The Dependent Church: Growing in the Spirit

As Neil's outlined, God calls us on a big mission to share the good news of the gospel to all people,

our friends, family, colleagues, neighbors.

But in order for us to do this, to live on the gospel and to honor God's mission for evangelism,

we must be wholly dependent on Him.

Dan and Simon will speak about faith and prayer in a moment,

but I will first talk about the Holy Spirit.

And over the next 20 or so minutes, I'll try to address the two questions that we have just discussed,

plus a third question as well.

First, let's take a walk down memory lane.

Let's remind ourselves, who is the Holy Spirit?

What do we know about the Holy Spirit?

There's a saying in some Christian circles that the Holy Spirit is the forgotten member of the Trinity.

We believe in and we pray to Father God.

We love, trust, and receive the grace of Jesus Christ.

But maybe we don't acknowledge or understand the person of the Holy Spirit as much.

Well, let's go back to basics.

Who is the Holy Spirit?

Number one, the Holy Spirit is a person of the Trinity,

equal in stature, in glory, in sovereignty, in honor,

as the Father, God the Father, as Jesus Christ, God the Son.

And the Holy Spirit's fingerprints are seen throughout Scripture.

Genesis 1, verse 2.

Genesis 1:2

The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep,

and the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, was hovering over the face of the waters.

At creation, the Holy Spirit was there, was present, creating order out of chaos.

And throughout the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit empowered many imperfect men and women

to do supernatural, powerful things for God.

In the New Testament, Jesus was miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit.

At His baptism, the Holy Spirit descended on Christ like a dove.

And throughout His ministry, the Holy Spirit was there with Jesus,

empowering Him as His helper and companion to heal the sick,

to preach with boldness, to cast out demons, and even raise the dead.

The Spirit was there when Christ went to the cross.

And it was the power of the Holy Spirit which raised Christ from the dead

and seated Him in the heavenly places, Ephesians 1.20.

And in the early church, in Acts chapter 2, which Kevin spoke about last Sunday,

Acts 2 · chapter mention

the followers of Jesus were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in different tongues.

This is the point.

Throughout Scripture, the Holy Spirit was there, creating order out of chaos,

filling God's people with superhuman, unimaginable power.

And the Spirit was there as the helper of Jesus Christ.

And when Jesus went into heaven, when He ascended into heaven,

Jesus gave the church, that's us, that includes Watermark,

the Holy Spirit as our helper to be with us always.

So today, if you are a follower of Jesus,

and the Holy Spirit dwells or lives in you,

Romans 8.9,

You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit.

If in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you,

anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him.

Ephesians 1.13,

When you heard the word of truth,

the gospel of your salvation,

and believed in Him,

you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.

Let me say it again.

If you are a Christian, if you are a follower of Christ,

the Holy Spirit lives in you,

and therefore, His power

is available to you.

Ephesians 3.16,

According to the riches of His glory,

may He grant you to be strengthened with power

in your inner being.

The Holy Spirit lives in you,

and His power is available to you.

So, going to our first question,

which we've been discussing,

why do we need to depend on the Holy Spirit

and His power to live life as a Christian?

Can't we just read the Bible,

go to CG,

go to Sunday service?

Why do we need to be strengthened with the Spirit's power?

Well, at Watermark,

we often say that we need the gospel

to go from our heads into our hearts.

Of course, this doesn't mean that we switch off our brains

and we only care about feelings and emotions.

Far from it.

One hundred percent,

we need to study the Word of God,

understand sound doctrine,

and put it into practice.

But maybe you can relate to this.

Do you sometimes feel

that your relationship with God

is a bit dry or lifeless?

You read God's Word,

you go to church,

but God's love is not really real in your life,

in your heart.

Or do you struggle to apply the gospel

in everyday life,

especially when life throws you a curveball?

A relationship breaks down,

your career takes a hit.

You know God's Word says trust Him,

but in that moment,

you find yourself doubting.

Or do you find yourself

unable to tackle the sin in your life?

You know that sin destroys,

that's what God's Word says,

but you can't control your thoughts

or your actions.

You know Christ's calling is higher,

but on the scoreboard,

sin is winning.

Can anyone relate to this?

Or is it just me

that experiences these things?

See, on our own strength,

the day-to-day Christian life

can be difficult,

perhaps even impossible.

It's difficult to live out the gospel

in everyday life.

But the wonderful news,

dear brothers and sisters,

in Christ,

is that by His grace and kindness,

God has given all of us

a helper,

the Holy Spirit.

He's been given to you

to be with you forever,

John 14.

And by His power,

the Holy Spirit enlightens

the eyes of our hearts

to see the beauty of Christ.

It makes the gospel come alive.

The Holy Spirit opens the eyes

of our hearts

to see the beauty of Christ.

the Holy Spirit causes us

to be rooted and grounded

in the love of Christ

and to understand

the breadth and length

and height and depth

of Christ's undying love.

In short,

the Holy Spirit glorifies

and magnifies Christ

in our hearts.

John 16, 14.

When the Spirit of truth comes,

the Holy Spirit,

He will guide you

into all truth,

for He will not speak

on His own authority,

but whatever He hears,

He will speak.

He will glorify me.

This is not just

knowledge of Christ.

It's not just theology.

It's also a revelation

in our hearts.

It's doctrine

and it's power.

The Spirit magnifies

Jesus up here

and also down here

in our hearts.

And so we need the Spirit

to live the gospel

in everyday life.

Here's the second reason

which means

was speaking of us

why we need the Spirit

in our lives,

why we depend on the Spirit.

As Neil mentioned,

it's a really difficult mission

that we have

to evangelize,

to share the gospel

with people.

It's mission impossible,

you could say.

In our own strength,

with our own words.

How are we supposed

to convince someone

to follow Jesus?

We need to depend

on the Spirit's power.

It is a person

of the Holy Spirit

who strengthens us

with power

to have the courage

to even approach someone.

It's the Spirit

of Christ

who gives us

the words to say

to our friend

when we're sharing

the gospel.

And it's the Holy Spirit

who's the one

who actually transforms

someone's heart,

opens the eyes

of that person's heart

to have saving faith

in Christ.

And so we desperately

need to depend

on the Holy Spirit

to empower us

to live out the gospel

with joy and fullness

and also

to live out the calling

for mission.

So now our second question.

What are the markers

of a Spirit-dependent life?

Kev described

what a Spirit-filled church

looks like last Sunday.

If you missed his sermon,

go back online

and listen to it.

But today I'll try

to give a few examples

and illustrations

of what a Spirit-dependent person

or life looks like.

Four things.

Number one,

it looks like someone

who has an active prayer life.

Simon will talk about prayer

in a moment,

but just briefly,

someone who is dependent

on the Holy Spirit,

whenever they face a challenge,

their first reaction

is not,

how do I fix this

or what should I do?

Their first reaction

is prayer.

Seek God.

Seek God's discernment.

Seek God's guidance

and seek His healing.

I think Sherman Wong

is someone

who lives by this.

Sherman,

where are you?

Sherman Wong?

Learn about prayer?

Go to Sherman Wong.

Whatever challenge

comes her way,

a family matter

or a church administrative matter,

i.e. the venue search,

Sherman's first reaction

isn't,

let's strategize,

let's do this,

let's do this.

Her first reaction is,

prayer,

prayer, prayer.

Let's seek God in prayer.

Speaking of prayer,

through prayer,

the Holy Spirit heals

in supernatural ways.

I'll share my own testimony

about this.

When I was 14 years old,

I had a really terrible

tennis injury

in my right arm.

And one day,

I was home with my mother

and brother

and they both prayed for me.

My brother was nine years old

at the time.

The prayer was simple,

one minute.

But as all our eyes were closed

and we said amen,

my arm shook.

And then we're all wondering,

what was that?

Oscar,

was that you?

Was that you, Justin?

Was that you, Mom?

Who shook Oscar's arm?

It wasn't any of us.

The Holy Spirit healed my arm.

I am a thousand percent

positive about that.

By His grace and mercy,

I don't even know why.

The Holy Spirit healed me that day.

Being home with me

dependent means having

an active prayer life

in everything and anything,

big and small,

because God's Spirit works

powerfully through prayer.

Number two,

looks like someone who is growing

in the fruits of the Spirit.

CK mentioned this just now.

Good job, CK.

Well done.

The fruits of the Spirit,

love, joy, peace, patience,

kindness, goodness,

faithfulness,

gentleness,

self-control.

These are collective

baskets of fruit.

They're not just,

we don't just have

one of these fruits.

God calls us to have

all of them.

And so someone who is

dependent on the Spirit

is growing in the fruits

of the Spirit

in all of them.

And this is very apparent

in how we relate

to each other.

When relational tension

comes our way,

which it always does,

and we are,

naturally,

we want to

fight back.

Instead of defensiveness

and aggression,

we think the best

of others.

Instead of biting back,

we show grace.

Where's my wife, Celeste?

I want to talk about her

right now.

Nice.

Don't try to hide.

I'm talking about you

right now.

If you know my wife, Celeste,

you know that she's

naturally very intelligent,

but also very...

What's the word?

Forthright?

Blunt?

CK knows.

You can ask CK.

If you ask her

her view on something,

she'll tell you as it is.

She doesn't mince words.

Celeste and I have been

married for 10 plus years.

Sorry, 9 plus years.

Almost 10.

Did I write?

And I dare say

I have the best marriage

of anyone I know.

But we still fight.

We still have conflict.

But over the years,

as I've seen

God's spirit work

in Celeste's heart,

as her love of Christ

has grown,

I've seen a softening

of her heart.

When we have conflict,

which we do often,

instead of her

holding bitterness

and resentment towards me,

when I have hurt her

with my words or actions,

I see a softening,

I see a kindness,

I see a grace,

I see forgiveness.

You see,

those who are growing

in Christ

and growing by the Spirit

are marked by

healthy relationships

that are not

conflict-free,

but conflicts

are resolved quickly

through the Spirit's fruit,

patience,

kindness,

gentleness,

among others.

Let's be a people of God

that depend on the Spirit

to grow in the fruits

of the Spirit.

Number three,

looks like someone

who regularly confesses,

repents,

and turns away from sin.

John 16, 8,

when He,

the Holy Spirit,

comes,

He will convict the world

of sin,

righteousness,

and judgment.

The Holy Spirit

is the one

who causes us

to be acutely aware

of our sin

and depravity,

who convicts us

and causes us

to turn away

from sin.

And so,

if we're living

by the Spirit

and dependent on the Spirit,

confession and repentance

doesn't just happen

once every six months.

It's a regular occurrence.

It happens all the time.

And the Holy Spirit

doesn't just convict us

of sin.

He reorients our hearts

to love Christ more

and to hate that sin.

And even those secret,

shameful sins

are no longer there,

no longer there

in our hearts anymore.

Some of you know

that I used to play

high-stakes poker.

I used to play

in underground clubs.

This is many,

many years ago.

Not recently.

Underground clubs.

I used to play

in Macau, etc.

I was addicted to poker.

It wasn't just

a pastime.

It was an addiction

and it was sin.

But in my own life,

as I have,

I guess,

followed Christ more

and loved Him more

and the Spirit

worked in me,

you probably know this as well,

I don't have any interest

in that anymore at all.

I don't have any desire even

or interest

in high-stakes poker.

Desire is gone.

Being dependent

on the Holy Spirit

means we actively

repent and turn away

from sin.

And fourth and final,

it looks like someone

who actively shares

their faith

with those

that don't yet know Jesus.

As Neal discussed,

it's difficult

to share the gospel.

No question about it.

The outcome

is highly uncertain.

Maybe our friend

will think

that we're wacky.

Maybe we'll have

that discussion

and share our faith

and our friend

will disagree

and we'll be disappointed

or embarrassed.

But if we are a people

who are dependent

on the Holy Spirit,

we can be free

and bold

in sharing our faith

because it's the Spirit

who gives us

the courage.

It's the Spirit

who gives us

the very words to say.

And it's the Holy Spirit

who is the one

who controls

that outcome

and impacts

and illuminates

that person's heart.

I think Jeremy Power

is someone

who depends on the Spirit

to share his faith.

Sorry, Jeremy,

I'm going to embarrass you

wherever you are.

Jeremy has been asking

God and His Spirit

to give him more opportunities

to share his faith

in Jesus.

And guess what happened?

Jeremy was with his friend.

I won't mention him,

but Jeremy was with his friend

who he sort of works with

and Jeremy was hanging out

with his friend

and they were, I think,

in a taxi on the way home

and Jeremy felt the Spirit

prompting him

to invite his friend

to church

for his baptism.

And guess what?

That friend came to church.

That friend still comes

to Watermark.

Even now, let's pray

for Jeremy's friend

to know the saving love

of Christ.

So what does it look like

to be dependent

on the Holy Spirit?

It looks like someone

who is active in prayer.

It looks like someone

who is growing

in the fruits

of the Spirit.

It's someone

who continually repents

and turns away from sin.

And number four,

it looks like someone

who is actively

sharing the gospel.

Don't we want to be

a people like this?

Do we?

Don't we want to depend

on the Spirit's power

to do all these things

for God's glory?

Haven't we read

of so many heroes

of the faith

who are regular people,

ordinary people,

empowered by an extraordinary,

supernatural God

and Holy Spirit?

So how do we become?

Third question.

How do we become

a people that depend

on the Holy Spirit?

I'm sure there are

many, many ways.

Here are three suggestions.

Number one,

surrender,

surrender,

surrender.

We all hate uncertainty.

We all hate losing control.

We're hardwired

to reach for control

and grab onto it.

But we cannot

hold onto control

and still say

that we want to depend

on the Holy Spirit.

It doesn't work.

If we are to be a people

who truly depend

on God's Spirit,

we need to surrender

everything.

Not just one little

inch of our heart.

We need to give God

our whole heart.

Especially,

we have to lose

our grip

on those things

that we love most.

Our money,

our relationships,

our kids' future,

our comfort,

our pleasure.

May our prayer be,

Lord,

not my will,

but yours be done.

And may our prayer be,

if it is your will,

Lord,

I will follow you.

I will do this or that.

Surrender, surrender, surrender.

Number two,

pray for the Spirit's power.

How can the gospel

get into our hearts

if we don't pray for it?

Get on our knees.

Let's petition God

and His Spirit

to open the eyes

of our hearts

to see our sin

and see the beauty

of Christ.

Let's also pray

with faith

every day

in daily life

and daily circumstances

for the Spirit's power.

When someone hurts you

and you're tempted

to bite back

in that moment,

Holy Spirit,

please,

help me to hold my tongue.

When your kids

are driving you crazy

and you want to just explode,

anyone been there?

Just me,

okay,

just me.

Spirit,

please give me the patience

and gentleness

to love my children

well right now.

When you're with

a non-Christian friend

and you're thinking,

maybe God is calling me

to share my faith,

but I really don't want to

because I'm freaked out.

Pray,

God,

please,

by your Spirit,

give me the courage,

give me the boldness,

give me the faith,

give me the words

to say,

to share your love

to my friend

because they desperately

need to know

who you are.

You see,

the Spirit works

in supernatural physical ways

as I have shared

with my arm,

but the Spirit equally works

in supernatural heart ways,

transforming the human heart

to become more like Christ

as we depend on Him.

And third,

be sensitive

to the Spirit's leading.

The Holy Spirit

is our helper,

John 14.

He gives us

godly discernment,

He speaks to us,

sometimes in a clear voice,

sometimes in a prompting

or a sense.

Many of you know

that I left

the corporate finance world

about a year ago

where I was there

for 20 plus years.

At first,

I was pushed out,

but then when I actually

got another job

to go back,

I rejected that job.

You may wonder,

how does someone

in high finance

suddenly leave

his career behind

at such a young age?

I am young.

I am young.

I'm too young

to retire.

I'll never retire.

It's been a journey

of walking with God

for me.

Daily praying

of prayer,

of surrender

for my career,

for my work,

Lord.

I want to give it to you.

Please, God,

how do I honor you

with my work?

Whatever that means.

If you want me

to stay in finance,

I'll stay.

If you want me to go

and do something else,

Lord,

I will follow you.

Make your plan

known to me, Lord.

Spirit, guide me.

These have been my prayers

over actually many years.

And so the time came

to make that decision.

as I continued

to pray,

I felt the Spirit

leading me

not to go back.

I wanted to honor God

and I wanted to obey

the Spirit

and it was very clear

to me.

I lost the desire

to go back

into that field.

Okay.

So,

how do we become

a people dependent

on the Holy Spirit?

I have three suggestions.

Surrender,

surrender,

surrender.

pray for the Spirit's power

and be sensitive

to the Spirit's leading.

So,

to close,

if we are to truly

be a people

who experience

the love of Christ,

if we are to be

a people

who truly love

Christ deeply

and if we are

to honor God

in His mission

to share

the gospel,

we must,

we must,

we must

be wholly dependent

on God's Spirit

for His power

so that we can do

all things

for the glory of God.

There's one

personal reflection there

that I wrote

in your sheet.

How can we grow?

How can we grow?

How can you,

in particular,

grow in dependence

on the Holy Spirit?

What specific action

do you think God

is calling you to do

to grow in your dependence

on the Spirit?

Let's just spend

the next five or so minutes

individually

doing some personal

reflection,

perhaps prayer

as well

and then

I'll pass it on

to,

I think,

Cyberdem

to speak on

faithness.

Thank you.