WEBVTT 00:00:09.820 --> 00:00:12.679 Hey everyone, this is Josh from Encounter Church 00:00:12.679 --> 00:00:15.279 Henley and thanks so much for tuning into our 00:00:15.279 --> 00:00:19.000 podcast. Our prayer is that through this podcast 00:00:19.000 --> 00:00:20.879 you can have an encounter with Jesus that will 00:00:20.879 --> 00:00:24.359 change your life. And now get ready for an inspiring 00:00:24.359 --> 00:00:29.179 message from our preaching team. Back in 2017, 00:00:29.519 --> 00:00:32.960 July. I was transporting a baptismal pool by 00:00:32.960 --> 00:00:36.840 trailer for Angus's baptism. We didn't have a 00:00:36.840 --> 00:00:41.100 beach in Gawla, so we had to use a pool. And 00:00:41.100 --> 00:00:42.740 it was, I was hooked into this, it was really, 00:00:42.740 --> 00:00:45.200 really, really heavy. And I had to go to small 00:00:45.200 --> 00:00:47.490 group. But I didn't want to take the trailer 00:00:47.490 --> 00:00:50.090 with me to this person's house because they lived 00:00:50.090 --> 00:00:51.409 in a new development. And you know what those 00:00:51.409 --> 00:00:54.049 places are like. There is no parking. I mean, 00:00:54.049 --> 00:00:55.929 that would have been a nightmare to park my car 00:00:55.929 --> 00:00:57.890 with the trailer with this massive baptismal 00:00:57.890 --> 00:01:00.310 pool in it. So I thought it would be so much 00:01:00.310 --> 00:01:02.369 more logical just to drop off this baptismal 00:01:02.369 --> 00:01:05.530 pool at my house first before heading there. 00:01:05.909 --> 00:01:10.310 Easy peasy. As you pull up to my house, this 00:01:10.310 --> 00:01:16.109 is what my house looked like. Landay. Lundy life. 00:01:16.569 --> 00:01:19.530 That was what the hashtag was. So I pulled up 00:01:19.530 --> 00:01:22.730 to my house. Our hashtag now is called Mandy 00:01:22.730 --> 00:01:26.030 life. So it's a bit derivative. And I thought 00:01:26.030 --> 00:01:30.030 to myself, I do not want to reverse down the 00:01:30.030 --> 00:01:31.750 drive. So you can't really see, but the driveway 00:01:31.750 --> 00:01:33.590 just on the left there, it actually like dips 00:01:33.590 --> 00:01:36.450 right down. And I do not want to reverse down 00:01:36.450 --> 00:01:38.969 this steep driveway. That would take too long. 00:01:39.109 --> 00:01:42.890 A car might come around the corner. I would have 00:01:42.890 --> 00:01:45.030 to line it up probably and it'd probably take 00:01:45.030 --> 00:01:48.769 me about 15 goes. It'd be a lot of hassle and 00:01:48.769 --> 00:01:51.189 I was not confident that I could make it work. 00:01:51.730 --> 00:01:54.010 So I pulled across the front of my house just 00:01:54.010 --> 00:01:56.590 across the little in front of the little bushes 00:01:56.590 --> 00:01:58.349 there. They weren't there at the time because 00:01:58.349 --> 00:02:01.310 this is when I was selling it. So I pulled across 00:02:01.310 --> 00:02:05.390 the front, I got out, I undid the chain, trailer, 00:02:05.650 --> 00:02:11.430 car, undid the chain, lifted it up and then To 00:02:11.430 --> 00:02:15.750 my utmost surprise, it rolled into me because 00:02:15.750 --> 00:02:19.990 I was on a hill. And I was immediately crushed 00:02:19.990 --> 00:02:22.810 between the trailer and the car because, again, 00:02:22.930 --> 00:02:24.550 neglected to account for the fact that I was 00:02:24.550 --> 00:02:26.509 on a sloping hill. But not to worry, I thought, 00:02:27.069 --> 00:02:31.150 I can still do this. So instead of hitching it 00:02:31.150 --> 00:02:35.830 back onto the car, I decided to push it with 00:02:35.830 --> 00:02:38.590 every single effort and self -determination I 00:02:38.590 --> 00:02:41.430 had. And you know what, it actually went great. 00:02:42.169 --> 00:02:44.870 I got a bit of momentum and I was quite proud 00:02:44.870 --> 00:02:48.250 of myself despite the very anxious and painful 00:02:48.250 --> 00:02:52.830 start to my pelvis bone. But then I got to the 00:02:52.830 --> 00:02:57.569 incline of the driveway and I had turned to the, 00:02:57.569 --> 00:02:59.830 you know, I had the hitch of the trailer and 00:02:59.830 --> 00:03:03.449 I had got it just down the lip and suddenly all 00:03:03.449 --> 00:03:07.180 the weight of the trailer shifted. and in seconds 00:03:07.180 --> 00:03:09.379 the momentum reversed and the trailer wanted 00:03:09.379 --> 00:03:12.979 to go down the driveway into my closed garage. 00:03:14.340 --> 00:03:16.360 But don't worry, because I was holding on really, 00:03:16.360 --> 00:03:20.780 really tight. With all of my effort. And there 00:03:20.780 --> 00:03:22.740 I was kind of basically on the ground. I'm not 00:03:22.740 --> 00:03:24.879 going to have to get after this. I was holding 00:03:24.879 --> 00:03:26.900 on like this, but even further to the ground. 00:03:27.280 --> 00:03:31.139 I was holding on with all of my effort. My arms 00:03:31.139 --> 00:03:34.000 were burning. I was at the absolute point of 00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:36.819 physical failure. I couldn't get it back up over 00:03:36.819 --> 00:03:41.520 the incline, and I could not get it down. I was 00:03:41.520 --> 00:03:44.960 trapped in my own stubborn pride of needing to 00:03:44.960 --> 00:03:47.379 do this all by myself, which is a shock to all 00:03:47.379 --> 00:03:54.740 of you. I was shaking and sweating and completely 00:03:54.740 --> 00:04:00.000 out of strength. And just then... like an angel 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:04.680 from the sky. My friend Sean Garner was on the 00:04:04.680 --> 00:04:07.300 afternoon walk, the evening walk from up the 00:04:07.300 --> 00:04:10.500 road and he walked by and he saw me struggling 00:04:10.500 --> 00:04:17.339 so he quickly pacinged and came over to me and 00:04:17.339 --> 00:04:20.120 grabbed the trailer and helped me put it onto 00:04:20.120 --> 00:04:22.000 flat ground and we put the blocks behind the 00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:25.680 tires. It was chocked and safe. I was bent over 00:04:25.680 --> 00:04:29.779 and my hands were like shaking. and he just looked 00:04:29.779 --> 00:04:33.079 at me and he shook his head and he pointed to 00:04:33.079 --> 00:04:37.139 my car a few meters away and said, why did you 00:04:37.139 --> 00:04:41.279 unhitch it from your car? Why didn't you just 00:04:41.279 --> 00:04:44.920 reverse it down? Why did you try to do this on 00:04:44.920 --> 00:04:49.879 your own? It's like, Sean, have you met me? Why 00:04:49.879 --> 00:04:52.579 was I trying to do this without the engine that 00:04:52.579 --> 00:04:56.399 was there? You know, I had access to all the 00:04:56.399 --> 00:04:59.430 power available. that I could ever need, but 00:04:59.430 --> 00:05:04.490 because of pride, impatience, or stubborn habit 00:05:04.490 --> 00:05:08.230 of self -pride, I thought I can handle this on 00:05:08.230 --> 00:05:12.269 my own. And when I think about this moment in 00:05:12.269 --> 00:05:15.410 time, I reflect, this is exactly how I've spent 00:05:15.410 --> 00:05:19.029 so much of my life. You know, God has called 00:05:19.029 --> 00:05:22.069 me to move some incredibly heavy things in my 00:05:22.069 --> 00:05:26.370 life. He's called me to live a holy life. to 00:05:26.370 --> 00:05:28.790 love difficult people, none of you, just my old 00:05:28.790 --> 00:05:33.569 church, to forgive those who've deeply hurt me, 00:05:33.850 --> 00:05:38.170 to overcome the darkest parts of my flesh. And 00:05:38.170 --> 00:05:41.790 God has provided a massive limitless power to 00:05:41.790 --> 00:05:46.170 accomplish all of it. But so often I look at 00:05:46.170 --> 00:05:49.189 my life and say, I don't need God's power. I'll 00:05:49.189 --> 00:05:53.600 just do this all by myself. You know, when we 00:05:53.600 --> 00:05:58.040 rely on human effort, we might get a little momentum 00:05:58.040 --> 00:06:03.620 on flat ground. When life is easy, willpower 00:06:03.620 --> 00:06:08.160 looks like it's working. But the moment you hit 00:06:08.160 --> 00:06:11.600 the incline of real life, grief, temptation, 00:06:11.920 --> 00:06:17.000 conflict, stress, human effort fails. And I'm 00:06:17.000 --> 00:06:20.160 sure I am not the only one in this room who's 00:06:20.160 --> 00:06:23.360 trying to push a heavy trailer up a hill by hand 00:06:23.360 --> 00:06:26.459 metaphorically and hopefully not literally you've 00:06:26.459 --> 00:06:28.019 done that right you have done that everyone's 00:06:28.019 --> 00:06:32.060 tried that right think about your own life yeah 00:06:32.060 --> 00:06:36.800 i see some faces think about your own life right 00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:40.639 now where are you currently stuck sweating spiritually 00:06:40.639 --> 00:06:44.839 exhausted you know some of you in this room might 00:06:44.839 --> 00:06:48.160 be newer to faith Maybe you've recently given 00:06:48.160 --> 00:06:51.699 your life to Jesus and that initial moment was 00:06:51.699 --> 00:06:55.319 life -changing and beautiful. But then Monday 00:06:55.319 --> 00:06:57.720 rolled around and you looked at your life and 00:06:57.720 --> 00:07:01.500 thought, okay, I'm a Christian now. I need to 00:07:01.500 --> 00:07:06.079 clean up my act. And so you treat your new faith 00:07:06.079 --> 00:07:10.560 like a spiritual New Year's resolution. Maybe 00:07:10.560 --> 00:07:14.160 you make a mental list or an actual list. I'm 00:07:14.160 --> 00:07:16.589 going to stop swearing. I'm going to stop losing 00:07:16.589 --> 00:07:19.870 my temper. I'm going to read my Bible every day. 00:07:20.009 --> 00:07:23.970 I'm going to cut out all my toxic habits. You 00:07:23.970 --> 00:07:26.550 grit your teeth and you try to accomplish this 00:07:26.550 --> 00:07:30.889 massive life change overhaul with sheer willpower. 00:07:32.269 --> 00:07:37.269 And maybe it does work for like a week or two. 00:07:37.990 --> 00:07:41.709 You get some momentum on that flat ground. But 00:07:41.709 --> 00:07:45.970 then stressful day hits. at work or an old friend 00:07:45.970 --> 00:07:50.790 calls or you just get tired and you slip up and 00:07:50.790 --> 00:07:54.709 you fall right back into that old habit. What 00:07:54.709 --> 00:07:58.410 happens next? All I know for me when that happens 00:07:58.410 --> 00:08:02.569 is that immense wave of guilt. Maybe you think, 00:08:02.589 --> 00:08:06.850 maybe God didn't really save me. Maybe I don't 00:08:06.850 --> 00:08:09.490 have what it takes to do this whole Jesus thing. 00:08:12.009 --> 00:08:15.230 You don't realize that you were never meant to 00:08:15.230 --> 00:08:21.069 clean up your own life. Maybe you're a brand 00:08:21.069 --> 00:08:24.250 new Christian trying to push the heavy trailer 00:08:24.250 --> 00:08:27.990 of sanctification all by yourself, ignoring the 00:08:27.990 --> 00:08:30.509 power of the Holy Spirit that's available to 00:08:30.509 --> 00:08:35.590 you. But let's be honest, this doesn't happen 00:08:35.590 --> 00:08:39.850 just to the new believers. Some of you, a lot 00:08:39.850 --> 00:08:45.110 of you, are genuinely mature disciples. You've 00:08:45.110 --> 00:08:47.549 been following Jesus for a lot longer than me, 00:08:47.970 --> 00:08:51.929 10 or 20 years. You serve on ministry teams. 00:08:52.730 --> 00:08:55.029 You lead small groups. People come to you for 00:08:55.029 --> 00:08:59.190 advice. You know your Bible. You know your theology. 00:08:59.710 --> 00:09:03.429 You know what theology means. And you're doing 00:09:03.429 --> 00:09:07.250 incredibly good work. But if you pull back the 00:09:07.250 --> 00:09:10.820 curtain of your life right now, Maybe you're 00:09:10.820 --> 00:09:16.399 secretly or not secretly exhausted. You're dry 00:09:16.399 --> 00:09:21.000 and maybe you're even quietly cynical. Because 00:09:21.000 --> 00:09:24.559 somewhere along the way, your spiritual life 00:09:24.559 --> 00:09:30.019 has shifted from dependency to competency. You 00:09:30.019 --> 00:09:33.100 stopped relying on the Holy Spirit's fresh power 00:09:33.100 --> 00:09:37.299 and started relying on your accumulated experiences. 00:09:38.350 --> 00:09:42.789 When someone comes to you in a crisis, you don't 00:09:42.789 --> 00:09:46.529 pause to ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom. You 00:09:46.529 --> 00:09:49.830 just give them good advice from your own experiences 00:09:49.830 --> 00:09:54.730 and intellect. When you serve at church, you 00:09:54.730 --> 00:09:57.509 just execute the task out of your own organizational 00:09:57.509 --> 00:10:00.690 skills or well laid out systems that Tim put 00:10:00.690 --> 00:10:05.230 in a sandbox. You are carrying the heavy burdens 00:10:05.230 --> 00:10:08.750 of your family and your friends. on your shoulders. 00:10:09.649 --> 00:10:15.210 Gosh, you look great on the outside. Everyone 00:10:15.210 --> 00:10:19.429 thinks you have it all together, but inside your 00:10:19.429 --> 00:10:25.190 spiritual life is shaking. You're running on 00:10:25.190 --> 00:10:30.070 fumes, living on the memory of God's power rather 00:10:30.070 --> 00:10:34.919 than a current reality of it. You are trying 00:10:34.919 --> 00:10:39.059 to do the work of God without the breath of God. 00:10:41.220 --> 00:10:45.299 Now, whether you are two weeks into following 00:10:45.299 --> 00:10:50.539 Jesus or two decades into it, or even more because 00:10:50.539 --> 00:10:57.100 Nathan's the oldest person in the church, the 00:10:57.100 --> 00:11:05.009 trap is exactly the same. Human effort. We forget 00:11:05.009 --> 00:11:10.610 that life is not just hard. It's literally impossible 00:11:10.610 --> 00:11:14.970 without the supernatural empowerment of God. 00:11:16.529 --> 00:11:20.870 And we end up like I was in the driveway, trapped, 00:11:21.649 --> 00:11:26.450 tired and frustrated. We have to stop trying 00:11:26.450 --> 00:11:30.110 to be the engine. We need the power from the 00:11:30.110 --> 00:11:34.590 outside to come in and dwell on the inside. And 00:11:34.590 --> 00:11:37.029 the beautiful news of the gospel is that that 00:11:37.029 --> 00:11:41.090 power has already been given. You know, when 00:11:41.090 --> 00:11:43.269 we talk about hooking up to the power of God, 00:11:43.789 --> 00:11:45.629 we need to be very clear about what that means 00:11:45.629 --> 00:11:47.690 because I'm not talking about like a line in 00:11:47.690 --> 00:11:50.570 your crystals. We're talking about some mystical 00:11:50.570 --> 00:11:53.250 energy field. I'm not even talking about the 00:11:53.250 --> 00:11:56.110 force from Star Wars. And we're not talking about 00:11:56.110 --> 00:11:58.730 just that adrenaline you get on a Sunday because 00:11:58.730 --> 00:12:02.389 the drums are playing. The power of God is not 00:12:02.389 --> 00:12:06.490 a what. The power of God is at who? It is the 00:12:06.490 --> 00:12:10.889 Holy Spirit. So who exactly is the Holy Spirit? 00:12:11.549 --> 00:12:15.669 He is the third person of the Trinity, co -equal 00:12:15.669 --> 00:12:19.490 and co -eternal with God, the Father and God 00:12:19.490 --> 00:12:23.370 the Son. He isn't an it or a mindless force. 00:12:23.809 --> 00:12:26.870 He is a divine person. He has a mind. He has 00:12:26.870 --> 00:12:32.049 a will. He has emotions. He is fully God. And 00:12:32.049 --> 00:12:34.470 the Holy Spirit has been actively working since 00:12:34.470 --> 00:12:37.950 the very first sentence of the Bible. If you 00:12:37.950 --> 00:12:41.669 open to Genesis 1, you find a world that is formless, 00:12:41.950 --> 00:12:45.730 carved in darkness and chaos. But in verse 2, 00:12:45.950 --> 00:12:50.090 it says the Spirit of God was hovering over the 00:12:50.090 --> 00:12:54.750 waters. Right there in the beginning, the Holy 00:12:54.750 --> 00:12:58.750 Spirit is the presence of God bringing life. 00:12:58.960 --> 00:13:05.360 order and creation out of absolute chaos. Throughout 00:13:05.360 --> 00:13:08.179 the Old Testament, we see flashes of His power. 00:13:08.620 --> 00:13:12.379 The Spirit would come upon the leaders like Moses, 00:13:12.759 --> 00:13:15.700 would come upon judges like Samson, would come 00:13:15.700 --> 00:13:19.120 upon the prophets to speak the Word of God. But 00:13:19.120 --> 00:13:21.480 under the covenant, His presence was selective 00:13:21.480 --> 00:13:25.070 and temporary. He would come upon specific people 00:13:25.070 --> 00:13:28.409 for specific tasks, but He didn't permanently 00:13:28.409 --> 00:13:33.769 dwell inside the everyday person. But Jesus promised 00:13:33.769 --> 00:13:37.750 that was going to change. He told His disciples 00:13:37.750 --> 00:13:39.629 that a day was coming when the Spirit wouldn't 00:13:39.629 --> 00:13:44.009 just be with them, but would be in them. So He 00:13:44.009 --> 00:13:46.309 told them to wait in Jerusalem for this gift. 00:13:47.190 --> 00:13:49.909 And so we open to Acts chapter 2 like Page read 00:13:49.909 --> 00:13:52.779 out. The disciples were huddled in the upper 00:13:52.779 --> 00:13:57.580 room. Jesus has died, been resurrected, and then 00:13:57.580 --> 00:14:01.120 ascended to heaven. They are fragile, they are 00:14:01.120 --> 00:14:03.519 uncertain, and they have no power of their own. 00:14:04.120 --> 00:14:07.240 Then the day of Pentecost arrives. On the day 00:14:07.240 --> 00:14:09.200 of Pentecost, all the believers were meeting 00:14:09.200 --> 00:14:12.159 together in one place. Suddenly there was a sound 00:14:12.159 --> 00:14:15.399 from heaven, like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, 00:14:15.820 --> 00:14:17.740 and it filled their hearts where they were sitting. 00:14:18.569 --> 00:14:21.289 Then what looked like flames or tongues of fire 00:14:21.289 --> 00:14:24.149 appeared and settled on each other. And everyone 00:14:24.149 --> 00:14:26.730 present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began 00:14:26.730 --> 00:14:29.470 speaking in other languages as the Holy Spirit 00:14:29.470 --> 00:14:33.690 gave them this ability. Luke, the author of Acts, 00:14:33.909 --> 00:14:37.090 gives us three distinct physical signs that accompany 00:14:37.090 --> 00:14:40.309 the arrival of the Holy Spirit, the wind, the 00:14:40.309 --> 00:14:42.690 fire, and the languages. And so we're gonna go 00:14:42.690 --> 00:14:46.840 through them. Luke tells us that suddenly it 00:14:46.840 --> 00:14:49.120 will sound like the blowing of a violent wind 00:14:49.120 --> 00:14:53.720 came from heaven. But why wind? In both the Old 00:14:53.720 --> 00:14:56.399 Testament and the New Testament, the words for 00:14:56.399 --> 00:14:59.659 spirit, wind and breath are the exact same words. 00:15:00.840 --> 00:15:05.980 In Hebrew it's ruak, in Greek it's nyuma. I'm 00:15:05.980 --> 00:15:08.659 not gonna make you say it. When the disciples 00:15:08.659 --> 00:15:10.799 heard the wind, they weren't just thinking about 00:15:10.799 --> 00:15:13.720 a severe weather event that was happening. Their 00:15:13.720 --> 00:15:15.799 Jewish minds thought back towards history to 00:15:15.799 --> 00:15:19.940 the origin of human life. In Genesis 2 -7, God 00:15:19.940 --> 00:15:23.659 formed Adam out of the dust of the ground. Adam 00:15:23.659 --> 00:15:26.440 was perfectly constructed. He had a lungs, heart, 00:15:26.519 --> 00:15:29.960 bones and a brain. But he was just beautifully 00:15:29.960 --> 00:15:34.080 organized dirt. He had no life, no energy, no 00:15:34.080 --> 00:15:38.960 capability. But God leaned in and breathed the 00:15:38.960 --> 00:15:42.509 breath of Ruach. into his nostrils, and the dirt 00:15:42.509 --> 00:15:48.330 became a living soul. In Ezekiel 37, the prophet 00:15:48.330 --> 00:15:51.450 sees a valley of dry, disconnected dead bones. 00:15:51.789 --> 00:15:55.269 We were singing about this earlier. And God asks, 00:15:55.450 --> 00:15:59.889 can these bones live? God doesn't tell the bones 00:15:59.889 --> 00:16:03.830 to try harder. He doesn't tell them to pull themselves 00:16:03.830 --> 00:16:08.509 together. He says, come, O breath from the four 00:16:08.509 --> 00:16:11.940 winds. breathe into these dead bones that they 00:16:11.940 --> 00:16:17.080 may live. When the violent wind fills the upper 00:16:17.080 --> 00:16:21.460 room in Acts 2, God is saying, I am doing a new 00:16:21.460 --> 00:16:27.159 creation. The same spirit that breathed new life 00:16:27.159 --> 00:16:31.179 into the first man, the same spirit that breathed 00:16:31.179 --> 00:16:35.620 new life into old bones, is now the same spirit 00:16:35.620 --> 00:16:39.279 breathing new life into the church. And so church, 00:16:39.340 --> 00:16:44.159 if you feel like a valley of dry bones, if you 00:16:44.159 --> 00:16:48.019 feel burned out today, spiritually dry or tired 00:16:48.019 --> 00:16:51.799 of trying, God's answer for you isn't to try 00:16:51.799 --> 00:16:57.080 harder or do better. His answer is new breath, 00:16:57.980 --> 00:17:05.589 new life. Next, they see what seems to be tongues 00:17:05.589 --> 00:17:08.329 of fire that separate and come to rest on each 00:17:08.329 --> 00:17:12.490 of them. In the story of the Bible, fire almost 00:17:12.490 --> 00:17:17.349 always represents the holy, manifest, unapproachable 00:17:17.349 --> 00:17:22.190 presence of God. In Exodus 3, God appeared to 00:17:22.190 --> 00:17:25.650 Moses in a burning bush that was not consumed. 00:17:26.529 --> 00:17:30.410 Moses was exhausted, washed up shepherd who had 00:17:30.410 --> 00:17:33.759 failed to deliver his people on his own strength 00:17:33.759 --> 00:17:38.099 40 years earlier. God uses the fire to show Moses, 00:17:38.660 --> 00:17:41.960 my presence will provide the fuel that never 00:17:41.960 --> 00:17:47.680 burns out. In Exodus 13, when the Israelites 00:17:47.680 --> 00:17:51.279 were wandering through the dark, terrifying wilderness, 00:17:52.480 --> 00:17:56.099 God led them with a pillar of fire. It was their 00:17:56.099 --> 00:17:58.240 light, their warmth, their guide, their protection. 00:17:58.730 --> 00:18:02.390 They didn't have to use Google Maps or map out 00:18:02.390 --> 00:18:05.170 their route using human intelligence. They just 00:18:05.170 --> 00:18:10.509 had to wake up and follow the fire. In 2 Chronicles 00:18:10.509 --> 00:18:13.569 7, when Solomon had finished building the temple 00:18:13.569 --> 00:18:18.150 in Jerusalem, God accepted it by sending down 00:18:18.150 --> 00:18:21.670 fire from heaven. The glory of God filled the 00:18:21.670 --> 00:18:23.849 temple so powerfully that the priests couldn't 00:18:23.849 --> 00:18:27.890 even enter it. The fire signaled God has entered 00:18:27.890 --> 00:18:34.809 this place. But then we come to Pentecost. The 00:18:34.809 --> 00:18:39.009 fire comes down from heaven. But it doesn't come 00:18:39.009 --> 00:18:42.009 down into the physical temple down the road. 00:18:43.210 --> 00:18:46.250 It doesn't go into a building at all. The fire 00:18:46.250 --> 00:18:49.730 comes down into the upper room and then it divides. 00:18:50.140 --> 00:18:52.660 It separates into tongues of fire and rests on 00:18:52.660 --> 00:18:55.500 the head of every single person in that room. 00:18:56.640 --> 00:18:58.859 For centuries, people had to travel to a physical 00:18:58.859 --> 00:19:01.720 building, offer a sacrifice, just to hope, just 00:19:01.720 --> 00:19:06.039 to get a glimpse of the presence of God. In Acts 00:19:06.039 --> 00:19:09.740 2, God is relocating. He's officially moving 00:19:09.740 --> 00:19:12.980 out of the building and He's moving into you. 00:19:14.700 --> 00:19:18.559 You are the new temple. You don't have to go 00:19:18.559 --> 00:19:23.200 far into the fire anymore. The same holy fire 00:19:23.200 --> 00:19:27.539 that spoke to Moses, the same pillar of fire 00:19:27.539 --> 00:19:31.400 that guided the Israelites, the same glory that 00:19:31.400 --> 00:19:36.059 filled the temple that now dwells in your chest, 00:19:38.099 --> 00:19:42.319 providing permanent internal fuel source for 00:19:42.319 --> 00:19:49.180 your life. Finally, they began to speak other 00:19:49.180 --> 00:19:54.539 languages as the spirit enabled them. We think 00:19:54.539 --> 00:19:58.720 back to Genesis 11 and the Tower of Babel. Babel 00:19:58.720 --> 00:20:04.240 was the epitome of human effort. Humanity said, 00:20:04.480 --> 00:20:06.539 let's build a tower that reaches the heavens 00:20:06.539 --> 00:20:09.579 so that we can make a name for ourselves. It 00:20:09.579 --> 00:20:11.920 was humanity trying to reach God through their 00:20:11.920 --> 00:20:16.109 very own sweat, bricks, and striving. And what 00:20:16.109 --> 00:20:20.009 was the result of this human effort? Well, God 00:20:20.009 --> 00:20:22.730 confused their languages, their striving ended 00:20:22.730 --> 00:20:26.230 in exhaustion, division, and a complete breakdown 00:20:26.230 --> 00:20:30.309 in communication. But at Pentecost, we see the 00:20:30.309 --> 00:20:34.789 exact opposite of Babel. Instead of humans striving 00:20:34.789 --> 00:20:38.309 towards a tower up to God, God's spirit comes 00:20:38.309 --> 00:20:42.480 down to humanity. Instead of human effort causing 00:20:42.480 --> 00:20:45.920 division and confusion, the Holy Spirit provides 00:20:45.920 --> 00:20:49.859 a language that brings perfect understanding 00:20:49.859 --> 00:20:54.319 and unity. When we live in our own strength, 00:20:55.819 --> 00:20:58.180 our language eventually becomes one of complaining 00:20:58.180 --> 00:21:01.839 and bitterness and burnout and division. But 00:21:01.839 --> 00:21:06.279 when the Spirit fills you, He changes your internal 00:21:06.279 --> 00:21:10.180 and external language. You stop trying to build 00:21:10.180 --> 00:21:14.079 a tower to prove yourself and can rest down on 00:21:14.079 --> 00:21:20.160 the fact that God has come down for you. God 00:21:20.160 --> 00:21:24.240 speaks your language. He speaks the language 00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:29.920 of the Parthians and the Medes and the Elamites. 00:21:32.559 --> 00:21:38.619 No. He speaks the language of the broken. He 00:21:38.619 --> 00:21:41.819 speaks the language of the hurting. He speaks 00:21:41.819 --> 00:21:45.119 the language of the divorced, of the orphaned. 00:21:45.380 --> 00:21:48.599 He speaks the language of the frightened, of 00:21:48.599 --> 00:21:52.680 the suicidal, of the weary, of the skeptical, 00:21:53.319 --> 00:21:56.460 of the doubting, of the troubled and the confused. 00:21:57.960 --> 00:22:05.059 He calms down for you and speaks. Now if you 00:22:05.059 --> 00:22:08.460 are a follower of Jesus, the very same Spirit 00:22:08.460 --> 00:22:13.599 that breathed life into Adam, the same Spirit 00:22:13.599 --> 00:22:18.200 that led Israel as a pillar of fire, that filled 00:22:18.200 --> 00:22:22.559 the temple and empowered Jesus is living inside 00:22:22.559 --> 00:22:28.440 of you. That power is available. But how do we 00:22:28.440 --> 00:22:30.880 actually hook up to it? How does like a normal 00:22:30.880 --> 00:22:33.279 person experience this on a Tuesday morning? 00:22:34.440 --> 00:22:36.460 Well, there are three practical ways that we 00:22:36.460 --> 00:22:38.779 can transition from human effort to the power 00:22:38.779 --> 00:22:41.099 of the Holy Spirit. And this is going to be your 00:22:41.099 --> 00:22:45.559 Henley homework, so start taking notes. I'm assuming 00:22:45.559 --> 00:22:50.240 you're already taking notes. Homework point number 00:22:50.240 --> 00:22:56.480 one. Stop trying and start yielding. Life is 00:22:56.480 --> 00:23:00.539 not about trying harder. It's about yielding 00:23:00.539 --> 00:23:06.809 faster. Yield means to give way to. A sailboat 00:23:06.809 --> 00:23:09.349 doesn't move across the ocean because the sail 00:23:09.349 --> 00:23:12.950 pushes the mast. It moves because the sailor 00:23:12.950 --> 00:23:16.430 raises the sail and catches the wind. I'm assuming 00:23:16.430 --> 00:23:24.089 I don't sail. We have to catch the wind. Tomorrow 00:23:24.089 --> 00:23:27.829 morning, before your feet hit the floor, or your 00:23:27.829 --> 00:23:29.769 husband brings you coffee in the morning like 00:23:29.769 --> 00:23:40.799 mine does, I want you to pray a prayer of yielding. 00:23:41.299 --> 00:23:46.259 Confess your lack of power. Lord, I have no power 00:23:46.259 --> 00:23:50.619 for today. I cannot love my spouse on my own. 00:23:51.240 --> 00:23:53.599 I cannot handle this stress at work on my own. 00:23:53.869 --> 00:23:56.650 I am dropping the bricks. I'm raising the sails 00:23:56.650 --> 00:24:00.089 of my soul. Feel me. Breathe on me. I yield my 00:24:00.089 --> 00:24:02.490 schedule. I yield my anxiety. My relationships 00:24:02.490 --> 00:24:08.329 to your spirit. Stop pushing the trailer. Turn 00:24:08.329 --> 00:24:14.529 the engine on. Back it up. For me, I do this 00:24:14.529 --> 00:24:18.569 by I have a little notebook next to my bed that 00:24:18.569 --> 00:24:21.450 has notes in it and I read it in the morning. 00:24:23.349 --> 00:24:27.009 Maybe you could do the same. Maybe you could 00:24:27.009 --> 00:24:29.549 write it on a piece of paper and blue tack it 00:24:29.549 --> 00:24:32.450 to the wall next to your bed. Maybe you could 00:24:32.450 --> 00:24:34.289 write something on your phone, if that's not 00:24:34.289 --> 00:24:38.490 too distracting. How might you allow the wind 00:24:38.490 --> 00:24:40.450 of God to breathe through your life this week? 00:24:43.390 --> 00:24:46.910 Your second homework point. Treat the temple 00:24:46.910 --> 00:24:52.000 with honor. If you actually believed you were 00:24:52.000 --> 00:24:54.059 the physical dwelling place of the creator of 00:24:54.059 --> 00:24:57.440 the universe, how would it change your daily 00:24:57.440 --> 00:25:01.339 habits? How would it change what you put into 00:25:01.339 --> 00:25:05.119 your body? How would it change what you look 00:25:05.119 --> 00:25:07.740 at on your phone when you're alone? And I'm not 00:25:07.740 --> 00:25:12.299 just talking about porn, but obviously. But like, 00:25:12.440 --> 00:25:22.819 social media. Instagram reels. Read it. How would 00:25:22.819 --> 00:25:27.119 it change what comes out of your mouth? The tone 00:25:27.119 --> 00:25:31.339 of voice you use with your children, your parents, 00:25:32.339 --> 00:25:36.319 your friends. Take inventory of your life this 00:25:36.319 --> 00:25:41.220 week. Is there anything in your temple that is 00:25:41.220 --> 00:25:45.640 grieving the Holy Spirit? Bitterness, secret 00:25:45.640 --> 00:25:50.009 addiction, unforgiveness. repent and clean house. 00:25:51.450 --> 00:25:54.430 You don't clean the house to earn God's love. 00:25:55.390 --> 00:25:59.390 You clean house because a holy God already lives 00:25:59.390 --> 00:26:04.130 there and you want to honor His presence. You 00:26:04.130 --> 00:26:06.829 know for me this looks like taking my medication 00:26:06.829 --> 00:26:10.170 regularly. I'm not saying I'm great at this. 00:26:11.569 --> 00:26:14.130 For me this means caring and loving my body so 00:26:14.130 --> 00:26:18.619 not to put it in harm. For me this means repenting 00:26:18.619 --> 00:26:22.680 for the times when I have put it in harm. And 00:26:22.680 --> 00:26:24.799 for me this also means starting the couch to 00:26:24.799 --> 00:26:31.680 5k. How do you need to repent and clean house 00:26:31.680 --> 00:26:37.220 this week? Your third and final piece of Henley 00:26:37.220 --> 00:26:43.319 homework this week is listen to the fire. The 00:26:43.319 --> 00:26:47.099 Holy Spirit is not just a cosmic force. He's 00:26:47.099 --> 00:26:50.460 a divine person. He guides. He prompts. He convicts. 00:26:50.460 --> 00:26:53.180 Just like the Israelites woke up every morning 00:26:53.180 --> 00:26:55.480 and looked for the pillar of fire to see if they 00:26:55.480 --> 00:26:58.900 should move or to stay, we need to learn to look 00:26:58.900 --> 00:27:02.799 for the Spirit. Practice the pause this week. 00:27:04.079 --> 00:27:07.880 Before you hit send on that mildly angry defensive 00:27:07.880 --> 00:27:13.519 email, ask the Spirit for direction. Before you 00:27:13.519 --> 00:27:17.859 make massive financial decision, ask the Spirit 00:27:17.859 --> 00:27:21.319 for wisdom. Before you walk into a difficult 00:27:21.319 --> 00:27:27.019 meeting, ask the Spirit for peace. Expect Him 00:27:27.019 --> 00:27:30.880 to guide you. Expect Him to prompt you to encourage 00:27:30.880 --> 00:27:37.319 someone. Listen to the fire. What is one area 00:27:37.319 --> 00:27:40.000 of your life that you need to ask for God's direction 00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:44.490 and wisdom this week? and ask someone to pray 00:27:44.490 --> 00:27:48.470 for you for guidance tonight. Guys, I know that 00:27:48.470 --> 00:27:50.309 you have something in your life that you need 00:27:50.309 --> 00:27:52.529 to ask God's guidance with, because you're all 00:27:52.529 --> 00:27:56.730 doing stuff. You're all busy people. And so I 00:27:56.730 --> 00:27:59.410 know that there's something, there is something 00:27:59.410 --> 00:28:01.710 that you can ask someone to pray for you about. 00:28:04.390 --> 00:28:12.490 I'm gonna light the band back up. Look, I've 00:28:12.490 --> 00:28:16.369 just told you that the Holy Fire of God Almighty 00:28:16.369 --> 00:28:20.809 wants to come and dwell inside of you. And you 00:28:20.809 --> 00:28:24.930 might be sitting here thinking, like I know myself. 00:28:25.809 --> 00:28:28.809 I know what I did last weekend. I know the thoughts 00:28:28.809 --> 00:28:32.990 in my head. I am too messy, too broken, too sinful 00:28:32.990 --> 00:28:39.470 for a Holy God to dwell inside of me. And a fire 00:28:39.470 --> 00:28:44.630 consumes what is impure. If God's holy burning 00:28:44.630 --> 00:28:51.269 fire comes near my sin, I'll be destroyed. And 00:28:51.269 --> 00:28:56.089 if you are thinking that, like, you are absolutely 00:28:56.089 --> 00:29:00.690 right. In the holy, in the Old Testament, you 00:29:00.690 --> 00:29:04.029 couldn't just stroll into the presence of the 00:29:04.029 --> 00:29:10.769 fire. Sin and holiness cannot coexist. If you 00:29:10.769 --> 00:29:13.509 walked into the Holy of Holies with sin on your 00:29:13.509 --> 00:29:19.170 hands, the fire would consume you. So how did 00:29:19.170 --> 00:29:24.789 Pentecost happen? How can sinful, broken humans 00:29:24.789 --> 00:29:28.130 become the Holy Temple of God without becoming 00:29:28.130 --> 00:29:32.230 incinerated? Well, it's all because of the cross. 00:29:33.890 --> 00:29:37.650 Before the Spirit came down in Acts 2, The sun 00:29:37.650 --> 00:29:43.069 went up on the cross in Luke 23. Jesus Christ, 00:29:43.930 --> 00:29:47.569 the only perfect and pure temple, allowed himself 00:29:47.569 --> 00:29:52.849 to be torn down. On the cross, Jesus absorbed 00:29:52.849 --> 00:29:56.390 to the holy fire of God's wrath against your 00:29:56.390 --> 00:30:01.509 sin, your pride, and your self -reliance. He 00:30:01.509 --> 00:30:07.509 paid your debt in full. When Jesus took his final 00:30:07.509 --> 00:30:11.049 breath, the thick curtain of the physical temple 00:30:11.049 --> 00:30:17.069 was ripped from top to bottom. Jesus was clearing 00:30:17.069 --> 00:30:22.670 the way. His blood washed you perfectly clean 00:30:22.670 --> 00:30:26.170 so that the Holy Spirit could move in without 00:30:26.170 --> 00:30:30.170 destroying you. And hear me clear you so clearly 00:30:30.170 --> 00:30:34.200 today. You are not filled with the Holy Spirit 00:30:34.200 --> 00:30:38.039 because you are so good. You are filled with 00:30:38.039 --> 00:30:41.640 the Spirit because Jesus was so good on your 00:30:41.640 --> 00:30:48.920 behalf. Some of you here today come absolutely 00:30:48.920 --> 00:30:53.940 exhausted. You've been pushing up a massive weight 00:30:53.940 --> 00:30:58.500 of up a steep hill for years. You've been pushing 00:30:58.500 --> 00:31:00.579 the weight of your marriage, of your addictions, 00:31:00.779 --> 00:31:06.680 of your religious competency. Your arms are shaking. 00:31:08.059 --> 00:31:11.400 Your feet are slipping. Your muscles are gonna 00:31:11.400 --> 00:31:15.619 give out. And you're terrified of what happens 00:31:15.619 --> 00:31:20.599 if you finally let go. Well, I'm here to tell 00:31:20.599 --> 00:31:23.259 you today, as a friend that's walking past on 00:31:23.259 --> 00:31:29.069 their walk, walking past your driveway, Stop 00:31:29.069 --> 00:31:34.710 trying by human effort. Look at what Jesus has 00:31:34.710 --> 00:31:39.789 provided for you. The same Spirit that hovered 00:31:39.789 --> 00:31:44.170 over the waters at creation. The same Spirit 00:31:44.170 --> 00:31:46.890 that kept Jesus tended to the Father's will. 00:31:47.190 --> 00:31:49.890 The same Spirit that birthed the Church in a 00:31:49.890 --> 00:31:52.910 rushing wind and tongues of fire. The same Spirit 00:31:52.910 --> 00:31:56.430 that is here right now offering to take the weight 00:31:56.430 --> 00:31:59.900 off your shoulders. You don't have to live out 00:31:59.900 --> 00:32:03.059 of breath anymore. You don't have to live burned 00:32:03.059 --> 00:32:06.319 out anymore. You don't have to push the trailer 00:32:06.319 --> 00:32:11.420 anymore. Back up the car, hook up the engine, 00:32:12.319 --> 00:32:16.359 yield your life to the Holy Spirit, and watch 00:32:16.359 --> 00:32:19.940 what God can do with a life that rests entirely 00:32:19.940 --> 00:32:27.480 on His power. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, Thank 00:32:27.480 --> 00:32:31.480 you for not leaving us alone. Thank you for not 00:32:31.480 --> 00:32:36.599 leaving us to our own exhausting devices. Thank 00:32:36.599 --> 00:32:41.000 you Jesus for shedding your blood to make our 00:32:41.000 --> 00:32:47.279 hearts a clean temple. Holy Spirit, breathe your 00:32:47.279 --> 00:32:50.880 breath through this room and blow through our 00:32:50.880 --> 00:32:57.000 lives. Forgive us for our pride. Forgive us for 00:32:57.000 --> 00:33:02.200 trying to do your work in our own strength. We 00:33:02.200 --> 00:33:06.799 stop pushing today. We drop the weight. We yield 00:33:06.799 --> 00:33:10.079 to you. Breathe on us. Set us on fire for your 00:33:10.079 --> 00:33:14.160 glory so the world might see your power in us. 00:33:17.980 --> 00:33:20.339 Thanks so much for tuning into this week's message. 00:33:21.000 --> 00:33:24.099 If you felt challenged or need prayer, we'd love 00:33:24.099 --> 00:33:26.569 to hear from you on Instagram. at Encounter Henley. 00:33:27.210 --> 00:33:29.450 Or if you're interested in how you can support 00:33:29.450 --> 00:33:33.549 this ministry please go to our website encounteradelaide 00:33:33.549 --> 00:33:37.569 .com .au Thanks again for listening. God bless 00:33:37.569 --> 00:33:37.930 you.