And now we pray that you are blessed by this
week's sermon. Good morning. I should say, I
do not know what is the right phrase for Pentecost,
but I should say, Happy Pentecost Sunday. We
say Merry Christmas, Happy Easter, Happy Pentecost
Sunday. How about that? Today we celebrate something
that is... part of what God was doing, sending
Jesus to die for us, and then sending the Holy
Spirit to continue the work he started. So for
us as Christians, Pentecost is a very significant
day. And at ECB, it's an important day because
we say it's one of the things that matters to
us, is to be led by the Spirit in everything
we do. So if you happen to be visiting us today,
we're so glad that you are here this morning.
And we have a place downstairs we call the Connection
Center that is there for you. If you have questions
about our ministry, you want to learn more about
what we're doing, you're looking for a home church,
that place is designed for you. And I believe
that if you go soon enough, you'll get a free
cup of coffee or something like that. But I encourage
you to stop by there. But for the rest of ECB
family, this is a time in which people travel
all over the world. So I know that some of you
in our ECB family are watching us from wherever
in the world. And we pray that this time of connecting
online is something that is a blessing to you
as well. Today we will take a break from the
series that we've been doing in the book of Psalms.
Actually, we're going to take a break from two
Sundays, today and next week. And then we'll
go back to the Psalms at the end of June. But
today we're going to do a study specifically
for Pentacle Sunday to help us understand who
is the Holy Spirit and what is his work in our
lives. There is so much misunderstanding about
many of these things, so poor teaching as well
about these things, and depending what background
you come from or also how long you've been a
Christian, there are certain things that I hope
that the study today will give you so much more
clarity because one thing that Jesus wants us
as we follow him is that we have a close, intimate
relationship with the Holy Spirit. And if anything
is keeping you from having that intimate relationship
with the Holy Spirit, I hope that this study
today will remove it and help you just walk more
in intimacy with God. So before we start, let
me pray. Lord, I want to ask you in Jesus' name
that you will empower us today through your word
and that you will use me in your power and in
your grace. Open our eyes so that we may see
truth, truth that frees, so that we may follow
you with more devotion and freedom. We love you,
Lord, and I pray in Jesus' name. Amen. As we
begin this study, I need to give you a little
bit of background, because when we talk about
Pentecost, Even many Christians don't understand
what's Pentecost, I don't understand what is
that, and why do we do anything? Well, let's
start at the first part of the study by understanding
why Pentecost is so important. And for that we
need to understand a little bit of the Jewish
background in the Old Testament. There were three
different feasts that the nation of Israel was
commanded to practice that will lead people to
travel and go to Jerusalem. The Feast of Passover,
the Feast of Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles.
Those three. In the Feast of Passover is when
they remember that God had led them out of Egypt,
out of slavery, and they sacrificed the lamb
as part of that celebration in Passover. But
then, seven weeks later, which is 49 days, On
the 50th day after Passover, there was a celebration
of the weeks. And that celebration was to commemorate
now the first fruits of the harvest, of the wheat
harvest. And people came together, they brought
offerings and different things during that time
of celebration. And what happens is that Pentecost
is the 50th day. After Passover. So in Greek,
the word Pentecost means 50th. And that's why
this became known as Pentecost. Even though it
wasn't the Jewish name for it. Because the 50th
day after Passover, they would come and celebrate
the first fruits. Well, Jerusalem was just crowded
with people during these seasons. And each one
of these three festivities that they had brought
people into Jerusalem from all over the Roman
Empire. And the last time that the apostles had
been with Jesus celebrating something together
before Pentecost was Passover. And for Christians,
Passover took a whole different meaning. Because
that's the day now where Jesus, the perfect Lamb
of God, died for the sins of the world. And Pentecost
took a whole different meaning because that is
the day when Jesus sent the Holy Spirit, the
first fruits now of the new stage of salvation
where now people were coming to know Christ and
the indwelling of the Spirit began. And the movement
of the church from that point on until today
as we experience it began on that day of Pentecost.
So this is the connection and the background.
All these names and all these words that we use
to talk about Pentecost Sunday, the 50th day
after Passover. But when the apostles were with
Jesus in celebrating Passover, they did not know
that that was the last time that we're going
to eat a meal with Jesus. They were just celebrating
Passover with him. They had no idea that Jesus
was going to be crucified the following days
and everything that unfolded. At the moment of
these conversations with the apostles, they were
just listening from Jesus. And if you were to
open your Bible in John chapter 14, 15, 16, all
those chapters, you will notice something. If
you have one of those Bibles that has the words
of Jesus in red. You will notice that, wow, that's
a lot of red there because Jesus is talking to
the apostles about a lot of things during that
last meal that they are spending together before
his crucifixion. And it's during that meal that
for the first time ever, he's going to start
telling them about the Holy Spirit that is going
to come. That is going to have a very specific
role in this new season in the plan of salvation.
That he came to accomplish. Jesus first came
to die for the sins of the world. To defeat death.
To defeat the power of sin and Satan. And bring
the forgiveness of sin available to humans. But
then he ascended to heaven. And after that the
Holy Spirit was going to start his ministry.
Of bringing now the salvation of Jesus into people's
lives. So we're going to take a look at John
chapter 14, 15, 16 during that section. And we're
going to highlight first a couple of things that
he told them about the Holy Spirit. Because this
shapes the way we understand who God is, who
the Holy Spirit is. He tells them here in verse
16. I will ask the Father. And he will give you
another advocate to help you be with you forever.
The spirit of truth. He calls him here the spirit
of truth. And he was going to have a very specific
function. He says he's going to be an advocate.
The word advocate in Greek was the word parakletos.
That's the word, the paraclete. It was a word
that meant the helper, the advocate, the comforter.
It was translated in lots of different ways,
but basically it was one that came alongside
you to help you. And Jesus not only says that
this spirit of truth was going to have that function
of helping those that follow him, but he tells
us that the nature of this spirit was not going
to be something different from him. He uses the
word another advocate. And you can see that I
underline the word another because this is important
in our understanding. Now, you have to be in
theology to only pay attention to these details.
But this is where things matter a lot. It's like
a lawyer reading a document. It's like that word
makes a difference. And it does here. Because
did you know? That in the language of Greek in
which the New Testament was written. Now we are
reading the English translation of that. But
in Greek there are two words for another. Another
of a different kind. Or another of the same kind.
Two different words. Now you want to guess which
word Jesus is using about the Holy Spirit? The
first one or the second one? The second one.
I'm going to send you someone like me. to now
be a helper for you. And that starts helping
us understand that this Holy Spirit is distinct
from Jesus, but it has the same nature, and that's
where the doctrine of Trinity starts developing,
not just this verse, but many other things, that
we believe that God is Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
One being, one essence. Because the Holy Spirit
was like the same as Jesus. And Jesus says, I'm
going to send you another advocate to be with
you. And for how long is he going to be with
them? Forever. Jesus came temporarily, he left,
but the Holy Spirit will come and he will be
with you forever. And then he tells them, the
world cannot accept him. Because he neither sees
him nor knows him. But you, you are following
me. You know him. He is with you. But he will
be in you. And that's another important detail
that Jesus tells them. It's like, look, you have
not experienced the Holy Spirit yet in you. Only
with you. But the time is going to come in which
this spirit of truth is going to come and to
be in you. And then he says one more thing in
that dinner with them celebrating Passover. He
tells them, very truly I tell you, it is for
your good that I'm going away. Unless I go away,
this advocate, this spirit of truth, the Holy
Spirit I'm talking to you about, he will not
come to you. But if I go, then I will send him
to you. So he also tells us that there is a progression,
there is a plan in place. The job of Jesus was
won, but once he accomplishes his job, he has
to go to heaven, and then the beginning of the
new job begins of the Holy Spirit. And unless
Jesus leaves, he cannot send the Holy Spirit.
That's what we understand, that the work of the
Holy Spirit... We already know the Holy Spirit
was already at work during the time of Jesus.
He's the one that caused the birth of Jesus.
He was conceived by the Spirit. But we also know
that in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit was
at work, but never in the functional role that
he was going to have after Jesus ascended to
heaven. He was going to now be in people, not
just with people. And then the apostles listen
to all of these things. Jesus dies for the sins
of people. He resurrects, overcomes the power
of sin and death and Satan. Now he has the key
of the kingdom and all authority on heaven and
on earth. And before he is going to ascend to
heaven, he has appeared to the disciples at different
times. But he has another conversation with them.
Now the apostles understand so much more. Things
that have happened. But here Jesus tells them.
Do not leave Jerusalem. But wait for the gift
my father promised. Which you have heard me speak
about. Remember? The last supper together. For
John baptized with water. But in a few days.
You will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Now
he talks about this coming of the Holy Spirit
to live in them as you will be baptized with
the Holy Spirit. And that hadn't happened yet
because Jesus hadn't ascended. So they wait in
Jerusalem. And then Jesus also tells them, listen,
when the Holy Spirit comes to you, something
is going to happen. You will receive what? Power.
When the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will
be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria,
and to the ends of the earth. One of the roles
the Holy Spirit is going to have in your life
is to empower you so that you can be a witness
and point people to Jesus so that they can know
that there's a Savior that came to die for their
sins and they can be forgiven. So the relationship
with the Holy Spirit that we have, it's not just
about us, but it's about the empowerment that
comes from that in order to have bigger impact
for the kingdom of Jesus. And that's why the
intimacy with the Holy Spirit matters. It's because
it dictates the level of power and impact that
we can have as we follow Jesus. The apostles
state, And here, the Lord had told them, stay,
wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Did you
notice that? He called him a gift. This is something
that I am giving you. It's not based on your
merits. I am giving it to you out of my love
for you. And it's going to come. And it did come.
The 50th day. After Passover. The 50th day. After
they had the first conversation. That the Holy
Spirit was going to come. The advocate. The 50th
day. The Holy Spirit comes. And fulfills everything
that Jesus has said. And one of the experiences.
That the book of Acts tells us. That the apostles
had at the beginning. Is that when they experienced
the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. At this moment.
It came with. certain manifestations of gifts,
of tongues, that is described as tongues of fire.
And what these things were, languages that they
were able to speak that they did not know beforehand,
in which they were able to express the mysteries
of God to the audience that was there in Jerusalem.
Remember what I told you earlier? Each one of
these feasts. Jerusalem became full with crowds
of people and tourists and people that didn't
live there. And they came. So the apostles, when
this happened on that 50th day, the Feast of
the Weeks or Pentecost, they're surrounded by
all these people from all these different languages
and backgrounds. And the apostle Peter, for the
first time ever in history, will preach. The
gospel. And proclaim it into the world. That
Jesus is the son of God. Who came to die for
the sins of the world. And that he overcame the
power of sin. Death. Satan. He resurrected. He
ascended to heaven. And one day he will return
to judge the world. And that anyone that repents
of their sins. And follows him. Will receive
the gift of the Holy Spirit. And he proclaims
this gospel. And we have the words that he spoke
right there. Peter replied to the crowd. Repent.
And be baptized. Every one of you in the name
of Jesus Christ. For the forgiveness of your
sins. And you will receive. The gift of the Holy
Spirit. Did you notice how he calls him a gift
again? Using the words that Jesus said before.
The Holy Spirit was going to be a gift. For you.
If you repented of your sins. And decided to
follow Jesus. It's not that you were perfect.
But you started following Jesus. And Jesus said.
For those that follow me. I'm going to give them.
Another advocate. To be in them. Forever. And
this is how this began. Now the apostles preached
the gospel. And from that point on. Until today,
the movement of Jesus on earth has expanded throughout
the nations, throughout the languages, because
of the work of the Holy Spirit. That's why at
the end of this section, the apostle Peter tells
the crowd, the promise is for you and your children,
but also for all who are far off. For all whom
the Lord God will call. And praise God. That
that includes you and me. This is what we know.
The background of this important day and how
the Holy Spirit came to begin this work in the
lives of people. Following what Jesus had begun.
But the role of the Holy Spirit was going to
now apply the work of Jesus into the life of
the person. That's why the second part of this
study is how it works. How does this work? Because
when we understand how this works, it gives us
so much more clarity and freedom to pursue this
relationship of intimacy with the Holy Spirit.
Now, I have to be honest, we have no idea how
it works. It's like if I were to ask you, do
you have Wi -Fi in your phone? And you say, yeah,
it's a smartphone. Do you know how it works?
Oh, there's a Wi -Fi, something, signal somewhere.
But do you know how it works? Do you know the
physics of it? No, I have no idea. Yeah, welcome
to the world of theology. We know how this works,
but we don't really know how this works. And
what we know is this. Because the Apostle Paul
tells us, In the book of Ephesians, something
that is very clear. Now I love when I'm studying
the scriptures. That making these distinctions
as you're trying to connect dots. Because when
you read the gospel, when you read the book of
Acts, you're reading narrative. It's history.
It's telling you, hey, this happened and then
that happened and that person said that. And
you're reading and you say, but why? How does
that work? And it doesn't tell you. It's descriptive.
It's just telling you what happened. That's it.
But you go to other parts of the Bible, especially
the letters of the apostles, and that's not narrative.
It's not describing something that happened.
It's telling you how it happens and how it should
work and why it's this way. That is much more
what I call prescriptive. And when you engage
with those passages, oh, it helps you understand,
ah, okay, now I get it. So it works this way.
And when you go to Ephesians, it tells us how
this works. The Apostle Paul writes to these
Christians in the city of Ephesus, which was
a famous city, because people worshipped there
the goddess Artemis. And today we still have
the ruins of ancient Ephesus. In fact, some of
you have already visited, perhaps, that area.
But for the first Christians in that city, when
the Apostle Paul is trying to help them understand
how this whole thing works, he tells them this.
Will you read it with me? And you also were included
in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the
gospel of your salvation, and having believed,
you were marked in him with a seal, the promised
Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our
inheritance until the redemption of those who
are God's possession to the praise of his glory.
He tells us, look, Christians from Ephesus, you
are confused about how the Holy Spirit works
and all these things. Let me tell you. Do you
remember when you heard the word of truth? What
word of truth are you talking about? The gospel
of your salvation. Oh yeah, the gospel. Yeah,
I remember when I heard the gospel. Well, do
you remember when you believed in it? Yeah, I
remember when I believed in the gospel. Well,
on that moment, when you heard the gospel and
you believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit.
At that moment, the Holy Spirit came to live
in you, like Jesus said, will be in you, not
just with you anymore. And at that moment, he
came to be like a seal that is guaranteeing something.
What is it guaranteeing? It's guaranteeing that
you will experience the fullness of your salvation
all the way until the day of redemption when
Jesus comes back. Because on that day, when you
said yes to Jesus, I want to follow you, and
you repented of your sins, like Peter said, you
will be given the gift of the Holy Spirit. It
was a gift that Jesus gave you that day that
you asked Jesus to save you. And on that day
on, the Holy Spirit is going to be in you forever,
until the day of redemption. He's there to stay.
And who's going to receive all the glory and
the praise because of this? Oh, God. I find that
revealing and freeing so much. Because it means
that if you believed in Jesus Christ and you
are following him, if you truly, truly believed
in Jesus Christ and you're following him, then
you have the Holy Spirit in you. Because the
day you heard and you believed, you were sealed
with the Holy Spirit. And that is something that
we have to understand. Why do I say that? Because
throughout the many years I met Christians that
are following Jesus, but they are wondering...
Pastor Paulo, I do not know if I have the Holy
Spirit. How do I not have the Holy Spirit? Maybe
I don't have the Holy Spirit. Do I need to do
something to have the Holy Spirit? And they go
to a church and the church tells them, oh well,
if you don't fall on the floor and start having
some kind of shaking or something, you don't
have the Holy Spirit. And they try, but it doesn't
work. And that creates so much fear and anxiety.
That's why Paul writes this to the Ephesians.
Don't worry about any of that stuff. If you believe
in Jesus as your Savior, the moment you heard
and believe, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit.
The second thing is that sometimes people say,
yeah, but I do not know if the Holy Spirit is
going to get tired of me because sometimes I'm
not obedient, I don't pray as much, I don't read
my Bible, and sometimes I'm mean, and I do things
I shouldn't. So maybe the Holy Spirit is going
to get tired of me. And then the person says,
you know, I'm afraid that I have committed the
unpardonable sin. So maybe the Holy Spirit left
me. And they are stuck in that place of uncertainty.
And here what Jesus said and what Paul says repeats
the same thing. Look, the day you believe in
Jesus, if you truly believe in Jesus, Jesus gave
you a gift. Called the Holy Spirit. And that
gift is to stay with you until the day of redemption.
He's not going to leave you because he got tired
of you. Have you ever been in a dating relationship
where the guy keeps breaking up with you? He
doesn't like you anymore. He comes back. He says,
actually, I changed my mind. I like you. You
take him back. And then he says, I don't like
you anymore. You break up again. And then he
comes back a third time. By the fourth time,
what you already knew the first time is confirmed.
This guy doesn't really love me, does he? So
then you break up for sure. You cannot have an
intimate relationship with someone that keeps
dropping you like that. The Holy Spirit is not
like that boyfriend. Well, I'm tired of you.
I don't like you anymore. Look, you are such
a sinner. No, I think I'm out. Hey, wait, I want
to come back in. No, it doesn't work that way.
The moment you believe, it's a gift to stay with
you. Really? You see how that changes everything?
Because now I can have freedom just to seek a
relationship with the Holy Spirit without the
fear that He's not going to be happy and leave
me. The Holy Spirit comes to be with you. And
what He does is amazing. It's really amazing.
What is He going to do all of this time forever?
You know, it's like, with me? Yes, with you.
I'll tell you what He's going to do. First thing,
He's going to indulge you. He comes to live in
you. Which means that no matter where you go
or where you are, you have God's presence in
you. So the next time you decide to go places
you shouldn't, remember who is in you. You cannot
leave him at the door or at church, at ECB. He's
in you to stay. And now that he's indwelling
you, he justifies you. He starts making the salvation
of Jesus apply to you. To be justified means...
That he has forgiven all of your sins, washed
away all the guilt and the shame from you. And
in addition, he has given you the fullness of
the righteousness and perfection of Jesus in
you, in your account. Now, God does not see you
for your imperfections. Like, oh, he's not good
enough. No, he sees you with the righteousness
of Jesus in you. You are in Christ. Christ is
in you. He justifies. But now that he's in you
and you are free from condemnation and guilt
and shame, because he's not going to shame you,
you're already forgiven for all of your sins.
Then he's going to sanctify you. He wants you
to experience his life in you because before
you came to know Christ, the only thing you could
experience was your sinfulness. And it wounded
you, didn't it? It hurt you. I hurt others. Well
now he comes to try to help you. So that you
can experience his life. Love. Joy. Peace. Faith.
Faithfulness. Self -control. All these things.
The nature of who he is. Now you experiencing
it. That's why. As you start following Jesus
and time passes, you notice, well, I'm not the
same person I was before. There are desires that
have changed. And I have just a new nature in
me. That's the Holy Spirit. It's sanctifying
you. And then, that He has saved you, He wants
you to fulfill the purposes and plans He has
for you. So He's going to guide you. He directs
you. And then on top of that, he's going to empower
you so that everything that he's calling you
to do, you will have the giftedness you require,
the discernment, the wisdom you require, the
resources you require to fulfill his purposes.
He's going to empower you. And if you die before
Jesus comes back, the same Holy Spirit that resurrected
Jesus from the dead, guess what he's going to
do with you? He's going to resurrect you from
the dead. And you will become immortal. And you
will become sinless. And that is what we call
glorification. And if you happen to still be
alive when Jesus comes back. You're going to
be changed in an instant. And who is going to
do that transformation in you? The Holy Spirit.
The advocate that Jesus promised to send the
gift. That he gave you the moment you believed
in him. This is what the Holy Spirit does. And
that's why this gift is so amazing. And the more
you understand it. The more you want more of
it. More of you Holy Spirit. In my understanding
of you. In my intimacy of you. In my experience
of you. I want to know you more deeply. I understand
that if you are not a Christian, some of this
stuff may sound like cuckoo, like weird. I also
understand that if you are a new believer, many
of these things are new to you. But this is part
of our growth and our understanding in following
Jesus. Because Jesus wants you to have an intimate
relationship with the Holy Spirit in your life.
That's why I love listening to stories, testimonies
of people that came from so many different backgrounds
and they tell the story of how is it that they
came to know Jesus and then they start telling
you this story and you have so many things in
common and you feel so much joy because you realize
that your experience is also somebody else's
experience. There's a guy, his name is Beckett
Cook. I enjoy reading his life story. I enjoy
watching some of the interviews he does and videos
that he has produced. But Beckett was born in
Texas, the same state where we were serving before
in the U .S. before we came here. And from there,
he moved to California to pursue his career.
He pursued his career in the creative arts and
fashion and stage creation. So he started working
with lots of artists and famous people. And he
really grew a lot in his career. He was at the
peak of his career, visiting lots of different
countries. And just like the world, he was living
the life. And one day, as he's in this dinner
with the famous people and drinking and talking
about different things, he perceives the emptiness
of it all. And he remembers asking, is this all
there is? Is there more to life than just this?
Oh, and he had pursued everything available to
him. The world had told him, hey, Beckett, if
you have same -sex attraction, you pursue that.
It's going to make you happy. It's going to fulfill
you. So he pursued it. And he had lots of relationships
throughout the years. He had experienced the
money, the success, and the sex. And yet he's
there sitting in that place, wondering, feeling
empty. Is there more to life? You see, He has
not yet experienced at that moment what the Apostle
Paul simply says, the love of God in you. Because
when the Holy Spirit comes to you when you believe
Jesus, the Apostle Paul simply puts it in these
words, God's love has been poured out into our
hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given
to us. God's love, the presence of the Holy Spirit
in you after believing in Jesus, that is what
is missing. That is why you feel there's more
to life that you are not experiencing. There's
something that is missing that you do not know
what it is. And Beckett had to discover what
that was from his own experience. So he writes
his biography in this book, A Change of Affection.
And he says, you know, I was in California wondering
about all these things in my mind. I made these
Christians in a restaurant. I did not know them.
They invited me to their church. So I decided,
okay, you know, couldn't hurt. I'll just go and
see. So he went to their church. And he is there.
And guess what is the topic of the message on
that day? The gospel. The person is preaching
the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ, that
you are a sinner, but Jesus came to die for you.
What's missing in your life is the love of God.
He wants to fill you with that and all of that.
And the more he was listening to it, Beckett
was like realizing this is what it is. This is
what's been missing. But he was wrestling. Because
previous to stepping into that church that day,
he thought Christians are weird. They're ignorant.
You know, they have no idea what they're talking
about. And he had all these preconceptions. So
he decided that at the end of the service, he
went to the front to be prayed for. But he tells
the person, he says, you know, I'm not a Christian.
I don't really know what to believe. But I'm
here. So the person says, fine, I'll pray for
you. The person prayed for him. He went and sat
down. As he was sitting down, suddenly, he says,
I became overwhelmed by this need to start crying
and weeping and sobbing. And it would not leave
him. He was just sobbing and sobbing for a while.
But that sobbing, what was happening in his life,
was like something was washing away. He didn't
understand. He hadn't heard the sermon yet. He
was being justified. The washing of his sins,
the righteousness of Jesus, he was experiencing
this at the moment. And he tells us in his book
what happened. In that moment, everything became
clear. God was real. Jesus was real. The Bible
was real. The resurrection was real. Heaven was
real. Hell was real. It was all real. Everything
that I had dismissed as a fairy tale was all
true. Like Paul, it was as if the scales fell
from my eyes and I was able to see. It was as
if a curtain had parted and I could finally see
the truth. When you read these words, you can
identify with them as well if you have come to
know Jesus. Now you understand. Now you see.
And it's not because you became smarter. No,
it's because you have the Holy Spirit in you
that is justifying you, sanctifying you, working
in you. And that's what continued in his life.
He tells us many things. He says, when I was
fully immersed in that lifestyle I lived before,
My entire identity was wrapped in my sexual orientation.
The only thing that changed that identity for
me was the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
It required nothing less than a supernatural
encounter with the living God. I don't believe
that lasting change of behavior is possible without
Holy Spirit transformation. Sanctification that
he's talking about. And then he says, after my
stunning encounter with God, I knew I could no
longer pursue romantic relationships with men.
I had finally come to the realization that homosexual
behavior was a distortion of God's perfect design
for human sexuality and flourishing. Surprisingly,
I was perfectly fine with that realization. The
complete reversal of my opinions and pursuits
in this area worked like this. I had just met
the king of the universe. The last thing in my
mind was men. My identity is no longer in my
sexuality, but in Christ. And to be honest, I
still struggle with sexual desire for men. That
didn't go away. But I have to say that after
my encounter with Jesus, by the grace of God,
that desire has greatly diminished. I am more
than willing to deny myself, take up my cross,
and follow Him because He is worth it. To say
that every other relationship paled in comparison
with my new relationship with Christ would be
a massive understatement. How could I hold on
to anything that didn't bring me closer to him?
My relationship with Christ was the real deal.
I knew in my bones that it was what I had been
longing for my whole life. It was what I was
made for. My faith in Christ compels me to pursue
a life of obedience. The thought of being disobedient
to the one who took on himself the penalty of
my sin makes me sick. The fleeting pleasures
of sin are not worth the agony of grieving the
person I love the most. It is said that there
is no one more miserable than a Christian living
in sin. I couldn't agree more. He had his identity
on something that was not God. And any one of
us, before we came to know Christ, we had our
identity on something. And whatever that something
was, was a distortion. Because when we come to
know Jesus, now we realize who we truly are.
A loved son and daughter of the Most High One.
And the gift of the Holy Spirit in you. reveals
that to you, and now you're able to see yourself
for the first time through the eyes of truth.
Why truth? Because it is the spirit of truth
that is in you now. With time, Beckett not only
became a Christian, but he decided to go... To
seminary, he wanted to serve God with his life.
He did not know exactly how. And one of the things
that God led him to start was the Beckett Cook
Show, a program that he has on YouTube. You can
see his videos, lots of interviews, lots of people
with different backgrounds. And the Christian's
testimony is fascinating. But this is how this
works. This is what the Apostle Paul was writing
to the Ephesians. This is what Jesus was telling
the Apostles was going to happen. This is what
Peter was preaching for the first time. It's
the invitation to encounter God because the Holy
Spirit can live in you. And therefore, for us,
the focus of our walk with God is one about alignment.
When you are misaligned with the Holy Spirit,
you'll know it. And therefore, your job is to
become misaligned with the Holy Spirit. For those
of you who are married, you can understand what
I mean. If you are not good with your spouse,
things are not great. You walk in, it's quiet,
and you may ask, is everything okay? I say, no,
I'm fine. Everything's fine. It's like, it's
not fine. You know. And until you sit down and
you talk and you align things, okay, now things
are good. And with the Holy Spirit, it's like
that. If you're not aligned with him, you will
know you are not aligned with him. And it is
very important that we align ourselves with the
Holy Spirit. And I'll tell you why. To understand
this, we have to read. I want to go quickly through
this story because it's just a point of illustration.
But the Apostle Paul was preaching his second
missionary journey. He went from Corinth all
the way to Ephesus. And that's how he encountered
the Ephesians for the first time. When he goes
to Ephesus, he discovers something that stopped
happening. It was a pagan area, lots of worship
of idols and things. There was a Jewish community
there as well. But we are told in the book of
Acts that this happened. Some Jews who went around
driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the
name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon
-possessed. They would say, In the name of the
Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come
out. They thought that it was a magic formula
of some sort. And it wasn't. You cannot fake
the power of the Spirit. If He's not in you,
He's not in you. So they learned the hard way.
Seven sons of Jehovah, a Jewish chief priest,
were doing this. One day the evil spirit answered
them, Jesus I know. Paul, I know about, but who
are you? Then the man who had the evil spirit
jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave
them such a beating that they ran out of the
house naked and bleeding. When this became known
to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they
were all seized with fear and the name of the
Lord Jesus was held in high honor. You can imagine,
they were realizing, oh, this Christian thing
is real power. We cannot fake it. By the way,
just as a parenthesis, if this whole thing about
demon and evil spirits, all of that is new to
you, you don't understand it, you want to learn
more about those things. In my own journey of
studying these things, apart from my experience,
these three books were very insightful in different
ways. Demonic Falls, written by a psychiatrist.
He was writing it from the perspective of a psychiatrist
that had to work with many cases like this. Fascinating.
The other one is They Shall Expel Demons, written
by a pastor who served for more than 30 years.
And he had to deal with these experiences that
he was not planning for and all the things he
learned from it. And the other work from a theologian
that is trying to figure out where do demons
come from and what does that do? And so he goes
into the Greek. Into the history, into all this
stuff. So all these different books talk about
it. But end of the parenthesis, let's go back
to the text. Many of those who believe now came
and openly confessed what they had done. A number
who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls
together and burned them publicly. When they
calculated the value of the scrolls, the total
came to 50 ,000 drachmas. Now, one drachma was
the salary of a day. So 50 ,000 days of salary.
Imagine that. A lot of money. In this way, the
word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.
These people came to believe. And what happened
the moment they heard the gospel and believed?
The apostle Paul wrote to them later in Ephesians.
What happened at that moment? Ah, the Holy Spirit
came to live in them. They were sealed. And why
did they start feeling convicted after they started
following Jesus? You have a book in your house
you need to get rid of. Oh yeah, but I spent
a lot of money on that book. Yes, but that witchcraft
is not what I saved you for. You need to get
rid of it. Where was that conviction coming from?
Ah, the Holy Spirit. And they went, took all
that stuff, and they were willing to do that
which was hard. Come in the open and remove it.
The Holy Spirit wants to transform you. And he
will require that you respond to him in the right
way. Because what is at stake is not just your
transformation. But would you read again, but
this time with me out loud, what was the outcome
of this work? In this way, the word of the Lord
spread widely and grew in power. When God's people,
followers of Jesus, became aligned with the work
of the Holy Spirit in their lives, the witnessing
got much more impactful. The word of the Lord
spread widely and also there was more power as
a result. Why? Because the power of the Holy
Spirit now could flow through them towards others.
That It's how this works. And that is why it's
so important that you and I take this call of
intimacy with the Holy Spirit seriously. That's
why I want to finish this study with three clear
commands that the Apostle Paul writes about our
relationship with the Holy Spirit. Very precise
verses, but very clear commands. The first one
is this. Since we live by the Spirit, let us
keep in step with the Spirit. If the Holy Spirit
is in you, he wants to guide you now. There's
a direction that he wants you to pursue. And
now that he is guiding you, he needs you to follow
him. I remember sometimes when we would go to
the supermarket with our kids when they were
younger toddlers. You know, whenever we got to
the section where there was candy. Sometimes
next to the cashier, you know. It's like, oh,
you want that. Or you are walking by and you
pass the aisle that has all the Legos. And it's
like, oh, they want to go there. So if you're
walking with them with hand, you know, holding
their hand, it's like we're going there to buy
medicine, you know. And it's like, oh, Legos.
It's like, no, no, no, no, no. Let's move over.
Oh, Legos. It's like, look, I'm trying to guide
you. You need to keep in step with me. And that's
you and I. The Holy Spirit says, that's the future
I have for you. Follow me. No, no, I want this.
Come here. If you live by the Spirit, keep in
step with the Spirit. If He's guiding you, follow
Him. The second command is this. Do not grieve
the Holy Spirit of God with whom you were sealed
for the day of redemption. You were sealed with
Him until which day? Ah, sealed. No one can open
that. And because he's with you and in you, whatever
you do, wherever you go, you cannot keep the
secret from him. That's why when you say, well,
nobody knows. That's not true. The Holy Spirit
knows and he is somebody. And that's why you
have no peace. It's because you are engaged in
behaviors and practices that the Holy Spirit
wants you to be free from so that you can experience
His life. And as long as you decide to keep the
secrets, as long as you decide to engage in ungodliness,
as long as you decide to go to the wrong places
or see the wrong things, the Holy Spirit is going
to be grieved. Because that is not. What he envisions
for you. That's not the potential he sees in
you. That's not the plans he has for you. But
he has to wait for you. To get it. Do not grieve
the Holy Spirit. If you are walking in shameful
ways. Come clean. He's not going to leave you.
He wants to love you. But he also wants you to
love him back. And the third command. is do not
quench the Spirit. What does that mean? Do not
put out the fire of the Spirit. What does that
mean? Sometimes the Holy Spirit is going to prompt
you to do certain things. You say, where does
that come from? It's like, I wasn't thinking
about it. Out of the blue, you know, I thought
of this. And you start feeling something that
you resist. That's the first response. It's like,
As if the Holy Spirit is saying, look at that.
No. Yes, look at that. No, not now. Yes, I want
you to look at that. And typically these things
happen a lot when God is leading you into a calling,
into a change of direction. And now you start
feeling this struggle within because it's like
you experience something that I call holy dissatisfaction.
You are not satisfied with where you are now.
God is asking you to walk into the unknown. But
the unknown makes you uncomfortable. But this
thing is not going away. You have the option
to put out the fire and say, no, I'm not going
to do it. I'm not going to do it. Please stop
insisting. Holy Spirit, not a good idea. Or you
say, Holy Spirit, if this is you, I'm willing.
Let's go for it. Do not quench the Spirit. You
see, all these three commands are simply commands
to help you embrace the reality of who we are
in Jesus. Now that we are His followers, now
that He saved us. Because as we embrace this
intimacy with the Holy Spirit, We keep in step
with him. When he convicts us, we confess. When
he prompts us, we follow. When we do this, we
grow in intimacy with the Holy Spirit. And you
know who will benefit? You. And the kingdom.
Because now the power of God can flow through
you to the next level. And you will live for
increased kingdom impact. So I conclude this
study with a simple question. Are you seeking
intimacy with the Holy Spirit? Because if you
are not, I want to encourage you today, take
this relationship to the next level. Take it
seriously. Pursue it. First, If you're not a
follower of Jesus, if you don't understand these
things, and for the first time you've been hearing
about God loving you and Jesus dying for your
sins, offering forgiveness, I want to invite
you. Could it be today, the day you're feeling
this desire that you need to follow Jesus? And
if so, during this time of worship, would you
invite the Holy Spirit and say, please come in
my life. I want to follow Jesus. I may not understand
everything. But today I gave my life to you.
If that is you. Do that during this time of worship.
If you are a follower of Jesus. And you have
the Holy Spirit in you. I want to invite you.
To ask the Holy Spirit. To grow in an intimate
relationship with you. That you can experience
him. That you can know him more and more. So
that the things that he has for you, you will
be able to experience. If this is your desire
during this time of worship, please join us.
Lord, we stand in your presence. In awe. In awe
of what you have done. This is huge. The fact
that you would love us so much to give us the
advocate. To be with us forever. And Holy Spirit,
for you to stay in us, to love us, to sanctify
us, to justify us, to transform us, to guide
us. We need you desperately. So we ask you, Lord,
guide us. If there's anything that is holding
us back from pursuing this relationship with
you. We are asking you right now in Jesus name.
Break that. So that nothing and no one will hold
us from pursuing you with everything we are.
In the powerful name of Jesus. Amen. If God is
calling you to support our ministries, you will
find giving options on our website. And remember
to join us next week. God bless you.