The Spirit of God at Work

Romans chapter 15 verse 13. We're not going to look so much at the context of

Romans 15:13

what's going on here. I'll give you that as homework this week to go

back and read the verses before this. We're just going to kind of kind of

pluck this one little verse out. It's a beautiful verse. I think it's a good

verse. Sometimes you may hear this verse in a benediction at a church service. So

we're just going to look at this one little verse this morning. I'll read it

then we'll pray and get started. Romans chapter 15 verse 13. Now may the God of

Romans 15:13

hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him so that you may

overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Let's pray. God we come

to you today and we thank you for being good to us. God I praise you today for

the work that you have done this week. I thank you for blessing us, blessing the

kids, just allowing us to come and be in your house and to worship you. And God we

praise you for your greatness. We thank you for Jesus and who he is and the hope

that we have through him dear Lord. We come to you today and we need that hope.

We live in a world that is full of pain and heartache and just just evil in our

world dear Lord. And so God maybe there's something today that they come into this

place and they they feel hopeless. I pray today dear Lord that we come and we hear

your word and we rejoice in your presence and we feel your Holy Spirit God

and that we can leave this place with hope that we can leave this place with

joy and peace and I ask these things in Jesus name amen. This this week was a

beautiful week. I asked Jennings to sing that last song before I preach today

because I think that song tells exactly what this week was like. There was a

sweet sweet spirit in this place and it was the presence of God. God was here

this week. I know that our revival is not scheduled for another couple of weeks

but but I believe that we had a revival this week. I believe that God worked in

a mighty way. I believe that God worked amongst us adults. I believe that God

works amongst the kids. Our teachers did such a good job this year. Our teachers

the kids knew the Bible stories. They knew what mattered and and we did all

this for one reason. Now we had a lot of fun. We we laughed and we acted silly and

we ate good foods and we had some cool games. We made cool crafts but we did all

of this and we always come together in God's house for one reason and that is

so people can hear the gospel of Jesus Christ so that those who have heard it

can grow in Jesus and those who have not heard it can come to Jesus and this week

we had six children who gave their life to Jesus. Praise the Lord. That's good. We

can clap. It's okay. That's good. Amen. We had six children. Three of them were going to be

baptized here within the next two or three weeks. We're getting all the dates

lined up where family can come but praise the Lord we had three from other

churches that will be getting baptized at their churches in the next few weeks

and what a what a what a beautiful thing that is. God was among us this week. The

Spirit moved and God's Holy Spirit when he moves he moves in a powerful way. Now

I don't it may just be me. I may be the only one that felt it but I hope some of

the rest of you guys some of you workers some of you some of you folks felt that

the power of God this week. You know when I sit here every night Dana asked me to

to be the worship rally leader. I volunteered for recreation and she said

no I want you to do a worship rally. Now I hadn't done that in a long time. I felt like I

was too old. That's one reason why I didn't want to do it. I said I'm a 40 year old man.

I don't this needs to be a young man's game. I don't know if I can even do it

but I'm glad that she gave me the opportunity to do it because because I

had the best seat in the house because I got to stand here every night and I look

across here and I see 39 kids that were just as happy as they could be. They come

every night with excitement and on this front row were 14 kids three to five

years old. Yep, Payton taught that class. I'll be praying for her. She still recovered.

But there's nothing more beautiful than to see these children that are

that are sitting on this front pew. There's nothing more beautiful. Jesus you

know there were some some folks bringing kids to Jesus and the disciples said

look take him away. Jesus he's the Messiah. He's got important things to do.

You don't have time for these kids and Jesus said look don't don't hinder the

little children from coming unto me. And what a beautiful thing that is. What a

beautiful story that is that Jesus reminds us of the importance of the kids

and yeah they're a little rambunctious. They're a little wild. They got a little bit

of energy but man what a beautiful thing that at that age that there are kids

that feel this pew. And it gives me hope. It gives me hope when I see that there's

another generation of young folks that are coming. That even in a small church

like this that we could have 39 kids that would come every night and here's

the cool part. Those kids didn't walk here. There's somebody that had to bring

them. Those 39 kids had parents and had grandparents that cared enough about

them that every night of the week that they would bring their kids and have to

come pick them up at 830. That's late but they were faithful to do it every night

and look listen at this for those of you that weren't here Friday night we had

all of our kids lined up. We had about 120 people here on a Friday night that

come to praise God for all the work that he had done. That's a beautiful thing.

That's a beautiful thing how God worked and when I see that when I see all your

smiling faces today when I see y'all are so faithful to come each week and so

faithful to serve it gives me hope and our world needs hope today. Our world

isn't a bad bad shape. We've got presidential candidates that's being

shot at. We've got countries at war. We've got disease. We've got all this stuff

that just that just overwhelms us and it can make us feel quite hopeless in this

world today. But Romans chapter 15 verse 13 says now may the God of hope feel

Romans 15:13

you with all joy and peace. May the God of hope. Now I don't know what your hope

was when you came into this building today but I'll tell you this if you've

tried to find hope in someone other than God you won't because the source of hope

is God and God alone. So we come here today so that we can find hope in God so

that we can know that there is hope in our situations. There's hope in our

sinfulness and our addictions. There's hope in our broken relationships. There's

hope in our and in our jobs that we hate. There's hope when the world seems to be

against us. There's hope when everything seems to be falling apart. There is hope

because we come here today to worship a God of hope and that is what we come

today to find the hope of God so that we may be filled with what? With joy and

peace. Now may the hope of God fill us this morning with joy and peace and as I

come here every night this week and as I saw these kids there's a sense of hope.

There's a sense of joy. There's a sense of peace. I saw all of our workers not

just the kids but every time I would see everybody they were smiling they were

excited they were happy. There was there was joy in this place. There was peace in

this place. One night everybody had gone and I was turning off all the lights and

and it was quiet and I was thinking man you know the life and the joy is in the

people in the people of God and praising God and it brings life to this place and

praise the Lord that we can come this week and we can come today and we can

experience the hope of God and I hope today that you are experiencing the joy

of God in your life that you're experiencing the peace of God in your

life. So may the God of hope give joy and peace to us but but how do we receive

that? No doubt God is a source of infinite hope and infinite joy and

infinite peace but to obtain that there's something that's required for us

and that's what the scripture says. Now may the God of hope fill you with joy

and peace as you believe in Him or some of your translations may say as you

trust in Him. Let me ask you that question today. I don't know the answer

to it only you know the answer to that but but have you trusted in God today?

Have you trusted in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Do you know that when

you feel hopeless and helpless do you know that when you struggle against sin

in your life do you know that the only way that you will be delivered of that

is through Jesus Christ that He is faithful to forgive us that He's faithful

to restore us and begin to work in our life when we confess our sins when we

seek Him when we call out to Him when our lives are falling apart and we say

Lord Jesus I need you when we call out to God and say God I need some hope in

the midst of my despair in the only place that we can find that hope and

that joy and that peace today is when we have trusted in Jesus Christ as our Lord

and Savior. Now I don't know but I but I want everybody in here to have trusted

in Jesus Christ I don't know if you have. Now I say this a lot I'll say it again

I'm not asking you do you come to church I'm not asking you if you pray

occasionally I'm not asking you if you read your Bible sometimes I'm asking you

have you trusted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior are you living for Him

that's an easy question for us to answer we can we can answer that you know the

answer that as soon as I say it are you living for Jesus Christ or are you

living for the world are you living for Jesus Christ or are you living for

yourself are you seeking the glory are you giving it to Jesus Christ in your

life I don't know the answer to that but you know the answer to that and what

what God's Word calls us to again and again is that we would repent of our

sins that we would seek God that we would call out to Him and when we seek

Him with all of our heart we will find it. Maybe the reason you haven't found

Jesus in your life is you haven't been seeking Him but maybe today the Holy

Spirit is working in your life and maybe today you realize that you need to seek

out Jesus Christ I want to tell you that he's here for you today that he died on

the cross that he was crucified and that he was resurrected and that is the

greatest truth that you will ever hear in your life that's what we learned in

VBS this week that God's truth never changes our world is constantly changing

our world is constantly telling us oh this is right oh this is right oh this

is acceptable oh this is my truth so whatever my truth is is okay but we

don't live by our truth we must live by the truth of God's Word and the truth of

God's Word is this is that we are sinners we are wretched men and women who

do evil and horrible things but God in our sinfulness saw us and sent Jesus

Christ his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him shall not

perish but have everlasting life that Jesus Christ would give his life for us

that is the grace of God so that our sins would be forgiven that is the

truth of God's Word and God's truth never changes so we need to discover the

hope of God today we need the joy and the peace of God to help get us through

our life every day when we hear bad news after bad news after bad news and that

only comes when we have trusted in Jesus Christ now may the God of hope fill you

with all joy and peace as you believe in him so that you may overflow with hope

by the power of the Holy Spirit the power of the Holy Spirit oh what a

beautiful thing the scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit indwells in us when

we come to Jesus Christ it's a beautiful thing when you see the spirit of God

move some of you have experienced that some of you have been part of revivals

where you've seen the Spirit of God move or been in a church service where you've

seen the Spirit of God move or been part of a VBS where you've seen the Spirit of

God move and when the Spirit of God moves it's evident it's evidence it's

undeniable one of the one of the things we see the thing that we see when the

Spirit of God moves is that lost souls come to Jesus Christ is that souls are

saved that Jesus Christ begins to work that the Holy Spirit begins to work that

God's Word begins to work and we it's evident to us when the Holy Spirit is at

work because people give their life to Jesus Christ we see it in a variety of

other ways Galatians chapter 5 verses 22 and 3 23 says but the fruit of the

Galatians 5:22

spirit is love joy peace patience kindness a goodness faith gentleness and

self-control these are the things that we see when the Spirit of God moves

these are the things that we see in our church these are the things that we saw

this week in our church in VBS we saw the joy of God the peace of God the

kindness of God we saw all of these qualities in the workers that we hear we

saw in the children that were here and why because the Holy Spirit was working

in this place God has been so good to us Enterprise Baptist Church God has blessed

us so much through the years and in these last couple of years God has

continued to bless us and I believe that God's Spirit is at work and I believe

that God's Spirit will continue to work if we continue to listen to the Spirit

of God and continue to follow the Spirit of God and continue to do the work of

God and it's the Spirit of God and it's the work of God that will change this

world now I know we're writing right up amongst the midst of a presidential

election regardless of who you like it does not matter to me but I'll tell you

this that our presidents are not going to change our world none of our leaders

are going to change our world it is the power of God that will change our world

it is the word of God that will change our world it is the Holy Spirit working

among people that will change our world now we look at our world today and we

say we're hopeless it's just it's no way this might be the end maybe maybe this

is it maybe it is I don't know but then again maybe God wants to do a mighty

work God does it he's done it many times a revival has to start somewhere

the Spirit of God has to start working somewhere for that spark to ignite who's

not to say that it may not be when it starts in you that it may not be the

spirit working in you and you're obedient to God that causes the spark

that brings the revival that changes the nation that changes the world who's not

to say that it won't start at Enterprise Baptist Church who's not to say that it

didn't start in VBS 2024 the Spirit of God wants to work among us and maybe for

some of you today the Spirit of God has already been working on you maybe

there's that conviction there to know that you need Jesus Christ as your Lord

and Savior we come and we read God's Word and we study God's Word and it is

good for us it is powerful for us and it tells us things about ourselves and it

reveals us when we reveals to us when we come and we open our heart and we seek

God we see that there are things in our life and in our heart that shouldn't be

there and it just and it just brings this this burden this conviction on us

but praise the Lord praise the Lord if you feel like that today because here's

what the scripture says 2nd Corinthians chapter 7 verse 10 says for

godly grief produces a repentance not to be regretted and leading to salvation

now Paul said that after he had preached some hard words to these people he wrote

to him in 1st Corinthians some hard things and and it grieves some of the

people but Paul says praise the Lord that you're grieved by these things

because godly grief leads to repentance and it's a repentance that leads to

salvation in Jesus Christ and so when God's Spirit begins to work amongst us

when God's Spirit begins to work in our lives when God's Spirit begins to work

on our heart he's calling us to trust in Jesus Christ perhaps there are some of

you today and you feel the Holy Spirit working on you perhaps today you know

that you've not trusted in Jesus Christ maybe you've been to church a lot maybe

you know a lot of scripture but maybe you've never trusted in Jesus Christ and

repented of your sins and live for him maybe the Holy Spirit is working on you

today well I pray today that if the Holy Spirit is working on you that you would

not turn away from God but that you would repent of your sins that you would

receive that salvation that comes only through Jesus Christ the power of the

Holy Spirit is a beautiful thing the power of the Holy Spirit helps reveal to

us the hope of God it helps reveal to us the joy and the peace of God but that

only comes when we have trusted in Jesus Christ in just a few minutes we're gonna

have our song of invitation we do this every week maybe there are some of you

out there today and you've never trusted Jesus Christ and maybe today as you sit

there you're ready to trust Jesus Christ as we have this song of invitation I

would encourage you to come forward we use all this language walk in the aisle

and asking Jesus into our heart you know the scripture never says anything about

asking Jesus into our heart but it does call us to put our faith in Jesus Christ

and to trust in Jesus Christ the Bible says never says you've got to walk the

aisle to be saved these are terms that we use and they're good enough but what

I'm calling you to today is not just walking an aisle but what I'm calling

you to today is to put your trust in Jesus Christ to put your faith in Jesus

Christ to repent of your sins and maybe today you're ready to make that decision

as we sang this song of invitation I would invite you to come and respond if

the Holy Spirit has spoken to you only you know the answer to that question

only you can make that decision but I pray today that you would trust in Jesus

Christ let's pray father God we come to you this morning we thank you for your

good words I pray that you would bless these words I pray that you would bless

each one that's here today God I thank you for all the ones who have come I

thank you for the blessing of our VBS I pray for these children dear Lord who

have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ I pray that you would bless them

as they prepare for their baptisms God I pray that you bless the workers that

were here that we continue to grow in you through that experience God I pray

that you'd bless this church God I pray that your Holy Spirit would work amongst

us would work amongst many all over this country all over this world dear Lord

that we would be those who were transformed by you God there there may

be some today that came into this place looking for hope and peace and joy and I

pray today that they have seen that it only comes when we trust in Jesus Christ

so if there are some today that do not know Jesus Christ I pray God that in

this time of invitation that they would respond that they would come that they

would that they would put their faith in Jesus Christ today that we baptize them

as as your word commands God maybe there are some here today and they're yours

but maybe today they need to repent of something in their life maybe today they

need to kind of just re-shift their focus dear Lord to put you back at the

center God if you've spoken to anybody God I pray that right now that they

would respond and I ask these things in Jesus name amen