Hey guys, this is Tracy. If at any time you'd
like to connect with HCV, go to hcv .church forward
slash connect. If you feel called to give, go
to hcv .church forward slash give. And if at
any time you feel called to make a change in
your life, text change me to 970 -00. Enjoy the
message. Hey, good morning, everyone. How's everybody
doing today? I don't know what it is about today,
but everybody is ruckus, man. You're just loud,
extra coffee, feeling good. Welcome to HCV. If
you're joining us from home, thank you for welcoming
us into your space. So I'm excited. We're in
week three of our series, Text to Talk, where
we are learning a daily routine. of connecting
to God through the Bible and being led by Him
in every area of our life. Week one, Rudy kicked
off our series focusing on how to read the Bible.
Last week, we discussed how Jesus desires that
we abide in Him or why we read the Bible. And
today, we're going to be focusing on being led
by the Holy Spirit. See, one of the hardest things
to do in life is learning who or what is leading
you. Some people are led by emotion, other people
are led by fear, still others are led by culture,
while some are led by success, comfort, addiction,
relationships, or unfortunately the opinions
of others. Truth is, whatever leads you eventually
shapes everything you do in life. And this is
why it's so important for us to be guided by
God rather than just our impulses, desires, or
fears. Unfortunately, so many followers of Jesus
have no idea what it means to be led by the Spirit.
Because the church has made it this mystical,
abstract idea that is over -confusing rather
than simple and practical. Let me start out by
saying it this way. God is directing your life.
You are led by the Spirit more than you can even
imagine. God has been guiding and leading you,
whether you know it or not. The very fact that
you are gathering here at HCV this morning is
because you were led by the Spirit of God. See,
God has not left us out on our own to figure
out this thing called life. And aren't we grateful
that God has led us and is guiding us? See, I
believe that God... gave me my spouse. Like that
he brought us together. That God established
in me the opportunity to plant this church. After
all, the Bible does tell us whatever is good
and perfect is a gift coming down to us, given
to us from God our Father. And it's not because
we work hard for it. It's not because we made
it happen. It's because we have God who created
all the lights in the heavens coming alongside
of us to make his plans and his purpose happen
in our lives. Even the very salvation that we
experienced through Jesus was not because we
earned it, worked for it. It was because the
Spirit of God led us and drew us into a relationship
with him. And see, if we learn how to recognize
the Spirit's leading in our life, then we will
daily be able to leverage it to walk in God's
plans, His purposes, His power for our very life.
Church, He wants to lead us. Unfortunately, though,
we also must recognize it's possible to be very
busy but not Spirit -led. We also have to guard
against being religious but not led by the Spirit.
We can be talented but not Spirit -led. We can
even be passionate about God. yet still make
decisions in our own strength. So maybe the greatest
question today is not, do I believe in the Holy
Spirit? But rather, am I actually being led by
him? Because being led by the Spirit can change
everything in your life. Our decisions, our relationships,
our very outlook on life, our purpose, and our
future. And that intro leads us to our first
thought. See, the Holy Spirit is not just a power
to experience, but a person to follow. The Holy
Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. He
is not some abstract spirit that's just kind
of floating out there somewhere, waiting for
us to connect with him. He is the Spirit of God
that has been given to us, lives within us. to
guide and direct us. Now, when you hear the subject
of the Holy Spirit spoken about in church, suddenly
there are two camps or positions taken. The first
is the Holy Spirit camp. It's that person that
immediately becomes excited because you just
learned that we're talking about the Holy Spirit
today. You've been waiting, wanting, and desiring
with excitement and anticipation for this talk
to happen. See, you or they enjoy the chaos and
the craziness of the charismatic movement. That
is actually, just being honest, the movement
where I met Jesus. So I know and love the Holy
Spirit personally. I experienced a lot of amazing
God encounters in that church. Healings, deliverance,
the prophetic. Let's put it this way. Church
was never boring. There was always something
new. While at the same time, it can get a little
weird. I mean, just being honest, I still remember
some Sunday night gatherings where the whole
goal of the evening was to receive prayer so
that you would fall down in the Spirit. And if
you didn't fall down, you felt like you weren't
as spiritual as the other people that were falling
down. So, there were nights that I think, maybe
a few times, where I kind of had a courtesy fall
just because I felt bad for the person who was
praying for me. You know, just a courtesy fall.
Just like, oh, you know. Some of you are thinking,
courtesy fall? Like, what is that all about?
Well, chances are you're in the other camp, right?
The people that avoid anything dealing with the
Holy Spirit because of the craziness that maybe
you've read or seen online, right? The misuse,
the confusion, the flesh that seems to be involved
in those different gatherings. Let me first say,
the Holy Spirit is not weird. People are weird.
Right? Let me just get that out of the way. It's
not the Holy Spirit. It's the people. The Holy
Spirit is the third person of the Trinity given
to us to lead God and empower our lives so that
we can accomplish the mission of God on earth
today. I want to say this to you and I want you
to receive it. We cannot fulfill the purposes
of God without the power of the Holy Spirit.
We need the power of the Holy Spirit evident
and working in our lives. If we want to live
a fruitful life, then we need to live a filled
up life. So don't avoid the Spirit of God. I
want to encourage you this morning. Lean into
it and open up your life and your heart to Him
to speak to you today. Because I believe He will.
He will speak to you. He will guide you. He will
give you ideas that are outside of the box. He
will create fruit in your life and you will never
be the same as you impact and change the world
that you can never do on your own strength. See,
this power is not something that was given to
the church 2 ,000 years ago. It's available to
us this morning so that we can become the people
of God that he's called us to be in the tri -state
area. See, I believe that we need the Holy Spirit
every single day in our life. And if you remember
last week, we discussed what it meant to abide
in God, that when we remain connected to the
root, to the source, Jesus, that we will produce
much fruit. Now, one chapter before that, in
John chapter 14, we read these words. I am telling
you these things now while I am still with you.
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 knew his disciples
would face confusion, pressure, fear, spiritual
battles. After he ascended to go back to be with
the Father, he's now ascended to be in heaven.
But he didn't leave them abandoned or orphaned.
He sent them the promised Holy Spirit. That tells
us that we don't have to figure out life on our
own. We don't need to rely solely on our emotions
or the culture or human wisdom to guide us. God
literally has placed his Spirit inside of Jesus'
followers to instruct, convict, remind, and guide.
Think of it this way. A student can sit in a
classroom full of information, full of technology,
and still remain confused without a teacher to
explain it. In the same way, many people in the
church own a Bible, but struggle to understand
how to apply it to their life. The Holy Spirit
takes the truth of God written in the Bible,
makes it real, understandable, and personal.
See, Paul writes it this way in 2 Corinthians
13. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the
love of God, and notice, the fellowship of the
Holy Spirit be with you all, meaning every single
one of you. And notice how Paul described our
relationship with the Holy Spirit. It's close.
It's personal. It's an ongoing relationship with
God's Spirit. It's not just believing in him.
but it's living in communion with him. Now that
word fellowship brings with it the idea of partnership,
participation, sharing life together, close companionship,
and intimate connection. And Paul is teaching
that the Holy Spirit is not merely a force or
a feeling, it is God's presence actively involved
in our everyday life. Now, these are some of
the final words that Jesus would share with his
disciples before going to the cross. Let's jump
two chapters ahead to John 16, verse 7 and 13
to the 15. But in fact, it is best for you that
I go away. Now, just pause there for a second.
Imagine the disciples. They hear Jesus speak
those words. They're thinking, you're leaving
us? Like, dude, you've only been with us for
three years. How is this good news? Like, what
is happening here? Then Jesus tells them why,
continuing on. Because if I don't, the advocate,
there it is again, won't come. If I do go away,
then I will send him to you. Verse 13. When the
spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into
all truth. He will not speak on his own, but
will tell you what he has heard. He will tell
you about the future. He will bring me glory
by telling you whatever he receives from me.
All that belongs to the Father is mine. That
is why I said, the Spirit will tell you whatever
he receives from me. So look at this progression
of these truths. The Father sends the Son. The
Son dwells with the disciples, tells the disciples
that what we experienced in the last three years,
yes, it was amazing, miraculous, but it's better.
That I go away because now I'm going to send
the Holy Spirit to come and fill you and anyone
else who believes in the entire world what I
did for you. It's amazing, right? What Jesus
did with the 12, the Spirit of God can do with
all of us. He can walk with us. He can guide
us. He can fill us. He can empower us. Now notice,
Jesus called the Holy Spirit the advocate. Not
just in chapter 6, I mean in chapter 14 as well.
Now the word advocate here means one who is called
alongside of you. He is called to come alongside
of us. It's the Greek word parakletos. And then
ancient Israel, this term was used for a defense
attorney in the courtroom. In other words, with
this definition, the Holy Spirit empowers us.
He comes alongside of us so that we can win at
life. Like, he's not going to let us lose. He
is behind us, supporting us. We need the Spirit
of God in this life, right? Relationships and
marriage, right? They're a struggle without the
Spirit of God. Raising children, right? You're
pulling your hair out without the Spirit of God.
Building a business, making wise financial choices,
right? It can be stressful, overwhelming without
the Spirit of God. the Spirit of God. See, the
Spirit of God is not this audible voice that
we hear every single day. Now, He can speak to
us audibly, but it doesn't mean it happens all
the time. It's literally the Spirit of God with
us, in us, leading us, guiding us, convicting
us. Forgive that person. Like, we may have this
thought within us. We need to forgive them. We
need to release them. And in your mind, you're
wrestling with it, but I can't forgive them.
They've done this to me. They did that to me.
No, when you forgive that person, right, then
you are free. So that's the Holy Spirit trying
to speak to us. The Holy Spirit nudges us, give
that money, but I don't have that money. It must
be in my mind. No, the Holy Spirit is nudging
us to give that money, so he stretches us. Right?
Start that business. Launch that class. Whatever
it may be, are you responding to God's direction?
See, the Holy Spirit has literally shaped my
entire life. And he desires to do the same with
you. And the best example I could find for the
Holy Spirit was something we use almost every
day, and it's called the GPS. Right? Now, years
ago, if we got lost while driving somewhere,
you had to pull over on the side of a road, unwrap
a map that was bigger than the windshield, and
try to figure out where you were. Now, we can
open our phones, open up a map, and it's literally
going to give us turn -by -turn directions to
our destination. Now, please understand, a GPS
is only helpful when we actually follow its directions.
Did everyone hear that? Because if you're anything
like me, we hear the GPS and we think directions.
And we think, wait a minute, there's a quicker
way. And I'm going to go my way because my way
is quicker. I know it's quicker. I've been that
way before. But we didn't know that 30 minutes
down the road, there was a 10 -car pileup and
it was a two -hour wait. And the second you turn
left away from the GPS, what happens? That phone
starts going crazy. You know, recalculate, recalculate,
recalculate. And it does everything in its power
to get us to go the other way. But notice, it's
our choice. It's our choice of which way to go.
Many of us want God's destination while resisting
God's direction. See, many of us, we want all
that God has for us, but we're going to resist
his direction. And we must remember the Holy
Spirit speaks, convicts, nudges, but we ultimately
get to choose whether we will obey. And another
thing that's great about the GPS, at least it's
never happened to me, maybe for you, I've never
had my GPS yell at me. Right? It's never screamed,
you're going the wrong way, moron. Right? It's
never done that. It's just this kind British
voice, please turn the other way. I am recalculating
for you. And see, that's how the Holy Spirit
works. Right? The Holy Spirit doesn't scream
at us. The Holy Spirit simply convicts us quietly.
See, when we drift away from God, God keeps calling
us back. Right? The same voice that can guide
us to a restaurant, a city, or an address. Right?
That same voice we can use as an example of the
Holy Spirit guiding us into truth, purpose, wisdom,
and eternal life. The question is not whether
God is speaking. The question is whether we are
listening and willing to follow. See, the Holy
Spirit's job is not to control our life. It's
to advise us. Right? And I've often heard people
say, well, I want the Holy Spirit to fix my spouse.
To which I say, you know what the Holy Spirit's
going to say? You better fix your attitude and
start practicing humility because it all starts
with us. God, get me out of debt. He isn't going
to get you out of debt, but the Holy Spirit will
give you wisdom on how to handle your finances.
See, the Holy Spirit is all about us walking
into abundance, which leads us to discuss how
the Holy Spirit leads our lives. Four simple
practical ways on how the Holy Spirit leads our
lives. And the first is this. He leads us to
know the truth. Now, there is a lot of disinformation
in our world today. There's a lot of lies and
confusion. A lot of fake news. Can I get an amen?
And I am not just talking about the media or
the government. I'm talking about the lies that
we believe from the enemy that are spoken over
our lives. The lies about our identity, the lies
about our future, the lies about our past mistakes.
See, those lies bombard Jesus followers and keep
us from walking in the victory that God has already
done for us. How do we get free? Well, Jesus
tells us in John 8. Jesus said to the people
who believed in him, you are truly my disciples
if you remain faithful to my teachings and you
know the truth and the truth will set you free.
And how do we know the truth? Well, we have the
Holy Spirit. Again, John 16, 13. When the spirit
of truth comes, he's going to guide us into all.
Truth. See, as we are led by the Spirit, he guides
and empowers us to combat the lies of the enemy
and embrace the truth of the Bible. Because our
enemy, if you're in a relationship with God,
is working overtime on lying to you. It's been
his job since the very beginning. I mean, John
10 .10 reminds us that these purposes to steal,
kill, and destroy. The way we overcome these
lies is by embracing the truth from the Bible
revealed to us through the Holy Spirit. And as
we live a life that is Spirit -led, we simply
ask Jesus to reveal His truth to us so that we
can walk in freedom and the plans He has for
us. That is why I read the Bible every single
day. I am in my fourth or fifth year. I don't
remember where I'm reading the Bible cover to
cover. And before I listen to the Bible every
single morning, the first thing I do is, Holy
Spirit, come. I say, Holy Spirit, come. Reveal
your truth to me. Let it come alive inside of
me. And let me say, if you're reading your daily
Bible plan and you're receiving nothing from
it, then you need some help from the advocate.
It's just that simple because we can never read
the Bible and not have truth spoken to us. There
are times when going through the Old Testament
that we think in our minds, whoa, these words
are hard. I don't understand all these rules
and these regulations and these rituals. What
is happening? Well, chances are we're reading
them too fast. We're reading them out of context
or we're not really connected spirit to spirit
with the Bible. We're just doing it out of obligation
and duty. And if that happens where we don't
get truth when we read the Bible, you need to
pause it. You need to close the book, shut off
your phone, and say, Holy Spirit, come. Activate
these words to reveal your truth to me today
and then read it again. Because when we read
it again, chances are that truth will come forth.
Theologian John Stott says it this way. The Holy
Spirit is the author of the scriptures, meaning
he wrote them, and the interpreter. of the scriptures.
Meaning he speaks and reveals that truth to us
because why? He's living inside of us. We cannot
read the Bible through our flesh. It's just pointless
because it's just words. We have to activate
the Holy Spirit because the words written in
the Bible are truth and life for us. So whatever
area of your life you're desiring truth in today,
I want to encourage you, pause and ask the Holy
Spirit to reveal it. For example, If you're dating
someone currently and you're wondering if they
are your future spouse, simply ask the Holy Spirit
to get involved, especially if it's early on
in the process. Remember, the Bible tells us
that God looks at the heart while humans or humanity
looks at... Oh, you don't know that? You don't
know that scripture? The Bible tells us that
God looks at the heart while humanity looks at
the... Outward. Hmm. So if he or she looks real
good and it's real pleasant to your eyes, but
has questionable character, maybe you should
pump the brakes a little. Just saying. God wants
to empower us to live a truthful, fruitful life.
Truth is found in the Bible. which leads us to
live in God's way, which then allows us to walk
in God's will for our life. Now, the next way
the Holy Spirit leads us is he leads us to walk
in God's will. See, people, we have to understand
the God of the universe who guides our lives
into his ultimate will for our lives is available
to us if we surrender our will to him and we
connect to him daily. Because he will guide us
into abundance. Jesus says it this way in John
16, 13. When the spirit of truth comes, he will
not speak on his own, but will tell you what
he has heard. He will tell you about the future.
See, God knows our future. And he guides our
steps into knowing what is coming next for us.
Isaiah 30, verse 21 says it this way. Your own
ears will hear him. Right behind you, a voice
will say, this is the way you should go, whether
to the right or to the left. And this is a beautiful
picture of what the Holy Spirit does. Notice,
he comes behind us. He encourages us to walk
this way, not that way. And that gentle nudge
allows us to walk in abundance. And please understand,
church, this is not necessarily an audible voice.
Though it can be sometimes, it's like this gentle
nudge on the inside of us. It's what the world
calls a hunch. Right? It's this great idea that
suddenly pops into our minds. Listen, that great
idea isn't you. It's not us. It's the Spirit
of God. And He put it inside of us to guide us
and lead us. And as we learn to listen to that
voice, then we will walk in God's will. The Holy
Spirit may not reveal all the details to you.
You know why? Because He wants us to live by
faith. If our entire life was planned out for
us, what's the point? That would be boring. No,
he wants us to live by faith. But he will always
show us the next clear step to take. Psalm 119
verse 105 says it this way. Your word is a lamp
to guide my feet, a light for my path. So you
think about your iPhone or your smartphone flashlight.
Right? All of us have smartphones now, or most
of us, and those smartphones have flashlights.
And when you turn it on, if this room was completely
dark, you wouldn't be able to see much. But that
light gives you enough light to see what? Your
next step. It gives you the next step. Now, if
all of our lights were shining bright, we would
be able to see. But on our everyday lives, Monday
through Saturday, when we're disconnected from
other believers, when we're working the job,
when we're at school, we need that light in front
of us. So I want to encourage you. Be obedient
to what the Holy Spirit is speaking to you. The
Holy Spirit gives us the next clear step from
God. However, we need to learn what this road
sign actually means. Has anyone ever seen this
sign before? Now, some of you have never seen
this sign before because you don't even know
what it means, right? You immediately in your
head think, oh, it's red. It's a stop sign, right?
This sign does not mean stop, okay? So when you're
getting on the interstate, can I get an amen?
Yeah. When you're getting on the interstate.
And you're pulling up in your merge lane. Notice
I said merge. And there's a tractor trailer bailing
down 81 at 85 miles an hour. And then you look
up and there's a car stop. Do you immediately
think, oh, dear God, I'm going to die, right?
Because this sign doesn't mean stop. It means
yield, slow down to oncoming traffic. This is
how the Holy Spirit works in our lives, right?
And this is not a suggestion. Right? This sign
means yield. It means slow down, look around,
pause, and figure out what the Holy Spirit wants
for your life. It may have felt good, right,
to say or respond with negativity, I got them
back. But then the next day you're like, oh my
gosh, I totally messed up. You know why? It's
because we didn't yield. It's because we didn't
yield in that situation. See, confrontations
may end up the best for both parties if we actually
slow down and yielded to the Holy Spirit. Your
finances may improve if you actually slow down,
yield, and ask God's help in leading you through
how you should spend and budget your money. Listen,
maybe you should delete your Amazon app. Just
saying. Because chances are that app is leading
you to purchase things you don't need because
you're not yielding to the Holy Spirit. Now listen,
I want to go into four simple ways of how to
confirm we are hearing God's voice and they all
center around this sign, yield. Right? And the
four ways we start is this. You always start
with Scripture. Right? God's leading never, everyone
say never. God's leading never contradicts the
Bible, right? If you have an idea that goes against
what is written in the Bible, then you immediately
know that idea is not from God, right? You start
with the Bible. Let's go back to our dating scenario.
Right? We're back to the dating scenario. You're
dating this individual. Man, they are fine on
the eyes. You are excited. This could be the
one. You're passionate. But then you quickly
learn that they don't believe in Jesus. And not
only do they not believe in Jesus, but they have
a questionable character. Dare I say to you,
it ends right there. Find someone else. Right?
Oh, but I'm dating evangelists. No, you're not.
You're lusting. Let's be truthful. They're fine
to your eyes. Right? If the Bible contradicts
what we believe, then it's not God's will for
your life. You always start with the Bible. Next,
you bring it to the church. Again, you're yielding.
You're bringing it to the church. You're asking
for confirmation from godly community and spiritual
authorities of your life. Pastors, we all need
some godly friends to speak into our lives. Do
you agree with that? That's why we encourage
you. Get in a growth group. Connect with other
people. Serve on a team so that you have godly
voices. That when you need to make a decision,
it's not just you and God. It's not just you
and the Holy Spirit. But you have other people
speaking your life. You say, well, do I need
that? Well, the Bible does tell us there is wisdom
in a multitude of counselors. Therefore, we yield
to what other people may speak to in our life.
For example, you're going to take a new job or
you're thinking. about taking a new job that
requires you to relocate. It requires you to
spend a lot of money on a new apartment or a
house. Before you make that decision, you sit
down with a few friends and a pastor and you
listen to them and you talk with them. One friend
says, will the move help you walk with God or
will it pull you away from him? The next friend
says, have you prayed about this or are you just
excited about the opportunity? Another friend
says, is there a healthy church there? Because
if you're moving and relocating, you desire your
spiritual environment to grow and flourish. And
your family needs a place to plug in. And see,
suddenly that decision becomes bigger than money.
It becomes bigger than success. Godly voices
help you to see that it's not just your emotions
driven, it's God driven. All right, I think about
planting this church here in Hagerstown, Maryland.
Many of you know that I wanted to plant the church
at the beach. I had a bunch of people that wanted
to go with me. I thought that was the destination.
I made up every excuse why we should be there,
but then finally had to pay attention to what
other people, like my wife, was saying, and then
I planted the church here. And if I wouldn't
have listened to that outside source and those
outside voices, dare I say thousands of people
wouldn't have been changed by Jesus. You see,
a lot of times our decisions have bigger consequences
than what we could ever imagine. Next, we look
at our circumstances. And you're like, Chris,
really? Yeah, God provides open doors and closed
doors for us to yield to. We have to realize
that God is leading. We have to stop trying to
push doors open when God's already closed them.
Right? We wonder why we're missing it, and God
is simply trying to lead us. Right? He's just
trying to lead us. We have to allow ourselves
to understand that the circumstances involved
here, like, for example, back to our dating scenario.
Right? You met someone. You're excited about
it. You're desiring to be in relationship with
them. They're a believer. They're passionate
about Jesus. You talk to friends. They're all
like, oh, wow, this could be the one. You should
continue to pray about it. And then after your
next date, suddenly they ghost you. And then
you get worried and upset and they don't respond
to your calls. And then you hear them say, I'm
not interested anymore. I'm going to date someone
else. Okay. Does that mean that it's not God's
best that you marry that person? Well, chances
are you need to pump the brakes. You need to
yield because they don't want to be with you.
So I'm not saying it's never going to happen.
But because of the circumstances of them ghosting
you, you might want to consider moving on. Just
saying. And the last one is this. Peace. The
Holy Spirit's leading requires faith. but will
be accompanied by peace, right? There is peace
involved. So if you are making a decision and
you're full of anxiety and stress, wondering
why this is so frustrating in making this decision,
chances are you haven't yielded to God because
you are trying to push it through in your own
strength, right? There's a lot of things that
require great faith. But if I don't have the
peace of God, then I'm not doing it, right? When
Jess and I planted this church 20 years ago,
we had the peace of God as we sold our house,
sold everything, just about everything we owned,
right? And relocated here to start this church.
I am so over followers of Jesus making terrible
decisions based on bad emotions. Led by what
the world wants and our flesh wants rather than
what the Holy Spirit wants. And if you put those
four points into action in your life, church,
you will be led by the Spirit. And the third
way the Holy Spirit leads us is this. He leads
us to glorify Jesus. John 16, 14, he will bring
me glory by telling you whatever he receives
from me. The Holy Spirit's role in our life is
to bring glory to Jesus, right? He makes Jesus
known to the world, to the known world through
us. The Holy Spirit's goal is to not make much
of us, but to make a whole lot of Jesus. There's
already too much of us in the world, right? Let's
be honest. We can't change the world, but Jesus
in us can impact and change the world. And the
Holy Spirit in us is not to make our platforms
bigger. Let me say that. It's not for us to gain
more followers. It's not to make our bank accounts
bigger. It's not for us to receive praise. The
Holy Spirit exists and moves through us so that
Jesus gets all the glory, so that Jesus gets
all the praise. Living a Spirit -led life means
that we yield. And we ask the Holy Spirit in
this situation to bring glory to Jesus. I'm about
to go in this tense meeting at my business. Holy
Spirit, help me, allow me to be the light. I'm
about to attend a family reunion that I'm not
looking forward to and haven't been looking forward
to it for two years. Holy Spirit, help me be
a light and to bring you glory. I'm walking into
this school. I don't want to be in this school,
but I know God's led me to this school, and I'm
going to go into this school. Holy Spirit, fill
me and allow me to be a light. You see where
the Holy Spirit desires to bring glory to Jesus.
Matthew 5, you are the light of the world, like
a city on a hill that cannot be hidden. No one
lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket.
Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand where it
gives light to everyone in the house. In the
same way, let your good deeds shine out for all
to see so that everyone will praise your heavenly
Father. Why do we serve the community? Why does
HTV serve the community, right? Why are we going
to build beds? In a few weeks, we're going to
build beds. All of you can build beds. We desire
to build 60 beds for kids that don't have them.
Isn't that a good thing to do? Well, we're going
to have a bed build, right? You can sign up.
You can register. You can be a part of that.
Why do we do it? Is it to bring glory to HTV?
No. It's to bring glory to Jesus. That's why
we do it. You just saw our top banana. Our top
banana is the tech team. Hey, Donnie, can you
stand up? Stand up back there. That's Donnie.
He's been back there for years. And I'm not making
that up. Years. serving our community of faith,
him and John and the entire team, years. And
it sounds good, doesn't it? And it looks good.
And we got a broadcast team and cameras and all
that kind of stuff. It's because of their faithful
service and commitment because they want to make
Jesus known to the entire world. Amen? And listen,
they need your help. Get on their team, okay?
If you can mix sound, if you can... If you can
shoot a camera with your phone, you can be on
the camera team. We need some help back there,
man. So if you can see them, hug them, and tell
them you want to get involved, please do it.
The point, we desire for other people to come
and know Jesus. We want to make him known to
the entire world. And that happens the way we
live our lives. We need to be filled by the Spirit,
which leads to our last example of how the Holy
Spirit leads us. He leads us to live a fruitful
life. John 16, 15, all that belongs to the Father
is mine. This is why I said the Spirit will tell
you whatever he receives from me. He leads us,
church, to know the truth, to know his will,
to glorify Jesus, and to live a fruitful life.
Meaning, we're making a difference. Are you making
a difference? Are you living a life of overflow?
John 15, 5 says, yes, I am the vine, you are
the branches. Those who remain in me and I in
them will produce much fruit. For apart from
me, you could do nothing. Living a Spirit -filled
life means that we look more and more like Jesus.
And that is why Galatians 5 .22 tells us the
result of living a Spirit -led life. And notice
the things you won't see. When we read this verse,
you will not see the outcome of living a Spirit
-led life is speaking in tongues more. You're
not going to see that. The outcome of living
a Spirit -filled life is falling out in the Spirit
more. You're not going to see that. The outcome
of a Spirit -led life is being moved to tears
by His presence. You're not going to see that.
And I'm not against those things. Hear me out.
I believe in the Holy Spirit. I believe in the
charismatic world and the Bible world, and I
want to bring them together. And I want to live
what the Bible tells us to live. But this is
the fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
and self -control. There is no law against these
things. Those who belong to Jesus have nailed
the passions and desires of their sinful nature
to the cross and crucified them there. Since
we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the
Spirit's leading in every part of our life. See,
as we let the Spirit work in our life, we look
more and more like Jesus because the primary
evidence of the Spirit's involvement is not the
gifts of the Spirit, but the fruit of the Spirit.
And if we recognize, if you and I recognize that
the fruit in our lives doesn't look like Jesus,
don't be frustrated with the fruit. Look at the
root. Because it's not about the fruit. It's
about the connection. It's kind of like our car
indicator lights. When the check engine light
comes on, if you're anything like me, you're
like, where's that fuse? I want to unplug it.
It's the most frustrating thing in the world.
But the Holy Spirit desires to reveal to us when
we aren't loving, when we aren't patient, when
we have no self -control. You know that self
-control? I'm never going back to that habit.
I'm never going back there. And now you're stuck
in it again. Right? Don't get frustrated with
the fruit. Focus on the root and allow the Holy
Spirit to change your heart. It doesn't mean
we try harder. It means we act. Activate His
presence to come alive in us and recognize it
every single day. See, friends, we have to learn
to be grateful for God's Spirit. Will you stand
with me? And I think that's where a lot of us
are missing that connection with the Holy Spirit
today. We're not grateful that the very presence
and power of God lives within us. It's not some
abstract idea. It's a person living inside of
you. And today I want to challenge you. Will
you activate it? Will you activate it? So this
is how we're going to close. I asked the worship
team to join us, and I want them to sing a song
over us as we invite the Holy Spirit to come.
Now, if you're comfortable with this, I want
to invite all of you, and I know some of you
aren't, but do it anyway, to put your hands this
way. And all this means, church, all this means
is I'm going to receive from the Holy Spirit.
That's all it means. Okay? And I'm going to pray
for the Holy Spirit to come. I'm going to invite
them to sing. And then we're going to close in
prayer. Can we do that? Alright. And as we sing,
as they're singing over you, all I want you to
say is this. Is my fruit, how I live my life,
a product of the Holy Spirit? Or is it a product
of me? And whatever the Spirit reveals to you
that's your own strength, that's what you've
got to deal with. Amen? All right, let's go to
God. Holy Spirit, come. I want you to take your
hand. I want you to put it over your heart. I
want you to pray these words. Holy Spirit, you
have control. Not me, but you. Activate your
presence, your power, your authority, your leading
in my life. In Jesus' name. And you can do that
at any time. You can do that on your own tomorrow
when you're struggling, when you're getting ready
to go into that meeting and you're stressed and
you're overwhelmed. Boom. Activate the power
and the presence. It's in you if you believe.
But if you're here and you don't believe and
you're distant and you're far from God, we pray
this prayer every Sunday because we want to welcome
people home into God's kingdom. Amen? So let's
pray this prayer together. Jesus. I'm broken.
I'm full of doubt, shame, regret, sin. Change
me. Forgive me. I believe you're God's son. I
believe you died for me. I believe you're alive
today. Make me new. Set me free. Fill me with
your spirit. In Jesus' name, amen. So you prayed
that prayer, see me, see Rudy, text me, do something
so we can give you some next steps. There was
a couple words of knowledge I need to share.
You have right leg sciatica pain that shoots
down the back of your leg. You have pain in your
inner left thigh. You have a left thumb that
is going numb and is causing you discomfort.
If any of those are you or you need prayer for
anything else, prayer team will be on my right
and my left. Next week, I'm going to be focusing
on prayer. It's going to be a next Sunday of
transformation. God bless you guys. Have a great
week.