WEBVTT 00:00:09.480 --> 00:00:14.320 Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is 00:00:14.320 --> 00:00:16.600 an international church in Bangkok, Thailand, 00:00:16.760 --> 00:00:19.820 with dozens of nationalities worshiping together. 00:00:20.140 --> 00:00:23.000 We invite you to connect with us from wherever 00:00:23.000 --> 00:00:27.239 you are through our website ecb .asia or our 00:00:27.239 --> 00:00:31.059 mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed 00:00:31.059 --> 00:00:35.140 by this week's sermon. We've been studying the 00:00:35.140 --> 00:00:37.460 serious foundations and we started last week. 00:00:38.189 --> 00:00:40.950 with saying that we are rooted in the Word. For 00:00:40.950 --> 00:00:45.409 us at ECB, the Bible is God's inspired, inerrant 00:00:45.409 --> 00:00:49.390 Word. And therefore, we use it and we study it 00:00:49.390 --> 00:00:54.189 as the ultimate authority for doctrine, for life. 00:00:54.649 --> 00:00:58.590 Therefore, that is how we do things here at ECB. 00:00:58.670 --> 00:01:01.289 And the second foundation that we will be studying 00:01:01.289 --> 00:01:05.170 today is the foundation of being empowered by 00:01:05.170 --> 00:01:09.980 the Holy Spirit. Jesus said to the apostles that 00:01:09.980 --> 00:01:13.620 the Holy Spirit was with them, but one day it 00:01:13.620 --> 00:01:18.180 was going to be in them. And then Jesus said 00:01:18.180 --> 00:01:20.500 that the Holy Spirit was going to lead us into 00:01:20.500 --> 00:01:23.819 all truth, truth that sets us free. It was going 00:01:23.819 --> 00:01:27.060 to be the comforter. It was going to be a central, 00:01:27.299 --> 00:01:30.439 indispensable part of what it meant to follow 00:01:30.439 --> 00:01:34.340 Jesus. And therefore, we cannot follow Jesus, 00:01:34.480 --> 00:01:40.260 we cannot be making disciples for Jesus if we 00:01:40.260 --> 00:01:43.599 are not empowered by the Holy Spirit. And this 00:01:43.599 --> 00:01:45.879 is the foundation that we are going to be studying 00:01:45.879 --> 00:01:50.560 today. Now, I understand that when it comes to 00:01:50.560 --> 00:01:53.200 the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, in a church 00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:56.659 like ECB where we have a spectrum of all denominations, 00:01:56.780 --> 00:01:59.379 we will have all views about everything represented. 00:02:00.299 --> 00:02:02.799 That's why it's important to remember that even 00:02:02.799 --> 00:02:05.739 though we are a multi -denominational church 00:02:05.739 --> 00:02:08.800 with people from all over the world and so many 00:02:08.800 --> 00:02:12.000 denominations, we're not a multi -doctrinal church. 00:02:12.259 --> 00:02:14.960 It's not that we believe about everything for 00:02:14.960 --> 00:02:18.500 everybody. We have a doctrine. We have a doctrinal 00:02:18.500 --> 00:02:22.620 statement. And I want to share that with you 00:02:22.620 --> 00:02:25.259 just for you to get an idea of what this says, 00:02:25.580 --> 00:02:29.979 where we stand at ECB. And we say it this way, 00:02:30.120 --> 00:02:35.199 it is the will of God that each believer should 00:02:35.199 --> 00:02:37.960 be filled with the Holy Spirit and be sanctified 00:02:37.960 --> 00:02:42.199 holy, being separated from sin and the world 00:02:42.199 --> 00:02:46.300 and fully dedicated to the will of God, thereby 00:02:46.300 --> 00:02:49.840 receiving power for holy living and effective 00:02:49.840 --> 00:02:53.819 service. This is accomplished through being filled 00:02:53.819 --> 00:02:57.349 with the Holy Spirit, which is both a distinct 00:02:57.349 --> 00:03:00.650 event and progressive experience in the life 00:03:00.650 --> 00:03:03.629 of the believer. Now, pretty straightforward. 00:03:04.870 --> 00:03:08.349 It's a paragraph that is actually long and wordy, 00:03:08.349 --> 00:03:11.750 but the context is exactly what we're going to 00:03:11.750 --> 00:03:15.849 be learning today. The Apostle Paul put it more 00:03:15.849 --> 00:03:19.469 succinctly. He said it like this, Since we live 00:03:19.469 --> 00:03:22.770 by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading 00:03:22.770 --> 00:03:25.830 in every part of our lives. That summarizes what 00:03:25.830 --> 00:03:29.520 we mean. Will you read it with me? Since we live 00:03:29.520 --> 00:03:32.879 by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading 00:03:32.879 --> 00:03:36.819 in every part of our lives. In which book is 00:03:36.819 --> 00:03:42.360 this found? In Galatians. Remember that. Because 00:03:42.360 --> 00:03:48.419 that will come later in this study. What we desire 00:03:48.419 --> 00:03:55.460 is to be a church where we are equipped To grow 00:03:55.460 --> 00:03:58.300 in intimacy with the Holy Spirit. So that he 00:03:58.300 --> 00:04:02.460 can lead your life. And so he can lead our ministries. 00:04:03.719 --> 00:04:06.340 Because if we are not aligned with the Holy Spirit. 00:04:06.879 --> 00:04:10.500 Then we are not going to be able to have the 00:04:10.500 --> 00:04:14.219 power that is needed. To break through the power 00:04:14.219 --> 00:04:17.680 of darkness with the power of light. We are ambassadors 00:04:17.680 --> 00:04:20.550 of the kingdom of light. And therefore we need 00:04:20.550 --> 00:04:22.990 that power. And that power is only accomplished 00:04:22.990 --> 00:04:26.050 when we are aligned in the deepest parts of our 00:04:26.050 --> 00:04:32.910 lives with the Holy Spirit. In this way, following 00:04:32.910 --> 00:04:36.610 Jesus is like taking a road trip. There is a 00:04:36.610 --> 00:04:39.730 future destination that we hope to get to. And 00:04:39.730 --> 00:04:43.230 that is to be able to be with the Lord, reigning 00:04:43.230 --> 00:04:50.899 with Christ in eternity forever. But this destination 00:04:50.899 --> 00:04:54.819 has a path where we are in today. We are traveling 00:04:54.819 --> 00:04:57.540 in this journey. And whenever you are preparing 00:04:57.540 --> 00:04:59.980 for a road trip, there are things that matter. 00:05:01.139 --> 00:05:03.439 Some people, if I were to ask you right now, 00:05:03.519 --> 00:05:05.899 what is one thing, the first thing that you would 00:05:05.899 --> 00:05:09.740 do, apart from packing and loading the car with 00:05:09.740 --> 00:05:12.240 your suitcases, what is the first thing that 00:05:12.240 --> 00:05:14.040 you would do if you are preparing for a road 00:05:14.040 --> 00:05:19.060 trip? Some of you would say, fill the tank with 00:05:19.060 --> 00:05:23.480 gas. Other people say, I like to wash the car. 00:05:24.100 --> 00:05:28.199 I like to travel clean. And other people say, 00:05:28.300 --> 00:05:32.360 well, get my music ready. But one thing that 00:05:32.360 --> 00:05:35.980 I learned is that traveling and driving for a 00:05:35.980 --> 00:05:39.420 long time, it's good to have nice music and it's 00:05:39.420 --> 00:05:42.819 good to have the tank full. But if your tires 00:05:42.819 --> 00:05:46.449 are not aligned, it's a pain. Because as you 00:05:46.449 --> 00:05:48.829 are driving, you need to stay on the lane. You 00:05:48.829 --> 00:05:52.629 cannot be changing like that or driving in the 00:05:52.629 --> 00:05:55.149 lane all the time. You have to stay in your place. 00:05:55.470 --> 00:05:59.329 And if your tires are not aligned, then you are 00:05:59.329 --> 00:06:01.769 constantly having to compensate. And that gets 00:06:01.769 --> 00:06:06.709 tiring. And when we talk about life with the 00:06:06.709 --> 00:06:11.389 Holy Spirit, it's like that. There are four areas, 00:06:11.470 --> 00:06:14.009 four tires that we have in our car that need 00:06:14.009 --> 00:06:17.350 to be aligned with the Holy Spirit. And we are 00:06:17.350 --> 00:06:20.589 going to discover these because we will look 00:06:20.589 --> 00:06:23.470 at the life of the Apostle Paul, who is the one 00:06:23.470 --> 00:06:26.189 who taught us most of what we know about the 00:06:26.189 --> 00:06:30.430 Holy Spirit throughout the Pauline letters. These 00:06:30.430 --> 00:06:33.050 four areas include being sealed with the Holy 00:06:33.050 --> 00:06:38.029 Spirit, the call to holiness, pursuing our calling, 00:06:38.829 --> 00:06:42.069 And also discerning God's timing. All of these 00:06:42.069 --> 00:06:45.290 areas have to do with our relationship with the 00:06:45.290 --> 00:06:47.970 Holy Spirit. So to understand them, we have to 00:06:47.970 --> 00:06:52.050 travel in time to the beginning of our era. First 00:06:52.050 --> 00:06:55.750 century, when the Apostle Paul... becomes a Christian, 00:06:55.910 --> 00:06:58.389 and then he becomes a missionary, and he starts 00:06:58.389 --> 00:07:02.370 taking the gospel to the Roman Empire. And it's 00:07:02.370 --> 00:07:04.930 through all his experiences that these four things 00:07:04.930 --> 00:07:07.629 come to the surface, and he's going to experience 00:07:07.629 --> 00:07:09.769 them, and he's going to write about them later. 00:07:10.790 --> 00:07:13.990 So I want to know what he wrote, but I also want 00:07:13.990 --> 00:07:17.850 to know what he experienced. And this is where 00:07:17.850 --> 00:07:20.350 the study is going to take us. Starting first. 00:07:21.800 --> 00:07:25.819 At his conversion. He is in Jerusalem. He thinks 00:07:25.819 --> 00:07:29.319 he is serving God. He is very passionate. But 00:07:29.319 --> 00:07:32.120 his service to God. Was persecuting Christians. 00:07:32.639 --> 00:07:36.339 Taking them to prison. And seeking their death 00:07:36.339 --> 00:07:40.399 penalty. And as he is going from Jerusalem. To 00:07:40.399 --> 00:07:43.920 the north in Damascus. Somewhere along the road. 00:07:44.040 --> 00:07:48.060 Jesus appears to him. And at that moment, the 00:07:48.060 --> 00:07:51.459 life of the Apostle Paul becomes completely changed. 00:07:52.019 --> 00:07:55.579 He's so disoriented. Because this person he thought 00:07:55.579 --> 00:07:58.160 was a fake. And the followers of Jesus that he 00:07:58.160 --> 00:08:02.860 was trying to kill. Now suddenly, all of that 00:08:02.860 --> 00:08:06.959 is true. Jesus is real. It's not fake. And these 00:08:06.959 --> 00:08:12.459 followers of Jesus are engaged in truth. And 00:08:12.459 --> 00:08:15.500 now that he has this encounter with Jesus, he 00:08:15.500 --> 00:08:18.899 becomes blind. He's taken to the house of a Christian 00:08:18.899 --> 00:08:22.759 man, follower of Jesus, right there in Damascus. 00:08:24.240 --> 00:08:27.740 And as he's there waiting, not knowing what's 00:08:27.740 --> 00:08:31.740 going to happen next, a man called Ananias shows 00:08:31.740 --> 00:08:35.259 up. Because God had told Ananias, Ananias, I 00:08:35.259 --> 00:08:39.049 want you to go to where Paul is. I know, you 00:08:39.049 --> 00:08:41.529 know who Paul is? Yeah, that's the guy. The one 00:08:41.529 --> 00:08:43.730 that is trying to kill Christians? That's the 00:08:43.730 --> 00:08:47.090 guy. I want you to go and pray for him because 00:08:47.090 --> 00:08:52.090 I have a calling for his life. But he has not 00:08:52.090 --> 00:08:56.129 yet been sealed with the Holy Spirit. So I want 00:08:56.129 --> 00:08:59.710 you to go and pray for him. And that is where 00:08:59.710 --> 00:09:02.769 we encounter this section where the Apostle Paul 00:09:02.769 --> 00:09:05.090 will learn about the sealing of the Holy Spirit 00:09:05.090 --> 00:09:09.200 on his own life. So Ananias went and found Saul, 00:09:09.379 --> 00:09:12.259 and he laid his hands on him and said, Brother 00:09:12.259 --> 00:09:15.899 Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on 00:09:15.899 --> 00:09:19.539 the road, has sent me so that you might regain 00:09:19.539 --> 00:09:23.519 your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. 00:09:24.980 --> 00:09:29.139 And at that moment, as Ananias prays for him, 00:09:29.759 --> 00:09:34.080 says instantly, something like scales fell from 00:09:34.080 --> 00:09:37.860 Saul's eyes, and he regained his sight. Then 00:09:37.860 --> 00:09:41.460 he got up and was baptized. Afterward, he ate 00:09:41.460 --> 00:09:45.940 some food and regained his strength. That is 00:09:45.940 --> 00:09:51.320 the moment in which Saul of Tarsus became the 00:09:51.320 --> 00:09:55.399 Apostle Paul. He became a follower of Jesus, 00:09:55.480 --> 00:09:59.279 and this was the moment, using the words of Jesus, 00:09:59.580 --> 00:10:05.720 in which Paul became born again. Because to be 00:10:05.720 --> 00:10:10.360 born again means that before this moment, you 00:10:10.360 --> 00:10:13.399 did not have the Holy Spirit in you. But now 00:10:13.399 --> 00:10:18.720 you do. And why? Because you believed in Jesus. 00:10:19.120 --> 00:10:21.500 And the moment you believed in Jesus, the Word 00:10:21.500 --> 00:10:24.519 of God says the Spirit of Jesus comes to live 00:10:24.519 --> 00:10:26.940 now in you. And that Spirit is called the Holy 00:10:26.940 --> 00:10:31.509 Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, the Bible says 00:10:31.509 --> 00:10:35.110 we are spiritually dead. And if we die in that 00:10:35.110 --> 00:10:38.409 condition, we cannot go to be with the Lord. 00:10:39.149 --> 00:10:41.850 Instead, we will have to be separated from Him 00:10:41.850 --> 00:10:46.549 for eternity. Instead, He wants you to believe 00:10:46.549 --> 00:10:49.169 in Him, trust Him with your life so that He can 00:10:49.169 --> 00:10:53.289 forgive you and give you His Spirit. And for 00:10:53.289 --> 00:10:56.269 those who have been born again, the Holy Spirit, 00:10:56.370 --> 00:10:59.750 the word of Jesus said to make disciples and 00:10:59.750 --> 00:11:02.710 teach them to obey everything he commanded, including 00:11:02.710 --> 00:11:06.169 the being baptized in the name of the Father, 00:11:06.250 --> 00:11:09.570 the Son, and the Holy Spirit. So here, Paul is 00:11:09.570 --> 00:11:12.509 simply experiencing that. He hears the gospel 00:11:12.509 --> 00:11:16.509 now from Jesus himself saying, yep, I am the 00:11:16.509 --> 00:11:18.789 Messiah. I am the fulfillment of all of these 00:11:18.789 --> 00:11:21.889 things. And I have a plan for your life. And 00:11:21.889 --> 00:11:25.809 now Paul follows Jesus. Gets baptized. And begins 00:11:25.809 --> 00:11:32.309 his ministry. He's going to talk later to Christians. 00:11:33.269 --> 00:11:36.629 To explain this. And he's going to say to them. 00:11:36.990 --> 00:11:41.330 Guys. You also were included in Christ. Just 00:11:41.330 --> 00:11:46.570 like me. When? When you heard the message of 00:11:46.570 --> 00:11:50.159 truth. One message of truth. The gospel of your 00:11:50.159 --> 00:11:53.399 salvation. Oh, the good news that Jesus died 00:11:53.399 --> 00:11:56.480 for my sins and he wants to forgive me. If I 00:11:56.480 --> 00:11:59.399 repent, I give him my life, he will forgive me 00:11:59.399 --> 00:12:02.559 completely forever. Yes, that's the gospel of 00:12:02.559 --> 00:12:05.159 Jesus. When you heard it and you believed in 00:12:05.159 --> 00:12:09.960 it, when you believed, you were marked in him 00:12:09.960 --> 00:12:15.840 with a seal. And what is that seal? The promised 00:12:15.840 --> 00:12:20.570 Holy Spirit. At that moment, the words of Jesus 00:12:20.570 --> 00:12:23.789 become fulfilled. The Holy Spirit is with you, 00:12:23.809 --> 00:12:28.889 but now he's going to be in you. The Apostle 00:12:28.889 --> 00:12:31.389 Paul says to us Christians, when you heard the 00:12:31.389 --> 00:12:33.950 gospel and you believed, at that moment, God 00:12:33.950 --> 00:12:36.629 gave you the Holy Spirit. And at that moment, 00:12:36.669 --> 00:12:42.409 you became part of the community of Jesus. And 00:12:42.409 --> 00:12:45.549 this Spirit that He has given you is a deposit 00:12:45.549 --> 00:12:51.090 guaranteeing our inheritance until when? Until 00:12:51.090 --> 00:12:53.330 the redemption of those who are God's possession 00:12:53.330 --> 00:12:58.509 to the praise of His glory. The Holy Spirit in 00:12:58.509 --> 00:13:02.490 us is the guarantee that when the time comes 00:13:02.490 --> 00:13:07.450 for us to face the Lord, we'll be in. We fear 00:13:07.450 --> 00:13:10.710 no condemnation because we have the guarantee 00:13:10.710 --> 00:13:16.929 that we have been redeemed until that day. And 00:13:16.929 --> 00:13:22.429 this is the foundation that any follower of Jesus 00:13:22.429 --> 00:13:28.210 has to stand on. So I have to ask you, is the 00:13:28.210 --> 00:13:32.190 Holy Spirit living in you or not? Because if 00:13:32.190 --> 00:13:34.649 you do not have the Holy Spirit in you, you cannot 00:13:34.649 --> 00:13:37.299 be aligned with the Holy Spirit. There's nothing 00:13:37.299 --> 00:13:41.539 to align with. You are spiritually in a position 00:13:41.539 --> 00:13:46.000 of disconnect from God. You do not belong to 00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:48.940 his people. You have not been adopted into his 00:13:48.940 --> 00:13:53.820 family. Because that happens the moment you are 00:13:53.820 --> 00:13:57.039 given the Holy Spirit. And when do you receive 00:13:57.039 --> 00:14:00.000 the Holy Spirit? The moment you believe the gospel. 00:14:00.399 --> 00:14:02.919 I was six years old when that happened to me. 00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:05.799 I heard the gospel in Sunday school. I spent 00:14:05.799 --> 00:14:08.279 the whole day thinking about it. And that night 00:14:08.279 --> 00:14:11.179 I told my father, dad, I learned about this in 00:14:11.179 --> 00:14:13.779 Sunday school. I would like to accept Christ. 00:14:14.080 --> 00:14:15.840 And he said, what do you mean by that when you 00:14:15.840 --> 00:14:18.519 say that? And I explained, well, I heard about 00:14:18.519 --> 00:14:21.240 the gospel that Jesus died for me. And I want 00:14:21.240 --> 00:14:24.360 him to be my savior. So he asked me to wait for 00:14:24.360 --> 00:14:26.519 him because he was taking a shower at that moment. 00:14:26.799 --> 00:14:32.519 And we went to my bedroom. And that's where. 00:14:32.909 --> 00:14:35.909 He shared the gospel one more time. And then 00:14:35.909 --> 00:14:40.730 he invited me. To pray. In my own words. And 00:14:40.730 --> 00:14:44.350 on that day I repented of my sins. And I asked 00:14:44.350 --> 00:14:49.710 Jesus to save me. And I remember. Crying like 00:14:49.710 --> 00:14:54.870 a baby. Because I was feeling overwhelmed by 00:14:54.870 --> 00:14:58.049 two things. The realization that I was a sinner. 00:14:58.549 --> 00:15:04.909 And yet. The awareness of God's love. So undeserving. 00:15:05.889 --> 00:15:10.149 And that moment was the moment that marked the 00:15:10.149 --> 00:15:14.710 rest of my life. It's an experience that is different 00:15:14.710 --> 00:15:18.990 for different people. But what is true is this. 00:15:19.409 --> 00:15:23.490 You know you have the Holy Spirit in you if you 00:15:23.490 --> 00:15:26.470 have believed in Jesus. Because that is what 00:15:26.470 --> 00:15:29.649 the Apostle Paul said. So if you are a follower 00:15:29.649 --> 00:15:32.549 of Jesus that is always wondering, do I have 00:15:32.549 --> 00:15:34.710 the Holy Spirit? Maybe I don't. Maybe I have 00:15:34.710 --> 00:15:36.830 it, but now he's not happy with me, so he left 00:15:36.830 --> 00:15:39.330 me. And you live in that place of insecurity 00:15:39.330 --> 00:15:43.169 all the time. Let me assure you what the Apostle 00:15:43.169 --> 00:15:48.450 Paul just told us. If you truly believe in Jesus, 00:15:48.730 --> 00:15:52.210 if he is truly your Savior, you have been born 00:15:52.210 --> 00:15:55.049 again, and the Holy Spirit is in you until the 00:15:55.049 --> 00:15:58.039 day of redemption. And you can rest on that. 00:15:58.779 --> 00:16:00.940 That's the first thing that has to be aligned. 00:16:02.740 --> 00:16:06.500 So do you have the Holy Spirit in you? Have you 00:16:06.500 --> 00:16:12.820 believed in Jesus? The second thing is something 00:16:12.820 --> 00:16:16.159 that he's going to experience a little bit later, 00:16:16.240 --> 00:16:20.639 but almost immediately. Because as he's in Damascus 00:16:20.639 --> 00:16:23.799 and he becomes now a follower of Jesus. From 00:16:23.799 --> 00:16:28.320 there, he goes back to Jerusalem. And something 00:16:28.320 --> 00:16:30.620 interesting happens, because remember, a few 00:16:30.620 --> 00:16:32.799 days ago, he was killing Christians, you know, 00:16:32.820 --> 00:16:36.059 taking them to prison and oppressing them. So 00:16:36.059 --> 00:16:40.639 he gets to Jerusalem, and as he gets there, he's 00:16:40.639 --> 00:16:44.059 going to start learning about this transforming 00:16:44.059 --> 00:16:49.399 power of the Holy Spirit within him. We are told 00:16:49.399 --> 00:16:52.950 that as he gets to Jerusalem, When he came there, 00:16:53.129 --> 00:16:56.350 he tried to join the disciples, but they were 00:16:56.350 --> 00:16:59.590 all afraid of him, not believing that he really 00:16:59.590 --> 00:17:04.009 was a disciple. Imagine the Apostle Paul showing 00:17:04.009 --> 00:17:07.869 up in the middle of the worship service, you 00:17:07.869 --> 00:17:11.750 know, in ECB in Jerusalem on those years. You 00:17:11.750 --> 00:17:14.589 know, he walks in and people start saying, Is 00:17:14.589 --> 00:17:17.410 that Saul of Tarsus? Yes, that's Saul of Tarsus, 00:17:17.490 --> 00:17:19.650 you know. And everybody, you know, trying to 00:17:19.650 --> 00:17:21.609 sit apart from him. And then he's suddenly left 00:17:21.609 --> 00:17:25.109 alone. Because nobody wants to be around him. 00:17:25.970 --> 00:17:30.509 Everybody's afraid of him. Until they realize 00:17:30.509 --> 00:17:34.769 that he was the real thing. And a guy called 00:17:34.769 --> 00:17:40.170 Barnabas takes Saul to the apostles. To corroborate 00:17:40.170 --> 00:17:42.450 what had happened in his life. That he was truly. 00:17:43.200 --> 00:17:45.880 a follower of Jesus now, that he was not faking 00:17:45.880 --> 00:17:48.160 it. And at that moment they confirmed, oh yeah, 00:17:48.200 --> 00:17:50.799 yeah, this is real. And the apostle Paul starts 00:17:50.799 --> 00:17:52.740 preaching the gospel right there in Jerusalem. 00:17:53.180 --> 00:17:56.759 So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely 00:17:56.759 --> 00:17:59.940 in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of 00:17:59.940 --> 00:18:03.400 the Lord. He talked and debated with the Hellenistic 00:18:03.400 --> 00:18:07.079 Jews, but they tried to kill him. Now the tables 00:18:07.079 --> 00:18:11.339 turned. People tried to kill him because he was 00:18:11.339 --> 00:18:13.680 a follower of Jesus now. Rather in Jerusalem 00:18:13.680 --> 00:18:16.779 where a few weeks before he was doing the opposite. 00:18:17.180 --> 00:18:19.339 He was the one trying to kill the Christians. 00:18:21.180 --> 00:18:23.420 But there's something that has changed within 00:18:23.420 --> 00:18:27.240 him. How does a guy turn from hating Christians 00:18:27.240 --> 00:18:34.119 and hating Jesus to loving Jesus and want to 00:18:34.119 --> 00:18:37.700 hang out with Christians? How does that happen 00:18:37.700 --> 00:18:42.319 in a matter of weeks? The answer to that is Holy 00:18:42.319 --> 00:18:47.599 Spirit. Because the Holy Spirit is called Holy 00:18:47.599 --> 00:18:52.900 Spirit for a reason. He's going to write to the 00:18:52.900 --> 00:18:55.500 Galatians later about this topic of the Holy 00:18:55.500 --> 00:18:58.980 Spirit, saying, look, the moment the Holy Spirit 00:18:58.980 --> 00:19:02.200 came to live in us, now the Holy Spirit is almost 00:19:02.200 --> 00:19:07.869 like a good cup of coffee. If you're brewing 00:19:07.869 --> 00:19:10.789 coffee in the morning, if you're a coffee drinker 00:19:10.789 --> 00:19:15.369 like me, by the way, I love good coffee. So I 00:19:15.369 --> 00:19:17.730 brew the coffee in the morning and something 00:19:17.730 --> 00:19:21.650 happens. It's unavoidable. The whole house starts 00:19:21.650 --> 00:19:25.970 smelling like coffee. So if you hate the smell 00:19:25.970 --> 00:19:30.789 of coffee, sorry, cannot avoid it. I cannot brew 00:19:30.789 --> 00:19:34.890 coffee and try to keep the smell in. It will 00:19:34.890 --> 00:19:38.440 naturally come out. And try to fill every space. 00:19:39.240 --> 00:19:42.079 And the Holy Spirit is like that. The moment 00:19:42.079 --> 00:19:45.299 he's in us, he wants the aroma of Christ to start 00:19:45.299 --> 00:19:48.000 permeating all of our lives. And start coming 00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:50.819 out into our relationships, into our jobs, into 00:19:50.819 --> 00:19:54.000 our marriages. There's that desire that is coming 00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:57.819 out from within us that is not us. We are not 00:19:57.819 --> 00:20:02.940 the coffee. The Holy Spirit is. We are just experiencing 00:20:02.940 --> 00:20:07.700 the aroma of Christ in us. And the Holy Spirit 00:20:07.700 --> 00:20:12.880 desires for us to experience His life, His holiness, 00:20:13.200 --> 00:20:17.359 His character, His goodness. So that where before 00:20:17.359 --> 00:20:20.359 we were enslaved to bitterness, now we can experience 00:20:20.359 --> 00:20:23.559 forgiveness. Where before we experienced hatred, 00:20:23.940 --> 00:20:27.819 now we can experience love. When before we were 00:20:27.819 --> 00:20:32.180 just angry and rageful, now we can have self 00:20:32.180 --> 00:20:35.539 -control and peace. He wants us to experience 00:20:35.539 --> 00:20:38.980 that in our lives. And that transforming power 00:20:38.980 --> 00:20:42.400 is what he started experiencing at the very beginning. 00:20:42.599 --> 00:20:47.380 And you can see him in moments perhaps being 00:20:47.380 --> 00:20:52.279 surprised with himself about how much he had 00:20:52.279 --> 00:20:57.240 turned around. That is the power of the Holy 00:20:57.240 --> 00:21:01.299 Spirit. But understanding that, he later writes 00:21:01.299 --> 00:21:05.160 about these things. Because something is going 00:21:05.160 --> 00:21:08.519 to happen with the Apostle Paul. When the believers 00:21:08.519 --> 00:21:11.559 learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea 00:21:11.559 --> 00:21:15.819 and sent him off to Tarsus. And now, because 00:21:15.819 --> 00:21:18.859 his life was at risk, the Apostle Paul is going 00:21:18.859 --> 00:21:22.000 to move all the way to the north, and he's going 00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:26.700 to be there in Tarsus, waiting until eventually 00:21:26.700 --> 00:21:30.759 Barnabas goes and gets him, and they move to 00:21:30.759 --> 00:21:34.779 Antioch. That is going to come in a second. But 00:21:34.779 --> 00:21:37.920 about this, he writes to the Christians in the 00:21:37.920 --> 00:21:40.359 church of Ephesus, two things that are very important 00:21:40.359 --> 00:21:43.500 for our understanding. One of them, he tells 00:21:43.500 --> 00:21:47.759 them, don't be drunk with wine because that will 00:21:47.759 --> 00:21:52.240 ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy 00:21:52.240 --> 00:21:57.839 Spirit. He says there's influences in your life 00:21:57.839 --> 00:22:01.319 that want to control the way you think, the way 00:22:01.319 --> 00:22:05.839 you feel, the way you behave. And if one of those 00:22:05.839 --> 00:22:08.980 influences is going to be alcohol, that's not 00:22:08.980 --> 00:22:11.640 going to be good for you. If you let alcohol 00:22:11.640 --> 00:22:14.920 affect the way you think, the way you feel, the 00:22:14.920 --> 00:22:17.259 way you behave, that's not going to be good. 00:22:17.819 --> 00:22:20.819 Instead of letting your life be filled with that, 00:22:23.500 --> 00:22:27.900 What should fill you instead? The Holy Spirit. 00:22:28.259 --> 00:22:31.240 Not because I need more amount of Holy Spirit 00:22:31.240 --> 00:22:34.539 in me. I already have all the Holy Spirit I'm 00:22:34.539 --> 00:22:37.039 going to have. He already came to live in me. 00:22:37.319 --> 00:22:39.759 It's not that I have like a foot of the Holy 00:22:39.759 --> 00:22:42.259 Spirit in my life, you know, and years later 00:22:42.259 --> 00:22:45.359 another foot, you know. It's not like that. I 00:22:45.359 --> 00:22:48.619 have the presence of the Holy Spirit in me the 00:22:48.619 --> 00:22:51.880 moment I was born again. But that is not the 00:22:51.880 --> 00:22:56.740 same to say, That the Holy Spirit controls every 00:22:56.740 --> 00:23:00.799 aspect of my life. Because I have other things 00:23:00.799 --> 00:23:05.519 influencing me instead. And instead of having 00:23:05.519 --> 00:23:08.359 areas in my life that are closed doors to the 00:23:08.359 --> 00:23:11.380 influence of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul 00:23:11.380 --> 00:23:14.960 says, open those doors. So let the Holy Spirit 00:23:14.960 --> 00:23:19.420 and the aroma of Christ fill those spaces. If 00:23:19.420 --> 00:23:22.859 you are rageful and bitter. Open that door. So 00:23:22.859 --> 00:23:26.480 now the Holy Spirit can transform that part of 00:23:26.480 --> 00:23:28.299 your life. And you can experience forgiveness 00:23:28.299 --> 00:23:33.920 and grace and peace. Let the aroma of Christ 00:23:33.920 --> 00:23:41.019 fill you. And that's a beautiful picture. Because 00:23:41.019 --> 00:23:43.680 we are all in this journey in which we are wrestling 00:23:43.680 --> 00:23:46.319 with sinfulness in our lives. And it's a constant 00:23:46.319 --> 00:23:50.740 struggle. But we are reminded. I am not that 00:23:50.740 --> 00:23:53.700 anymore. I am this now. I belong to Christ. Holy 00:23:53.700 --> 00:23:56.700 Spirit is in me. And how do you know you have 00:23:56.700 --> 00:23:59.099 the Holy Spirit in those moments? It's because 00:23:59.099 --> 00:24:03.000 you can sin. Alright? But you cannot enjoy sin 00:24:03.000 --> 00:24:08.180 anymore. You can't. Now you know better. And 00:24:08.180 --> 00:24:09.920 how do you know better? Because the Holy Spirit 00:24:09.920 --> 00:24:13.660 is in you. And He is the one telling you. That's 00:24:13.660 --> 00:24:16.019 called the convicting work of the Holy Spirit 00:24:16.019 --> 00:24:20.259 in our lives. And you will engage in things you 00:24:20.259 --> 00:24:22.539 shouldn't. And you're going to feel miserable 00:24:22.539 --> 00:24:27.619 after. Because you know this is not aligned with 00:24:27.619 --> 00:24:30.480 the Lord. That's why the Apostle Paul also tells 00:24:30.480 --> 00:24:34.619 the Ephesians, guys, the Holy Spirit wants to 00:24:34.619 --> 00:24:37.900 see you heal, wants to see you grow, wants to 00:24:37.900 --> 00:24:41.789 reach the deepest parts of your being. And every 00:24:41.789 --> 00:24:44.309 time you act in a stubborn way and you close 00:24:44.309 --> 00:24:48.869 your ears to his influence, to his voice, you 00:24:48.869 --> 00:24:54.849 are grieving him. So do not grieve the Holy Spirit 00:24:54.849 --> 00:24:58.470 of God with whom you were sealed for the day 00:24:58.470 --> 00:25:02.630 of redemption. You are meant to grow in intimacy 00:25:02.630 --> 00:25:10.490 with him. Don't grieve him. And in those moments 00:25:10.490 --> 00:25:14.869 of conviction, you will know you are grieving 00:25:14.869 --> 00:25:18.309 the Holy Spirit because you yourself are grieving. 00:25:21.809 --> 00:25:26.369 So I have to ask you, is this aspect of your 00:25:26.369 --> 00:25:29.470 life aligned with the Lord? Are you currently 00:25:29.470 --> 00:25:33.509 grieving the Holy Spirit? Are you engaging and 00:25:33.509 --> 00:25:36.009 practicing things in your life that you know? 00:25:36.740 --> 00:25:39.980 Deep in your heart that this is not aligned with 00:25:39.980 --> 00:25:43.220 whom God called you to be, what he saved you 00:25:43.220 --> 00:25:49.079 for. And there are certain things that we'll 00:25:49.079 --> 00:25:51.859 have to address, that we'll have to confess, 00:25:52.299 --> 00:25:55.059 that we'll have to put in order in our lives. 00:25:55.799 --> 00:25:59.559 Because if this is not aligned, then the way 00:25:59.559 --> 00:26:01.220 you follow Jesus is going to be compromised. 00:26:04.430 --> 00:26:07.210 A couple of years ago, I shared with you my own 00:26:07.210 --> 00:26:10.470 journey, how when I was in Bible college, ready 00:26:10.470 --> 00:26:13.950 to start teaching and learning the Bible so I 00:26:13.950 --> 00:26:16.750 could serve in ministry later, I started feeling 00:26:16.750 --> 00:26:19.329 convicted about something I had done when I was 00:26:19.329 --> 00:26:22.140 a teenager. And it was years later, I was in 00:26:22.140 --> 00:26:24.500 college. What was that thing that I was being 00:26:24.500 --> 00:26:27.380 convicted about would not go away? It was like, 00:26:27.400 --> 00:26:30.440 keep coming to my mind. And it was that when 00:26:30.440 --> 00:26:33.259 I was a teenager, 14 years old, I had stolen 00:26:33.259 --> 00:26:37.440 money from my dad. And I denied it. I never confessed 00:26:37.440 --> 00:26:41.099 it. And now that I'm starting to serve God, that 00:26:41.099 --> 00:26:43.839 thing is coming to my mind. And I don't want 00:26:43.839 --> 00:26:45.920 to think about it. I don't want to do anything 00:26:45.920 --> 00:26:48.160 about it. I just want to rest in God's grace. 00:26:49.769 --> 00:26:52.549 I already told the Lord to forgive me. I had 00:26:52.549 --> 00:26:55.890 already done it. But now, it was not aligned. 00:26:56.650 --> 00:27:00.869 And I was feeling convicted. And that summer 00:27:00.869 --> 00:27:03.230 when I went back home, I knew I needed to talk 00:27:03.230 --> 00:27:05.569 to dad, to mom, and said, look, remember that 00:27:05.569 --> 00:27:09.170 day? A few years ago when that money went missing? 00:27:09.410 --> 00:27:13.569 Well, it was me. And I'm here to ask you to forgive 00:27:13.569 --> 00:27:16.490 me. This is something the Holy Spirit has asked 00:27:16.490 --> 00:27:21.960 me to do. Here's the money back. They received 00:27:21.960 --> 00:27:24.779 it. They forgave me. We prayed together. And 00:27:24.779 --> 00:27:27.099 that wrestling with that guilt, that shame that 00:27:27.099 --> 00:27:30.299 was there constantly convicting me went away. 00:27:30.700 --> 00:27:36.759 And suddenly, my car is aligned again. It was 00:27:36.759 --> 00:27:39.500 no longer something that was keeping me awake 00:27:39.500 --> 00:27:43.099 at night. And I do not know what is the Holy 00:27:43.099 --> 00:27:45.799 Spirit convicting you about. but there is something 00:27:45.799 --> 00:27:48.460 that is a sort of guilt and shame, and this often 00:27:48.460 --> 00:27:51.480 comes with secrets that you have never brought 00:27:51.480 --> 00:27:55.299 to the light. Often, this area of our life, the 00:27:55.299 --> 00:27:57.920 only way that comes aligned is that you bring 00:27:57.920 --> 00:28:00.759 it to light. And I have worked with Christians 00:28:00.759 --> 00:28:03.440 along the journey. And I have heard some of the 00:28:03.440 --> 00:28:07.119 most heartfelt confessions that people have brought 00:28:07.119 --> 00:28:09.420 to the light. Things that perhaps are the most 00:28:09.420 --> 00:28:13.279 shameful that they felt about. And yet, in God's 00:28:13.279 --> 00:28:15.299 grace, they were able to bring it to the surface. 00:28:15.420 --> 00:28:18.400 And God healed that part of their lives. I have 00:28:18.400 --> 00:28:21.559 sat with couples where infidelity is confessed. 00:28:21.960 --> 00:28:24.680 And then I have to be there with them, walking 00:28:24.680 --> 00:28:28.099 in that journey. And I'm here to tell you, there's 00:28:28.099 --> 00:28:32.380 nothing. That the grace of God cannot heal. But 00:28:32.380 --> 00:28:34.480 if the Holy Spirit is convicting you. Because 00:28:34.480 --> 00:28:37.759 you've been grieving him. Then there's only one 00:28:37.759 --> 00:28:42.599 way to align. Stop grieving him. That's not good 00:28:42.599 --> 00:28:47.420 for you. That's not what he desires. So are you 00:28:47.420 --> 00:28:50.680 grieving the Holy Spirit? That's only two of 00:28:50.680 --> 00:28:53.900 four. We have four more wheels to see. Let's 00:28:53.900 --> 00:28:58.339 see. After the Apostle Paul went to Tarsus in 00:28:58.339 --> 00:29:03.180 the north, Barnabas goes and gets him, and they 00:29:03.180 --> 00:29:07.259 go to Antioch because people were preaching the 00:29:07.259 --> 00:29:10.460 gospel in Antioch, and a church was established 00:29:10.460 --> 00:29:14.019 there, and they needed teaching. They needed 00:29:14.019 --> 00:29:16.920 to learn the scriptures. So the Apostle Paul 00:29:16.920 --> 00:29:19.940 and Barnabas went to Antioch, and they started 00:29:19.940 --> 00:29:23.799 serving there, teaching for a long time. But 00:29:23.799 --> 00:29:27.299 as that church grew, It was very unique because 00:29:27.299 --> 00:29:30.680 in contrast to the church in Jerusalem, the church 00:29:30.680 --> 00:29:35.960 in Jerusalem was a gathering of Jews that were 00:29:35.960 --> 00:29:40.079 now followers of Jesus. But the gathering in 00:29:40.079 --> 00:29:44.099 Antioch was kind of like ECB. It was a combination 00:29:44.099 --> 00:29:46.480 of all these different people from all these 00:29:46.480 --> 00:29:49.500 different places coming together. And it was 00:29:49.500 --> 00:29:54.339 so diverse that outsiders did not know what to 00:29:54.339 --> 00:29:58.549 call them. Because until that point, they were 00:29:58.549 --> 00:30:02.289 known as people of the way. But from that point 00:30:02.289 --> 00:30:06.289 on, people said, you know, it's kind of confusing. 00:30:06.589 --> 00:30:08.569 All those people are so different. What do we 00:30:08.569 --> 00:30:11.589 call them? Oh, Christians, which means followers 00:30:11.589 --> 00:30:14.809 of Christ. And that's when Christians were called 00:30:14.809 --> 00:30:17.849 Christians for the first time ever in Antioch. 00:30:19.710 --> 00:30:23.509 So now that Paul is one of the leaders in that 00:30:23.509 --> 00:30:27.079 church, He's spending time with the leaders in 00:30:27.079 --> 00:30:29.359 worshiping the Lord, praying, fasting together, 00:30:29.500 --> 00:30:33.680 and something happens. He's now going to experience 00:30:33.680 --> 00:30:39.220 the alignment with his calling. And this is what 00:30:39.220 --> 00:30:42.819 we are told. Now in the church of Antioch, there 00:30:42.819 --> 00:30:48.259 were prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon, 00:30:48.299 --> 00:30:52.960 Carl Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manin. who had 00:30:52.960 --> 00:30:56.220 been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch and Saul. 00:30:56.460 --> 00:31:00.440 These were the leaders. While they were worshiping 00:31:00.440 --> 00:31:05.839 the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set 00:31:05.839 --> 00:31:09.460 apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to 00:31:09.460 --> 00:31:13.519 which I have called them. So after they had fasted 00:31:13.519 --> 00:31:17.019 and prayed, they placed their hands on them and 00:31:17.019 --> 00:31:23.940 sent them off. It's like, what? I've been serving 00:31:23.940 --> 00:31:26.599 you in this church for all this time, and now 00:31:26.599 --> 00:31:30.900 you are sending me away to go and preach the 00:31:30.900 --> 00:31:35.880 gospel now throughout Rome? Whose idea was that? 00:31:37.380 --> 00:31:42.400 The Holy Spirit. And this was confirmed with 00:31:42.400 --> 00:31:45.119 the leaders of the ministry, and then everybody 00:31:45.119 --> 00:31:48.799 was on the same page, and Paul and Barnabas now 00:31:48.799 --> 00:31:52.299 are sent. By the Holy Spirit, in alignment with 00:31:52.299 --> 00:31:55.359 the leaders, everybody with their blessing going 00:31:55.359 --> 00:31:59.200 for it. And that was the beginning of what we 00:31:59.200 --> 00:32:03.339 call missions today. This is the first time where 00:32:03.339 --> 00:32:06.680 we see intentionally a sending church, sending 00:32:06.680 --> 00:32:09.500 one of their own to start reaching out with the 00:32:09.500 --> 00:32:14.740 gospel, the unreached. In missiology, this is 00:32:14.740 --> 00:32:17.680 what we go to as we see the beginning of the 00:32:17.680 --> 00:32:22.230 missionary movement. This is very important because 00:32:22.230 --> 00:32:25.329 now the Apostle Paul is going to start realizing 00:32:25.329 --> 00:32:27.670 that there's a dimensional relationship with 00:32:27.670 --> 00:32:30.150 the Holy Spirit that has to be aligned. And that 00:32:30.150 --> 00:32:33.289 is that when God saved me, he saved me for purposes 00:32:33.289 --> 00:32:37.829 that he has envisioned for me. And therefore, 00:32:38.069 --> 00:32:41.190 growing in intimacy with the Holy Spirit also 00:32:41.190 --> 00:32:45.390 means discerning and discovering what is God's 00:32:45.390 --> 00:32:50.099 purposes and plans and calling for my life. And 00:32:50.099 --> 00:32:52.579 that becomes clearer as you work with the Lord. 00:32:53.079 --> 00:32:59.980 And often that is already indicated by the giftedness 00:32:59.980 --> 00:33:02.819 that you have, by the passion that you have. 00:33:02.980 --> 00:33:05.859 This giftedness, these passions that were given 00:33:05.859 --> 00:33:09.319 to you by God himself, he is the one creating 00:33:09.319 --> 00:33:12.500 you, designing you, and therefore the things 00:33:12.500 --> 00:33:17.220 he gave you, you already have. But the problem 00:33:17.220 --> 00:33:19.920 is that often we are not aligned with God's calling 00:33:19.920 --> 00:33:23.900 because we have not even aligned with our giftedness, 00:33:24.000 --> 00:33:27.480 because we are pursuing a life for other things. 00:33:29.940 --> 00:33:34.019 And we live now in this place of insecurity and 00:33:34.019 --> 00:33:37.660 in this place of pursuing things that were never 00:33:37.660 --> 00:33:42.460 meant by God for us to pursue. That's why later 00:33:42.460 --> 00:33:45.819 the Apostle Paul writes this to Christians. Because 00:33:45.819 --> 00:33:48.920 he wants us to be aligned with our calling. That 00:33:48.920 --> 00:33:50.819 the giftedness that the Lord gave us. We are 00:33:50.819 --> 00:33:58.079 using for him. And this is what he wrote. There 00:33:58.079 --> 00:34:02.339 are different kinds of gifts. But the same spirit 00:34:02.339 --> 00:34:05.279 distributes them. And there are different kinds 00:34:05.279 --> 00:34:09.449 of service. But the same Lord. And there are 00:34:09.449 --> 00:34:11.809 different kinds of working, but in all of them 00:34:11.809 --> 00:34:14.929 and in everyone, it is the same God at work. 00:34:15.869 --> 00:34:19.889 Now, to each one, the manifestation of the Spirit 00:34:19.889 --> 00:34:24.170 is given for the common good. The Holy Spirit 00:34:24.170 --> 00:34:31.000 who is in you has gifted you. All of us. Have 00:34:31.000 --> 00:34:33.940 areas of giftedness in our lives. From the things 00:34:33.940 --> 00:34:37.099 that may seem the most mundane to the things 00:34:37.099 --> 00:34:41.219 that seem the most supernatural. Everything that 00:34:41.219 --> 00:34:45.039 we're gifted in comes from God. And therefore, 00:34:45.159 --> 00:34:49.400 our callings are very diverse. Some of you were 00:34:49.400 --> 00:34:52.260 called to be entrepreneurs and to start new initiatives 00:34:52.260 --> 00:34:55.059 and to start new businesses and organizations 00:34:55.059 --> 00:34:59.119 that are going to impact communities and nations. 00:35:00.010 --> 00:35:03.570 Some of you have been called to be mothers and 00:35:03.570 --> 00:35:07.130 to stay home and invest in the next generation 00:35:07.130 --> 00:35:11.650 so that they can become followers of Jesus that 00:35:11.650 --> 00:35:14.329 will be impactful for the future generations. 00:35:15.130 --> 00:35:18.409 Some of you have been called to serve in pastoral 00:35:18.409 --> 00:35:21.670 ministry. Some of you have been called to take 00:35:21.670 --> 00:35:24.800 the gospel to their reach. Some of you have been 00:35:24.800 --> 00:35:28.019 called to be pilots. Some of you have been called 00:35:28.019 --> 00:35:34.519 to many things. Whose idea was it? The Holy Spirit. 00:35:36.719 --> 00:35:39.300 How do you know that you are aligned with the 00:35:39.300 --> 00:35:42.920 Holy Spirit in this area? Because if you are 00:35:42.920 --> 00:35:45.480 not aligned with God's calling and you are not 00:35:45.480 --> 00:35:48.980 pursuing it, you will know. And I'll tell you 00:35:48.980 --> 00:35:55.670 why. You will feel deep. dissatisfaction with 00:35:55.670 --> 00:36:00.570 what you're doing. You will feel busy, but irrelevant. 00:36:02.289 --> 00:36:05.090 It doesn't matter how much money you're making. 00:36:05.909 --> 00:36:10.710 Maybe on the outside, super successful. You made 00:36:10.710 --> 00:36:17.670 it. But deep inside, you feel irrelevant. And 00:36:17.670 --> 00:36:22.449 that is typically a symptom that you are not 00:36:22.829 --> 00:36:26.230 using the giftedness that God gave you for the 00:36:26.230 --> 00:36:31.909 purposes that he has called you. And this will 00:36:31.909 --> 00:36:35.449 require for you to go on your knees and to start 00:36:35.449 --> 00:36:38.829 first repenting for not aligning yourself with 00:36:38.829 --> 00:36:42.349 his calling, for resisting it, for pursuing other 00:36:42.349 --> 00:36:45.550 things instead. But secondly, it will require 00:36:45.550 --> 00:36:49.889 for you to make yourself available to the Lord 00:36:49.889 --> 00:36:56.000 and say, Lord, I'm here for you. What are the 00:36:56.000 --> 00:36:58.579 things that you desire for me? Because I never 00:36:58.579 --> 00:37:02.500 asked you that before. I'm always asking you, 00:37:02.539 --> 00:37:05.039 bless what I want to do. Bless my plans. But 00:37:05.039 --> 00:37:10.000 I never ask you what you desire for me. And once 00:37:10.000 --> 00:37:13.400 you start entering that space, something starts 00:37:13.400 --> 00:37:16.900 changing. Because the Holy Spirit will give you 00:37:16.900 --> 00:37:23.090 new desires, will give you new things. In that 00:37:23.090 --> 00:37:25.530 regard, I have a word for those of you who are 00:37:25.530 --> 00:37:29.650 high school students. If you are here, would 00:37:29.650 --> 00:37:36.829 you raise your hand? Good. The time is coming 00:37:36.829 --> 00:37:42.130 where people are going to ask you, so what do 00:37:42.130 --> 00:37:43.809 you want to study? What do you want to do with 00:37:43.809 --> 00:37:48.710 your life? And the pressure starts increasing. 00:37:49.309 --> 00:37:50.849 It's like, what do I want to do? I don't know. 00:37:50.889 --> 00:37:53.329 I want to do this or that. I think I want to 00:37:53.329 --> 00:37:54.909 do that, but I'm not sure. What if they don't 00:37:54.909 --> 00:37:57.130 accept me in that college? What's going to happen? 00:37:57.210 --> 00:37:58.730 It's going to be the end of my future, you know, 00:37:58.730 --> 00:38:02.849 and you have all these things. Let me tell you, 00:38:02.969 --> 00:38:06.309 the question people ask you is the wrong question 00:38:06.309 --> 00:38:12.769 altogether. If you are a child of God, if the 00:38:12.769 --> 00:38:16.510 Holy Spirit is in you, the question is now, hey, 00:38:16.590 --> 00:38:21.159 what do you want to do? The question is, what 00:38:21.159 --> 00:38:26.599 is the Holy Spirit leading you to? Because you 00:38:26.599 --> 00:38:29.159 will have to make decisions. And those decisions 00:38:29.159 --> 00:38:33.519 are about serving God with your calling. Maybe 00:38:33.519 --> 00:38:35.880 you will become an astronaut. Great, that's God's 00:38:35.880 --> 00:38:39.199 calling for you. But you're doing that not because 00:38:39.199 --> 00:38:43.300 it was my parents' dream. But I'm doing that 00:38:43.300 --> 00:38:48.079 because it's the Holy Spirit's leading. So remember 00:38:48.079 --> 00:38:54.050 that. Feel free to seek the Lord and let him 00:38:54.050 --> 00:38:58.670 see things unfold for you as things become clear. 00:38:59.829 --> 00:39:02.429 The Holy Spirit will lead you to places you never 00:39:02.429 --> 00:39:05.869 imagined. So that weight of what I'm supposed 00:39:05.869 --> 00:39:08.030 to do with my life does not belong on your shoulders. 00:39:08.929 --> 00:39:11.670 It's in the Holy Spirit's shoulders. He has plans 00:39:11.670 --> 00:39:16.489 for you. Are you aligned with God's calling? 00:39:19.369 --> 00:39:21.590 The last thing that the Apostle Paul learned 00:39:21.590 --> 00:39:26.389 in aligning himself with the Holy Spirit, he's 00:39:26.389 --> 00:39:29.610 already indwelled by the Spirit. He is aligned 00:39:29.610 --> 00:39:33.389 with his walking with the Lord. He is pursuing 00:39:33.389 --> 00:39:37.289 his calling. And yet, there's one more area that 00:39:37.289 --> 00:39:40.369 he had to learn. And this was experienced later 00:39:40.369 --> 00:39:44.190 as he was engaged in his second missionary trip. 00:39:44.969 --> 00:39:48.250 In the first missionary journey from Antioch, 00:39:48.269 --> 00:39:51.630 they went to some areas of the Roman Empire, 00:39:51.849 --> 00:39:54.170 then they went back. And in the second missionary 00:39:54.170 --> 00:39:57.110 journey, they had a plan. Let's visit some of 00:39:57.110 --> 00:40:00.349 the churches, and let's take the gospel to Asia. 00:40:01.670 --> 00:40:05.030 So they went all the way to the area of Lystra, 00:40:05.110 --> 00:40:08.030 where they met Timothy, and then Timothy joined 00:40:08.030 --> 00:40:11.449 their trip. But it was a whole strategic plan. 00:40:11.670 --> 00:40:16.179 You can see the geography right here. So they 00:40:16.179 --> 00:40:18.559 are right there in the area of Lystra, which 00:40:18.559 --> 00:40:23.840 is the area of Galatia. And they had already 00:40:23.840 --> 00:40:26.599 made this strategic plan. They had a clear mission. 00:40:26.780 --> 00:40:28.940 They had a clear vision. They had a clear set 00:40:28.940 --> 00:40:34.460 of values, you know. And now they're ready to 00:40:34.460 --> 00:40:40.099 go to Asia, except for one thing. As they are 00:40:40.099 --> 00:40:44.239 there in Galatia, we are told, that there's such 00:40:44.239 --> 00:40:46.940 a thing as timing in alignment with the Holy 00:40:46.940 --> 00:40:51.420 Spirit. Paul and his companions traveled throughout 00:40:51.420 --> 00:40:56.039 the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been 00:40:56.039 --> 00:40:59.780 kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word 00:40:59.780 --> 00:41:06.179 in the province of Asia. What? Do you realize 00:41:06.179 --> 00:41:08.239 that the Apostle Paul wanted to come all the 00:41:08.239 --> 00:41:12.800 way to Asia at the very beginning? Why didn't 00:41:12.800 --> 00:41:20.099 he? Why didn't he? You read it clearly. Because 00:41:20.099 --> 00:41:26.139 the Holy Spirit said, no. I don't understand. 00:41:26.300 --> 00:41:29.360 That's a good thing. When we left Jerusalem and 00:41:29.360 --> 00:41:31.739 then Antioch, we prayed about this, and this 00:41:31.739 --> 00:41:36.440 was the plan. What do you mean, not Asia now? 00:41:39.530 --> 00:41:41.829 It doesn't make any sense. We already made the 00:41:41.829 --> 00:41:44.730 plans. Why don't we just do them? Because the 00:41:44.730 --> 00:41:48.309 Holy Spirit said, not Asia. I want you to stay 00:41:48.309 --> 00:41:50.550 in Galatia and Phrygia and that is where you're 00:41:50.550 --> 00:41:54.409 going to stay. And that is how they started preaching 00:41:54.409 --> 00:41:57.809 the gospel in Galatia and more churches were 00:41:57.809 --> 00:42:00.590 planted in Galatia and that's where he writes 00:42:00.590 --> 00:42:04.050 later the letter to the Galatians that I told 00:42:04.050 --> 00:42:07.409 you earlier where that letter came from. It was 00:42:07.409 --> 00:42:10.559 the result of The apostle Paul aligning himself 00:42:10.559 --> 00:42:13.760 with the timing of the Holy Spirit. The Holy 00:42:13.760 --> 00:42:19.360 Spirit has the authority to veto our plans. And 00:42:19.360 --> 00:42:23.940 to redesign everything without notice. Just immediately 00:42:23.940 --> 00:42:28.869 like that. It's almost like when we became saved, 00:42:28.969 --> 00:42:30.730 enjoyed by the Holy Spirit, there was a little 00:42:30.730 --> 00:42:33.949 contract with a little footprint that said, Holy 00:42:33.949 --> 00:42:36.210 Spirit reserves the right to change the plans 00:42:36.210 --> 00:42:40.230 at any moment for no reason. And we have to agree 00:42:40.230 --> 00:42:47.869 to that. And then, as they were waiting then, 00:42:48.030 --> 00:42:51.289 they came to the border of Mysia. They tried 00:42:51.289 --> 00:42:56.019 to enter Bithynia. But the Spirit of Jesus, We're 00:42:56.019 --> 00:43:00.619 not allowed them to. It's like, plan B? Nope. 00:43:01.659 --> 00:43:06.719 Come on, really? I thought plan A, okay. So plan 00:43:06.719 --> 00:43:11.320 B for sure, we're getting it right? Nope. Let 00:43:11.320 --> 00:43:13.219 me show you for a second here the map so you 00:43:13.219 --> 00:43:19.900 can see. So, if you go all the way now to the 00:43:19.900 --> 00:43:23.159 north, you see the border right there in Troas. 00:43:23.880 --> 00:43:26.980 That is when they're going to go to, all the 00:43:26.980 --> 00:43:31.019 way to that orange dot. And from there, finally, 00:43:31.019 --> 00:43:34.260 they will get direction from God that will say, 00:43:34.360 --> 00:43:36.519 hey, go to Macedonia, which is Greece, and they 00:43:36.519 --> 00:43:40.179 will go across. And that is when the church of 00:43:40.179 --> 00:43:45.900 Corinth, the Thessalonians, they are established. 00:43:46.219 --> 00:43:49.059 The Philippians, they're established. All that 00:43:49.059 --> 00:43:53.309 fruit will come later. Because the Holy Spirit 00:43:53.309 --> 00:43:57.869 redefined the plans. So let me go back to the 00:43:57.869 --> 00:44:03.670 text where we were now. So plan B, uh -uh. So 00:44:03.670 --> 00:44:06.309 they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 00:44:06.329 --> 00:44:08.269 Now you can picture it on the border right there 00:44:08.269 --> 00:44:11.829 in the map. And during the night, Paul had a 00:44:11.829 --> 00:44:17.050 vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging 00:44:17.050 --> 00:44:24.179 him, come over to Macedonia and help us. And 00:44:24.179 --> 00:44:28.960 that is when the Holy Spirit said, now you can 00:44:28.960 --> 00:44:38.719 go. This was my plan all along. After Paul had 00:44:38.719 --> 00:44:42.679 seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave 00:44:42.679 --> 00:44:46.159 for Macedonia, concluding that God had called 00:44:46.159 --> 00:44:50.460 us to preach the gospel to them. And he did. 00:44:50.619 --> 00:44:54.130 And he blessed that obedience. And that is how 00:44:54.130 --> 00:44:58.630 they ended up being there. That's why later he 00:44:58.630 --> 00:45:02.670 writes it so eloquently and simply yet profoundly. 00:45:03.269 --> 00:45:07.469 And he says this. Let's read it together. Since 00:45:07.469 --> 00:45:11.690 we live by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's 00:45:11.690 --> 00:45:16.690 leading in every part of our lives. Every part 00:45:16.690 --> 00:45:21.940 of our lives. all your four wheels be aligned 00:45:21.940 --> 00:45:25.460 with him, even that last one, which has to do 00:45:25.460 --> 00:45:29.199 with timing. Are you following the Holy Spirit? 00:45:29.800 --> 00:45:32.300 Or you're living like the Holy Spirit is following 00:45:32.300 --> 00:45:38.300 you? What happens when the plans that we had 00:45:38.300 --> 00:45:41.940 established are not what the Holy Spirit actually 00:45:41.940 --> 00:45:46.559 wants us to do? Are you willing to stop being 00:45:46.559 --> 00:45:51.570 controlling? And are you willing to let go? And 00:45:51.570 --> 00:45:54.889 be in that space of liminality, that space of 00:45:54.889 --> 00:45:57.530 waiting, where you do not know what's going to 00:45:57.530 --> 00:46:00.210 happen next. The only thing you know is that 00:46:00.210 --> 00:46:03.750 God has you waiting. And in that waiting time, 00:46:03.869 --> 00:46:07.010 it's very hard. Because especially if you are 00:46:07.010 --> 00:46:09.070 a person that is driven by action and results, 00:46:09.289 --> 00:46:12.210 the time of waiting feels like you're wasting 00:46:12.210 --> 00:46:16.710 your time because nothing is happening. But that's 00:46:16.710 --> 00:46:20.280 wrong. It's not that nothing is happening. Nothing 00:46:20.280 --> 00:46:22.219 is happening that you can see or that you plant, 00:46:22.460 --> 00:46:25.860 but God is working in you and he is preparing 00:46:25.860 --> 00:46:29.000 things around so that when the right time comes, 00:46:29.059 --> 00:46:36.599 you can go and be fruitful. Are you willing to 00:46:36.599 --> 00:46:42.579 wait on the Lord for his timing? The last years 00:46:42.579 --> 00:46:45.760 we were serving in Dallas, my wife and I had 00:46:45.760 --> 00:46:49.280 been 100 % committed to the ministry there. We 00:46:49.280 --> 00:46:52.639 served for 18 years in one church. And it started 00:46:52.639 --> 00:46:55.820 like this. When the elder board invited me to 00:46:55.820 --> 00:47:00.039 be the lead pastor, I said to them, okay, we'll 00:47:00.039 --> 00:47:03.179 commit for two years. And they said to me, okay, 00:47:03.400 --> 00:47:08.599 you know, we'll leave it open. We won't put it 00:47:08.599 --> 00:47:10.460 in the contract. We'll leave it open. I said, 00:47:10.480 --> 00:47:14.199 sure. But at that moment, my wife and I thought, 00:47:14.340 --> 00:47:16.639 yeah, two years to help. It was a dying church. 00:47:16.820 --> 00:47:18.880 You know, we'll help them get their act together 00:47:18.880 --> 00:47:23.619 a little bit. And then we are leaving the U .S. 00:47:24.159 --> 00:47:26.460 because we were planning to work somewhere else 00:47:26.460 --> 00:47:28.280 in another country we do not know where yet. 00:47:29.980 --> 00:47:32.420 But those two years turned out to be 18 years. 00:47:34.880 --> 00:47:36.880 And we never bought a house because we were going 00:47:36.880 --> 00:47:40.440 to be just there temporarily. At the beginning, 00:47:40.460 --> 00:47:43.000 we didn't invest in nice furniture. You know, 00:47:43.019 --> 00:47:44.980 everything was garage sale because we're going 00:47:44.980 --> 00:47:48.300 to be here two years and we're out. And then 00:47:48.300 --> 00:47:52.239 all of our kids born in Dallas, grew up in Dallas, 00:47:52.340 --> 00:48:01.880 our oldest son, all his life in one house. One 00:48:01.880 --> 00:48:03.739 time I heard somebody said, if you want to make 00:48:03.739 --> 00:48:08.230 a love, tell him your plans. Because we plan 00:48:08.230 --> 00:48:12.269 things, but God's timing is his timing. But as 00:48:12.269 --> 00:48:16.010 we were approaching the year 15, 16, around that 00:48:16.010 --> 00:48:19.150 time, even though we were committed and believed 00:48:19.150 --> 00:48:21.030 in what we were doing, there was something that 00:48:21.030 --> 00:48:25.409 started within us that I call holy dissatisfaction. 00:48:25.769 --> 00:48:28.650 You cannot explain it. The only thing that you 00:48:28.650 --> 00:48:31.170 know is that there's something inside of you 00:48:31.170 --> 00:48:34.909 telling you, this is no longer it. There's something 00:48:34.909 --> 00:48:37.389 else coming that God is going to prepare you 00:48:37.389 --> 00:48:40.690 for. You do not know what it is. But that place 00:48:40.690 --> 00:48:45.769 of holy dissatisfaction is a place of waiting. 00:48:46.809 --> 00:48:49.090 Where the Lord is going to make it clear. And 00:48:49.090 --> 00:48:53.110 when the time comes, you'll know. Why will you 00:48:53.110 --> 00:48:56.190 know? Because the Holy Spirit is going to tell 00:48:56.190 --> 00:49:01.849 you. So on that 18th year, I am looking in the 00:49:01.849 --> 00:49:03.969 internet at something. I forgot exactly what 00:49:03.969 --> 00:49:06.750 it was that I was searching for. And I see a 00:49:06.750 --> 00:49:10.269 Google result that says, Evangelical Church of 00:49:10.269 --> 00:49:12.530 Bangkok is looking for a lead pastor. I thought, 00:49:12.550 --> 00:49:18.750 is that ECB? We visited in 2017 on our vacation 00:49:18.750 --> 00:49:20.989 here in Thailand. I said, is that ECB? Let me 00:49:20.989 --> 00:49:25.150 click on it. And I see a result. And I see the 00:49:25.150 --> 00:49:28.989 description. and I start reading it, and the 00:49:28.989 --> 00:49:31.449 weirdest thing happened. As I'm reading that 00:49:31.449 --> 00:49:34.050 description, it's like, that sounds like me, 00:49:34.150 --> 00:49:38.150 that sounds like me. Wow, they're looking for 00:49:38.150 --> 00:49:43.869 someone that sounds like me. And I told my wife, 00:49:43.909 --> 00:49:46.050 and I said, Sarah, you won't believe, ECV is 00:49:46.050 --> 00:49:49.750 looking for a new pastor. And she looked at it, 00:49:49.849 --> 00:49:54.010 and we both looked at each other, and we thought, 00:49:55.019 --> 00:50:02.219 Could this be it? Is this the next thing? So, 00:50:02.360 --> 00:50:05.079 in the past, people had offered us, hey, why 00:50:05.079 --> 00:50:08.219 don't you come to work with us here? And we never 00:50:08.219 --> 00:50:11.139 felt like this was God's doing at all. It was 00:50:11.139 --> 00:50:12.900 like, no, of course not. We are committed here 00:50:12.900 --> 00:50:15.960 in Dallas. We have a ministry. At that time, 00:50:16.039 --> 00:50:20.099 as we both stood there and looked at this, it's 00:50:20.099 --> 00:50:26.239 like, I cannot explain it. The feeling was, I 00:50:26.239 --> 00:50:30.440 cannot put it aside. It's like to say no to this, 00:50:30.559 --> 00:50:36.980 it felt like disobedience. So I remember sending 00:50:36.980 --> 00:50:39.940 that email to the elder email that was there, 00:50:40.000 --> 00:50:43.519 and I said to them, I said, look, I'm not looking 00:50:43.519 --> 00:50:48.920 for a job. I already have one. But there's this 00:50:48.920 --> 00:50:51.380 thing that is happening within us, and we do 00:50:51.380 --> 00:50:53.480 not know. Is this what the Holy Spirit is doing? 00:50:54.960 --> 00:50:59.800 So I'm making contact just to let you know. Tell 00:50:59.800 --> 00:51:05.480 me if there's anything to do next. And that is 00:51:05.480 --> 00:51:07.619 how the connection with the CB began. And you 00:51:07.619 --> 00:51:11.360 fast forward and I'm standing here today. The 00:51:11.360 --> 00:51:15.139 waiting, the timing, the revealing, the unfolding, 00:51:15.380 --> 00:51:18.619 all of that is part of following the Lord. But 00:51:18.619 --> 00:51:22.940 we have to make sure. That we are pursuing his 00:51:22.940 --> 00:51:28.519 plans and his timing. And that will test our 00:51:28.519 --> 00:51:31.980 humility and our willingness to submit to the 00:51:31.980 --> 00:51:38.650 core. But that has to be aligned. Because the 00:51:38.650 --> 00:51:42.769 Lord calls us to be filled with the Holy Spirit. 00:51:43.150 --> 00:51:45.530 Because in being aligned with the Holy Spirit 00:51:45.530 --> 00:51:47.650 in all of these areas of our lives. The Holy 00:51:47.650 --> 00:51:50.630 Spirit is empowering us for greater impact. For 00:51:50.630 --> 00:51:54.150 his glory. For his purposes. And that's why for 00:51:54.150 --> 00:51:58.710 us this matters so much. So look at the four 00:51:58.710 --> 00:52:02.989 areas. Are you sealed with the Holy Spirit? Or 00:52:02.989 --> 00:52:05.150 you are not yet a follower of Jesus who has been 00:52:05.150 --> 00:52:08.239 born again? Are you grieving the Holy Spirit 00:52:08.239 --> 00:52:11.059 or are you walking in obedience and holiness? 00:52:11.900 --> 00:52:14.800 Are you pursuing his calling or are you living 00:52:14.800 --> 00:52:17.119 a life of deep dissatisfaction because you are 00:52:17.119 --> 00:52:21.440 not using whom he made you to be for his purposes? 00:52:22.940 --> 00:52:26.480 Are you aligned with his timing or are you pushing 00:52:26.480 --> 00:52:30.900 things your way rather than respecting his timing 00:52:30.900 --> 00:52:36.000 and his plans? If the Lord is pointing to you 00:52:36.000 --> 00:52:39.139 that you are misaligned, today is the time to 00:52:39.139 --> 00:52:42.900 align with the Holy Spirit because that is the 00:52:42.900 --> 00:52:52.360 life that God has called us to live in. For that 00:52:52.360 --> 00:52:59.650 very reason, as we serve together, When people 00:52:59.650 --> 00:53:02.230 ask me as a lead pastor, so Pastor Pablo, what 00:53:02.230 --> 00:53:06.989 is your vision for the church? For me, the question 00:53:06.989 --> 00:53:09.889 is a completely different question. I'm never 00:53:09.889 --> 00:53:12.030 asking, what is my vision for the church now 00:53:12.030 --> 00:53:18.590 so I can do this? I believe that if we are truly 00:53:18.590 --> 00:53:20.769 a church that is aligned with the Holy Spirit, 00:53:20.949 --> 00:53:23.989 we are asking a whole different question. And 00:53:23.989 --> 00:53:26.130 the question is, Holy Spirit, what is your vision 00:53:26.130 --> 00:53:30.039 for ECB? Give us sensitive hearts that we may 00:53:30.039 --> 00:53:34.260 discern what you are doing. Let your will unfold 00:53:34.260 --> 00:53:37.539 and give us the unity of your spirit so that 00:53:37.539 --> 00:53:40.739 we can discern in unity, especially at the leadership 00:53:40.739 --> 00:53:44.119 level, what you are doing. So now my will by 00:53:44.119 --> 00:53:50.019 yours be done. That is how we serve in a place 00:53:50.019 --> 00:53:52.980 where we are called to be indwelled and filled 00:53:52.980 --> 00:54:01.659 by the Holy Spirit. Thank you for tuning in to 00:54:01.659 --> 00:54:05.539 the ECB sermon podcast. Whether near or far, 00:54:05.800 --> 00:54:09.019 if you are looking for community or are in need 00:54:09.019 --> 00:54:12.380 of prayer, we welcome you to engage by sending 00:54:12.380 --> 00:54:17.980 us an email to office at ecb .asia. If God is 00:54:17.980 --> 00:54:20.599 calling you to support our ministries, you will 00:54:20.599 --> 00:54:24.360 find giving options on our website. And remember 00:54:24.360 --> 00:54:27.139 to join us next week. God bless you.