Living Life with the Holy Spirit - Part 4: The Loving Presence | Pastor Pablo Morales

Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is

an international church in Bangkok, Thailand,

with dozens of nationalities worshiping together.

We invite you to connect with us from wherever

you are through our website, ecb .asia, or our

mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed

by this week's sermon. Today, as we study the

book of Acts chapter 2 on the fulfillment of

Acts 2 · chapter mention

the Holy Spirit's promise, we are studying the

loving presence of God. And we have to remember

that during this time, the apostles were awaiting

the coming of the Holy Spirit as Jesus had promised.

And then later, the apostle Paul writes about

this and summarizes it with this reflection.

Will you read it out loud with me? We know how

dearly God loves us because He has given us the

Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.

And this is a catalyst of transformation that

we were talking about earlier. It is the love

of God in our lives through the Holy Spirit that

changes everything. And when we are talking about

the Holy Spirit in our lives, what we are talking

about is that God desires for us to experience

His love and the freedom and the healing power

of His love in every part of our being. And that

begins when we say yes to Jesus. And at that

moment, the Bible says the Holy Spirit comes

to live in us. So if you're a follower of Jesus,

You have the Holy Spirit in you. Now you don't

need to pray for the Holy Spirit to come to you.

Now you need to pray for a growing intimacy with

the Holy Spirit that is already in you. And what

we discover is that to experience the love of

God in deeper parts of our beings, it doesn't

just require the catalyst of God's love in us,

but it also requires the right response from

us. And what is that response? What does it look

like? That is what the study will reveal to us.

So let's go to look, I mean to Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

And it begins with the time in which, remember,

Jesus has already died at Passover. He has resurrected.

He has appeared to the apostles. And he has invited

them to stay there in Jerusalem and to remain

there until the Holy Spirit comes on them. He

had told them before, the Holy Spirit is with

you, but now he's going to be in you. So wait

for that promise. And 50 days after Passover

was the celebration of Pentecost. That was the

time in which people from all over the empire

would come to Jerusalem to celebrate. the fresh

fruit, the new fruit of the harvest. And as they

came in, people from all over the empire, this

city became just huge, populated by so many people

from all over the world. Imagine celebrating

the World Cup in Bangkok. Can you imagine what

it would feel like trying to get out of Sukhumvit

in the car? Filled with people everywhere. And

that is what Jerusalem had become in this moment.

And the apostles are there in Jerusalem, meeting

in this place, hiding from the authorities, and

praying and worshiping. And as they're in that

space, on the 50th day after Passover, the fulfillment

of the Holy Spirit's coming happened. And this

is what the Word of God says in Acts chapter

Acts 2 · chapter mention

2. We're going to read the entire chapter. Because

this is the historical account of what happened

at the beginning. And this is what it says. On

the day of Pentecost, all the believers were

meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there

was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a

mighty windstorm. And it filled the house where

they were sitting. Then what looked like flames

or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each

of them. And everyone present was filled with

the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages

as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. At

that time, there were devout Jews from every

nation living in Jerusalem. And when they heard

the loud noise, everyone came running. And they

were bewildered to hear their own languages being

spoken by the believers. They were completely

amazed. How can this be? They exclaimed. These

people are all from Galilee and yet we hear them

speaking in our own native language. And you

can imagine, because during that time, the Roman

Empire, you had people from all over. And they're

all coming to Jerusalem at that moment. And they

start hearing these guys from Galilee speaking

in their languages. The wonders, the good news

of God's love. And it tells us, no exaggeration.

It tells us here, here we are, Parthians. Medes,

Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia,

Pontus, the province of Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia,

Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene,

visitors from Rome, both Jews and converts to

Judaism, Cretans and Arabs. Fifteen different

groups mentioned in this list. And all of them,

experiencing what was happening at the same time.

And we all hear these people speaking in our

own languages about the wonderful things God

has done. What were they hearing in their own

language? The wonderful things that God had done.

Because Jesus had just been crucified. He had

just resurrected. He has just ascended to heaven.

And now the Holy Spirit is empowering the apostles.

To share with the whole world. About the amazing

news of God's love. And they stood there amazed

and perplexed. What can this mean? They asked

to each other. Yet. Others in the crowd ridiculed

them, saying they're just drunk, that's all.

And at that moment, Peter is going to stand up,

and for the first time in human history, he's

going to preach the gospel. You might remember

that Jesus had told him earlier in his ministry

that he was going to give him the keys of the

kingdom. And now you have Peter opening the door

to the kingdom. Inviting people from all nations

to come and join the followers of Jesus. And

become people indwelled by the love of God through

the Holy Spirit. And now Peter is going to take

this moment to make that invitation very clear

and plain to all of these people. And this will

mark the beginning of the church. So this is

what Peter says. Peter stepped forward with the

11 other apostles and shouted to the crowd. Listen

carefully all of you. Fellow Jews and residents

of Jerusalem, make no mistake about this. These

people are not drunk, as some of you are assuming.

Nine o 'clock in the morning is much too early

for that. No, what you see was predicted long

ago by the prophet Joel. And now he's going to

quote. An old prophecy from a book in the Old

Testament called Joel. And this is what he said.

In the last days, God says, I will pour out my

spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters

will prophesy. Your young men will see visions.

And your old men will dream dreams. You won't

have to come to the temple in Jerusalem to experience

God. You will experience God's presence in you.

In those days, I will pour out my spirit even

on my servants, men and women alike. And they

will prophesy. And I will cause wonders in the

heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood

and fire and clouds of smoke. The sun will become

dark and the moon will turn blood red before

that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives.

But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord

will be saved. And with this, he finishes the

quotation of Joel. He's telling them, look, the

day was coming where God was going to give them

his spirit to all people. It didn't matter whether

you were young or old. It didn't matter whether

you were a man or a woman. It didn't matter.

Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will

be filled with God's love and be saved. Did it

matter where they came from? No. Did it matter

what they had done and how bad of a people they

were? No. Anyone who calls on the name of the

Lord will be saved. And he continues. People

of Israel, listen. God publicly endorsed Jesus

the Nazarene by doing powerful miracles, wonders,

and signs through him, as you well know. But

God knew what would happen. And his prearranged

plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed.

With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed

him to a cross and you killed him. But God released

him from the horrors of death. And raised him

back to life. For death could not keep him in

its grip. King David said this about him. And

now he's going to quote another book, the book

of Psalms in the Old Testament, about these prophecies

about Jesus. And he's going to quote two times

the words of King David. Here he says, I see

that the Lord is always with me. I will not be

shaken for he is right beside me. No wonder my

heart is glad and my tongue shouts his praises.

My body rests in hope. For you will not leave

my soul among the dead or allow your Holy One

to rot in the grave. You have shown me the way

of life and you will fill me with the joy of

your presence. Dear brothers, think about this.

You can be sure that the patriarch David who

wrote this wasn't referring to himself. For he

died and was buried and in fact we have his tomb

right here among us in Jerusalem. No, he wasn't

talking about him. He was a prophet and he knew

God had promised with an oath that one day one

of David's own descendants would sit on his throne.

David was looking into the future. And speaking

about the Messiah's resurrection. He was saying

this. That God would not leave him among the

dead. Or allow his body to rot in the grave.

He was talking about Jesus. Not about himself.

And God raised Jesus from the dead. And we are

all witnesses of this. Now he is exalted to the

place of highest honor in heaven. At God's right

hand. And the father as he had promised. Gave

him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us. Just

as you see and hear today. For David himself

never ascended into heaven. Yet he said this.

And here is the second quote. The Lord said to

my Lord. Sit in the place of honor at my right

hand. Until I humble your enemies. Making them

a footstool under your feet. So let everyone

in Israel know. For certain. That God has made

this Jesus whom you crucified. To be both Lord

and Messiah. Peter's words. pierced their hearts.

And they said to him and to the other apostles,

Brothers, what should we do? Peter replied, Each

of you must repent of your sins, turn to God,

be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the

forgiveness of your sins, and then you will receive

the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is

not just to you, it's also to your children and

to those far away, all who have been called by

the Lord our God. Then Peter continued preaching

for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners,

save yourself from this crooked generation. Those

who believed what Peter said, were baptized and

added to the church that day about 3 ,000 in

all. All the believers devoted themselves to

the apostles' teaching and to fellowship and

to sharing in meals including the Lord's Supper

and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over

them all. And the apostles performed many miraculous

signs and wonders. And all the believers met

together in one place and shared everything they

had. They sold their property and possessions

and shared the money with those in need. And

they worshipped together at the temple each day,

met in homes for the Lord's Supper, and shared

their meals with great joy and generosity. All

this while praising God. And enjoying the goodwill.

Of all the people. Each day. The Lord added to

their fellowship. Those who were being saved.

And this. Is the end. Of the historical account.

Of the first. Humans. Who heard the good news

about God's love. Responded to him. And were

transformed. By the presence of the Holy Spirit

in their lives. And from that moment until today.

The invitation remains the same. God wants you

and I to experience. The presence and the power

of his love. Because his love is healing. His

life transforms. And his love has a name. The

Holy Spirit. Jesus promised him. It was fulfilled

at Pentecost. And the invitation remains today.

For you and for me. To grow in intimacy with

the Holy Spirit. So that his love. Will continue

to transform us and heal us. But God's love.

Is one part of the equation. He loves us. And

He has done everything in His power so that we

can now experience His love and walk in it. But

the other part of the equation is the response

of people to God's love. And that's why this

passage is so revealing. Because if you want

to grow in intimacy with God, if you want the

love of God, to heal deeper parts of your being,

then we have to understand what is the response

to God's love. And this is what Peter told the

first audience. If you want to receive the love

of God, the Holy Spirit in you, you will have

to first repent. You will repent and turn to

God and be baptized as a follower of Jesus. And

then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Repentance, as it turns out, is the response

of the heart that is willing to acknowledge that

I've been in the wrong. I've been in the wrong

about who you are, about who I am, and about

what life is about. I have been in the wrong.

I was mistaken. I was confused. I was misled.

And now I can see the truth. The truth about

who you are, about who I am, and about what life

is about. Repentance. Is that response that Peter

says we need to experience. And he is going to

guide these first Christians. I should say pre

-Christians. In answering these questions. And

you can see. That the first sign of this repentance

that he's talking to them about is a change of

mind about who Jesus is. Because all of us come

from a background where we did not know who Jesus

was. And at some point, when you hear what Jesus

had come to do on, he accomplished. This story

is so powerful that some people say it's just

too good to be true. It's too good to be true

that God loves me so much that He came down to

pay for my sins so that I can be forgiven. It's

too good to be true. And other people say, no,

this cannot be true. Jesus was just a good guy,

you know, a good teacher, but the son of God,

he died and resurrected. All that's just myth.

If you want to experience the love of God, you

will first have to experience a change of mind

about who Jesus is. And this first audience,

especially, were the ones Who crucified Jesus.

They thought Jesus was a fake. That deserved

to be killed. And now Peter tells them. Let everyone

in Israel know. For certain that God has made

this Jesus. Whom you crucified to be. Both Lord

and Messiah. Messiah means anointed one. And

it was the promise from the beginning that God

was going to send one in the future that was

going to be a descendant of King David from the

tribe of Judah, from the nation of Israel, to

become the savior of the world. He was going

to be born out of a virgin. And he was going

to become the one that would defeat Satan, sin,

and death. And one day he was going to establish

a new heaven and a new earth and establish a

new kingdom that was going to be the home of

righteousness. This being was the Messiah. And

now Peter says, Jesus is that Messiah. He is

the fulfillment of these promises. And you have

to accept and acknowledge that. And that is what

stopped many people from experiencing the love

of God in their lives. Not because God does not

love them, but because they refuse to repent

and to acknowledge that I have been wrong all

of my life. That's a hard thing to acknowledge.

But if it is the truth, wouldn't you care more

about truth? I was six years old when I heard

the good news about what Jesus had done. And

I felt compelled by the love of God. I remember

that I was with my father in my bedroom and I

went on my knees. After talking with him. And

I asked Jesus to save me. And I remember feeling.

Overwhelmed by two things. The realization that

I was a sinner. And the realization that how

much God loved me. And I remember that I was

just crying and crying and crying non -stop.

And my sister. Looked into the room and I remember

her asking. Why is Pablo crying so much? It was

a combination of conviction and joy. And awareness

of just God's love. And I realized. That that

was not just my experience. It's the experience

of many people who have come. To surrender their

lives to the Messiah. If you are here today.

And you are wrestling with accepting the fact

that Jesus is the Savior of the world. That He

is indeed what the Bible says. Then I'm here

to invite you. God is calling you to Him. He

wants you to experience His love. And the first

thing that you will have to do is to believe

and accept who Jesus is. Would you open your

heart to him? I would like to pause for a second.

There's a noise that I hear. Do you know what

that is? I don't want it to remain there in the

background and be distracting. You hear that?

Do we know where that is coming from? Is it outside

or is it in here? Okay. Good. Let's move to the

next part. Will you read this verse aloud with

me? So let everyone in Israel know for certain.

That God has made this Jesus. Whom you crucify.

To be both Lord and Messiah. Did you notice that

Jesus is described with two words? Not only Messiah.

Or what was the other word? Lord. He has been

given all authority on heaven and on earth. And

to experience God's love requires not only a

change of mind about who Jesus is, but about

how I relate to him. And what God wants you to

acknowledge is that Jesus is Lord, not just Savior.

What I mean... Is that there is a change of allegiance

that happens in which now I submit my life to

Jesus. I remember when I was in Mexico City serving

there in the church plant ministry that we had.

I got to meet a guy that was born in a Christian

family and he went to church since he was young.

And we met at a youth camp. Summer camp. And

as we were. Riding back home. In the car he was

telling me. His experience. Because it had been

a transformational experience. Completely for

him. To have attended that camp. Because he says

you know. I. Believed. That God loved me. And

I believed that Jesus had died for my sins. But

I reasoned. that if God loved me so much, I could

sin all I want because salvation at the end was

by grace. So that's what I did. I was dating

all these girls, having sex with all of them.

I was doing all this life, drinking, having fun.

I was doing all of these things while at the

same time going to church on Sundays. But it

had never occurred to me That Jesus was not my

Lord. Because that was not a category in my thought.

And for the first time in his life, I still remember

his name, Sergio. For the first time in his life,

he actually submitted his life to Lord Jesus.

And now he was able to really say, Jesus, you

are both Lord and Messiah. And his story is not

unique. I sat down with a teenager once who also

grew up in a Christian home. Who also said, I

believe in Jesus. And I asked him this question.

Have you ever? Repented. Of your sins. And he

looked at me. With big eyes. And after a few

seconds. He says. No. Never. Do you realize.

That the Bible says. That even demons. Evil spirits.

Acknowledge that Jesus. Is the Messiah. Satan

is not an atheist. The problem is not believing.

The problem is. Submitting. And repentance. Something

that demons and Satan and evil spirits don't

have. Is the response. To God's love. Is to acknowledge.

That I have been living my life in my own terms.

And I have not been entrusting my life. To your

love. And therefore I repent. Of being my own

Lord. And now I'm going to have only one Lord

in my life. And that is you. Lord. Jesus. And

this is something that God wants all of us to

experience. That's why Peter replies to the audience

at that moment and he says, each of you must

repent of your sins and turn to God and be baptized

in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness

of your sins. Then you will receive the gift

of the Holy Spirit. Have you submitted to the

authority of Jesus? Is Jesus your Lord? If you

are thinking, well, God loves me and that's all

I care about. Nothing I do changes anything.

I'm saved by grace. Yes. Amen to that. But that

is not the issue. The issue is not whether God

loves you. It's whether you love God. And you

cannot love God without submission. Because Jesus

said, if you love me, you will obey me. And that

submission to Lord Jesus Is something that the

Holy Spirit will do in your life. And will start

transforming one area after the other. If you

repent. But the last part of the repentance.

Was the change of direction. He tells them. Not

only repent and turn to God, but you are going

to be baptized as a follower of Jesus. And what

is amazing is that when we celebrate baptisms,

we are symbolizing that I died to my old life,

and now I come alive to a new life driven by

love for God. Now I'm following Jesus until the

end. It's a change of direction. Before I was

going wherever the world took me. Wherever my

friends said. Whatever my feelings led me to.

And now. Repentance means. That I am a follower

of Jesus. And there is a change of direction

in my life. Because now. I'm living my life.

Not for myself. But for him. And this aspect.

It's an aspect in which you will have to trust

the love of God for you and submit to the love

of the Holy Spirit to lead you into that future

that you fear. Because that future that you fear,

if you are following the Lord, the Lord is already

there. There's nothing to fear when you are following

Jesus. But are you following Jesus? Or are you

just believing in his love, but not really trusting

him as to follow him? If you want to experience

the healing love of God in your life, you will

have to pay attention to what Peter told the

first audience. Repent. Acknowledge who Jesus

is. Submit to him as your Lord. And follow Him.

Because that is true repentance. And true repentance

means that now the love of God is going to be

filling every part of your being. And that's

the promise. Not just for them, but for you.

For me. For our children. For those who are far

away, anyone who has been called by God, invited

into this new life of following the Lord. So

now that you have heard the account of Acts 2,

the fulfillment of the coming of the Holy Spirit

into our lives, the beginning and the birth of

the church, now you know. The connection between

God's love. And our response as repentance. So

if you are feeling lost. What you need. Is Jesus.

So that you can experience. The Holy Spirit in

you. And the love of God in you. If you have

lost your feeling. What you need. Is a deeper

intimacy. With God. And to come to God. And let

the love of God through the Holy Spirit. Heal.

That deep wound of your soul. So whether you

feel lost. Or whether you've lost your feeling.

The answer is the same. Holy Spirit. Would you.

Invite. Today the Holy Spirit to. Encounter you.

And to grow in deeper intimacy with him. As you

follow Jesus. So I would like to conclude this

study. With these three questions. Because the

Holy Spirit is the love of God put in your heart.

And therefore I ask you. Have you repented? If

you've never repented of your sins. Now is the

time to repent before God. Because he wants to

forgive you. But you have to respond to his love

first. The second question. Is have you submitted

to Lord Jesus. Because he wants to embrace you.

But you have to submit to him first. If you never

have acknowledged Jesus as the Lord of your life.

Do that today. He will lead you. With intimacy.

With care. As a shepherd with the lamb. And finally.

Are you following him? Not just believing in

his love. But following him. Into the life that

he is calling you to. Because he wants to guide

you. But you have to respond to his love first.

By repentance. Lord, we say, Holy Fire, follow

us. We want your power. We say, living water,

run within. Bring change and transformation.

But Lord, what we hear today is very personal.

Because after we pray that and after we sing

that, you ask us back, do you really mean it?

Because it will require deep repentance on you.

So Lord, today let repentance reign. Flow through

this space. As you encounter us. Break. The walls

of unbelief. Break. The pride. Break the fear.

We submit to you. Lord Jesus. Let your love.

Empower us. In Jesus' name we pray. you will

find giving options on our website. And remember

to join us next week. God bless you.