Foundations - Part 2: Empowered by the Holy Spirit | 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. We've been studying the

serious foundations and we started last week.

with saying that we are rooted in the Word. For

us at ECB, the Bible is God's inspired, inerrant

Word. And therefore, we use it and we study it

as the ultimate authority for doctrine, for life.

Therefore, that is how we do things here at ECB.

And the second foundation that we will be studying

today is the foundation of being empowered by

the Holy Spirit. Jesus said to the apostles that

the Holy Spirit was with them, but one day it

was going to be in them. And then Jesus said

that the Holy Spirit was going to lead us into

all truth, truth that sets us free. It was going

to be the comforter. It was going to be a central,

indispensable part of what it meant to follow

Jesus. And therefore, we cannot follow Jesus,

we cannot be making disciples for Jesus if we

are not empowered by the Holy Spirit. And this

is the foundation that we are going to be studying

today. Now, I understand that when it comes to

the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, in a church

like ECB where we have a spectrum of all denominations,

we will have all views about everything represented.

That's why it's important to remember that even

though we are a multi -denominational church

with people from all over the world and so many

denominations, we're not a multi -doctrinal church.

It's not that we believe about everything for

everybody. We have a doctrine. We have a doctrinal

statement. And I want to share that with you

just for you to get an idea of what this says,

where we stand at ECB. And we say it this way,

it is the will of God that each believer should

be filled with the Holy Spirit and be sanctified

holy, being separated from sin and the world

and fully dedicated to the will of God, thereby

receiving power for holy living and effective

service. This is accomplished through being filled

with the Holy Spirit, which is both a distinct

event and progressive experience in the life

of the believer. Now, pretty straightforward.

It's a paragraph that is actually long and wordy,

but the context is exactly what we're going to

be learning today. The Apostle Paul put it more

succinctly. He said it like this, Since we live

by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading

in every part of our lives. That summarizes what

we mean. Will you read it with me? Since we live

by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading

in every part of our lives. In which book is

this found? In Galatians. Remember that. Because

that will come later in this study. What we desire

is to be a church where we are equipped To grow

in intimacy with the Holy Spirit. So that he

can lead your life. And so he can lead our ministries.

Because if we are not aligned with the Holy Spirit.

Then we are not going to be able to have the

power that is needed. To break through the power

of darkness with the power of light. We are ambassadors

of the kingdom of light. And therefore we need

that power. And that power is only accomplished

when we are aligned in the deepest parts of our

lives with the Holy Spirit. In this way, following

Jesus is like taking a road trip. There is a

future destination that we hope to get to. And

that is to be able to be with the Lord, reigning

with Christ in eternity forever. But this destination

has a path where we are in today. We are traveling

in this journey. And whenever you are preparing

for a road trip, there are things that matter.

Some people, if I were to ask you right now,

what is one thing, the first thing that you would

do, apart from packing and loading the car with

your suitcases, what is the first thing that

you would do if you are preparing for a road

trip? Some of you would say, fill the tank with

gas. Other people say, I like to wash the car.

I like to travel clean. And other people say,

well, get my music ready. But one thing that

I learned is that traveling and driving for a

long time, it's good to have nice music and it's

good to have the tank full. But if your tires

are not aligned, it's a pain. Because as you

are driving, you need to stay on the lane. You

cannot be changing like that or driving in the

lane all the time. You have to stay in your place.

And if your tires are not aligned, then you are

constantly having to compensate. And that gets

tiring. And when we talk about life with the

Holy Spirit, it's like that. There are four areas,

four tires that we have in our car that need

to be aligned with the Holy Spirit. And we are

going to discover these because we will look

at the life of the Apostle Paul, who is the one

who taught us most of what we know about the

Holy Spirit throughout the Pauline letters. These

four areas include being sealed with the Holy

Spirit, the call to holiness, pursuing our calling,

And also discerning God's timing. All of these

areas have to do with our relationship with the

Holy Spirit. So to understand them, we have to

travel in time to the beginning of our era. First

century, when the Apostle Paul... becomes a Christian,

and then he becomes a missionary, and he starts

taking the gospel to the Roman Empire. And it's

through all his experiences that these four things

come to the surface, and he's going to experience

them, and he's going to write about them later.

So I want to know what he wrote, but I also want

to know what he experienced. And this is where

the study is going to take us. Starting first.

At his conversion. He is in Jerusalem. He thinks

he is serving God. He is very passionate. But

his service to God. Was persecuting Christians.

Taking them to prison. And seeking their death

penalty. And as he is going from Jerusalem. To

the north in Damascus. Somewhere along the road.

Jesus appears to him. And at that moment, the

life of the Apostle Paul becomes completely changed.

He's so disoriented. Because this person he thought

was a fake. And the followers of Jesus that he

was trying to kill. Now suddenly, all of that

is true. Jesus is real. It's not fake. And these

followers of Jesus are engaged in truth. And

now that he has this encounter with Jesus, he

becomes blind. He's taken to the house of a Christian

man, follower of Jesus, right there in Damascus.

And as he's there waiting, not knowing what's

going to happen next, a man called Ananias shows

up. Because God had told Ananias, Ananias, I

want you to go to where Paul is. I know, you

know who Paul is? Yeah, that's the guy. The one

that is trying to kill Christians? That's the

guy. I want you to go and pray for him because

I have a calling for his life. But he has not

yet been sealed with the Holy Spirit. So I want

you to go and pray for him. And that is where

we encounter this section where the Apostle Paul

will learn about the sealing of the Holy Spirit

on his own life. So Ananias went and found Saul,

and he laid his hands on him and said, Brother

Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on

the road, has sent me so that you might regain

your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

And at that moment, as Ananias prays for him,

says instantly, something like scales fell from

Saul's eyes, and he regained his sight. Then

he got up and was baptized. Afterward, he ate

some food and regained his strength. That is

the moment in which Saul of Tarsus became the

Apostle Paul. He became a follower of Jesus,

and this was the moment, using the words of Jesus,

in which Paul became born again. Because to be

born again means that before this moment, you

did not have the Holy Spirit in you. But now

you do. And why? Because you believed in Jesus.

And the moment you believed in Jesus, the Word

of God says the Spirit of Jesus comes to live

now in you. And that Spirit is called the Holy

Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, the Bible says

we are spiritually dead. And if we die in that

condition, we cannot go to be with the Lord.

Instead, we will have to be separated from Him

for eternity. Instead, He wants you to believe

in Him, trust Him with your life so that He can

forgive you and give you His Spirit. And for

those who have been born again, the Holy Spirit,

the word of Jesus said to make disciples and

teach them to obey everything he commanded, including

the being baptized in the name of the Father,

the Son, and the Holy Spirit. So here, Paul is

simply experiencing that. He hears the gospel

now from Jesus himself saying, yep, I am the

Messiah. I am the fulfillment of all of these

things. And I have a plan for your life. And

now Paul follows Jesus. Gets baptized. And begins

his ministry. He's going to talk later to Christians.

To explain this. And he's going to say to them.

Guys. You also were included in Christ. Just

like me. When? When you heard the message of

truth. One message of truth. The gospel of your

salvation. Oh, the good news that Jesus died

for my sins and he wants to forgive me. If I

repent, I give him my life, he will forgive me

completely forever. Yes, that's the gospel of

Jesus. When you heard it and you believed in

it, when you believed, you were marked in him

with a seal. And what is that seal? The promised

Holy Spirit. At that moment, the words of Jesus

become fulfilled. The Holy Spirit is with you,

but now he's going to be in you. The Apostle

Paul says to us Christians, when you heard the

gospel and you believed, at that moment, God

gave you the Holy Spirit. And at that moment,

you became part of the community of Jesus. And

this Spirit that He has given you is a deposit

guaranteeing our inheritance until when? Until

the redemption of those who are God's possession

to the praise of His glory. The Holy Spirit in

us is the guarantee that when the time comes

for us to face the Lord, we'll be in. We fear

no condemnation because we have the guarantee

that we have been redeemed until that day. And

this is the foundation that any follower of Jesus

has to stand on. So I have to ask you, is the

Holy Spirit living in you or not? Because if

you do not have the Holy Spirit in you, you cannot

be aligned with the Holy Spirit. There's nothing

to align with. You are spiritually in a position

of disconnect from God. You do not belong to

his people. You have not been adopted into his

family. Because that happens the moment you are

given the Holy Spirit. And when do you receive

the Holy Spirit? The moment you believe the gospel.

I was six years old when that happened to me.

I heard the gospel in Sunday school. I spent

the whole day thinking about it. And that night

I told my father, dad, I learned about this in

Sunday school. I would like to accept Christ.

And he said, what do you mean by that when you

say that? And I explained, well, I heard about

the gospel that Jesus died for me. And I want

him to be my savior. So he asked me to wait for

him because he was taking a shower at that moment.

And we went to my bedroom. And that's where.

He shared the gospel one more time. And then

he invited me. To pray. In my own words. And

on that day I repented of my sins. And I asked

Jesus to save me. And I remember. Crying like

a baby. Because I was feeling overwhelmed by

two things. The realization that I was a sinner.

And yet. The awareness of God's love. So undeserving.

And that moment was the moment that marked the

rest of my life. It's an experience that is different

for different people. But what is true is this.

You know you have the Holy Spirit in you if you

have believed in Jesus. Because that is what

the Apostle Paul said. So if you are a follower

of Jesus that is always wondering, do I have

the Holy Spirit? Maybe I don't. Maybe I have

it, but now he's not happy with me, so he left

me. And you live in that place of insecurity

all the time. Let me assure you what the Apostle

Paul just told us. If you truly believe in Jesus,

if he is truly your Savior, you have been born

again, and the Holy Spirit is in you until the

day of redemption. And you can rest on that.

That's the first thing that has to be aligned.

So do you have the Holy Spirit in you? Have you

believed in Jesus? The second thing is something

that he's going to experience a little bit later,

but almost immediately. Because as he's in Damascus

and he becomes now a follower of Jesus. From

there, he goes back to Jerusalem. And something

interesting happens, because remember, a few

days ago, he was killing Christians, you know,

taking them to prison and oppressing them. So

he gets to Jerusalem, and as he gets there, he's

going to start learning about this transforming

power of the Holy Spirit within him. We are told

that as he gets to Jerusalem, When he came there,

he tried to join the disciples, but they were

all afraid of him, not believing that he really

was a disciple. Imagine the Apostle Paul showing

up in the middle of the worship service, you

know, in ECB in Jerusalem on those years. You

know, he walks in and people start saying, Is

that Saul of Tarsus? Yes, that's Saul of Tarsus,

you know. And everybody, you know, trying to

sit apart from him. And then he's suddenly left

alone. Because nobody wants to be around him.

Everybody's afraid of him. Until they realize

that he was the real thing. And a guy called

Barnabas takes Saul to the apostles. To corroborate

what had happened in his life. That he was truly.

a follower of Jesus now, that he was not faking

it. And at that moment they confirmed, oh yeah,

yeah, this is real. And the apostle Paul starts

preaching the gospel right there in Jerusalem.

So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely

in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of

the Lord. He talked and debated with the Hellenistic

Jews, but they tried to kill him. Now the tables

turned. People tried to kill him because he was

a follower of Jesus now. Rather in Jerusalem

where a few weeks before he was doing the opposite.

He was the one trying to kill the Christians.

But there's something that has changed within

him. How does a guy turn from hating Christians

and hating Jesus to loving Jesus and want to

hang out with Christians? How does that happen

in a matter of weeks? The answer to that is Holy

Spirit. Because the Holy Spirit is called Holy

Spirit for a reason. He's going to write to the

Galatians later about this topic of the Holy

Spirit, saying, look, the moment the Holy Spirit

came to live in us, now the Holy Spirit is almost

like a good cup of coffee. If you're brewing

coffee in the morning, if you're a coffee drinker

like me, by the way, I love good coffee. So I

brew the coffee in the morning and something

happens. It's unavoidable. The whole house starts

smelling like coffee. So if you hate the smell

of coffee, sorry, cannot avoid it. I cannot brew

coffee and try to keep the smell in. It will

naturally come out. And try to fill every space.

And the Holy Spirit is like that. The moment

he's in us, he wants the aroma of Christ to start

permeating all of our lives. And start coming

out into our relationships, into our jobs, into

our marriages. There's that desire that is coming

out from within us that is not us. We are not

the coffee. The Holy Spirit is. We are just experiencing

the aroma of Christ in us. And the Holy Spirit

desires for us to experience His life, His holiness,

His character, His goodness. So that where before

we were enslaved to bitterness, now we can experience

forgiveness. Where before we experienced hatred,

now we can experience love. When before we were

just angry and rageful, now we can have self

-control and peace. He wants us to experience

that in our lives. And that transforming power

is what he started experiencing at the very beginning.

And you can see him in moments perhaps being

surprised with himself about how much he had

turned around. That is the power of the Holy

Spirit. But understanding that, he later writes

about these things. Because something is going

to happen with the Apostle Paul. When the believers

learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea

and sent him off to Tarsus. And now, because

his life was at risk, the Apostle Paul is going

to move all the way to the north, and he's going

to be there in Tarsus, waiting until eventually

Barnabas goes and gets him, and they move to

Antioch. That is going to come in a second. But

about this, he writes to the Christians in the

church of Ephesus, two things that are very important

for our understanding. One of them, he tells

them, don't be drunk with wine because that will

ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy

Spirit. He says there's influences in your life

that want to control the way you think, the way

you feel, the way you behave. And if one of those

influences is going to be alcohol, that's not

going to be good for you. If you let alcohol

affect the way you think, the way you feel, the

way you behave, that's not going to be good.

Instead of letting your life be filled with that,

What should fill you instead? The Holy Spirit.

Not because I need more amount of Holy Spirit

in me. I already have all the Holy Spirit I'm

going to have. He already came to live in me.

It's not that I have like a foot of the Holy

Spirit in my life, you know, and years later

another foot, you know. It's not like that. I

have the presence of the Holy Spirit in me the

moment I was born again. But that is not the

same to say, That the Holy Spirit controls every

aspect of my life. Because I have other things

influencing me instead. And instead of having

areas in my life that are closed doors to the

influence of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul

says, open those doors. So let the Holy Spirit

and the aroma of Christ fill those spaces. If

you are rageful and bitter. Open that door. So

now the Holy Spirit can transform that part of

your life. And you can experience forgiveness

and grace and peace. Let the aroma of Christ

fill you. And that's a beautiful picture. Because

we are all in this journey in which we are wrestling

with sinfulness in our lives. And it's a constant

struggle. But we are reminded. I am not that

anymore. I am this now. I belong to Christ. Holy

Spirit is in me. And how do you know you have

the Holy Spirit in those moments? It's because

you can sin. Alright? But you cannot enjoy sin

anymore. You can't. Now you know better. And

how do you know better? Because the Holy Spirit

is in you. And He is the one telling you. That's

called the convicting work of the Holy Spirit

in our lives. And you will engage in things you

shouldn't. And you're going to feel miserable

after. Because you know this is not aligned with

the Lord. That's why the Apostle Paul also tells

the Ephesians, guys, the Holy Spirit wants to

see you heal, wants to see you grow, wants to

reach the deepest parts of your being. And every

time you act in a stubborn way and you close

your ears to his influence, to his voice, you

are grieving him. So do not grieve the Holy Spirit

of God with whom you were sealed for the day

of redemption. You are meant to grow in intimacy

with him. Don't grieve him. And in those moments

of conviction, you will know you are grieving

the Holy Spirit because you yourself are grieving.

So I have to ask you, is this aspect of your

life aligned with the Lord? Are you currently

grieving the Holy Spirit? Are you engaging and

practicing things in your life that you know?

Deep in your heart that this is not aligned with

whom God called you to be, what he saved you

for. And there are certain things that we'll

have to address, that we'll have to confess,

that we'll have to put in order in our lives.

Because if this is not aligned, then the way

you follow Jesus is going to be compromised.

A couple of years ago, I shared with you my own

journey, how when I was in Bible college, ready

to start teaching and learning the Bible so I

could serve in ministry later, I started feeling

convicted about something I had done when I was

a teenager. And it was years later, I was in

college. What was that thing that I was being

convicted about would not go away? It was like,

keep coming to my mind. And it was that when

I was a teenager, 14 years old, I had stolen

money from my dad. And I denied it. I never confessed

it. And now that I'm starting to serve God, that

thing is coming to my mind. And I don't want

to think about it. I don't want to do anything

about it. I just want to rest in God's grace.

I already told the Lord to forgive me. I had

already done it. But now, it was not aligned.

And I was feeling convicted. And that summer

when I went back home, I knew I needed to talk

to dad, to mom, and said, look, remember that

day? A few years ago when that money went missing?

Well, it was me. And I'm here to ask you to forgive

me. This is something the Holy Spirit has asked

me to do. Here's the money back. They received

it. They forgave me. We prayed together. And

that wrestling with that guilt, that shame that

was there constantly convicting me went away.

And suddenly, my car is aligned again. It was

no longer something that was keeping me awake

at night. And I do not know what is the Holy

Spirit convicting you about. but there is something

that is a sort of guilt and shame, and this often

comes with secrets that you have never brought

to the light. Often, this area of our life, the

only way that comes aligned is that you bring

it to light. And I have worked with Christians

along the journey. And I have heard some of the

most heartfelt confessions that people have brought

to the light. Things that perhaps are the most

shameful that they felt about. And yet, in God's

grace, they were able to bring it to the surface.

And God healed that part of their lives. I have

sat with couples where infidelity is confessed.

And then I have to be there with them, walking

in that journey. And I'm here to tell you, there's

nothing. That the grace of God cannot heal. But

if the Holy Spirit is convicting you. Because

you've been grieving him. Then there's only one

way to align. Stop grieving him. That's not good

for you. That's not what he desires. So are you

grieving the Holy Spirit? That's only two of

four. We have four more wheels to see. Let's

see. After the Apostle Paul went to Tarsus in

the north, Barnabas goes and gets him, and they

go to Antioch because people were preaching the

gospel in Antioch, and a church was established

there, and they needed teaching. They needed

to learn the scriptures. So the Apostle Paul

and Barnabas went to Antioch, and they started

serving there, teaching for a long time. But

as that church grew, It was very unique because

in contrast to the church in Jerusalem, the church

in Jerusalem was a gathering of Jews that were

now followers of Jesus. But the gathering in

Antioch was kind of like ECB. It was a combination

of all these different people from all these

different places coming together. And it was

so diverse that outsiders did not know what to

call them. Because until that point, they were

known as people of the way. But from that point

on, people said, you know, it's kind of confusing.

All those people are so different. What do we

call them? Oh, Christians, which means followers

of Christ. And that's when Christians were called

Christians for the first time ever in Antioch.

So now that Paul is one of the leaders in that

church, He's spending time with the leaders in

worshiping the Lord, praying, fasting together,

and something happens. He's now going to experience

the alignment with his calling. And this is what

we are told. Now in the church of Antioch, there

were prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon,

Carl Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manin. who had

been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch and Saul.

These were the leaders. While they were worshiping

the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set

apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to

which I have called them. So after they had fasted

and prayed, they placed their hands on them and

sent them off. It's like, what? I've been serving

you in this church for all this time, and now

you are sending me away to go and preach the

gospel now throughout Rome? Whose idea was that?

The Holy Spirit. And this was confirmed with

the leaders of the ministry, and then everybody

was on the same page, and Paul and Barnabas now

are sent. By the Holy Spirit, in alignment with

the leaders, everybody with their blessing going

for it. And that was the beginning of what we

call missions today. This is the first time where

we see intentionally a sending church, sending

one of their own to start reaching out with the

gospel, the unreached. In missiology, this is

what we go to as we see the beginning of the

missionary movement. This is very important because

now the Apostle Paul is going to start realizing

that there's a dimensional relationship with

the Holy Spirit that has to be aligned. And that

is that when God saved me, he saved me for purposes

that he has envisioned for me. And therefore,

growing in intimacy with the Holy Spirit also

means discerning and discovering what is God's

purposes and plans and calling for my life. And

that becomes clearer as you work with the Lord.

And often that is already indicated by the giftedness

that you have, by the passion that you have.

This giftedness, these passions that were given

to you by God himself, he is the one creating

you, designing you, and therefore the things

he gave you, you already have. But the problem

is that often we are not aligned with God's calling

because we have not even aligned with our giftedness,

because we are pursuing a life for other things.

And we live now in this place of insecurity and

in this place of pursuing things that were never

meant by God for us to pursue. That's why later

the Apostle Paul writes this to Christians. Because

he wants us to be aligned with our calling. That

the giftedness that the Lord gave us. We are

using for him. And this is what he wrote. There

are different kinds of gifts. But the same spirit

distributes them. And there are different kinds

of service. But the same Lord. And there are

different kinds of working, but in all of them

and in everyone, it is the same God at work.

Now, to each one, the manifestation of the Spirit

is given for the common good. The Holy Spirit

who is in you has gifted you. All of us. Have

areas of giftedness in our lives. From the things

that may seem the most mundane to the things

that seem the most supernatural. Everything that

we're gifted in comes from God. And therefore,

our callings are very diverse. Some of you were

called to be entrepreneurs and to start new initiatives

and to start new businesses and organizations

that are going to impact communities and nations.

Some of you have been called to be mothers and

to stay home and invest in the next generation

so that they can become followers of Jesus that

will be impactful for the future generations.

Some of you have been called to serve in pastoral

ministry. Some of you have been called to take

the gospel to their reach. Some of you have been

called to be pilots. Some of you have been called

to many things. Whose idea was it? The Holy Spirit.

How do you know that you are aligned with the

Holy Spirit in this area? Because if you are

not aligned with God's calling and you are not

pursuing it, you will know. And I'll tell you

why. You will feel deep. dissatisfaction with

what you're doing. You will feel busy, but irrelevant.

It doesn't matter how much money you're making.

Maybe on the outside, super successful. You made

it. But deep inside, you feel irrelevant. And

that is typically a symptom that you are not

using the giftedness that God gave you for the

purposes that he has called you. And this will

require for you to go on your knees and to start

first repenting for not aligning yourself with

his calling, for resisting it, for pursuing other

things instead. But secondly, it will require

for you to make yourself available to the Lord

and say, Lord, I'm here for you. What are the

things that you desire for me? Because I never

asked you that before. I'm always asking you,

bless what I want to do. Bless my plans. But

I never ask you what you desire for me. And once

you start entering that space, something starts

changing. Because the Holy Spirit will give you

new desires, will give you new things. In that

regard, I have a word for those of you who are

high school students. If you are here, would

you raise your hand? Good. The time is coming

where people are going to ask you, so what do

you want to study? What do you want to do with

your life? And the pressure starts increasing.

It's like, what do I want to do? I don't know.

I want to do this or that. I think I want to

do that, but I'm not sure. What if they don't

accept me in that college? What's going to happen?

It's going to be the end of my future, you know,

and you have all these things. Let me tell you,

the question people ask you is the wrong question

altogether. If you are a child of God, if the

Holy Spirit is in you, the question is now, hey,

what do you want to do? The question is, what

is the Holy Spirit leading you to? Because you

will have to make decisions. And those decisions

are about serving God with your calling. Maybe

you will become an astronaut. Great, that's God's

calling for you. But you're doing that not because

it was my parents' dream. But I'm doing that

because it's the Holy Spirit's leading. So remember

that. Feel free to seek the Lord and let him

see things unfold for you as things become clear.

The Holy Spirit will lead you to places you never

imagined. So that weight of what I'm supposed

to do with my life does not belong on your shoulders.

It's in the Holy Spirit's shoulders. He has plans

for you. Are you aligned with God's calling?

The last thing that the Apostle Paul learned

in aligning himself with the Holy Spirit, he's

already indwelled by the Spirit. He is aligned

with his walking with the Lord. He is pursuing

his calling. And yet, there's one more area that

he had to learn. And this was experienced later

as he was engaged in his second missionary trip.

In the first missionary journey from Antioch,

they went to some areas of the Roman Empire,

then they went back. And in the second missionary

journey, they had a plan. Let's visit some of

the churches, and let's take the gospel to Asia.

So they went all the way to the area of Lystra,

where they met Timothy, and then Timothy joined

their trip. But it was a whole strategic plan.

You can see the geography right here. So they

are right there in the area of Lystra, which

is the area of Galatia. And they had already

made this strategic plan. They had a clear mission.

They had a clear vision. They had a clear set

of values, you know. And now they're ready to

go to Asia, except for one thing. As they are

there in Galatia, we are told, that there's such

a thing as timing in alignment with the Holy

Spirit. Paul and his companions traveled throughout

the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been

kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word

in the province of Asia. What? Do you realize

that the Apostle Paul wanted to come all the

way to Asia at the very beginning? Why didn't

he? Why didn't he? You read it clearly. Because

the Holy Spirit said, no. I don't understand.

That's a good thing. When we left Jerusalem and

then Antioch, we prayed about this, and this

was the plan. What do you mean, not Asia now?

It doesn't make any sense. We already made the

plans. Why don't we just do them? Because the

Holy Spirit said, not Asia. I want you to stay

in Galatia and Phrygia and that is where you're

going to stay. And that is how they started preaching

the gospel in Galatia and more churches were

planted in Galatia and that's where he writes

later the letter to the Galatians that I told

you earlier where that letter came from. It was

the result of The apostle Paul aligning himself

with the timing of the Holy Spirit. The Holy

Spirit has the authority to veto our plans. And

to redesign everything without notice. Just immediately

like that. It's almost like when we became saved,

enjoyed by the Holy Spirit, there was a little

contract with a little footprint that said, Holy

Spirit reserves the right to change the plans

at any moment for no reason. And we have to agree

to that. And then, as they were waiting then,

they came to the border of Mysia. They tried

to enter Bithynia. But the Spirit of Jesus, We're

not allowed them to. It's like, plan B? Nope.

Come on, really? I thought plan A, okay. So plan

B for sure, we're getting it right? Nope. Let

me show you for a second here the map so you

can see. So, if you go all the way now to the

north, you see the border right there in Troas.

That is when they're going to go to, all the

way to that orange dot. And from there, finally,

they will get direction from God that will say,

hey, go to Macedonia, which is Greece, and they

will go across. And that is when the church of

Corinth, the Thessalonians, they are established.

The Philippians, they're established. All that

fruit will come later. Because the Holy Spirit

redefined the plans. So let me go back to the

text where we were now. So plan B, uh -uh. So

they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.

Now you can picture it on the border right there

in the map. And during the night, Paul had a

vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging

him, come over to Macedonia and help us. And

that is when the Holy Spirit said, now you can

go. This was my plan all along. After Paul had

seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave

for Macedonia, concluding that God had called

us to preach the gospel to them. And he did.

And he blessed that obedience. And that is how

they ended up being there. That's why later he

writes it so eloquently and simply yet profoundly.

And he says this. Let's read it together. Since

we live by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's

leading in every part of our lives. Every part

of our lives. all your four wheels be aligned

with him, even that last one, which has to do

with timing. Are you following the Holy Spirit?

Or you're living like the Holy Spirit is following

you? What happens when the plans that we had

established are not what the Holy Spirit actually

wants us to do? Are you willing to stop being

controlling? And are you willing to let go? And

be in that space of liminality, that space of

waiting, where you do not know what's going to

happen next. The only thing you know is that

God has you waiting. And in that waiting time,

it's very hard. Because especially if you are

a person that is driven by action and results,

the time of waiting feels like you're wasting

your time because nothing is happening. But that's

wrong. It's not that nothing is happening. Nothing

is happening that you can see or that you plant,

but God is working in you and he is preparing

things around so that when the right time comes,

you can go and be fruitful. Are you willing to

wait on the Lord for his timing? The last years

we were serving in Dallas, my wife and I had

been 100 % committed to the ministry there. We

served for 18 years in one church. And it started

like this. When the elder board invited me to

be the lead pastor, I said to them, okay, we'll

commit for two years. And they said to me, okay,

you know, we'll leave it open. We won't put it

in the contract. We'll leave it open. I said,

sure. But at that moment, my wife and I thought,

yeah, two years to help. It was a dying church.

You know, we'll help them get their act together

a little bit. And then we are leaving the U .S.

because we were planning to work somewhere else

in another country we do not know where yet.

But those two years turned out to be 18 years.

And we never bought a house because we were going

to be just there temporarily. At the beginning,

we didn't invest in nice furniture. You know,

everything was garage sale because we're going

to be here two years and we're out. And then

all of our kids born in Dallas, grew up in Dallas,

our oldest son, all his life in one house. One

time I heard somebody said, if you want to make

a love, tell him your plans. Because we plan

things, but God's timing is his timing. But as

we were approaching the year 15, 16, around that

time, even though we were committed and believed

in what we were doing, there was something that

started within us that I call holy dissatisfaction.

You cannot explain it. The only thing that you

know is that there's something inside of you

telling you, this is no longer it. There's something

else coming that God is going to prepare you

for. You do not know what it is. But that place

of holy dissatisfaction is a place of waiting.

Where the Lord is going to make it clear. And

when the time comes, you'll know. Why will you

know? Because the Holy Spirit is going to tell

you. So on that 18th year, I am looking in the

internet at something. I forgot exactly what

it was that I was searching for. And I see a

Google result that says, Evangelical Church of

Bangkok is looking for a lead pastor. I thought,

is that ECB? We visited in 2017 on our vacation

here in Thailand. I said, is that ECB? Let me

click on it. And I see a result. And I see the

description. and I start reading it, and the

weirdest thing happened. As I'm reading that

description, it's like, that sounds like me,

that sounds like me. Wow, they're looking for

someone that sounds like me. And I told my wife,

and I said, Sarah, you won't believe, ECV is

looking for a new pastor. And she looked at it,

and we both looked at each other, and we thought,

Could this be it? Is this the next thing? So,

in the past, people had offered us, hey, why

don't you come to work with us here? And we never

felt like this was God's doing at all. It was

like, no, of course not. We are committed here

in Dallas. We have a ministry. At that time,

as we both stood there and looked at this, it's

like, I cannot explain it. The feeling was, I

cannot put it aside. It's like to say no to this,

it felt like disobedience. So I remember sending

that email to the elder email that was there,

and I said to them, I said, look, I'm not looking

for a job. I already have one. But there's this

thing that is happening within us, and we do

not know. Is this what the Holy Spirit is doing?

So I'm making contact just to let you know. Tell

me if there's anything to do next. And that is

how the connection with the CB began. And you

fast forward and I'm standing here today. The

waiting, the timing, the revealing, the unfolding,

all of that is part of following the Lord. But

we have to make sure. That we are pursuing his

plans and his timing. And that will test our

humility and our willingness to submit to the

core. But that has to be aligned. Because the

Lord calls us to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Because in being aligned with the Holy Spirit

in all of these areas of our lives. The Holy

Spirit is empowering us for greater impact. For

his glory. For his purposes. And that's why for

us this matters so much. So look at the four

areas. Are you sealed with the Holy Spirit? Or

you are not yet a follower of Jesus who has been

born again? Are you grieving the Holy Spirit

or are you walking in obedience and holiness?

Are you pursuing his calling or are you living

a life of deep dissatisfaction because you are

not using whom he made you to be for his purposes?

Are you aligned with his timing or are you pushing

things your way rather than respecting his timing

and his plans? If the Lord is pointing to you

that you are misaligned, today is the time to

align with the Holy Spirit because that is the

life that God has called us to live in. For that

very reason, as we serve together, When people

ask me as a lead pastor, so Pastor Pablo, what

is your vision for the church? For me, the question

is a completely different question. I'm never

asking, what is my vision for the church now

so I can do this? I believe that if we are truly

a church that is aligned with the Holy Spirit,

we are asking a whole different question. And

the question is, Holy Spirit, what is your vision

for ECB? Give us sensitive hearts that we may

discern what you are doing. Let your will unfold

and give us the unity of your spirit so that

we can discern in unity, especially at the leadership

level, what you are doing. So now my will by

yours be done. That is how we serve in a place

where we are called to be indwelled and filled

by the Holy Spirit. Thank you for tuning in to

the ECB sermon podcast. Whether near or far,

if you are looking for community or are in need

of prayer, we welcome you to engage by sending

us an email to office at ecb .asia. If God is

calling you to support our ministries, you will

find giving options on our website. And remember

to join us next week. God bless you.