WEBVTT 00:00:09.940 --> 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 --> 00:00:20.899 you can have an encounter with Jesus that will 00:00:20.899 --> 00:00:24.379 change your life. And now get ready for an inspiring 00:00:24.379 --> 00:00:29.570 message from our preaching team. who came together 00:00:29.570 --> 00:00:31.870 and prayed and discerned that there was going 00:00:31.870 --> 00:00:33.990 to be a church in Henley Beach and you're all 00:00:33.990 --> 00:00:36.829 here because they faithfully stepped out and 00:00:36.829 --> 00:00:39.109 so while it's it's a really exciting step for 00:00:39.109 --> 00:00:41.229 the Horners and for the Browns as well and you 00:00:41.229 --> 00:00:43.310 guys are gonna love having Tom and Pieta and 00:00:43.310 --> 00:00:45.570 Bellamy's like the best kind of a lot their daughter 00:00:45.570 --> 00:00:48.549 like honestly I will miss having Bella at church 00:00:48.549 --> 00:00:52.070 a lot the kids ministry I don't know but I will 00:00:52.070 --> 00:00:56.640 miss her a lot But I just really want to take 00:00:56.640 --> 00:00:59.880 the time to honor you guys and and thank you 00:00:59.880 --> 00:01:03.439 for all the effort and Prayer and faithfulness 00:01:03.439 --> 00:01:05.819 and time you poured out. So you just take a moment 00:01:05.819 --> 00:01:11.560 and honor and thank the horn is with me You You 00:01:11.560 --> 00:01:13.439 have time next week next week's air official 00:01:13.439 --> 00:01:16.280 last week, but I'm not here So I want to take 00:01:16.280 --> 00:01:20.099 some time there now I am here today and I'm here 00:01:20.099 --> 00:01:23.819 because somebody has to bring some dignity back 00:01:23.799 --> 00:01:27.620 to this church. Two weeks ago, well last week, 00:01:27.859 --> 00:01:30.340 you had Tim Goldney, our youth pastor here. And 00:01:30.340 --> 00:01:32.099 Tim, how did Tim Goldney start out his sermon? 00:01:32.159 --> 00:01:35.400 He just yelled Jesus Christ. Now in fairness, 00:01:35.519 --> 00:01:38.359 he was preaching about, I believe in Jesus Christ. 00:01:38.939 --> 00:01:40.840 So you know, Tim's both a tradie and a youth 00:01:40.840 --> 00:01:42.519 pastor, you've got to give him a little bit of 00:01:42.519 --> 00:01:45.579 leeway. But then the week before that, the global 00:01:45.579 --> 00:01:47.780 senior Henley mega pastor, Tim Littleford was 00:01:47.780 --> 00:01:50.540 preaching. And halfway through his sermon, he 00:01:50.540 --> 00:01:52.140 talked about Jesus sitting down and cracking 00:01:52.140 --> 00:01:54.719 open a cold one. And I thought, at some point 00:01:54.719 --> 00:01:57.040 somebody's got to bring the inner city private 00:01:57.040 --> 00:01:59.579 school dignity that only a Pembroke old scholar 00:01:59.579 --> 00:02:03.299 like myself can bring. You know, that blazer 00:02:03.299 --> 00:02:10.939 wearing, rowing, enthusiast, only, thanks, only 00:02:10.939 --> 00:02:13.360 an inner city private school boy can really bring. 00:02:13.560 --> 00:02:15.639 That sense of being better than you without ever 00:02:15.639 --> 00:02:18.669 having proved it once. That's what we're looking 00:02:18.669 --> 00:02:26.150 to bring today. A bit of tignity everybody. And 00:02:26.150 --> 00:02:30.229 even in the middle of a series of the Apostles 00:02:30.229 --> 00:02:33.430 Creed. Now the Apostles Creed is incredibly beautiful 00:02:33.430 --> 00:02:36.780 because it is something that unites us. It unites 00:02:36.780 --> 00:02:38.780 us together. And one of the things it does is 00:02:38.780 --> 00:02:41.240 it not only unites us together as a group here, 00:02:41.539 --> 00:02:44.539 but it unites us with the Church globally. Because 00:02:44.539 --> 00:02:46.979 the Orthodox Church, Orthodox with a little O, 00:02:47.020 --> 00:02:48.719 we're going to be talking about a lot of words 00:02:48.719 --> 00:02:51.909 with little letters today. We all believe in 00:02:51.909 --> 00:02:53.810 the Apostles' Creed. It's one of the things that 00:02:53.810 --> 00:02:56.110 unites us together as a Church. We have a lot 00:02:56.110 --> 00:02:57.750 of things that we believe in differently. Some 00:02:57.750 --> 00:03:00.030 of us have very strong feelings about infant 00:03:00.030 --> 00:03:03.469 baptism or about just adult baptism. That can 00:03:03.469 --> 00:03:05.969 have some variation, but we all gather under 00:03:05.969 --> 00:03:08.810 the Apostles' Creed. And it's so helpful, so 00:03:08.810 --> 00:03:11.289 healthy to have that. It gathers us as a Church 00:03:11.289 --> 00:03:13.270 here, it gathers us as a Church globally, and 00:03:13.270 --> 00:03:16.680 it gathers us throughout Christian history. every 00:03:16.680 --> 00:03:18.939 saint who has ever put their trust in Jesus, 00:03:19.319 --> 00:03:22.300 past, present and into the future, into the kingdom 00:03:22.300 --> 00:03:25.000 of God yet to come, have all stood under the 00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:27.159 Apostles' Creed. So, I'm going to ask you to 00:03:27.159 --> 00:03:28.659 do something we haven't done yet, and I'm going 00:03:28.659 --> 00:03:31.860 to invite you to stand if you're able, and say 00:03:31.860 --> 00:03:34.939 the Apostles' Creed with me, which I think, did 00:03:34.939 --> 00:03:36.699 I put that in my slides? I'm pretty sure I did. 00:03:37.020 --> 00:03:40.120 Nice! Look at me go. Okay, so if you can read 00:03:40.120 --> 00:03:43.060 it, sorry Tex, let's read the Apostles' Creed 00:03:43.060 --> 00:03:46.729 together, after me. or together with me, I believe 00:03:46.729 --> 00:03:50.169 in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven 00:03:50.169 --> 00:03:53.449 and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only 00:03:53.449 --> 00:03:56.490 son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy 00:03:56.490 --> 00:03:59.969 Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered 00:03:59.969 --> 00:04:03.169 under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and 00:04:03.169 --> 00:04:07.389 was buried. He descended to hell. The third day 00:04:07.389 --> 00:04:10.770 he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven 00:04:10.770 --> 00:04:15.280 and is seated at the right hand of God. from 00:04:15.280 --> 00:04:17.860 there he will come to judge the living and the 00:04:17.860 --> 00:04:21.860 dead i believe in the holy spirit the holy catholic 00:04:21.860 --> 00:04:24.879 church the communion of saints the forgiveness 00:04:24.879 --> 00:04:27.980 of sins the resurrection of the body and the 00:04:27.980 --> 00:04:32.420 life everlasting amen you may be seated i feel 00:04:32.420 --> 00:04:34.459 like if we're doing series on the apostles creed 00:04:34.459 --> 00:04:36.100 we should probably read it out once or twice 00:04:36.100 --> 00:04:38.459 right Now, you might have noticed the word Catholic 00:04:38.459 --> 00:04:40.600 Church there. We are not a Catholic capital C 00:04:40.600 --> 00:04:43.300 Church here at Encounter, but we are a Catholic 00:04:43.300 --> 00:04:45.319 little c, which means we're a Christian Church. 00:04:45.620 --> 00:04:47.959 We're part of the global Christian Church. So 00:04:47.959 --> 00:04:49.939 even though we're not a part of the Roman Catholic 00:04:49.939 --> 00:04:52.279 Church, we are still part of the corporate body 00:04:52.279 --> 00:04:54.160 of Christians throughout the globe. And that's 00:04:54.160 --> 00:04:56.620 really important. And I'm here today to help 00:04:56.620 --> 00:05:00.199 you understand what it really means to say, I 00:05:00.199 --> 00:05:03.220 believe in the Holy Spirit. Everybody say Holy 00:05:03.220 --> 00:05:07.199 Spirit. Okay, now say to him, but whisper it. 00:05:08.420 --> 00:05:10.560 Yeah, okay, that's what it's like trying to understand 00:05:10.560 --> 00:05:13.100 the Holy Spirit, that whisper. So I'm gonna pray 00:05:13.100 --> 00:05:16.399 and then we'll get into the word today. Loving 00:05:16.399 --> 00:05:19.019 Lord God, we are here because of you. We put 00:05:19.019 --> 00:05:21.620 all our trust in you and we thank you Jesus that 00:05:21.620 --> 00:05:24.279 you're the author of salvation. But Holy Spirit 00:05:24.279 --> 00:05:27.000 is to you we turn today and we invite you to 00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:30.040 reveal yourself to us. We say with the church 00:05:30.040 --> 00:05:33.610 through our history, Holy Spirit come. Fill our 00:05:33.610 --> 00:05:37.509 hearts, speak to us, guide our lives, inform 00:05:37.509 --> 00:05:41.910 us, move us, challenge us. But we are your vessels 00:05:41.910 --> 00:05:46.269 to hear from today, Lord. In Jesus' name, amen. 00:05:47.709 --> 00:05:50.509 Okay, I'm gonna start with the Holy Spirit origin 00:05:50.509 --> 00:05:53.569 story. The Holy Spirit was present in creation. 00:05:53.759 --> 00:05:56.480 In Genesis chapter 1 verses 1 to 2 where the 00:05:56.480 --> 00:05:59.740 Spirit of God hovers over the deep and then he 00:05:59.740 --> 00:06:01.980 comes upon different people in the Old Testament 00:06:01.980 --> 00:06:05.120 at different times for different tasks. E .g. 00:06:05.120 --> 00:06:07.379 there's an artist called Bezalel. He comes upon 00:06:07.379 --> 00:06:09.420 him for artistic work. We see that in Exodus 00:06:09.420 --> 00:06:11.980 and then he comes upon Gideon and gives Gideon 00:06:11.980 --> 00:06:14.579 leadership. We see that in Judges. He comes upon 00:06:14.579 --> 00:06:17.639 Samson also in Judges for power and for strength 00:06:17.639 --> 00:06:20.100 and then in Isaiah we see that he comes upon 00:06:20.100 --> 00:06:23.680 Isaiah to help him prophesy. The Holy Spirit 00:06:23.709 --> 00:06:26.709 was promised by God the Father. to be given to 00:06:26.709 --> 00:06:28.490 the people of God throughout the Old Testament 00:06:28.490 --> 00:06:31.470 prophecies. One of the most commonly known ones 00:06:31.470 --> 00:06:33.649 would be in Ezekiel, this sort of a two -parter. 00:06:33.730 --> 00:06:36.569 The first is that in Ezekiel 36, God's going 00:06:36.569 --> 00:06:38.790 to remove a heart of stone and replace it with 00:06:38.790 --> 00:06:40.629 a heart of flesh. That is, he's going to breathe 00:06:40.629 --> 00:06:43.009 life into something that is hard and uncaring. 00:06:43.250 --> 00:06:45.569 And then the very next chapter in Ezekiel 37, 00:06:45.930 --> 00:06:48.329 in one of the more famous Old Testament prophecies, 00:06:48.589 --> 00:06:51.389 Ezekiel sees a valley of dry bones and then there's 00:06:51.389 --> 00:06:53.769 flesh put on them. So there's a human army standing 00:06:53.769 --> 00:06:55.879 there, but they're not moving. and they cannot 00:06:55.879 --> 00:06:59.139 move until the Spirit of God comes in and animates 00:06:59.139 --> 00:07:03.819 them. The Holy Spirit has always been present. 00:07:04.459 --> 00:07:06.240 The Holy Spirit is not something that was invented 00:07:06.240 --> 00:07:09.240 after Jesus ascended to heaven. The Holy Spirit, 00:07:09.459 --> 00:07:11.259 as Pastor Tim shared a couple of weeks ago, is 00:07:11.259 --> 00:07:14.259 the third person of the Trinity. And in the Prophet 00:07:14.259 --> 00:07:16.639 Joel's writings in the Old Testament, we hear 00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:18.819 that the Spirit was promised to be poured out 00:07:18.819 --> 00:07:22.269 on all people. Then when Jesus comes along everyone 00:07:22.269 --> 00:07:24.350 around the birth of Jesus is filled with the 00:07:24.350 --> 00:07:26.550 Spirit including his mother and his aunts and 00:07:26.550 --> 00:07:28.870 a whole bunch of other people and then he himself 00:07:28.870 --> 00:07:31.129 is filled with the Spirit and at his baptism 00:07:31.129 --> 00:07:33.290 the Spirit of God comes down and anoints him 00:07:33.290 --> 00:07:35.569 in the form of a dove and we hear the voice of 00:07:35.569 --> 00:07:38.470 the Father saying, this is my Son and in my Son 00:07:38.470 --> 00:07:41.730 I am pleased. Father, Son and Spirit together 00:07:41.730 --> 00:07:45.970 you're with me so far. Okay, good. And finally 00:07:45.970 --> 00:07:48.939 in Acts chapter 2 the Holy Spirit is poured out 00:07:48.939 --> 00:07:51.600 on all believers on the day of Pentecost and 00:07:51.600 --> 00:07:54.399 that fulfills that prophecy from Joel and this 00:07:54.399 --> 00:07:56.980 was made possible by the death resurrection and 00:07:56.980 --> 00:07:59.699 ascension into heaven of Jesus. Now if you're 00:07:59.699 --> 00:08:02.339 struggling to keep up I know I will dig down 00:08:02.339 --> 00:08:04.779 into some of this stuff but that's just the broad 00:08:04.779 --> 00:08:07.879 overview and I say it all so you don't get confused 00:08:07.879 --> 00:08:11.199 and think that it's like a sidebar for God. God 00:08:11.199 --> 00:08:13.439 the Father, Jesus the Son and the other one. 00:08:13.779 --> 00:08:18.699 No no this is an even trinity of partners. God, 00:08:18.699 --> 00:08:21.040 Jesus, and the Holy Spirit though. Here's a little 00:08:21.040 --> 00:08:24.240 bit on how this works. In Matthew chapter 27, 00:08:24.579 --> 00:08:26.980 we read that Jesus died and the veil in the temple 00:08:26.980 --> 00:08:30.240 was torn in two. But it wasn't torn from bottom 00:08:30.240 --> 00:08:32.879 to top, it was torn from top to bottom. Now the 00:08:32.879 --> 00:08:35.100 veil in the temple was much, much higher than 00:08:35.100 --> 00:08:37.320 the ceiling we have here. This is in Jerusalem. 00:08:37.379 --> 00:08:40.090 It was about... at least half again as tall as 00:08:40.090 --> 00:08:42.230 the ceiling we have here. And so when we hear 00:08:42.230 --> 00:08:44.590 that this thick veil, this thick curtain really, 00:08:44.649 --> 00:08:46.850 but it's called a veil, was torn from top to 00:08:46.850 --> 00:08:49.409 bottom, you know that only a divine hand can 00:08:49.409 --> 00:08:51.690 do it. Someone from the bottom could maybe start 00:08:51.690 --> 00:08:53.750 ripping it up and hope they get a bit of momentum, 00:08:53.909 --> 00:08:55.909 you know, like when you're cutting wrapping paper 00:08:55.909 --> 00:08:58.509 and it glides along, something like that. But 00:08:58.509 --> 00:09:00.909 from top to bottom, only the Lord can do it. 00:09:00.970 --> 00:09:04.389 It has to be a divine act. And why was that important? 00:09:04.649 --> 00:09:07.809 Because that curtain separated the presence of 00:09:07.809 --> 00:09:09.669 God in the temple from the rest of the world. 00:09:09.970 --> 00:09:12.169 It was an area called the holiest of holies where 00:09:12.169 --> 00:09:15.570 the presence of God resided on earth, tabernacled, 00:09:15.809 --> 00:09:19.049 resided, was present. And when Jesus died and 00:09:19.049 --> 00:09:21.570 everything was fulfilled in his work, that veil 00:09:21.570 --> 00:09:25.710 was torn and the presence of God went out into 00:09:25.710 --> 00:09:29.090 the world. Now, this is a little bit figurative. 00:09:29.350 --> 00:09:31.590 Not the veil. Not that the presence was in the 00:09:31.590 --> 00:09:34.169 world, but this was the choice of God to restrict 00:09:34.169 --> 00:09:37.470 Himself to a holy place so as not to overwhelm 00:09:37.470 --> 00:09:39.909 everybody, but also to wait for the fulfillment 00:09:39.909 --> 00:09:42.090 of everything that needed to happen. There was 00:09:42.090 --> 00:09:46.289 a special timing to all this. Now, here's why. 00:09:46.769 --> 00:09:50.809 In John chapter 16 verse 7, Jesus says this very 00:09:50.809 --> 00:09:53.409 difficult -to -take thing to His disciples. Now, 00:09:53.409 --> 00:09:55.029 He said a lot of difficult -to -take things, 00:09:55.029 --> 00:09:57.269 but this is one of the hardest ones. He says, 00:10:00.309 --> 00:10:02.970 Now, he's just spent the rest of the three years 00:10:02.970 --> 00:10:05.570 before that going, I am the son of God and the 00:10:05.570 --> 00:10:08.350 saviour of the world. And they're like, great. 00:10:08.629 --> 00:10:10.750 Okay, I think we're in. Then he goes, good. I'm 00:10:10.750 --> 00:10:12.190 going to leave and it's going to be way better. 00:10:12.549 --> 00:10:14.509 Sorry, I just don't feel like those two things 00:10:14.509 --> 00:10:17.070 go together. You know, these are like two magnets. 00:10:17.409 --> 00:10:19.549 You're pointing them the wrong way. But Jesus 00:10:19.549 --> 00:10:21.509 was saying, no, no, no, no, no. This is what's 00:10:21.509 --> 00:10:24.029 happening because if I don't go away, the counsellor 00:10:24.029 --> 00:10:27.039 will not come to you, the Holy Spirit. If I go, 00:10:27.100 --> 00:10:29.620 I will send Him to you. When He comes, He will 00:10:29.620 --> 00:10:32.539 convict the world about sin, righteousness, and 00:10:32.539 --> 00:10:37.200 judgment. Now, here's the thing. Jesus was incarnate 00:10:37.200 --> 00:10:39.840 among us as a person. You could touch Him. Even 00:10:39.840 --> 00:10:42.019 after His resurrection, where He was able to 00:10:42.019 --> 00:10:44.980 sort of appear at will, there was still a sense 00:10:44.980 --> 00:10:48.019 of presence in one place at one time. He didn't 00:10:48.019 --> 00:10:51.720 just go... multiverse. Like, He was in one place 00:10:51.720 --> 00:10:55.279 at one time. But the Holy Spirit... is pure Spirit 00:10:55.279 --> 00:10:57.580 and not tangible in the same way. So the Spirit 00:10:57.580 --> 00:11:00.320 of God can be poured out over all the earth all 00:11:00.320 --> 00:11:03.519 at once. So you and I, no matter where we are, 00:11:03.620 --> 00:11:07.000 have the presence of God physically with us, 00:11:07.139 --> 00:11:08.779 which is something we were never able to say 00:11:08.779 --> 00:11:11.980 before unless we were A. one of Jesus' disciples 00:11:11.980 --> 00:11:15.460 or B. like Moses, briefly. You following me so 00:11:15.460 --> 00:11:18.340 far? This is why it is good. So the presence 00:11:18.340 --> 00:11:20.580 of God is now not in the temple. nor in Jesus 00:11:20.580 --> 00:11:23.100 himself, but in the world and specifically in 00:11:23.100 --> 00:11:26.120 these tiny little mini temples that Jesus called 00:11:26.120 --> 00:11:28.940 disciples. That is you and me, if you believe 00:11:28.940 --> 00:11:31.559 in Jesus you have a down payment, a deposit of 00:11:31.559 --> 00:11:34.639 the Spirit of God in you. That's some good news. 00:11:35.620 --> 00:11:38.480 Now, when we talk about the Holy Spirit and we 00:11:38.480 --> 00:11:40.779 pray to the Holy Spirit, we'll often invite the 00:11:40.779 --> 00:11:43.139 Holy Spirit to come. And we say things like, 00:11:43.139 --> 00:11:45.100 Holy Spirit come. But I've just told you the 00:11:45.100 --> 00:11:47.379 Holy Spirit is everywhere. So that sounds ridiculous. 00:11:47.820 --> 00:11:49.960 Why would we say Holy Spirit come if the Holy 00:11:49.960 --> 00:11:51.919 Spirit is everywhere? Well, it's because of this. 00:11:52.340 --> 00:11:55.840 There are two different kinds of presence. Omnipresence 00:11:55.840 --> 00:11:58.860 and manifest presence. Everybody say omnipresence. 00:11:59.500 --> 00:12:01.860 Look how smart you sound when you say words like 00:12:01.860 --> 00:12:04.360 omnipresence. You'll be a Pembroke old scholar 00:12:04.360 --> 00:12:07.919 yet. We say that I'm not taking this seriously. 00:12:07.960 --> 00:12:10.519 If you don't know me well, just like relax, okay? 00:12:10.970 --> 00:12:12.950 I don't even read the newsletters. I'm not in 00:12:12.950 --> 00:12:16.429 the parents and friends. It's fine. We say all 00:12:16.429 --> 00:12:18.990 these things because what we crave in our lives 00:12:18.990 --> 00:12:22.090 is not the general presence of God. We crave 00:12:22.090 --> 00:12:25.850 the manifest presence of God. We crave the sense 00:12:25.850 --> 00:12:29.470 that God is really with us, right? Jared and 00:12:29.470 --> 00:12:32.490 Tex, two of my closest friends. If someone goes 00:12:32.490 --> 00:12:35.389 to me, hey, you know what? Jared's in the state. 00:12:35.690 --> 00:12:40.230 I'm like, oh yeah, that's good. But if they go, 00:12:40.649 --> 00:12:42.789 hey, Jared's coming today. I'm like, oh, that's 00:12:42.789 --> 00:12:44.389 great. In fact, this literally happened today, 00:12:44.509 --> 00:12:46.830 because Jared's normally at Enfield with me. 00:12:47.110 --> 00:12:49.149 I forgot that he was coming today. And so I saw 00:12:49.149 --> 00:12:51.529 him. I'm like, oh, Jared's manifest presence 00:12:51.529 --> 00:12:54.289 with me today. And Jared said, that's a pretty 00:12:54.289 --> 00:12:58.309 weird way to say it, but thank you. I'm excited 00:12:58.309 --> 00:13:02.070 because the people I love are with me. We are 00:13:02.070 --> 00:13:04.110 more excited when the people we love are with 00:13:04.110 --> 00:13:07.190 us. So God, with us, is a cause for celebration. 00:13:07.409 --> 00:13:09.870 Amen? It's not just God generally. You know when 00:13:09.870 --> 00:13:12.029 somebody says in kids church, they're like, God 00:13:12.029 --> 00:13:15.409 loves you. And you're like, oh yeah? Like, I 00:13:15.409 --> 00:13:17.870 hope that lands on me somewhere. But when you 00:13:17.870 --> 00:13:19.769 have an encounter with the manifest presence, 00:13:20.070 --> 00:13:22.549 the tangible sense that God is here with you, 00:13:22.750 --> 00:13:24.750 you know that God loves you because you feel 00:13:24.750 --> 00:13:28.039 it. And there's something to that. So if you 00:13:28.039 --> 00:13:30.419 are here and you're relatively new or you're 00:13:30.419 --> 00:13:32.460 still seeking in church, I've got to tell you, 00:13:32.659 --> 00:13:34.960 we're very good at giving information and I get 00:13:34.960 --> 00:13:37.320 caught up in it all the time. Giving information 00:13:37.320 --> 00:13:40.200 about God. What you really want though is the 00:13:40.200 --> 00:13:43.899 presence of God that transforms you, that changes 00:13:43.899 --> 00:13:46.179 you from the inside out. Information's just like 00:13:46.179 --> 00:13:47.899 something you can put on your Goodreads later 00:13:47.899 --> 00:13:50.220 to go, yeah, read a book today and Tim and Charlie 00:13:50.220 --> 00:13:53.120 will be really excited. But that's not the point. 00:13:53.139 --> 00:13:55.580 The point is you've got to... be knowing God 00:13:55.580 --> 00:13:59.340 yourself because it's a relationship. The Bible 00:13:59.340 --> 00:14:02.299 is not a book to read, it is a vehicle for relationship 00:14:02.299 --> 00:14:06.700 with the living God. Now encounter is a Pentecostal 00:14:06.700 --> 00:14:09.620 church. That is, we are a church that lives. 00:14:09.879 --> 00:14:12.940 after Pentecost, who believes in the work of 00:14:12.940 --> 00:14:15.059 Pentecost. The Holy Spirit has come out and poured 00:14:15.059 --> 00:14:17.840 on his people. We're living temples. We're the 00:14:17.840 --> 00:14:19.779 temples. The living water is on us, just as Jesus 00:14:19.779 --> 00:14:22.980 promised. Spirit of God is inside us and we desire 00:14:22.980 --> 00:14:25.539 to be used by God to impact the world in Jesus' 00:14:25.720 --> 00:14:29.019 name. And we want to operate through the Holy 00:14:29.019 --> 00:14:30.899 Spirit. I'm going to leave that vague because 00:14:30.899 --> 00:14:33.720 I want to get to it later. The Holy Spirit is 00:14:33.720 --> 00:14:37.419 here so that we might know God and experience 00:14:37.419 --> 00:14:41.480 the presence of God. here on earth as in heaven. 00:14:42.059 --> 00:14:45.600 We are meant to live as mirrors of heaven. Heaven 00:14:45.600 --> 00:14:48.179 is not a place in the ether we just float to 00:14:48.179 --> 00:14:51.440 when we die. Heaven is something we begin to 00:14:51.440 --> 00:14:53.940 mirror as we are shaped in the image of Jesus 00:14:53.940 --> 00:14:58.879 here on earth. So what does the Holy Spirit actually 00:14:58.879 --> 00:15:02.019 do? Like if we're going to experience the presence 00:15:02.019 --> 00:15:04.200 of the Holy Spirit, what does that look like? 00:15:04.350 --> 00:15:07.009 What does it feel like? I'm going to start with 00:15:07.009 --> 00:15:09.090 feelings and then I'm going to move to theology. 00:15:09.190 --> 00:15:10.690 So if I start talking about feelings and you 00:15:10.690 --> 00:15:12.730 panic with the theology nodes, relax, I'm going 00:15:12.730 --> 00:15:16.610 to get there. Okay. Because what we don't want 00:15:16.610 --> 00:15:19.730 is as we consider, if you're opening yourself 00:15:19.730 --> 00:15:22.190 up to the idea that the Holy Spirit is true, 00:15:22.649 --> 00:15:25.330 that means there's a spiritual realm. That means 00:15:25.330 --> 00:15:27.330 we have to consider that there might be a negative 00:15:27.330 --> 00:15:29.990 side to the spiritual realm. what is sometimes 00:15:29.990 --> 00:15:32.230 called the demonic. We're not going to get into 00:15:32.230 --> 00:15:34.409 that today, relax, that's not today's sermon, 00:15:35.070 --> 00:15:37.389 but we do want to ask the question, how do we 00:15:37.389 --> 00:15:39.830 know that it's from the Holy Spirit that's speaking, 00:15:40.350 --> 00:15:42.769 or something negative, something demonic, or 00:15:42.769 --> 00:15:45.309 maybe more commonly, I just ate too much pizza 00:15:45.309 --> 00:15:47.210 the night before and now I'm a bit creative in 00:15:47.210 --> 00:15:50.169 my mind. Let's be frank, the amount of times 00:15:50.169 --> 00:15:53.330 we're like, is that God, or do I just need to 00:15:53.330 --> 00:15:55.889 go to the bathroom? I don't know, I don't know. 00:15:56.009 --> 00:15:58.350 So let me outline some common feelings to begin 00:15:58.350 --> 00:16:01.529 with. Often when people experience the presence 00:16:01.529 --> 00:16:03.570 of God, let's say they're in prayer or they're 00:16:03.570 --> 00:16:06.629 in worship, they might get goosebumps. That's 00:16:06.629 --> 00:16:08.610 one of the ways people often feel it, like sudden 00:16:08.610 --> 00:16:10.730 goosebumps. Not because there's a chill in the 00:16:10.730 --> 00:16:13.289 air, but because something is happening. Sometimes 00:16:13.289 --> 00:16:15.669 people describe it as a tingle in their body, 00:16:16.070 --> 00:16:18.360 like. I don't get that personally, so I'm not 00:16:18.360 --> 00:16:20.000 sure exactly how to describe it, but I've heard 00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:22.299 a lot of people describe it as a tingle. Another 00:16:22.299 --> 00:16:25.039 one is like something strongly in the pit of 00:16:25.039 --> 00:16:27.360 their stomach. Those are three quite common ways 00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:30.940 people feel it. Now, in terms of hearing the 00:16:30.940 --> 00:16:34.019 Holy Spirit, the pastor and author Tyler Stanton 00:16:34.019 --> 00:16:36.419 says this. He said, pressed to describe hearing 00:16:36.419 --> 00:16:40.139 God speak, I'd say it feels like a thought entering 00:16:40.139 --> 00:16:42.659 your imagination from the outside rather than 00:16:42.659 --> 00:16:44.960 from the inside. It's a normal thought, like 00:16:44.960 --> 00:16:48.230 any other. but it originates somewhere unfamiliar. 00:16:49.210 --> 00:16:51.029 Now I would add to that, that if you're listening 00:16:51.029 --> 00:16:52.629 to the Holy Spirit and you're trying to work 00:16:52.629 --> 00:16:55.350 it out, it quite often feels left field. So yes, 00:16:55.350 --> 00:16:57.470 coming from the outside, but it doesn't feel 00:16:57.470 --> 00:17:00.870 like a thought either I've been thinking or that 00:17:00.870 --> 00:17:03.730 I perhaps would normally think. So again, I've 00:17:03.730 --> 00:17:05.250 just been talking about Tex and Jared. So if 00:17:05.250 --> 00:17:07.569 I immediately went to say something from the 00:17:07.569 --> 00:17:09.250 Holy Spirit and was immediately about one of 00:17:09.250 --> 00:17:11.210 these two guys, there's a pretty good chance 00:17:11.210 --> 00:17:13.549 that's just stuff I'm thinking about. But if 00:17:13.549 --> 00:17:15.769 out of nowhere I'm looking at these guys and 00:17:15.769 --> 00:17:19.170 someone says, oh Callan, like there's a, the 00:17:19.170 --> 00:17:21.069 word Callan is in my brain. Now Callan's back 00:17:21.069 --> 00:17:22.710 there, I'm not looking at him, that's not from 00:17:22.710 --> 00:17:24.049 the Holy Spirit, I looked around for someone 00:17:24.049 --> 00:17:27.390 else to say. But that would be more likely to 00:17:27.390 --> 00:17:28.930 be the Holy Spirit because it's out of left field, 00:17:29.069 --> 00:17:31.549 it's out of nowhere, suddenly speaking. You're 00:17:31.549 --> 00:17:33.509 tracking what I'm saying? Yeah. I'm not trying 00:17:33.509 --> 00:17:35.269 to say that was the Holy Spirit, I'm just trying 00:17:35.269 --> 00:17:38.549 to give an example of how it might happen. Now 00:17:38.549 --> 00:17:42.160 let's look at the theology. Anything from the 00:17:42.160 --> 00:17:44.500 Holy Spirit will confirm Jesus as the Son of 00:17:44.500 --> 00:17:48.279 God. Anything. So if it tries to deny, that you 00:17:48.279 --> 00:17:49.900 have a voice in your head denying that Jesus 00:17:49.900 --> 00:17:52.259 is the Son of God, that is not the Holy Spirit. 00:17:52.960 --> 00:17:56.240 That is something else. If what we say and do 00:17:56.240 --> 00:17:58.920 doesn't glorify God the Father and Christ the 00:17:58.920 --> 00:18:02.740 Son, it is not from the Holy Spirit. If what 00:18:02.740 --> 00:18:04.640 you think the Holy Spirit is saying doesn't match 00:18:04.640 --> 00:18:07.339 up with the Spirit -breathed Word of God as revealed 00:18:07.339 --> 00:18:10.910 in the Bible, it is not the Holy Spirit. Because 00:18:10.910 --> 00:18:15.210 the Holy Spirit will speak in ways that are fully 00:18:15.210 --> 00:18:17.509 Uncontradictory that there's probably a better 00:18:17.509 --> 00:18:19.670 way to say that that's a double negative, but 00:18:19.670 --> 00:18:22.269 they it will be consistent There you go. It will 00:18:22.269 --> 00:18:25.250 be consistent with the words of God in the Bible 00:18:25.250 --> 00:18:28.589 Now the Holy Spirit is not limited to the Bible 00:18:28.589 --> 00:18:31.930 But it will never contradict the Bible. Okay 00:18:31.930 --> 00:18:35.869 God the Bible is not God This is a very important 00:18:35.869 --> 00:18:38.970 word for some of us here. The Bible is fully 00:18:38.970 --> 00:18:41.769 true The Bible reveals what we need to know about 00:18:41.769 --> 00:18:44.329 God, but the Bible itself is not God. God is 00:18:44.329 --> 00:18:47.569 not confined to a book, but God communicates 00:18:47.569 --> 00:18:49.710 it to us because we are confined in our brains, 00:18:49.970 --> 00:18:51.309 or at least I don't know about you, well I know 00:18:51.309 --> 00:18:53.990 about some of you, but I am confined in my brain 00:18:53.990 --> 00:18:56.250 and I find that every morning before I have at 00:18:56.250 --> 00:18:59.930 least one coffee. I need some sort of parameters 00:18:59.930 --> 00:19:02.470 to help me understand things. So God has gifted 00:19:02.470 --> 00:19:05.529 us the Bible to help us understand His nature, 00:19:05.809 --> 00:19:09.349 because how do you understand infinity? We need 00:19:09.349 --> 00:19:12.890 something to help us understand, to get our head 00:19:12.890 --> 00:19:18.190 around it. So for example, let me give you an 00:19:18.190 --> 00:19:21.730 example of how the Holy Spirit might speak through 00:19:21.730 --> 00:19:25.789 or something else is speaking. The Holy Spirit 00:19:25.789 --> 00:19:29.089 will never tell you to cheat on your wife because 00:19:29.089 --> 00:19:31.690 that's adultery and the Bible speaks against 00:19:31.690 --> 00:19:34.460 it. in many places. Exodus chapter 20 in the 00:19:34.460 --> 00:19:36.619 Old Testament, Hebrews chapter 13 in the New 00:19:36.619 --> 00:19:38.720 Testament, and about a hundred other places as 00:19:38.720 --> 00:19:42.339 well. If you do that, you are intentionally going 00:19:42.339 --> 00:19:44.700 against the will of God as revealed in the Bible. 00:19:45.200 --> 00:19:47.119 So you know that's not the Holy Spirit if that's 00:19:47.119 --> 00:19:49.519 what you're hearing. However, if you want to 00:19:49.519 --> 00:19:51.279 know how much time you should spend on your phone, 00:19:51.640 --> 00:19:53.220 it is unlikely you're going to find a scripture 00:19:53.220 --> 00:19:55.700 that directly tells you how to use your iPhone. 00:19:56.359 --> 00:19:57.920 Like frankly, it's unlikely you get directions 00:19:57.920 --> 00:20:00.640 from Apple about how to use your iPhone. What 00:20:00.640 --> 00:20:03.220 you need is guidance through prayer, through 00:20:03.220 --> 00:20:06.519 the Spirit. And if Tex prays and gets three hours 00:20:06.519 --> 00:20:08.539 a day and Jared prays and gets one hour a day, 00:20:09.119 --> 00:20:11.539 who's hearing from the Holy Spirit? Probably 00:20:11.539 --> 00:20:13.819 both of them. Jared puts his hand up by the way. 00:20:15.099 --> 00:20:18.039 Both of them, but they're hearing what they need 00:20:18.039 --> 00:20:21.059 to hear for discernment from God. Because using 00:20:21.059 --> 00:20:24.220 your phone isn't inherently sinful as outlined 00:20:24.220 --> 00:20:27.380 in Scripture. Are you with me on that? Let me 00:20:27.380 --> 00:20:31.609 say that one more time. The Bible will never 00:20:31.609 --> 00:20:34.430 be contradicted by the Holy Spirit. The Holy 00:20:34.430 --> 00:20:36.710 Spirit will only affirm the words of God in the 00:20:36.710 --> 00:20:39.210 Bible. But if you need information about something 00:20:39.210 --> 00:20:41.450 that is not explicitly in the Bible, including 00:20:41.450 --> 00:20:43.309 the sort of relationships and jobs you have day 00:20:43.309 --> 00:20:45.690 to day today, you need to ask the Holy Spirit 00:20:45.690 --> 00:20:47.369 to give you wisdom. And then you need to make 00:20:47.369 --> 00:20:50.130 sure that wisdom doesn't contradict any of the 00:20:50.130 --> 00:20:53.250 wisdom of the Bible. That's how that works. For 00:20:53.250 --> 00:20:55.369 me, I've had examples in my life where I felt 00:20:55.369 --> 00:20:57.529 the Holy Spirit whisper to me that I need to 00:20:57.529 --> 00:21:00.349 stop watching a TV show. It wasn't particularly 00:21:00.349 --> 00:21:03.190 worse or better than some other TV show. It was 00:21:03.190 --> 00:21:04.849 just that I felt the Spirit saying, don't watch 00:21:04.849 --> 00:21:07.150 that. That's not going to be good for you. So, 00:21:07.349 --> 00:21:10.309 okay, sure. Other Christians have watched it 00:21:10.309 --> 00:21:12.650 and I have no problem with them doing it. It's 00:21:12.650 --> 00:21:15.599 just for me. that the Spirit was telling me in 00:21:15.599 --> 00:21:17.180 the Spirit's wisdom that that's not good for 00:21:17.180 --> 00:21:20.400 me. Similarly, maybe less potent, like little 00:21:20.400 --> 00:21:22.079 phone games that I'll be playing and just the 00:21:22.079 --> 00:21:23.940 Spirit going, don't do that, that's a waste of 00:21:23.940 --> 00:21:26.740 your time. Okay. And then other phone games are 00:21:26.740 --> 00:21:29.220 seems fine. I don't know. You just got to be 00:21:29.220 --> 00:21:30.880 listening for the whisper of the Spirit. Perhaps 00:21:30.880 --> 00:21:33.279 more importantly, I'm married to my wife because 00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:35.000 I prayed and sensed the clear prompting of the 00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:37.160 Holy Spirit. That was the sort of decision I 00:21:37.160 --> 00:21:40.220 didn't want to just jump into with logic and 00:21:40.220 --> 00:21:43.339 my best intention. Because that's not enough. 00:21:44.019 --> 00:21:46.299 I wanted the guidance of the Spirit of God leading 00:21:46.299 --> 00:21:50.079 me into marriage. And so that helps when you're 00:21:50.079 --> 00:21:51.680 going through times that are less pleasant in 00:21:51.680 --> 00:21:54.579 your marriage. So again, the Holy Spirit is not 00:21:54.579 --> 00:21:56.539 limited to the Bible, but it will never contradict 00:21:56.539 --> 00:21:59.059 the Bible. My wife's here next week, by the way. 00:21:59.059 --> 00:22:00.720 I didn't say that thing about less pleasant. 00:22:00.940 --> 00:22:03.279 There is no less pleasant. It's all been good. 00:22:05.859 --> 00:22:08.140 The Holy Spirit is also likely to appear to you 00:22:08.140 --> 00:22:09.940 in a number of certain ways. Let's hear about 00:22:09.940 --> 00:22:13.180 the actions of the Spirit. to be a counsellor, 00:22:13.400 --> 00:22:16.700 a counsellor. In John 16, 7, Jesus calls the 00:22:16.700 --> 00:22:19.160 Holy Spirit the counsellor. Now, if you're here 00:22:19.160 --> 00:22:21.359 and you've got some big life questions, especially 00:22:21.359 --> 00:22:23.400 if you're under 30, and you're like, what do 00:22:23.400 --> 00:22:25.480 I do with my life? Will you bring that question 00:22:25.480 --> 00:22:28.079 to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God? Say, God, 00:22:28.319 --> 00:22:30.160 tell me what I should do with my life. And the 00:22:30.160 --> 00:22:32.819 Holy Spirit is there to guide you. He will prompt 00:22:32.819 --> 00:22:35.160 you deep in your spirit. Or maybe he'll prompt 00:22:35.160 --> 00:22:37.799 someone else to give you a word of knowledge 00:22:37.799 --> 00:22:40.359 or information. The second thing is the Holy 00:22:40.359 --> 00:22:46.640 Spirit comforts us. In Acts 9 .31, Luke writes 00:22:46.640 --> 00:22:49.619 about the comfort of the Holy Spirit. In Philippians, 00:22:49.720 --> 00:22:52.140 the Apostle Paul writes about the peace of God 00:22:52.140 --> 00:22:55.640 which exceeds anything we can understand, guiding 00:22:55.640 --> 00:22:58.599 our hearts and our minds as we live in Christ 00:22:58.599 --> 00:23:02.460 Jesus. God's promise there is not that when you 00:23:02.460 --> 00:23:04.519 go to sleep at night and you pull the doona around 00:23:04.519 --> 00:23:06.559 you, you'll be all cosy because you probably 00:23:06.559 --> 00:23:08.619 will, but that's just because you've got a nice 00:23:08.619 --> 00:23:11.630 doona. God's promise is that when you are in 00:23:11.630 --> 00:23:15.130 the fires and furnaces of your life, if you're 00:23:15.130 --> 00:23:18.109 lifting those times up to the Spirit of God and 00:23:18.109 --> 00:23:21.069 asking Him and saying, God, I need you, you will 00:23:21.069 --> 00:23:24.170 find peace and comfort in ways that make no sense 00:23:24.170 --> 00:23:26.430 in the natural realm. You'll find yourself in 00:23:26.430 --> 00:23:29.009 the worst of situations and people go, how are 00:23:29.009 --> 00:23:31.630 you? And you're like, I'm all right. I'm all 00:23:31.630 --> 00:23:35.329 right. Like this is not good, but I'm okay because 00:23:35.329 --> 00:23:37.369 the Spirit of God is giving you comfort. You 00:23:37.369 --> 00:23:40.849 understand? It's good. Yeah, so those times you 00:23:40.849 --> 00:23:43.809 feel out of control pray Hand it back to God 00:23:43.809 --> 00:23:46.930 and you'll get surprising peace The last thing 00:23:46.930 --> 00:23:48.609 I want to mention is that the spirit brings us 00:23:48.609 --> 00:23:52.490 conviction in John 16 8 Jesus says that the spirit 00:23:52.490 --> 00:23:55.710 will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness 00:23:55.710 --> 00:23:58.690 and judgment now a Conviction is a firmly held 00:23:58.690 --> 00:24:02.150 belief, but it also refers to a jury saying somebody 00:24:02.150 --> 00:24:05.299 is guilty So often the Holy Spirit will highlight 00:24:05.299 --> 00:24:07.920 sin or an element of guilt in our lives that 00:24:07.920 --> 00:24:10.740 needs to be dealt with because it's festering 00:24:10.740 --> 00:24:14.359 inside us like a wound, like a bacteria. And 00:24:14.359 --> 00:24:16.200 my experience of conviction is often that it 00:24:16.200 --> 00:24:19.359 feels like a knot in your stomach, like it feels 00:24:19.359 --> 00:24:21.480 like that almost like that moment before you 00:24:21.480 --> 00:24:23.859 think I'm gonna be sick where your stomach just 00:24:23.859 --> 00:24:27.000 tenses up because the Lord is trying to give 00:24:27.000 --> 00:24:30.559 you a physical understanding of a whisper in 00:24:30.559 --> 00:24:33.279 your ear. So how can we tell that we're actually 00:24:33.279 --> 00:24:35.359 living by the Holy Spirit? I'm glad you asked. 00:24:35.420 --> 00:24:39.380 Let's move into that, more practical. In Galatians, 00:24:39.559 --> 00:24:41.599 Paul points out that when we have the Holy Spirit 00:24:41.599 --> 00:24:43.400 working in us and through us, our lives look 00:24:43.400 --> 00:24:58.319 different. Verse 16. These are opposed to each 00:24:58.319 --> 00:25:01.819 other. so that you don't do what you want. But 00:25:01.819 --> 00:25:04.339 if you are led by the Spirit, you're not under 00:25:04.339 --> 00:25:07.079 the law. Friends, the Holy Spirit in our flesh, 00:25:07.220 --> 00:25:09.680 our human desires, they often work against each 00:25:09.680 --> 00:25:12.619 other. That's quite helpful to know that we can't 00:25:12.619 --> 00:25:15.079 always trust our emotions. That's why I'm telling 00:25:15.079 --> 00:25:17.079 you the sort of feelings that you sometimes get 00:25:17.079 --> 00:25:19.119 when the Spirit is speaking to you, but the theology 00:25:19.119 --> 00:25:21.720 you need to frame whether it's actually the Spirit. 00:25:22.029 --> 00:25:25.170 We can't always trust our emotions. But Paul 00:25:25.170 --> 00:25:27.829 then goes on to tell us what life led by the 00:25:27.829 --> 00:25:30.250 Spirit actually looks like. And he says basically 00:25:30.250 --> 00:25:33.069 it looks like a healthy fruit tree bearing good 00:25:33.069 --> 00:25:35.869 fruit. This is what he says, the fruit of the 00:25:35.869 --> 00:25:39.150 Spirit working in you is love, it's joy, it's 00:25:39.150 --> 00:25:41.789 peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, 00:25:42.230 --> 00:25:45.269 faithfulness and self -control. There is no law 00:25:45.269 --> 00:25:48.930 against such things. And he goes on to say, now 00:25:48.930 --> 00:25:51.980 those who belong to Christ Jesus, have crucified 00:25:51.980 --> 00:25:55.140 the flesh with its passions and desires. If we 00:25:55.140 --> 00:25:58.259 live by the Spirit, we need to keep in step with 00:25:58.259 --> 00:26:00.980 the Spirit. Paul is describing the Holy Spirit 00:26:00.980 --> 00:26:03.579 like a dance partner. He's like, you gotta keep 00:26:03.579 --> 00:26:05.980 in step, let the Spirit lead, but you know, follow 00:26:05.980 --> 00:26:09.180 along, get the moves going. Make sure you're 00:26:09.180 --> 00:26:12.519 in line with the Spirit. Now the sneaky thing 00:26:12.519 --> 00:26:15.240 is when you read Galatians chapter 5 and there's 00:26:15.240 --> 00:26:16.859 some other stuff in it that's helpful to get 00:26:16.859 --> 00:26:20.299 into, it can read like a list of do's and don'ts, 00:26:20.299 --> 00:26:23.119 but it's actually not a list of do's and don'ts. 00:26:23.299 --> 00:26:27.400 It's a list of what will happen to us if the 00:26:27.400 --> 00:26:30.099 Holy Spirit is working in your life or if He's 00:26:30.099 --> 00:26:32.980 not working in your life. That's the difference. 00:26:33.680 --> 00:26:36.039 The key difference is God is doing the work, 00:26:36.039 --> 00:26:39.019 not you. Let me just say that one more time. 00:26:39.380 --> 00:26:41.619 You can't work your way into God's good books. 00:26:42.200 --> 00:26:44.140 You can't work your way into the Spirit of God 00:26:44.140 --> 00:26:47.539 working through you. But God is longing to work 00:26:47.539 --> 00:26:50.339 through you. The Holy Spirit is here to keep 00:26:50.339 --> 00:26:52.700 us in step with Him, not because He's desperate 00:26:52.700 --> 00:26:55.319 for you to obey rules. He just knows what happens 00:26:55.319 --> 00:26:58.640 when you don't. He knows what your life looks 00:26:58.640 --> 00:27:02.400 like when we self -sabotage our lives and God 00:27:02.400 --> 00:27:05.859 wants us to prosper because He loves us. That's 00:27:05.859 --> 00:27:08.200 the whole point of the whole presence thing. 00:27:08.299 --> 00:27:11.500 He's manifest with us. He's living in us because 00:27:11.500 --> 00:27:16.059 He loves us. He doesn't have to do that. But 00:27:16.059 --> 00:27:19.119 God's nature is loving and relational. So in 00:27:19.119 --> 00:27:21.519 His grace, He has come as the Holy Spirit to 00:27:21.519 --> 00:27:26.759 comfort us, counsel us and convict us. You with 00:27:26.759 --> 00:27:31.519 me? Good. If I stopped here, you would have heard 00:27:31.519 --> 00:27:35.269 a lovely, theologically sound message. on why 00:27:35.269 --> 00:27:38.690 we should believe in the Holy Spirit. But I would 00:27:38.690 --> 00:27:41.630 have totally botched it because the point of 00:27:41.630 --> 00:27:44.630 a relationship with the Spirit is not to be informed 00:27:44.630 --> 00:27:47.990 about the Spirit but be transformed by the Spirit. 00:27:49.049 --> 00:27:51.650 The point of all this is not to be people in 00:27:51.650 --> 00:27:54.059 our seats getting information in us, friends. 00:27:54.160 --> 00:27:57.839 The point of us is not to be participants, it's 00:27:57.839 --> 00:28:00.220 not to be passive, it's to be active, to be participants. 00:28:00.259 --> 00:28:02.579 You get the Spirit of God within you and you're 00:28:02.579 --> 00:28:04.900 sent out in the world to change the world and 00:28:04.900 --> 00:28:08.099 bring a taste of heaven to earth. So that everyone 00:28:08.099 --> 00:28:10.500 might know when we read passages in the Bible 00:28:10.500 --> 00:28:13.180 like we do in Hebrews chapter 2, if we just jump 00:28:13.180 --> 00:28:14.859 back, I think it's the next slide, Hebrews chapter 00:28:14.859 --> 00:28:18.380 2, if we jump there, you can read about salvation, 00:28:18.380 --> 00:28:20.519 right? So what makes us think we can escape if 00:28:20.519 --> 00:28:22.970 we ignore this great salvation and we can go, 00:28:23.029 --> 00:28:25.849 yes, okay, we have to go out and share the good 00:28:25.849 --> 00:28:28.109 news about Jesus so that people are saved by 00:28:28.109 --> 00:28:31.390 believing in Jesus. 100 % true. But we never 00:28:31.390 --> 00:28:34.549 ask the question, why? Why do we want people 00:28:34.549 --> 00:28:37.069 to be saved? Is it like into heaven and out of 00:28:37.069 --> 00:28:39.630 hell thing? I mean, yes, but it's got to be more 00:28:39.630 --> 00:28:42.829 than that, right? Like, have you ever met somebody 00:28:42.829 --> 00:28:45.250 who claims they believe in Jesus? And then when 00:28:45.250 --> 00:28:47.210 you have a conversation with them, you're like, 00:28:47.569 --> 00:28:52.190 is this really what Jesus is like? Really? Because 00:28:52.190 --> 00:28:54.549 I'm struggling. I'm struggling to believe it. 00:28:55.109 --> 00:28:57.230 There's something wrong when we're not living 00:28:57.230 --> 00:29:00.470 it out. It's the difference between orthodoxy 00:29:00.470 --> 00:29:03.710 and orthopraxis. Two more fancy inner -city private 00:29:03.710 --> 00:29:05.890 school words I know. But just stay with me here 00:29:05.890 --> 00:29:09.109 for a second. Orthodoxy means right belief. Ortho, 00:29:09.109 --> 00:29:12.829 right, doxy, belief. Okay, it is important to 00:29:12.829 --> 00:29:14.569 know what you believe and believe the right things 00:29:14.569 --> 00:29:16.549 because what you believe tends to shape what 00:29:16.549 --> 00:29:20.220 you do. But more important than orthodoxy is 00:29:20.220 --> 00:29:24.000 orthopraxis. That is right action. Because if 00:29:24.000 --> 00:29:27.019 we don't do anything with our beliefs, what do 00:29:27.019 --> 00:29:30.119 they even mean? And this is why everyone all 00:29:30.119 --> 00:29:32.440 over the globe gets a little bit eye -rolly at 00:29:32.440 --> 00:29:34.680 the moment with people waving placards. It's 00:29:34.680 --> 00:29:37.059 like, okay, great. What are we doing with what 00:29:37.059 --> 00:29:40.460 we believe here? That is the key. If you're in 00:29:40.460 --> 00:29:42.140 the room and you're a follower of Jesus, my challenge 00:29:42.140 --> 00:29:44.680 to you is this. Where is the Holy Spirit at work 00:29:44.680 --> 00:29:48.029 in your life? What is the evidence? What is the 00:29:48.029 --> 00:29:50.470 fruit? If somebody came to see you, would they 00:29:50.470 --> 00:29:52.390 naturally say you are a person of love, joy, 00:29:52.490 --> 00:29:54.150 peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith on 00:29:54.150 --> 00:29:59.609 His gentle and self -control? Or not? And here's 00:29:59.609 --> 00:30:02.410 the other thing, it's not just about fruit. There's 00:30:02.410 --> 00:30:06.029 more to come than just living a good life. Because 00:30:06.029 --> 00:30:09.630 that feels kind of tiring and boring. This is 00:30:09.630 --> 00:30:11.250 what we read in Hebrews. Have a look at this 00:30:11.250 --> 00:30:14.700 up there for you. So what makes us think we can 00:30:14.700 --> 00:30:16.799 escape if we ignore this great salvation that 00:30:16.799 --> 00:30:19.960 was first announced by the Lord Jesus? Okay, 00:30:20.079 --> 00:30:23.000 Jesus started the salvation process off and then 00:30:23.000 --> 00:30:25.759 delivered to us by those who heard him speak. 00:30:25.859 --> 00:30:28.660 Oh, okay, so the disciples are taking the salvation 00:30:28.660 --> 00:30:31.559 message and giving it to us and then God does 00:30:31.559 --> 00:30:34.259 something and then God confirms the message by 00:30:34.259 --> 00:30:37.599 giving signs and wonders and various miracles 00:30:37.599 --> 00:30:40.500 and gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever he chose. 00:30:40.680 --> 00:30:43.440 That is... The Acts moment that I talked about, 00:30:43.660 --> 00:30:46.299 the Holy Spirit pours out from the upper room. 00:30:46.519 --> 00:30:48.400 These disciples are filled with the Spirit and 00:30:48.400 --> 00:30:51.079 we've been singing songs about it all afternoon. 00:30:51.619 --> 00:30:54.079 I need a fresh wind, that's from Acts chapter 00:30:54.079 --> 00:30:57.839 2. Spirit come rushing wind, Acts chapter 2. 00:30:58.180 --> 00:31:00.839 Fire and wind, come and do it again, Acts chapter 00:31:00.839 --> 00:31:03.680 2. And I always get worried when I'm in a church, 00:31:03.859 --> 00:31:05.740 especially one of the ones that I take responsibility 00:31:05.740 --> 00:31:08.420 for. And we're like fire and wind, come and do 00:31:08.420 --> 00:31:13.180 it again, open up the gates. Do whatever. No, 00:31:13.220 --> 00:31:15.980 it's like fire and wind come and do it again 00:31:15.980 --> 00:31:19.500 Come and do it again. I am a mess without you 00:31:19.500 --> 00:31:22.619 God pour out your spirit I need to be filled 00:31:22.619 --> 00:31:25.559 with you. I need your life. I need your love 00:31:25.559 --> 00:31:28.079 I need your relationship and I need it not just 00:31:28.079 --> 00:31:31.160 for me But because every time I go out into the 00:31:31.160 --> 00:31:34.339 world I cause chaos when I'm not led by you I 00:31:34.339 --> 00:31:38.359 cause pain and cruelty so Lord fill me again 00:31:38.359 --> 00:31:41.259 Do it again not just for me, but so that others 00:31:41.259 --> 00:31:44.380 might understand what it means to be filled and 00:31:44.380 --> 00:31:50.319 transformed by You. That's what it's about. Fire 00:31:50.319 --> 00:31:59.799 and wind, come and do it again. Earth too. It's 00:31:59.799 --> 00:32:02.160 about the way the Spirit of God moves in us and 00:32:02.160 --> 00:32:05.980 actually the key thing is it's not just about 00:32:05.980 --> 00:32:09.299 heaven, it is about earth. It's about what's 00:32:09.299 --> 00:32:14.109 happening on earth right now. right now. But 00:32:14.109 --> 00:32:16.269 unless we are open to what God wants to do in 00:32:16.269 --> 00:32:21.950 us, nothing will happen. We'll go about our lives 00:32:21.950 --> 00:32:25.829 and we'll probably be really nice people. We'll 00:32:25.829 --> 00:32:29.349 probably read the Bible, pay our taxes, love 00:32:29.349 --> 00:32:32.890 our family. We might not be people of radical 00:32:32.890 --> 00:32:36.589 forgiveness. We might not be people who throw 00:32:36.589 --> 00:32:39.109 ourselves into causes that people would call 00:32:39.109 --> 00:32:41.349 hopeless because we say actually as people of 00:32:41.349 --> 00:32:43.750 the Word, as people of God, we believe in redemption 00:32:43.750 --> 00:32:46.569 and restoration. We might not serve the poor 00:32:46.569 --> 00:32:48.769 in the way that the world desperately needs someone 00:32:48.769 --> 00:32:53.269 to serve the poor. Without the Holy Spirit, we 00:32:53.269 --> 00:32:58.049 dry up. So when we say, I believe in the Holy 00:32:58.049 --> 00:33:02.930 Spirit Church, we are saying, God, fill me with 00:33:02.930 --> 00:33:09.500 your presence. Change me and send me. It's not 00:33:09.500 --> 00:33:13.660 enough to be spectators. So what I want to do 00:33:13.660 --> 00:33:16.819 tonight is to help you live by the Holy Spirit. 00:33:18.059 --> 00:33:21.039 I want to help this church to continue to step 00:33:21.039 --> 00:33:24.940 forward as a Pentecostal church and What you'll 00:33:24.940 --> 00:33:27.099 find is if you're in this church, if you're in 00:33:27.099 --> 00:33:29.660 the room today and you grew up in what you might 00:33:29.660 --> 00:33:32.480 describe as a reasonably conservative Christian 00:33:32.480 --> 00:33:34.380 environment. I don't say there's a criticism, 00:33:34.380 --> 00:33:37.400 just a description. You might find it quite difficult 00:33:37.400 --> 00:33:40.420 to wrap your head around the shifting, the movement, 00:33:40.500 --> 00:33:43.660 the miracles of the Holy Spirit. But the Spirit 00:33:43.660 --> 00:33:46.339 of God has never stopped moving. There's never 00:33:46.339 --> 00:33:48.740 been evidence of the stopping of the miracles 00:33:48.740 --> 00:33:52.700 of the Holy Spirit. Never. In fact, the Bible's 00:33:52.700 --> 00:33:55.809 pretty clear. The spirit's poured out. We've 00:33:55.809 --> 00:33:58.549 got to keep asking for Him to speak to us. And 00:33:58.549 --> 00:34:00.630 so what I want to do tonight is invite us to 00:34:00.630 --> 00:34:04.549 let God speak to us. So if you'd start with me, 00:34:04.549 --> 00:34:08.190 I want to just encourage you to rise to your 00:34:08.190 --> 00:34:11.730 feet if you're able. And do something really 00:34:11.730 --> 00:34:14.210 simple. I'm going to lead you in a little process. 00:34:15.530 --> 00:34:17.750 And then we're just going to let God do what 00:34:17.750 --> 00:34:20.010 God wants to do. That's really the key here. 00:34:20.650 --> 00:34:24.940 We want God to move as only God can. So this 00:34:24.940 --> 00:34:26.599 is what I would encourage you to do. Number one, 00:34:27.320 --> 00:34:30.619 just remove your defences. It can be tempting 00:34:30.619 --> 00:34:32.619 to feel a bit awkward, to feel uncomfortable, 00:34:32.800 --> 00:34:38.619 to feel defensive. If God speaks to you, wouldn't 00:34:38.619 --> 00:34:41.739 that be amazing? Wouldn't that be something you'd 00:34:41.739 --> 00:34:45.940 really like? I reckon it probably would. So why 00:34:45.940 --> 00:34:49.079 don't we just relax? Just physically relax your 00:34:49.079 --> 00:34:53.199 body. Just take a couple of deep breaths. Steal 00:34:53.199 --> 00:34:55.659 your spirit. You'll have questions coming in 00:34:55.659 --> 00:34:58.360 your mind. Don't worry about that for now. God's 00:34:58.360 --> 00:35:00.440 big enough to deal with your questions, but just 00:35:00.440 --> 00:35:02.760 put them to the side. And then the second thing 00:35:02.760 --> 00:35:05.739 is we request, we ask, we say, Holy Spirit come. 00:35:07.059 --> 00:35:08.340 Would you just say that if you're comfortable? 00:35:08.539 --> 00:35:13.780 Holy Spirit come. Holy Spirit come. You may want 00:35:13.780 --> 00:35:16.960 to say something like, speak Lord, I'm listening. 00:35:19.769 --> 00:35:23.429 These are great words from Scripture. Jesus encourages 00:35:23.429 --> 00:35:27.289 us to have ears to hear what God is saying. And 00:35:27.289 --> 00:35:30.989 finally, just receive. Let God speak how he wishes. 00:35:32.469 --> 00:35:38.030 Pay attention and obey. I'm just going to leave 00:35:38.030 --> 00:35:50.289 a little silence for a moment. Holy Spirit. Thanks 00:35:50.289 --> 00:35:52.329 so much for tuning into this week's message. 00:35:53.150 --> 00:35:56.110 If you felt challenged or need prayer, we'd love 00:35:56.110 --> 00:35:58.489 to hear from you on Instagram at encounterhenny. 00:35:58.929 --> 00:36:01.449 Or if you're interested in how you can support 00:36:01.449 --> 00:36:05.409 this ministry, please go to our website encounteradelaide 00:36:05.409 --> 00:36:09.570 .com .au. Thanks again for listening. God bless 00:36:09.570 --> 00:36:09.929 you.