 in his human body. 109 00:07:23,440 --> 00:07:28,840 But the Spirit is Spirit, not flesh, and He can be everywhere at once. 110 00:07:28,840 --> 00:07:33,480 So at the same time as He is present with us here, He is also present with our team 111 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:34,480 in Panama. 112 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:42,360 He is present with believers in Moldova, Mexico, Kenya, Togo, Nepal, Morocco, Spain, Israel, 113 00:07:42,360 --> 00:07:43,600 wherever. 114 00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:48,680 And although Jesus walked with the disciples, teaching and training them, performing miracles 115 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:52,760 before their eyes, He did not live within them. 116 00:07:52,760 --> 00:08:00,040 But the Holy Spirit not only dwells with us, He also dwells in us, energizing and strengthening 117 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:05,520 and empowering and guiding us and speaking to us from within. 118 00:08:05,520 --> 00:08:10,600 So ask God to strengthen your relationship with the Holy Spirit. 119 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:14,000 Just look then at the ministry of the Holy Spirit. 120 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:18,720 What does the Holy Spirit do for us and in us and through us? 121 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:24,840 First, He gives new life through the new birth. 122 00:08:24,840 --> 00:08:30,480 Jesus said to Nicodemus, truly truly I say to you unless one is born again, he cannot 123 00:08:30,480 --> 00:08:32,520 see the kingdom of God. 124 00:08:32,520 --> 00:08:35,760 Nicodemus said to him, how can a man be born when he is old? 125 00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:39,480 Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? 126 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:44,160 Jesus answered truly truly I say to you unless one is born of water and of the Spirit, he 127 00:08:44,160 --> 00:08:46,320 cannot enter the kingdom of God. 128 00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:51,400 That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. 129 00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:54,360 Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. 130 00:08:54,360 --> 00:08:57,840 The wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound but you do not know where it comes 131 00:08:57,840 --> 00:08:59,320 from or where it goes. 132 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:05,320 So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. 133 00:09:05,320 --> 00:09:09,240 Many people assume that the major problem in our relationship with God is that we're 134 00:09:09,240 --> 00:09:13,160 not quite good enough to be accepted into heaven and we just need to try harder to do 135 00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:15,160 more good works. 136 00:09:15,160 --> 00:09:19,800 The reality is that we are according to the Bible spiritually dead. 137 00:09:19,800 --> 00:09:23,960 We're spiritually dead in trespasses and sins and we need to be made spiritually alive. 138 00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:28,240 Now you can try harder to be a better person but how do you make yourself spiritually 139 00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:29,240 alive? 140 00:09:29,240 --> 00:09:31,120 You can't. 141 00:09:31,120 --> 00:09:34,880 It is the Holy Spirit who gives new life through the new birth. 142 00:09:34,880 --> 00:09:36,240 So you must be born again. 143 00:09:36,240 --> 00:09:39,240 You must be born of the Spirit as Jesus said. 144 00:09:39,240 --> 00:09:40,760 How does that happen? 145 00:09:40,760 --> 00:09:45,320 But to all who did receive Jesus Christ who believed in His name, He gave the right to 146 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:50,120 become children of God who were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of 147 00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:54,120 the will of man but born of God. 148 00:09:54,120 --> 00:09:59,280 When a person receives Jesus Christ into their life as Savior and Lord, the Holy Spirit comes 149 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:05,800 to dwell within that person and gives that person spiritual life which is eternal life. 150 00:10:05,800 --> 00:10:10,240 The person's spirit is made alive by the Spirit of God and will never die even when 151 00:10:10,240 --> 00:10:11,960 the body dies. 152 00:10:11,960 --> 00:10:17,400 That spiritual life given by the Holy Spirit is stronger than death and will last forever. 153 00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:25,200 Secondly, the Holy Spirit assures us of our presence and future salvation. 154 00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:27,840 How do you know for sure that you are saved? 155 00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:32,800 That God accepts you into His family now and that God one day will accept you into heaven 156 00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:33,800 when you die. 157 00:10:33,800 --> 00:10:36,760 Can you be sure? 158 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:40,160 Perhaps you're hoping that your good deeds will outweigh your sins and failures but the 159 00:10:40,160 --> 00:10:45,560 Bible makes it clear that no one will be accepted into heaven on the basis of their own goodness 160 00:10:45,560 --> 00:10:51,920 but rather only on the basis of the finished work of Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection. 161 00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:54,920 Perhaps you're counting on the fact that you prayed a prayer to accept Christ as your 162 00:10:54,920 --> 00:10:55,920 Savior. 163 00:10:55,920 --> 00:11:02,040 It's true we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and that prayer is an appropriate 164 00:11:02,040 --> 00:11:05,120 way of expressing that faith. 165 00:11:05,120 --> 00:11:07,880 But how do you know that God answered that prayer? 166 00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:10,920 How do you know that your faith was good enough? 167 00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:15,040 And what if you've committed serious sins or have drifted away from God since praying 168 00:11:15,040 --> 00:11:16,720 that prayer? 169 00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:22,480 How can you be sure of your salvation and eternal life? 170 00:11:22,480 --> 00:11:28,120 Some of you know one of my sisters is dying and probably has only a few days to live. 171 00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:31,520 I went to visit her in Milwaukee on Tuesday. 172 00:11:31,520 --> 00:11:37,200 This is not a theoretical question for her or for any of us for that matter. 173 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:44,600 Even if you have decades left to live, our life on earth is a mere dot compared to eternity. 174 00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:50,920 My sister is a believer but she has lived a hard life and is well aware of many failings. 175 00:11:50,920 --> 00:11:55,760 By her own admission she has not lived an exemplary Christian life. 176 00:11:55,760 --> 00:12:02,200 I asked her, Donna, do you know for sure that you will go to heaven when you die? 177 00:12:02,200 --> 00:12:05,440 And she said without hesitation, yes. 178 00:12:05,440 --> 00:12:07,640 And I said, well how can you be sure? 179 00:12:07,640 --> 00:12:10,240 Why are you so confident? 180 00:12:10,240 --> 00:12:14,120 And she said because he made me a promise. 181 00:12:14,120 --> 00:12:16,360 What promise I said? 182 00:12:16,360 --> 00:12:21,320 That if I believe in Jesus, he would give me eternal life. 183 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:23,080 Good answer. 184 00:12:23,080 --> 00:12:25,560 Maybe the best answer. 185 00:12:25,560 --> 00:12:29,640 And this is the testimony that God gave us eternal life. 186 00:12:29,640 --> 00:12:32,000 And this life is in his son. 187 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:34,600 Whoever has the son has life. 188 00:12:34,600 --> 00:12:37,880 Whoever does not have the son of God does not have life. 189 00:12:37,880 --> 00:12:43,080 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the son of God that you may know 190 00:12:43,080 --> 00:12:47,600 that you have eternal life. 191 00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:53,600 Believing God's promises in his word gives assurance of salvation and eternal life. 192 00:12:53,600 --> 00:13:01,640 And when we believe in Jesus and the gospel, God seals us with the Holy Spirit. 193 00:13:01,640 --> 00:13:06,880 In him, in Christ you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation 194 00:13:06,880 --> 00:13:13,360 and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit who is the guarantee 195 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:18,000 of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of his glory. 196 00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:23,480 By giving us the Holy Spirit to live within us when we accept Christ, God seals or stamps 197 00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:27,880 us as his very own at our conversion. 198 00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:33,000 Now in New Testament times, first of all, the seal denoted that a document was genuine 199 00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:36,160 and certified by the one who sealed it. 200 00:13:36,160 --> 00:13:42,000 So also when the Holy Spirit seals the believer of the gospel, the sealing of the Holy Spirit 201 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:49,800 is God's certification that the salvation of that believer is real and authentic. 202 00:13:49,800 --> 00:13:54,080 Second, the seal was affixed to denote ownership. 203 00:13:54,080 --> 00:13:57,880 Today's equivalent of this is the title deed to a property. 204 00:13:57,880 --> 00:14:05,080 Thus, the seal of the Holy Spirit is the indelible sign and proof that God through Christ has 205 00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:10,280 redeemed us from sin for his ownership and possession. 206 00:14:10,280 --> 00:14:17,320 And third, the seal was used to ensure the security and safety of the object sealed to 207 00:14:17,320 --> 00:14:21,000 protect its contents from being violated. 208 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:26,440 The Holy Spirit is God's seal of protection over the believer's life. 209 00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:34,360 And under this sacred seal, no man or demon or anything can wrest the Christian from his 210 00:14:34,360 --> 00:14:37,360 secure position in Christ. 211 00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:40,120 No one can break the seal of God. 212 00:14:40,120 --> 00:14:46,360 It is because the Spirit has sealed us that we are assured that we are indeed children 213 00:14:46,360 --> 00:14:48,120 of God. 214 00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:53,200 For you did not receive the Spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received 215 00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:59,160 the Spirit of adoption as sons by whom we cry, Abba, Father. 216 00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:06,760 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirits that we are children of God. 217 00:15:06,760 --> 00:15:12,040 The gift of the Spirit to believers is also called a down payment on our heavenly inheritance 218 00:15:12,040 --> 00:15:16,520 which Christ has promised and secured for us at the cross. 219 00:15:16,520 --> 00:15:24,520 The Holy Spirit down payment is the irreversible guarantee that what God starts with the new 220 00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:32,280 birth, he will most certainly complete with the glorification of believers perfectly conformed 221 00:15:32,280 --> 00:15:36,440 to the likeness of Christ when we see him face to face. 222 00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:44,720 So God grants us His Holy Spirit to live within us as the certain pledge that we are His forever 223 00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:47,440 and will be saved at the last day. 224 00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:53,040 Third, the Holy Spirit enlightens us. 225 00:15:53,040 --> 00:15:58,080 When you are going through hard times, trials, seasons of loss, there's no more important 226 00:15:58,080 --> 00:16:02,200 question than what is God like? 227 00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:07,560 And I trust God's goodness and love and wisdom and grace and faithfulness and sovereignty 228 00:16:07,560 --> 00:16:11,200 when everything in life seems to have turned against me. 229 00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:16,080 If God still loves me, why are all these bad things happening to me? 230 00:16:16,080 --> 00:16:22,320 Or after what I just did, how can God possibly forgive me and accept me? 231 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:25,960 Or maybe you are struggling to know God's will for your life. 232 00:16:25,960 --> 00:16:28,520 To know God's will, you need to know God in His Word. 233 00:16:28,520 --> 00:16:32,080 To know God in His Word, you need the Holy Spirit. 234 00:16:32,080 --> 00:16:35,680 I do not cease to give thanks for you, Paul wrote the Ephesians, remembering you in my 235 00:16:35,680 --> 00:16:41,880 prayers that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit 236 00:16:41,880 --> 00:16:45,960 of wisdom and of revelation and the knowledge of Him. 237 00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:50,640 Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which 238 00:16:50,640 --> 00:16:54,760 He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and 239 00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:59,520 what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe. 240 00:16:59,520 --> 00:17:01,840 You want to know God? 241 00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:07,760 Then read His Word, the Bible, which is God's revelation of Himself to us. 242 00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:10,800 But it's not enough just to read the Bible. 243 00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:15,360 For plenty of people have read the Bible, but they don't know God. 244 00:17:15,360 --> 00:17:16,360 They don't believe in Jesus. 245 00:17:16,360 --> 00:17:18,760 They don't trust God's promises. 246 00:17:18,760 --> 00:17:24,040 It's the Holy Spirit who enlightens our hearts and minds so that we can know God and understand 247 00:17:24,040 --> 00:17:28,240 His ways and trust His character and embrace His promises. 248 00:17:28,240 --> 00:17:33,640 So when you read the Bible, ask the Holy Spirit to give you spiritual understanding of spiritual 249 00:17:33,640 --> 00:17:34,880 truths. 250 00:17:34,880 --> 00:17:39,960 Ask the Holy Spirit to show you how those truths apply to your life. 251 00:17:39,960 --> 00:17:44,200 For example, how does God describe Himself in the Bible? 252 00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:49,360 This description that you're seeing is repeated several times in the Bible, including Psalm 253 00:17:49,360 --> 00:17:51,040 138. 254 00:17:51,040 --> 00:17:57,680 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. 255 00:17:57,680 --> 00:18:02,840 The New American Standard has it the Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, 256 00:18:02,840 --> 00:18:04,760 and abounding in loving kindness. 257 00:18:04,760 --> 00:18:09,280 Now, why does God describe Himself in this way? 258 00:18:09,280 --> 00:18:12,600 What does He want us to know and believe about His character? 259 00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:18,600 How does my concept or your concept of God align with how He has revealed Himself? 260 00:18:18,600 --> 00:18:24,160 Ask the Holy Spirit to renew your mind with these truths of who God is and show you how 261 00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:27,400 to apply those truths to your life. 262 00:18:27,400 --> 00:18:30,240 Or maybe you're attending church as a seeker. 263 00:18:30,240 --> 00:18:35,200 You're investigating who Jesus is in order to decide whether or not you want to commit 264 00:18:35,200 --> 00:18:37,080 your life to Him. 265 00:18:37,080 --> 00:18:39,800 Try reading the Gospel of John. 266 00:18:39,800 --> 00:18:42,320 One chapter at a time, there's 21 chapters. 267 00:18:42,320 --> 00:18:45,600 Take your time, do it over the course of a month. 268 00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:51,600 And as you read, ask the Spirit of God to show you who Jesus is and what it would mean for 269 00:18:51,600 --> 00:18:54,240 you to believe in Him and follow Him. 270 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:59,800 The Holy Spirit enlightens us so that we can come to know God and His Son Jesus so that 271 00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:03,040 by believing we may have eternal life. 272 00:19:03,040 --> 00:19:09,000 Fourth, the Holy Spirit gives gifts for ministry. 273 00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:13,600 God wants to use you and you and you to build up our church body. 274 00:19:13,600 --> 00:19:17,960 Every believer is a member of the body of Christ and every member is a minister in Christ's 275 00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:19,240 body. 276 00:19:19,240 --> 00:19:24,640 Every member has a different function just as in the human body, hands and feet and eyes 277 00:19:24,640 --> 00:19:27,200 and ears all have different functions. 278 00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:32,960 And every member has been gifted to serve others in the body of Christ. 279 00:19:32,960 --> 00:19:38,640 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's very 280 00:19:38,640 --> 00:19:40,640 grace. 281 00:19:40,640 --> 00:19:42,400 What's a spiritual gift? 282 00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:47,680 A spiritual gift is a special ability given by the Holy Spirit to every believer to be 283 00:19:47,680 --> 00:19:52,520 used to minister to others and therefore build up the body of Christ. 284 00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:58,120 And different believers receive different gifts as determined by the Holy Spirit. 285 00:19:58,120 --> 00:20:02,920 Now there are varieties of gifts but the same Spirit and there are varieties of service 286 00:20:02,920 --> 00:20:08,200 but the same Lord and there are varieties of activities but it is the same God who empowers 287 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:10,080 them all and everyone. 288 00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:14,720 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 289 00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:21,120 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit who apportions to each one individually 290 00:20:21,120 --> 00:20:24,120 as he wills. 291 00:20:24,120 --> 00:20:30,880 Now some examples of spiritual gifts found in Romans 12 include prophecy, serving, encouragement, 292 00:20:30,880 --> 00:20:34,160 giving, leadership and showing mercy. 293 00:20:34,160 --> 00:20:39,880 These gifts are not just special skills for special tasks but basic motivations for Christian 294 00:20:39,880 --> 00:20:46,560 service, a basic inward drive that determines how we see the needs of others and how we 295 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:50,960 meet those needs and how we approach Christian service. 296 00:20:50,960 --> 00:20:57,840 God gives every Christian eyes to see and the desire and ability to meet certain needs. 297 00:20:57,840 --> 00:21:03,120 Your spiritual gift or gifts determines how you minister to the needs of others and how 298 00:21:03,120 --> 00:21:05,480 you serve in the church. 299 00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:09,860 More than just something that helps you do a church job, your spiritual gift is what 300 00:21:09,860 --> 00:21:14,720 makes you tick and determines how you relate to other people. 301 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:21,760 So for example, the gift of serving motivates meeting practical needs. 302 00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:28,240 The gift of mercy motivates meeting emotional needs and comforting those in distress. 303 00:21:28,240 --> 00:21:32,040 The gift of giving motivates meeting financial needs. 304 00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:36,840 The gift of encouragement motivates meeting spiritual needs and helping people grow in 305 00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:39,480 faith and obedience. 306 00:21:39,480 --> 00:21:43,000 There's much more to say on this subject, please see me or one of the pastors if you're 307 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:46,320 interested in learning more. 308 00:21:46,320 --> 00:21:52,440 Then the Holy Spirit fills and empowers us. 309 00:21:52,440 --> 00:21:57,680 Has that ever occurred to you that there's much more to the Christian life than what 310 00:21:57,680 --> 00:22:00,920 you are now experiencing? 311 00:22:00,920 --> 00:22:06,320 I read these words of Bill Bright for the first time when a freshman at Iowa began attending 312 00:22:06,320 --> 00:22:09,280 Campus Crusade for Christ meetings there. 313 00:22:09,280 --> 00:22:12,680 My immediate response, has that ever occurred to you that there's much more to the Christian 314 00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:13,680 life? 315 00:22:13,680 --> 00:22:16,600 My immediate response was yes. 316 00:22:16,600 --> 00:22:21,960 Yes I was feeling dissatisfied and discouraged and frustrated and defeated with my Christian 317 00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:24,560 life and had been for years. 318 00:22:24,560 --> 00:22:27,160 I believed the gospel to be true. 319 00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:30,960 I'd accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior 10 years before that. 320 00:22:30,960 --> 00:22:35,120 I was confident Jesus died for my sins and was raised from the dead and that I would 321 00:22:35,120 --> 00:22:37,560 go to heaven when I died. 322 00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:41,320 But my actual Christian experience was deeply disappointing. 323 00:22:41,320 --> 00:22:47,000 It's not that I was a rebel or involved in a gross sinful lifestyle. 324 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:51,160 I was actually trying hard to live for Christ and witness for Christ and serve Him and live 325 00:22:51,160 --> 00:22:53,880 a fruitful Christian life. 326 00:22:53,880 --> 00:23:01,400 Trying hard in my own strength and failing again and again and again to the point where 327 00:23:01,400 --> 00:23:04,520 I was about ready to give up trying. 328 00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:08,360 Because these students and staff at Campus Crusade meetings were excited about their 329 00:23:08,360 --> 00:23:13,640 relationship with Jesus and were freely talking about Jesus with both believers and non-believers 330 00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:14,880 alike. 331 00:23:14,880 --> 00:23:16,840 What did they have that I didn't? 332 00:23:16,840 --> 00:23:19,160 What was I missing? 333 00:23:19,160 --> 00:23:23,440 As I read that article by Bill Bright, You Shall Receive Power, I realized that what was 334 00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:26,960 missing in my life was the power of the Holy Spirit. 335 00:23:26,960 --> 00:23:31,960 I had been trusting in my own efforts and my own strength to live the Christian life 336 00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:34,560 and I was failing and frustrated. 337 00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:41,240 I knew that Christ was alive in heaven but I didn't understand that He was also alive 338 00:23:41,240 --> 00:23:45,160 in me through the presence of the Holy Spirit. 339 00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:48,080 I didn't know about the Spirit filled Christian life. 340 00:23:48,080 --> 00:23:54,080 I had accepted Jesus as my Savior but I was not allowing Him to live His life in and through 341 00:23:54,080 --> 00:23:57,400 me and the power of the Holy Spirit. 342 00:23:57,400 --> 00:24:02,600 Jesus said, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you 343 00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:09,000 will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth. 344 00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:11,840 Why was I unable to witness for Christ? 345 00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:15,960 Why was I living a fruitless and frustrated life? 346 00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:22,120 Because I was not relying upon and drawing upon the power of the Holy Spirit. 347 00:24:22,120 --> 00:24:27,560 The Holy Spirit came into my life when I was eight but I knew practically nothing about 348 00:24:27,560 --> 00:24:32,240 Him or how to be filled and empowered by the Spirit. 349 00:24:32,240 --> 00:24:38,360 Do not get drunk with wine, Paul wrote, for that's debauchery, but be filled with the 350 00:24:38,360 --> 00:24:39,880 Spirit. 351 00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:42,600 So what is the Spirit filled life? 352 00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:47,400 The Spirit filled life is the Christ filled life with Christ on the throne of the life 353 00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:53,840 and the Holy Spirit directing and empowering our life and witness and ministry. 354 00:24:53,840 --> 00:24:59,240 No longer is it a matter of the believer trying hard to live for Christ, now the risen Lord 355 00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:02,000 is living His life in and through the believer. 356 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:09,080 No longer are we working for Christ, now Christ is doing His work through us in the power 357 00:25:09,080 --> 00:25:11,800 of the Holy Spirit. 358 00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:14,440 I have been crucified with Christ. 359 00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:20,680 It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me and the life I live in the flesh, 360 00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:27,400 I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. 361 00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:32,080 After finishing reading that article, I got down on my knees in my dorm room. 362 00:25:32,080 --> 00:25:35,560 I wept tears of repentance for running my own life. 363 00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:40,480 I fully surrendered myself to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and I prayed to be filled 364 00:25:40,480 --> 00:25:45,720 with the Spirit and I appropriated the filling of the Holy Spirit by faith. 365 00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:50,920 It was a very emotional experience, but also a very powerful spiritual experience, life 366 00:25:50,920 --> 00:25:53,680 changing in fact. 367 00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:59,360 Receiving Christ as a child changed my eternal destiny, but receiving the filling of the Holy 368 00:25:59,360 --> 00:26:03,120 Spirit changed my life here and now dramatically. 369 00:26:03,120 --> 00:26:06,720 I experienced a new boldness and witnessing that I never had before. 370 00:26:06,720 --> 00:26:12,160 I experienced a new passion and joy and worship, I had a new hunger for the Word of God, I 371 00:26:12,160 --> 00:26:17,280 connected with God in prayer as never before, I experienced a new intimacy with God. 372 00:26:17,280 --> 00:26:23,040 I began using my spiritual gifts, I began to see fruit in my witnessing and disciple making, 373 00:26:23,040 --> 00:26:25,560 I began to grow as a spiritual leader. 374 00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:30,880 That encounter with the Holy Spirit became the catalyst for me becoming a pastor. 375 00:26:30,880 --> 00:26:35,840 I've had many subsequent encounters with the Holy Spirit, not all of them emotional, in 376 00:26:35,840 --> 00:26:43,280 fact most of them not emotional, but that first one changed the trajectory of my life. 377 00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:50,000 Have you ever seen a hawk gliding upward in a thermal updraft, soaring upward without 378 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:57,520 flapping its wings, just doing this, allowing the rising warm air to carry it along up and 379 00:26:57,520 --> 00:26:59,680 up and up. 380 00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:02,600 That's a picture of Spirit-filled living. 381 00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:07,960 Instead of flapping our wings furiously in our own strength, we just stay connected to 382 00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:14,080 the Holy Spirit and allow His presence and power to guide us and strengthen us and empower 383 00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:17,800 us to live and witness for Christ. 384 00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:23,040 The command to be filled with the Spirit is in the present tense in Greek, meaning be 385 00:27:23,040 --> 00:27:27,160 filled continuously or repeatedly with the Spirit. 386 00:27:27,160 --> 00:27:33,400 So being filled with the Spirit is not to be a one-time experience, but rather a way of life. 387 00:27:33,400 --> 00:27:38,240 We call this walking in the Spirit, or living by the Spirit, and it's the means by which 388 00:27:38,240 --> 00:27:41,880 the character qualities of Christ are formed in us. 389 00:27:41,880 --> 00:27:49,400 We look then at the Holy Spirit, expresses the life of Christ in and through us. 390 00:27:49,400 --> 00:27:54,800 But I say walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 391 00:27:54,800 --> 00:27:58,720 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are 392 00:27:58,720 --> 00:28:00,440 against the flesh. 393 00:28:00,440 --> 00:28:05,720 For these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 394 00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:11,280 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 395 00:28:11,280 --> 00:28:15,960 gentleness, self-control, against such things there is no law. 396 00:28:15,960 --> 00:28:20,120 So walking in the Spirit is a moment-by-moment lifestyle. 397 00:28:20,120 --> 00:28:26,120 As we walk in the Spirit, controlled, directed, empowered by the Spirit, the Holy Spirit empowers 398 00:28:26,120 --> 00:28:33,440 us to overcome sin in our lives and produces in us and expresses through us the life and 399 00:28:33,440 --> 00:28:37,840 likeness and character qualities of Jesus. 400 00:28:37,840 --> 00:28:43,480 Victory over sin is not achieved by trying harder not to sin. 401 00:28:43,480 --> 00:28:49,200 If we're walking in the flesh in our own strength, we will lose our struggle against 402 00:28:49,200 --> 00:28:52,760 sin, we will succumb to sin much of the time. 403 00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:55,560 We'll end up doing things we don't want to do. 404 00:28:55,560 --> 00:29:00,040 But if we're walking in the Spirit, He will strengthen and empower us so that we do not 405 00:29:00,040 --> 00:29:03,960 gratify the desires of the flesh. 406 00:29:03,960 --> 00:29:09,520 Ask Christians we struggle against sin, and ask Christians we sometimes sin. 407 00:29:09,520 --> 00:29:10,520 What do we do? 408 00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:15,560 It's very important that we know how to respond when we sin. 409 00:29:15,560 --> 00:29:20,480 Mental breathing is a concept that enables us to keep walking in the Spirit after we 410 00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:26,120 sin rather than allowing sin to gain a foothold in our lives and then lead us away from intimacy 411 00:29:26,120 --> 00:29:27,920 with God. 412 00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:34,120 So when we sin, we exhale spiritually by confessing and repenting of that sin right 413 00:29:34,120 --> 00:29:37,360 away, not the next time you go to church, right away. 414 00:29:37,360 --> 00:29:40,880 And then we thank God for His forgiveness and cleansing through the blood of Christ shed 415 00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:42,720 for us on the cross. 416 00:29:42,720 --> 00:29:45,040 But we don't stop there. 417 00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:49,760 We see sin is a reminder to us to do a throne check. 418 00:29:49,760 --> 00:29:52,240 Who is on the throne of the heart? 419 00:29:52,240 --> 00:29:54,520 Christ or self? 420 00:29:54,520 --> 00:30:00,440 So not only do we need to exhale, we need to inhale spiritually, and we inhale spiritually 421 00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:07,400 by surrendering control of our life to Christ and throning Christ as we dethrone self. 422 00:30:07,400 --> 00:30:13,780 And then we ask for and rely upon the Holy Spirit to fill and empower us by faith. 423 00:30:13,780 --> 00:30:18,760 So we exhale our sin and we inhale the power of the Spirit. 424 00:30:18,760 --> 00:30:26,320 And as we do so more and more consistently, the Holy Spirit forms and expresses the life 425 00:30:26,320 --> 00:30:29,640 and likeness of Christ in and through us. 426 00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:33,080 And over time, we begin to grow in Christ's likeness. 427 00:30:33,080 --> 00:30:38,200 We begin to grow in patience and kindness and love and compassion and righteousness and 428 00:30:38,200 --> 00:30:42,480 self-control and joy and contentment. 429 00:30:42,480 --> 00:30:43,480 How about you? 430 00:30:43,480 --> 00:30:48,320 Are you ready to live a spirit-filled Christian life? 431 00:30:48,320 --> 00:30:52,680 How can you be filled with the Spirit and experience His power for Christian living and 432 00:30:52,680 --> 00:30:55,320 witness and disciple making? 433 00:30:55,320 --> 00:30:58,720 What are the conditions for being filled with the Spirit? 434 00:30:58,720 --> 00:31:06,120 Number one, are you ready to surrender control of your life to Jesus Christ as Lord? 435 00:31:06,120 --> 00:31:12,400 If the Holy Spirit has been living in your life as just a guest, a guest in your heart 436 00:31:12,400 --> 00:31:19,280 and life, are you now ready to turn over to Him the title deed of your life and give Him 437 00:31:19,280 --> 00:31:22,560 the keys to every room? 438 00:31:22,560 --> 00:31:29,280 Your thought life, your eating and drinking habits, your social life, your sex life, your 439 00:31:29,280 --> 00:31:36,640 social media life, your finances, your education and career, your hobbies and sports activities, 440 00:31:36,640 --> 00:31:38,560 your friendships. 441 00:31:38,560 --> 00:31:44,040 Are you ready to make room for the Holy Spirit in every area of your life? 442 00:31:44,040 --> 00:31:49,280 Two, are you ready to confess and repent and forsake your sins? 443 00:31:49,280 --> 00:31:52,760 Three, do you desire to be Christ's witness? 444 00:31:52,760 --> 00:31:57,160 Do you desire to give your life to making disciples right where you are and wherever 445 00:31:57,160 --> 00:31:58,640 God would lead? 446 00:31:58,640 --> 00:32:04,120 Four, do you acknowledge your dependence upon the Holy Spirit and His power in order to 447 00:32:04,120 --> 00:32:06,240 live a fruitful Christian life? 448 00:32:06,240 --> 00:32:11,680 Do you sincerely desire to be directed and empowered by the Holy Spirit? 449 00:32:11,680 --> 00:32:17,480 And then finally, by faith claim the fullness of the Spirit according to His command and 450 00:32:17,480 --> 00:32:18,920 promise. 451 00:32:18,920 --> 00:32:24,800 God commands us to be filled with the Spirit and He promises that He will always answer 452 00:32:24,800 --> 00:32:26,800 when we pray according to His will. 453 00:32:26,800 --> 00:32:32,480 Well, we know that it's His will to be filled with the Spirit because it's His command. 454 00:32:32,480 --> 00:32:38,360 But we are filled with the Spirit by faith and we express that faith through prayer. 455 00:32:38,360 --> 00:32:42,480 In your sermon notes, there is a suggested prayer. 456 00:32:42,480 --> 00:32:46,000 It's not a magic formula, it's just a suggested prayer. 457 00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:50,240 We're going to read that together if it expresses the desire of your hearts. 458 00:32:50,240 --> 00:32:52,520 You can read it silently. 459 00:32:52,520 --> 00:32:57,160 You can read it in your sermon notes or you can close your eyes and just listen. 460 00:32:57,160 --> 00:33:02,020 You can say it silently or you can say it out loud, whatever you would like to do, whatever 461 00:33:02,020 --> 00:33:07,960 expresses what's in your heart toward God. 462 00:33:07,960 --> 00:33:11,600 Dear Father, I need you. 463 00:33:11,600 --> 00:33:17,480 I acknowledge that I have sinned against you by directing my own life. 464 00:33:17,480 --> 00:33:23,520 I thank you that you have forgiven my sins through Christ's death and the cross for me. 465 00:33:23,520 --> 00:33:29,400 I now invite Christ to again take His place on the throne of my life. 466 00:33:29,400 --> 00:33:34,720 Fill me with the Holy Spirit as you commanded me to be filled and as you promised in your 467 00:33:34,720 --> 00:33:37,760 word that you would do if I asked in faith. 468 00:33:37,760 --> 00:33:40,640 I pray this in the name of Jesus. 469 00:33:40,640 --> 00:33:50,080 I now thank you for filling me with the Holy Spirit and directing my life. 470 00:33:50,080 --> 00:33:55,160 We're going to close in just a minute with a closing song and we'll have an altar cause 471 00:33:55,160 --> 00:33:58,920 we do that. 472 00:33:58,920 --> 00:34:03,800 This is potentially life changing for some of you. 473 00:34:03,800 --> 00:34:10,280 We want you to take your time and really read through that prayer and see if it expresses 474 00:34:10,280 --> 00:34:12,440 the desire of your heart. 475 00:34:12,440 --> 00:34:16,920 If it does, we want you to lay that before God, bring that before God as an expression 476 00:34:16,920 --> 00:34:18,480 of your heart. 477 00:34:18,480 --> 00:34:23,860 Then we want you by faith to claim that if you ask Him to, if you've met these conditions, 478 00:34:23,860 --> 00:34:27,000 if you ask Him to fill you with the Spirit, He will. 479 00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:28,000 He will. 480 00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:32,600 I encourage many of you to come to the altar and make that commitment, make that surrender, 481 00:34:32,600 --> 00:34:35,120 ask for the Holy Spirit to fill you. 482 00:34:35,120 --> 00:34:37,200 Some of you might want help in doing that. 483 00:34:37,200 --> 00:34:42,480 I'm going to ask our church leaders who are present, if you're at the altar and you want 484 00:34:42,480 --> 00:34:48,520 help, there are instances in the book of Acts where believers would lay hands on other believers 485 00:34:48,520 --> 00:34:51,520 and they would receive the fullness of the Spirit. 486 00:34:51,520 --> 00:34:54,800 If you want help with that, then raise your hand while you're at the altar, raise your 487 00:34:54,800 --> 00:34:55,800 hand. 488 00:34:55,800 --> 00:34:59,880 If one of our church leaders will come and lay hands on you and pray with you to help 489 00:34:59,880 --> 00:35:03,280 you to receive the filling of the Holy Spirit. 490 00:35:03,280 --> 00:35:06,000 Or you can just come to the altar and do it by yourself. 491 00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:08,560 Or you can remain in your seat and do it there. 492 00:35:08,560 --> 00:35:12,280 But there is something about coming to the altar and kneeling and making a surrender 493 00:35:12,280 --> 00:35:14,800 to Christ that can be spiritually powerful. 494 00:35:14,800 --> 00:35:19,440 So we encourage you to do that if the Spirit prompts you to do that. 495 00:35:19,440 --> 00:35:23,920 Let me pray for you and then we'll sing our last song and you can respond. 496 00:35:23,920 --> 00:35:29,200 Father, I ask by the power of the Holy Spirit that you would move among us. 497 00:35:29,200 --> 00:35:35,520 And I pray for those individuals who need to be filled and want to be filled, desire 498 00:35:35,520 --> 00:35:37,200 to be filled with the Holy Spirit. 499 00:35:37,200 --> 00:35:39,280 They want to be living for Christ. 500 00:35:39,280 --> 00:35:40,920 They want to be a witness for Christ. 501 00:35:40,920 --> 00:35:43,880 They want to make an impact in the lives of others. 502 00:35:43,880 --> 00:35:46,160 They want to serve others with their spiritual gifts. 503 00:35:46,160 --> 00:35:49,320 They want to help our church body to grow and to be built up. 504 00:35:49,320 --> 00:35:53,840 They want all of these things, but they perhaps have been lacking the power to do so until 505 00:35:53,840 --> 00:35:54,840 now. 506 00:35:54,840 --> 00:35:58,800 And so I pray now, Lord, as they cry out to you for that power, the power of the Holy 507 00:35:58,800 --> 00:36:02,760 Spirit, that you would answer that prayer, that you would grant them the fullness of 508 00:36:02,760 --> 00:36:07,360 the Holy Spirit and His power, that they could live a new kind of Christian life. 509 00:36:07,360 --> 00:36:11,600 And I pray for those who have never done it before, Lord, that you would confirm to them 510 00:36:11,600 --> 00:36:15,120 that you are indeed filling them with the Holy Spirit, that they would leave this place 511 00:36:15,120 --> 00:36:18,160 knowing that they are now filled with the Holy Spirit. 512 00:36:18,160 --> 00:36:22,520 For those who have done this many times before, I pray that you would renew them in their 513 00:36:22,520 --> 00:36:27,520 walk in the Spirit, renew them in their walking in the fullness of the Holy Spirit, that they 514 00:36:27,520 --> 00:36:31,480 also might leave here this morning knowing that they are leaving here in the fullness 515 00:36:31,480 --> 00:36:33,320 of the power of the Holy Spirit. 516 00:36:33,320 --> 00:36:37,840 So Holy Spirit, we pray that you would move among us and we pray that we would be responsive 517 00:36:37,840 --> 00:36:40,000 to your prompting in each of our lives. 518 00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:42,880 And I pray this in Jesus' name, amen. 519 00:36:42,880 --> 00:36:44,080 You may stand as we sing. 520 00:36:44,080 --> 00:36:45,240 You may sit as we sing. 521 00:36:45,240 --> 00:36:46,920 You may come forward as we sing. 522 00:36:46,920 --> 00:36:53,920 However the Spirit leads you. 523 00:37:16,920 --> 00:37:23,920 This is my surrender. 524 00:37:46,920 --> 00:37:53,920 I pray that you would move among us and we pray that you would renew them in their walking 525 00:37:54,920 --> 00:37:58,920 in the fullness of the Holy Spirit. 526 00:37:58,920 --> 00:38:24,920 Here is where I lay it down, every burden, every crown. 527 00:38:24,920 --> 00:38:31,920 This is my surrender. 528 00:38:31,920 --> 00:38:35,920 This is my surrender. 529 00:38:35,920 --> 00:38:43,920 Here is where I lay it down, every lie and every doubt. 530 00:38:43,920 --> 00:38:47,920 This is my surrender. 531 00:38:47,920 --> 00:39:04,920 And I will make room for you to do whatever you want to, to do whatever you want to. 532 00:39:04,920 --> 00:39:21,920 And I will make room for you to do whatever you want to, to do whatever you want to. 533 00:39:34,920 --> 00:39:51,920 Shake up the crown before my tradition, break down the walls before my religion, your way is better. 534 00:39:51,920 --> 00:40:06,920 Shake up the crown before my tradition, break down the walls before my religion, your way is better. 535 00:40:06,920 --> 00:40:21,920 Shake up the crown before my tradition, break down the walls before my religion, your way is better. 536 00:40:21,920 --> 00:40:36,920 Shake up the crown before my tradition, break down the walls before my religion, your way is better. 537 00:40:36,920 --> 00:40:51,920 And I will make room for you to do whatever you want to, to do whatever you want to. 538 00:40:51,920 --> 00:41:20,920 And I will make room for you to do whatever you want to, to do whatever you want to. 539 00:41:20,920 --> 00:41:33,920 Shake up the crown before my tradition, break down the walls before my religion, your way is better. 540 00:41:33,920 --> 00:41:52,920 Shake up the crown before my tradition, break down the walls before my religion, your way is better. 541 00:41:52,920 --> 00:42:03,920 Shake up the crown before my tradition, break down the walls before my religion, your way is better. 542 00:42:03,920 --> 00:42:08,920 Oh, your way is better. 543 00:42:08,920 --> 00:42:19,920 Shake up the crown before my tradition, break down the walls before my religion, your way is better. 544 00:42:19,920 --> 00:42:22,920 Oh, your way is better. 545 00:42:22,920 --> 00:42:37,920 And I will make room for you to do whatever you want to, to do whatever you want to. 546 00:42:37,920 --> 00:42:54,920 And I will make room for you to do whatever you want to, to do whatever you want to. 547 00:43:07,920 --> 00:43:36,920 Here is where I lay it down, you are all I'm chasing now, this is my surrender. 548 00:43:36,920 --> 00:43:50,920 Shake up the crown before my tradition, break down the walls before my religion, your way is better. 549 00:43:50,920 --> 00:43:54,920 Oh, your way is better. 550 00:43:54,920 --> 00:44:06,920 Shake up the crown before my tradition, break down the walls before my religion, your way is better. 551 00:44:06,920 --> 00:44:10,920 Oh, your way is better. 552 00:44:10,920 --> 00:44:21,920 Shake up the crown before my tradition, break down the walls before my religion, your way is better. 553 00:44:21,920 --> 00:44:25,920 Oh, your way is better. 554 00:44:25,920 --> 00:44:36,920 Shake up the crown before my tradition, break down the walls before my religion, your way is better. 555 00:44:36,920 --> 00:44:52,920 Oh, your way is better. 556 00:44:52,920 --> 00:45:02,920 For some of you surrendering your life to Christ as Lord and being filled with the Holy Spirit will be an emotional experience as it was for me the first time. 557 00:45:02,920 --> 00:45:09,920 But I have had many, many subsequent times of being filled with the Holy Spirit that were not emotional. 558 00:45:09,920 --> 00:45:15,920 And so I don't want you to depend on emotions to know whether or not you're filled with the Spirit. 559 00:45:15,920 --> 00:45:21,920 If you've surrendered your life to Christ as Lord and if you've asked for the Holy Spirit to fill you, you are filled with the Spirit. 560 00:45:21,920 --> 00:45:26,920 If you had an emotional experience, great. If you didn't, that's great too. 561 00:45:26,920 --> 00:45:32,920 The important thing is the act of surrender and faith and that is how we are filled with the Holy Spirit. 562 00:45:32,920 --> 00:45:40,920 If you are here today and you would like to pray with me or Bucky and Annemarie after the service, I'm going to hang around for a few minutes. 563 00:45:40,920 --> 00:45:43,920 I'm going to ask Bucky and Annemarie to hang around for a few minutes. 564 00:45:43,920 --> 00:45:47,920 You can come and talk with us about this or anything else if you'd like prayer for anything. 565 00:45:47,920 --> 00:45:49,920 We'll be glad to pray with you. 566 00:45:49,920 --> 00:45:54,920 Let me say a closing prayer and then we'll be dismissed. 567 00:45:54,920 --> 00:45:58,920 Father, I pray for each one who has yielded themselves to the Holy Spirit. 568 00:45:58,920 --> 00:46:07,920 That you would confirm by the Holy Spirit who lives within them that they now are experiencing the fullness of the Holy Spirit in their lives 569 00:46:07,920 --> 00:46:14,920 and they can count on His power to become the kind of Christian they long to become, to be the kind of servant they long to become, 570 00:46:14,920 --> 00:46:19,920 the kind of husband and wife, friend they long to become, the kind of church member they long to become, 571 00:46:19,920 --> 00:46:26,920 the kind of follower of Christ they long to become, that they now have the power to become the person that they want to become, 572 00:46:26,920 --> 00:46:29,920 the person you have called them to be. 573 00:46:29,920 --> 00:46:34,920 So I pray, Father, that you would confirm by your spirit in their soul, in their spirit, 574 00:46:34,920 --> 00:46:39,920 that they now have the presence and power and fullness of the Holy Spirit in their lives. 575 00:46:39,920 --> 00:46:41,920 I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. 576 00:46:41,920 --> 00:47:00,920 Thank you all for coming. 577 00:47:41,920 --> 00:47:43,920 .