Welcome to Hub City Vineyard. To get connected
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make a change in your life, text change me to
97000. Now enjoy the message. Good morning, everyone.
So glad you're here. If you're joining us from
home, thank you for welcoming us into your space.
Well, this morning is an exciting morning because
we're going to pray over a bunch of young people
and adults that are going to the Dominican Republic
this Friday. So we are having our first ever
overseas missions team going to the Dominican
Republic. If you're on that team, get up here.
We're going to pray over you. And these young
people and adults, of course, are going to the
DR to make a difference. We're believing God's
going to use them and move through them and work
in them to just bring life change to that country
as they travel. All the way through it. And just
serve. Basically they're just going to go and
serve. Serve kids. Serve youth. And make a difference
in that place. Now our hopes is this is the first
of many trips. This is the first that's focused
on teens. Hopefully next year we'll be focusing
on adults. And going overseas as well. So if
that's something you're interested in. Or would
like to be a part of. Stay tuned because it's
coming. So if you could stand. We're going to
pray over them. And join me in praying for this
team. As they go. Wow. a small team. Oh, everybody
took off this week. Yeah, because these are all
adults except for Claire. So Claire is our one
teen being represented and a bunch of adults
that are leading the trip. So great. Excellent.
That's right. They need the most prayer. So let's
pray. Holy Spirit come. God, we are just thankful
for this team that's leaving for the Dominican
Republic this Friday, God. We just pray that
you would empower them, God, that you would use
them mightily. But as they prepare to go this
week, God, I pray that you would calm their nerves.
That, God, that you would give them confidence
and peace in knowing that you're going with them.
That, God, your spirit is moving in them, God,
that they would come home just sharing about
signs, wonders, and miracles that they saw, God.
that as they practically serve, as they serve
kids and teenagers, as they serve the community
there in the Dominican Republic, that people
would come to know you, that people would just,
that families would be baptized, God, that churches
would grow. And we're just thankful for this
opportunity to go overseas and to make a difference
for you. Holy Spirit, come. Rest on this team
and go with them now. In Jesus' name. And together
we say. Amen. So listen, be praying for them
next week. Like I said, they leave Friday. Also
be praying for me. I'm driving the church van
to Dulles Friday morning. I'm supposed to leave
at 2 a .m. So yes, 2 a .m. Thank you, Miss Jessica,
for that early morning delivery of our team to
Dulles so that they can fly. And like I said,
stay tuned because adults, it's going to be your
turn next year, hopefully, in the early fall.
So when Jess and I had the first meeting with
the DR missions team, she actually encouraged
them and their parents to download and begin
learning Spanish on Duolingo. So Duolingo, if
you don't know, is an app that assists you with
learning a new language. So for the last 205
days, I have faithfully been practicing Spanish
every single day. I have improved my learning
score every month. My brain feels stimulated
and fresh. I feel like I'm improving and growing
as I learn all positive experiences with this
app. However, I quickly learned this past week
that I do not know Spanish, okay? Yes, I am learning
and practicing the information about the language
every single day. But when a person speaks in
their native tongue or in the natural language,
I was unable to understand what they were saying.
Now, don't get me wrong. I did understand two
or three words, but could not put a whole sentence
together. The problem is not the information
that I am learning. Information in our culture,
it's a click away. It's literally at our fingertips.
We currently have more access to information
than any other generation before us. The problem
that I am experiencing in my learning is not
information, it's instruction. Because there's
a big difference between information and instruction.
Information, of course, is the facts and the
content, while instruction... is how to apply
those facts and the content to our lives. Instruction
comes from instructors or teachers, and really
good instructors don't want to just teach us
theories or ideas. No, they want to assist us
in applying those theories and ideas to our lives.
They want to teach us the practical skills and
knowledge of the subject that is being learned.
So yes, I've been faithfully learning Spanish
on my own for the last 205 days. But I would
be much further along if I had a Spanish instructor.
Which leads me to a question that I want us all
to wrestle with today as we continue our series,
Come Holy Spirit. Where do we go when we don't
know? Where do we go when we don't know? See,
the answer to this question is actually important
because we're going to find ourselves up against
challenges or questions throughout life. In fact,
every single day. Maybe we would be confused
with a question that is asked us. Maybe we need
to make a decision. Maybe we're stuck in our
faith. Where do you go when you don't know? Do
you go to friends? Do you go to family for advice?
Do you quickly fire off an email to Pastor Chris?
He'll have the answers. What about Siri or Google?
They always have an answer. Or maybe you're the
one that uses the TikTok. It doesn't matter if
it's questions about your marriage or what it
means to be a parent or a new role or responsibility
at work, relationship barriers, or growing in
your relationship with Jesus. Where do you go?
When you don't know. Maybe for some of you it's
deeper issues. Maybe you're learning to deal
and learning to let go of shame. Maybe you're
learning what it means to forgive others and
ourselves. Maybe you're holding on to some grief
and sadness and want to move forward. Church,
where do you go when you don't know? And it's
my prayer that we answer that question this morning
and that the Holy Spirit speaks to your heart.
Let's open in prayer. Holy Spirit come. God,
we just lay this question down at your feet.
We lay this series down and we ask that you empower
us today. Open our ears. Open our minds. Unlock
our hearts and change us. God, I just pray that
you would silence any distractions around us.
that we would clearly hear from you. In Jesus'
name, amen. And that all leads us to our first
thought, you see. The Holy Spirit is our teacher.
See, if you're in a relationship with Jesus,
we must remember that we have an instructor,
a comforter, a teacher that literally lives inside
of us. Toward the end of his ministry here on
earth, Jesus is preparing his disciples for life
without him physically being present. He knew
that he had to die. He knew he had to go to the
cross. He knew that he would rise on the third
day. And he says this in John 14, 26. But when
the Father sends the advocate as my representative,
that is the Holy Spirit, he will teach you everything
and will remind you of everything. I have told
you. See, Jesus is giving the disciples a vision
of what life is going to look like partnering
with the Holy Spirit. He's giving them a vision
of what to expect. And notice, Jesus is very
clearly saying that we can expect this helper,
this comforter, this advocate to teach us all
things. Not just Sunday morning things. Not just
growth group things. Not just biblical things,
but the teacher will teach us all things. Now
that word teach that is spoken here means to
impart or instill. We've all heard someone say,
well my parents instilled confidence in me. Upon
hearing that phrase or that statement, we immediately
know that it implies that this person received
constant rhythm of investment. in their child's
self -worth from their parents. So what is Jesus
saying to us? He is saying that the Holy Spirit
will give us much more than ideas. The Holy Spirit
will give us much more than theories. The Holy
Spirit will give us much more than doctrine.
The Holy Spirit is going to give us much more
than just information. The Holy Spirit will consistently
instill in us all the things. That we need to
live the life that he's inviting us to live.
A life of abundance. So if you're not living
in abundance this morning, I believe the Holy
Spirit wants to get your attention. 1 John 2,
verse 27. But you have received the Holy Spirit,
and he lives within you. So you don't need anyone
to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches
you everything you need to know, and what he
teaches is true. It's not a lie. So just as he's
taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.
To take it a step further, Jesus actually reveals
the assignment of teach your Holy Spirit, which
leads us to our second thought. The Holy Spirit
deposits Jesus' truth inside of us. Again, John
14, 26. But when the Father sends the advocate
as my representative, that's the Holy Spirit,
he will teach you everything. Now, a few verses
earlier, Jesus shared these words about the Holy
Spirit. He is the Holy Spirit who leads into
all truth. See, there is truth in this world.
And that truth comes from the Holy Spirit. Now,
the world can't receive him because it isn't
looking for him and doesn't recognize him. But
you, church, you know him because he lives with
you now and later will be in you. Just think
of that. We have a piece of our creator and the
person of the Holy Spirit living with us inside
of us. Now, towards the end of his life, Peter,
a disciple of Jesus, the one who Jesus named
as the rock of the church, the foundation of
the church, writes about all the things the Holy
Spirit will do for us. And we read that in 2
Peter. chapter 1, verses 2 through 4. May God
give you more and more grace and peace as you
grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.
Now notice, grace and peace comes with growth
and change. By his divine power, God has given
us everything we need for living a godly life.
We have received all this by coming to know him,
the one who called us to himself by means of
his marvelous glory and excellence. And because
of his glory and excellence, he has given us
great and precious promises. These are the promises
that enable you to share his divine nature and
escape the world's corruption caused by human
desires. Now think about this. Peter, he was
at the very table with Jesus as he was teaching
about the Holy Spirit. Peter would have felt
the anxiety in his life of Jesus saying to the
disciples, well, I'm leaving. But I'm not leaving
you alone. Fast forward many years, Peter is
now reflecting in the text that I just read to
you as an older, wiser man that has now lived
his life in partnership with the Spirit. And
Peter is saying to us, through the power of the
Holy Spirit, that we have everything we need
to live a godly life. We have everything we need
inside of us to live a life of abundance. Peter
is referencing that we can know the Holy Spirit
personally, which means that we know Jesus personally.
Peter goes on to say that through knowing Jesus,
we have now received his promises. We have now
received his divine nature living inside of us.
Now hear me out. You may not feel like it every
day, but there's confidence inside of you. There's
days that you feel weak, but there's strength
inside of you. There are weeks that you are called
to lead because there's leadership inside of
you. You may not feel it right now, but there's
a sense of belonging and acceptance living inside
of you because those things are all part of the
divine nature. All of this is possible because
of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit
living inside of us. Remember, he is the third
person in the Trinity that empowers us to know,
experience, and understand everything that has
been made available to us. See, the Holy Spirit
is like the governor of earth. Now when I say
governor, I'm not referring to governors we know
today in our democracy. A governor, as the disciples
would have understood it, means living under
Roman rule. And in the Roman Empire, when Rome
would conquer a new land, the emperor would appoint
a military governor to oversee that new land.
It was the governor's job to make that new conquered
land look and sound just like Rome. So the new
governor and his officials appointed to oversee
this new land, they would build Roman architecture.
They would teach the people the Roman language.
They would share with them about Rome's history,
their belief systems. Essentially, they would
be instilling into these people everything that
was needed to know and become a Roman citizen.
Knowing that, the Holy Spirit does a similar
work inside of us. See, Jesus has already established
his kingdom here on earth right now. I mean,
after all, he told us to pray that the kingdom
would what? Come to earth. As it is in heaven,
may it be done here. So when we come into a relationship
with Jesus and we believe the kingdom of God
and begin to walk in that, That's established
inside of us. We literally become citizens of
God's kingdom. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to
live inside of us to instruct us in what it looks
like to be citizens in God's kingdom. Right?
In the kingdom of God, we all have a new identity.
Romans 8, 16. For his spirit joins with our spirit
to affirm that we are God's children. In the
kingdom, we are taught the values and culture
of heaven. Luke chapter 6, 35 to 38. Love your
enemies. Do good to them. Be compassionate. Do
not judge others and you will not be judged.
Do not condemn others or it will come back against
you. Forgive others and you will be forgiven.
Give and you will receive. Now that's not all
of the qualities. But again, when we read those,
you're like, that's the exact opposite of the
world teaches. Exactly. Because the kingdom of
God now exists inside of us. Holy Spirit teaches
us what it looks like to have the kingdom in
our life. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is
to take what belongs to Jesus, everything that
he taught, and download them inside of us so
that we kind of become little Jesuses just running
all around the tri -state area. How does this
happen? Well, there's many different ways, but
an important and primary way leads us to our
next stop. See, the Holy Spirit inspires the
Bible. The Bible is not like any other book in
the history of the world. The Bible is God's
divinely inspired word, and when it's in the
hands of a person who is filled with the presence
of God, it becomes alive, dynamic, powerful,
and active. Paul, talking to his spiritual son
Timothy, who was struggling through life, writes
these words, 2 Timothy 3, 16 through 17. All
Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable
for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and
for training in righteousness, that the man of
God may be complete, equipped for every good
work. See, Paul writes these encouraging words
in the middle of a difficult season in Timothy's
life. And he is emphasizing the power of the
Bible. Paul writes that every part of the Bible,
not just your favorite part, that you have memorized,
not just the part that you have tattooed on your
arm, not just the part that you see every day
hanging on your wall, not just the part of the
Bible you understand, but every part of the Bible
is God -breathed. Now, if we remember from week
one, we learned that the literal translation
of the word spirit is the word pneuma. And pneuma
was defined as wind or breath. So Paul is saying
that all Scripture is Spirit -filled, that God's
breath fills the Bible. It's kind of like this.
So if I'm to take this pink balloon that many
of us have done before we take a balloon, maybe
we're at a party or a celebration, a graduation
party, and we take these balloons and we... We
blow into... A balloon so that it expands. Now
what is left inside of this balloon? My breath.
Right? I exhale. Now I did not understand this
truth that I'm about to share with you until
I did a little research on breath this week.
Other than learning that we all need Mentos.
In our exhale. In our exhale, I previously thought
that it was just air exhaled from my lungs that
I had breathed in from the room in which I was
or if I was outside. When in reality, I learned
that our exhale actually contains microbes and
particles from inside our body that gives off
a unique signature that is only mine. Like literally
my unique signature is inside of this balloon
right now. So not only do you have a fingerprint
that's unique, we also have a breath print. So
tell me you're not created in the image of God.
And Paul is saying to us that this unique breath
print from God is found where? In the Bible.
As we read through those words. God's Holy Spirit
literally inspired each author to write the words
onto the pages. So when the teacher, who is the
Holy Spirit, living inside of us, begins to interact
with the breath print of God that is alive in
the Bible, guess what? Things change. How do
I know that? Well, look at Hebrews 4 .12. For
the word of God is alive and powerful. It is
sharper than the sharpest two -edged sword cut
in between soul and spirit, between joint and
marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and
desires. See, as we read through the Bible, we
begin to think differently. We begin to focus
on kingdom thoughts. As we're reading through
the Bible, we get corrected when we're making
bad decisions. As we read through the Bible,
we get convicted that our thought pattern or
what we believe is wrong. As we read through
the Bible, we receive direction when we feel
lost. We gain wisdom and understanding when we
need it in that moment. As we read through the
Bible, we begin to be transformed by the Holy
Spirit as he releases what? Truth into our lives.
This is connecting to the teacher through his
written and God -breathed word. But let's be
honest. The Bible can be confusing. In fact,
many times the Bible can be downright scary.
It's written by 40 different authors over a 1
,500 year time period. We are more than 2 ,000
plus years removed from the culture and context
that it's written in. And quite often what happens
to people that I've discovered is they get to
a section of the Bible, it becomes confusing,
sometimes scary, and let's be honest, they close
it up and be like, I don't want anything to do
with that. Because when there's confusion, The
Bible seems intimidating. People begin to question,
why am I even reading this? So I thought it was
very important before we move forward that we
learn a few practical steps in reading the Bible
because guess what? As your pastor, I want you
to read the Bible every single day. How often
do I want you to read the Bible? Thank you. Which
leads us to five simple steps in applying the
Bible to our life. First, when you sit down to
read or listen to, I'd listen to the Bible or
your devotional. First, please invite the Holy
Spirit. Why? Chris, why would I sit down? Sit
down, stand up, however you do it. Palms up,
Holy Spirit come. Well up within me. Speak your
truth to me. So that as I'm reading these words,
I understand them. 1 John 2, 27, you have received
the Holy Spirit. He lives within you. So you
don't need anyone to teach you what is true.
You can understand the words written in the Bible
when Holy Spirit is present. We need the Holy
Spirit to reveal God's truth to us. So first
we invite the Holy Spirit. Next, you have to
decide what you're going to be reading or listening
to in the Bible. And why will we do that? Well,
2 Timothy 3, again. It's inspired by God. The
Bible is inspired by God. It's useful to teach
us what is true to make us realize what is wrong
in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong
and teaches us to do what is right. God uses
it to prepare and equip his people to do every
good work. So for some of you that are thinking,
I've never read the Bible in my life, my advice
to you is grab a Bible when you leave here. We
have dozens right outside in those little areas
that I can't name correctly, and we would love
to hand them to you. I call them vegetables.
I know they're another word, but I can't pronounce
it. So anyway, that's my little hiccup. If you've
never read the Bible, I want to encourage you
to start in the Gospels. The Gospels are Matthew,
Mark, Luke, and John. Let's all say them together.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And you can read
the Gospels for a year because that's the story
of Jesus. And if we're called to be little Jesuses,
it's good to learn who he was because that's
what the Bible ultimately is all about, the redemption
that we find in Jesus. Now, if you're more advanced
and you want to read through the entire Bible,
great. but I would recommend you following a
plan. Follow a plan. Go to the YouVersion Bible
app, download it, get it on your phone, and there's
plans, three months, six months, a year, that
you read through the Bible, and it's little chunks
of the entire Bible that you read through over
a time period so that you can understand them
and apply them to your life. It's not just reading
straight through from cover to cover. It's chunks
that are explained. So that we can receive it.
Which leads us to the next step. You first invite
Holy Spirit. You figure out what you're going
to read or listen to. Then you ruminate. And
you say, well, what does that mean? Well, it's
defined as to go over in the mind repeatedly
and often casually or slowly. And in this stage,
we meditate. And we ask questions about the words
that we're reading. Questions like, well, when
am I learning about God? When am I learning about
Jesus? When am I learning about the Holy Spirit
in these words? What am I learning about myself?
What am I learning about people? Why are they
acting this way? See, we're ruminating. We're
chewing on what we're learning. We're allowing
it to penetrate within us. And then as we ruminate,
we, number four, communicate. And what does communicate
mean? It means you pray, you talk to God. James
1, 5, if you need wisdom, ask our generous God,
and guess what? He's going to give it to you.
He's not going to let you all alone. So you're
saying, Chris, that as we read the Bible, we
pray? Yes. You're talking to God at the same
time. You're interacting with him. Holy Spirit,
what am I reading here? What are you trying to
show me? How are you convicting me? Why did I
close the Bible so quick? Oh, chances are you're
sinning. Why do I want to run from it? Right?
You're communicating. You're talking to God.
And then lastly, we integrate it. We integrate
it. And what does that mean? Well, James 1, 22,
don't just listen to God's word. Do what he says.
Otherwise, you're only fooling yourselves. See,
ask the Holy Spirit to work these words that
I'm reading into your life. Right? Change me.
Make me more like your son. Now, this is just
one approach to reading the Bible. There's many
approaches. But for my life, I find this is effective
and life -changing. Right, that if you do those
five steps and you begin to work it out in your
life, how often, church? Oh, every day, that's
right. Then we will allow the Holy Spirit as
teacher to reveal truths to us in our lives that
is absolutely essential to our relationship with
God because we need him for growth and life change.
We need him. And please understand. Holy Spirit,
the teacher, does not just speak to us through
the Bible. Yes, that's one very, very important
way, but we also need our one action step or
forethought, however you want to look at it,
you need to learn to trust the Holy Spirit. Every
week, every day, right, we're going to go through
difficulties and challenges in this life. If
you're anything like me, we get stressed out.
We get overwhelmed with life. It causes us to
have a bad day. Now, I'm not going to ask you
if you had a bad day this week because some of
you are going to sin and lie, right? Because
you don't want to raise your hand. But that's
okay. I know we all had a bad day this week.
And quite often, those bad days, that anxiety,
that stress, that depression stems from our relationships,
our marriage, our work, decisions that need to
be made, financial pressure, being tired. Some
of you are just tired. Some of you are raising
children and you have bad days, really bad days.
And then we learn from our children how we're
doing wrong. But quite often when we're having
a bad day, it's our natural instinct, our initial
reaction to take matters into our own hands,
right? We want to try to fix it on our own. But
here's the reality. Quite often when we're having
a bad day, we don't have the strength, the skills,
the capacity, the wisdom, or the understanding.
to navigate those difficult seasons in life.
There are times when the knowledge we learn from
all of our degrees can't help us or teach us
anything. There are times in our life where our
experiences, what we understand through our everyday
life, they don't change the situation. There
are times when the leading experts like Google,
YouTube, and TikTok can't help that situation.
You know why? Because we need the comforter.
The advocate and the teacher to assist us with
those challenging times. But we have to be willing
to turn to him and listen. Paul and Silas were
sharing the good news about Jesus all around
the region. They were experiencing signs and
wonders. People coming to faith. The church was
exploding. And we read this in Acts 16, 23 to
25. They were severely beaten. And then they
were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered
to make sure they didn't escape. So the jailer
put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their
feet in the stocks. Around midnight, Paul and
Silas were praying and singing hymns to God,
and the other prisoners were listening. So in
their difficult situation, notice, what did Paul
and Silas do? Did they try to negotiate their
way out of prison? Did they try to argue that
they are innocent and don't deserve to be in
prison? Did they try to break out of prison?
Did they sit, complain, and pout about their
situation? They surely didn't. What did Paul
and Silas do? They did the next best thing. They
began to praise in prison. They sought after
God. They pursued God. They worshiped God. And
as they were worshiping, listen to this, the
next verse, suddenly there was a massive earthquake
and the prison was shaken to its foundations.
All the doors immediately flew open and the chains
of every prisoner fell off. Now here's the crazy
thing. I guarantee you, I wouldn't do the same
thing. When that happened, I'm out of there.
I don't know about you. But if the clamps fall
off, the door busts open, and there's a way for
me to be free from prison, I'm running. I'm running.
But you know what they did? They stayed and praised.
They trusted that God had a plan for them. And
that plan included that jailer's entire family
beginning a relationship with Jesus as a result
of their praise. See, God desires, listen, God
desires that we seek him and praise him when
we're having a bad day. Because as we take a
step of faith, you know what God releases? He
releases his power into our lives. Martin Luther
King Jr. is quoted as saying, faith doesn't show
you the whole staircase, just the next step.
Just the next step. So my question to you, are
you trusting that God's plan for your life is
so much better than the plans you have for your
own? Because I promise you, it is. 1 Peter 5,
6. Humble yourselves under the mighty power of
God, and at the right time, he's going to lift
you up in honor. Church, give all your worries
and cares to God, for he cares about you. Friends.
Jesus is challenging us this morning to take
what? One step at a time. Sometimes that step
is down, right? But quite often, that step is
up as we move closer and closer and closer to
Jesus. Because he desires that we connect with
the Holy Spirit in such a way. That all our worries,
cares, and desires for this world fall away to
nothing. And we truly become reflections of Jesus
to the tri -state area. But church, we have to
understand, it's a choice. Will you stand with
me? So this morning, and we're going to close
by worshiping. There's this little song called
Trust in God, and a part of the song says, I
sought the Lord, he heard, and he answered. I
sought the Lord. And what does seeking the Lord
look like? It's one step at a time, trusting
the Holy Spirit in you. I sought the Lord, he
heard, and he answered. Now hear me out. That
doesn't mean he answered today or tomorrow or
even next week. But we still have to trust that
he's going to answer. So before we sing, listen,
before we sing, we're going to pray a simple
prayer because I believe God brings people into
our midst. Every single gathering that is distant
and far from God. And right now the Holy Spirit
is drawing you close. Right now the Holy Spirit
is showing you areas of your life that are not
lining up with him. And he's calling you home
saying, come into a relationship with me because
I want to fill you with abundance. And we're
all going to pray together because I don't want
anybody praying alone. Let's pray. Jesus, I'm
broken. I'm full of doubt, shame, regret, sin.
Change me. I believe you're God's son. I believe
you died for me. Make me new. Set me free. Fill
me with your spirit. and your truth. In Jesus'
name, amen. So if you prayed that prayer for
the first time, give me a hug, high five on the
way out so I can give you some next steps. Now
we're gonna sing and worship, but before we do,
God put something on my heart this morning. Actually,
it was earlier this week. I felt like God was
gonna release healing in these gatherings this
Sunday. Release healings to your physical body.
So if you're here this morning, I want to invite
you and encourage you to take a step of faith.
Our prayer team will be up here in the front.
If you have any struggles with your physical
body and you're here this morning, I want you
to take a step of faith as everyone's worshiping
and singing. Come up here. We're going to lay
hands on you and we're going to believe in a
supernatural miracle from God. Amen? Is it okay
if we do that in church? Is it okay if we believe
for a miracle? So if you're here this morning,
listen. If you're here this morning. and you're
struggling with some type of physical ailment,
I want you to make your way up here as we sing.
We're going to lay hands and pray for you and
believe that God's going to set you free. God
bless you guys. Let's worship and sing.