Pentecost Sunday 2025 | Pastor Pablo Morales

And now we pray that you are blessed by this

week's sermon. Good morning. I should say, I

do not know what is the right phrase for Pentecost,

but I should say, Happy Pentecost Sunday. We

say Merry Christmas, Happy Easter, Happy Pentecost

Sunday. How about that? Today we celebrate something

that is... part of what God was doing, sending

Jesus to die for us, and then sending the Holy

Spirit to continue the work he started. So for

us as Christians, Pentecost is a very significant

day. And at ECB, it's an important day because

we say it's one of the things that matters to

us, is to be led by the Spirit in everything

we do. So if you happen to be visiting us today,

we're so glad that you are here this morning.

And we have a place downstairs we call the Connection

Center that is there for you. If you have questions

about our ministry, you want to learn more about

what we're doing, you're looking for a home church,

that place is designed for you. And I believe

that if you go soon enough, you'll get a free

cup of coffee or something like that. But I encourage

you to stop by there. But for the rest of ECB

family, this is a time in which people travel

all over the world. So I know that some of you

in our ECB family are watching us from wherever

in the world. And we pray that this time of connecting

online is something that is a blessing to you

as well. Today we will take a break from the

series that we've been doing in the book of Psalms.

Actually, we're going to take a break from two

Sundays, today and next week. And then we'll

go back to the Psalms at the end of June. But

today we're going to do a study specifically

for Pentacle Sunday to help us understand who

is the Holy Spirit and what is his work in our

lives. There is so much misunderstanding about

many of these things, so poor teaching as well

about these things, and depending what background

you come from or also how long you've been a

Christian, there are certain things that I hope

that the study today will give you so much more

clarity because one thing that Jesus wants us

as we follow him is that we have a close, intimate

relationship with the Holy Spirit. And if anything

is keeping you from having that intimate relationship

with the Holy Spirit, I hope that this study

today will remove it and help you just walk more

in intimacy with God. So before we start, let

me pray. Lord, I want to ask you in Jesus' name

that you will empower us today through your word

and that you will use me in your power and in

your grace. Open our eyes so that we may see

truth, truth that frees, so that we may follow

you with more devotion and freedom. We love you,

Lord, and I pray in Jesus' name. Amen. As we

begin this study, I need to give you a little

bit of background, because when we talk about

Pentecost, Even many Christians don't understand

what's Pentecost, I don't understand what is

that, and why do we do anything? Well, let's

start at the first part of the study by understanding

why Pentecost is so important. And for that we

need to understand a little bit of the Jewish

background in the Old Testament. There were three

different feasts that the nation of Israel was

commanded to practice that will lead people to

travel and go to Jerusalem. The Feast of Passover,

the Feast of Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles.

Those three. In the Feast of Passover is when

they remember that God had led them out of Egypt,

out of slavery, and they sacrificed the lamb

as part of that celebration in Passover. But

then, seven weeks later, which is 49 days, On

the 50th day after Passover, there was a celebration

of the weeks. And that celebration was to commemorate

now the first fruits of the harvest, of the wheat

harvest. And people came together, they brought

offerings and different things during that time

of celebration. And what happens is that Pentecost

is the 50th day. After Passover. So in Greek,

the word Pentecost means 50th. And that's why

this became known as Pentecost. Even though it

wasn't the Jewish name for it. Because the 50th

day after Passover, they would come and celebrate

the first fruits. Well, Jerusalem was just crowded

with people during these seasons. And each one

of these three festivities that they had brought

people into Jerusalem from all over the Roman

Empire. And the last time that the apostles had

been with Jesus celebrating something together

before Pentecost was Passover. And for Christians,

Passover took a whole different meaning. Because

that's the day now where Jesus, the perfect Lamb

of God, died for the sins of the world. And Pentecost

took a whole different meaning because that is

the day when Jesus sent the Holy Spirit, the

first fruits now of the new stage of salvation

where now people were coming to know Christ and

the indwelling of the Spirit began. And the movement

of the church from that point on until today

as we experience it began on that day of Pentecost.

So this is the connection and the background.

All these names and all these words that we use

to talk about Pentecost Sunday, the 50th day

after Passover. But when the apostles were with

Jesus in celebrating Passover, they did not know

that that was the last time that we're going

to eat a meal with Jesus. They were just celebrating

Passover with him. They had no idea that Jesus

was going to be crucified the following days

and everything that unfolded. At the moment of

these conversations with the apostles, they were

just listening from Jesus. And if you were to

open your Bible in John chapter 14, 15, 16, all

John 14 · chapter mention

those chapters, you will notice something. If

you have one of those Bibles that has the words

of Jesus in red. You will notice that, wow, that's

a lot of red there because Jesus is talking to

the apostles about a lot of things during that

last meal that they are spending together before

his crucifixion. And it's during that meal that

for the first time ever, he's going to start

telling them about the Holy Spirit that is going

to come. That is going to have a very specific

role in this new season in the plan of salvation.

That he came to accomplish. Jesus first came

to die for the sins of the world. To defeat death.

To defeat the power of sin and Satan. And bring

the forgiveness of sin available to humans. But

then he ascended to heaven. And after that the

Holy Spirit was going to start his ministry.

Of bringing now the salvation of Jesus into people's

lives. So we're going to take a look at John

John 14 · chapter mention

chapter 14, 15, 16 during that section. And we're

going to highlight first a couple of things that

he told them about the Holy Spirit. Because this

shapes the way we understand who God is, who

the Holy Spirit is. He tells them here in verse

16. I will ask the Father. And he will give you

another advocate to help you be with you forever.

The spirit of truth. He calls him here the spirit

of truth. And he was going to have a very specific

function. He says he's going to be an advocate.

The word advocate in Greek was the word parakletos.

That's the word, the paraclete. It was a word

that meant the helper, the advocate, the comforter.

It was translated in lots of different ways,

but basically it was one that came alongside

you to help you. And Jesus not only says that

this spirit of truth was going to have that function

of helping those that follow him, but he tells

us that the nature of this spirit was not going

to be something different from him. He uses the

word another advocate. And you can see that I

underline the word another because this is important

in our understanding. Now, you have to be in

theology to only pay attention to these details.

But this is where things matter a lot. It's like

a lawyer reading a document. It's like that word

makes a difference. And it does here. Because

did you know? That in the language of Greek in

which the New Testament was written. Now we are

reading the English translation of that. But

in Greek there are two words for another. Another

of a different kind. Or another of the same kind.

Two different words. Now you want to guess which

word Jesus is using about the Holy Spirit? The

first one or the second one? The second one.

I'm going to send you someone like me. to now

be a helper for you. And that starts helping

us understand that this Holy Spirit is distinct

from Jesus, but it has the same nature, and that's

where the doctrine of Trinity starts developing,

not just this verse, but many other things, that

we believe that God is Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

One being, one essence. Because the Holy Spirit

was like the same as Jesus. And Jesus says, I'm

going to send you another advocate to be with

you. And for how long is he going to be with

them? Forever. Jesus came temporarily, he left,

but the Holy Spirit will come and he will be

with you forever. And then he tells them, the

world cannot accept him. Because he neither sees

him nor knows him. But you, you are following

me. You know him. He is with you. But he will

be in you. And that's another important detail

that Jesus tells them. It's like, look, you have

not experienced the Holy Spirit yet in you. Only

with you. But the time is going to come in which

this spirit of truth is going to come and to

be in you. And then he says one more thing in

that dinner with them celebrating Passover. He

tells them, very truly I tell you, it is for

your good that I'm going away. Unless I go away,

this advocate, this spirit of truth, the Holy

Spirit I'm talking to you about, he will not

come to you. But if I go, then I will send him

to you. So he also tells us that there is a progression,

there is a plan in place. The job of Jesus was

won, but once he accomplishes his job, he has

to go to heaven, and then the beginning of the

new job begins of the Holy Spirit. And unless

Jesus leaves, he cannot send the Holy Spirit.

That's what we understand, that the work of the

Holy Spirit... We already know the Holy Spirit

was already at work during the time of Jesus.

He's the one that caused the birth of Jesus.

He was conceived by the Spirit. But we also know

that in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit was

at work, but never in the functional role that

he was going to have after Jesus ascended to

heaven. He was going to now be in people, not

just with people. And then the apostles listen

to all of these things. Jesus dies for the sins

of people. He resurrects, overcomes the power

of sin and death and Satan. Now he has the key

of the kingdom and all authority on heaven and

on earth. And before he is going to ascend to

heaven, he has appeared to the disciples at different

times. But he has another conversation with them.

Now the apostles understand so much more. Things

that have happened. But here Jesus tells them.

Do not leave Jerusalem. But wait for the gift

my father promised. Which you have heard me speak

about. Remember? The last supper together. For

John baptized with water. But in a few days.

You will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Now

he talks about this coming of the Holy Spirit

to live in them as you will be baptized with

the Holy Spirit. And that hadn't happened yet

because Jesus hadn't ascended. So they wait in

Jerusalem. And then Jesus also tells them, listen,

when the Holy Spirit comes to you, something

is going to happen. You will receive what? Power.

When the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will

be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria,

and to the ends of the earth. One of the roles

the Holy Spirit is going to have in your life

is to empower you so that you can be a witness

and point people to Jesus so that they can know

that there's a Savior that came to die for their

sins and they can be forgiven. So the relationship

with the Holy Spirit that we have, it's not just

about us, but it's about the empowerment that

comes from that in order to have bigger impact

for the kingdom of Jesus. And that's why the

intimacy with the Holy Spirit matters. It's because

it dictates the level of power and impact that

we can have as we follow Jesus. The apostles

state, And here, the Lord had told them, stay,

wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Did you

notice that? He called him a gift. This is something

that I am giving you. It's not based on your

merits. I am giving it to you out of my love

for you. And it's going to come. And it did come.

The 50th day. After Passover. The 50th day. After

they had the first conversation. That the Holy

Spirit was going to come. The advocate. The 50th

day. The Holy Spirit comes. And fulfills everything

that Jesus has said. And one of the experiences.

That the book of Acts tells us. That the apostles

had at the beginning. Is that when they experienced

the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. At this moment.

It came with. certain manifestations of gifts,

of tongues, that is described as tongues of fire.

And what these things were, languages that they

were able to speak that they did not know beforehand,

in which they were able to express the mysteries

of God to the audience that was there in Jerusalem.

Remember what I told you earlier? Each one of

these feasts. Jerusalem became full with crowds

of people and tourists and people that didn't

live there. And they came. So the apostles, when

this happened on that 50th day, the Feast of

the Weeks or Pentecost, they're surrounded by

all these people from all these different languages

and backgrounds. And the apostle Peter, for the

first time ever in history, will preach. The

gospel. And proclaim it into the world. That

Jesus is the son of God. Who came to die for

the sins of the world. And that he overcame the

power of sin. Death. Satan. He resurrected. He

ascended to heaven. And one day he will return

to judge the world. And that anyone that repents

of their sins. And follows him. Will receive

the gift of the Holy Spirit. And he proclaims

this gospel. And we have the words that he spoke

right there. Peter replied to the crowd. Repent.

And be baptized. Every one of you in the name

of Jesus Christ. For the forgiveness of your

sins. And you will receive. The gift of the Holy

Spirit. Did you notice how he calls him a gift

again? Using the words that Jesus said before.

The Holy Spirit was going to be a gift. For you.

If you repented of your sins. And decided to

follow Jesus. It's not that you were perfect.

But you started following Jesus. And Jesus said.

For those that follow me. I'm going to give them.

Another advocate. To be in them. Forever. And

this is how this began. Now the apostles preached

the gospel. And from that point on. Until today,

the movement of Jesus on earth has expanded throughout

the nations, throughout the languages, because

of the work of the Holy Spirit. That's why at

the end of this section, the apostle Peter tells

the crowd, the promise is for you and your children,

but also for all who are far off. For all whom

the Lord God will call. And praise God. That

that includes you and me. This is what we know.

The background of this important day and how

the Holy Spirit came to begin this work in the

lives of people. Following what Jesus had begun.

But the role of the Holy Spirit was going to

now apply the work of Jesus into the life of

the person. That's why the second part of this

study is how it works. How does this work? Because

when we understand how this works, it gives us

so much more clarity and freedom to pursue this

relationship of intimacy with the Holy Spirit.

Now, I have to be honest, we have no idea how

it works. It's like if I were to ask you, do

you have Wi -Fi in your phone? And you say, yeah,

it's a smartphone. Do you know how it works?

Oh, there's a Wi -Fi, something, signal somewhere.

But do you know how it works? Do you know the

physics of it? No, I have no idea. Yeah, welcome

to the world of theology. We know how this works,

but we don't really know how this works. And

what we know is this. Because the Apostle Paul

tells us, In the book of Ephesians, something

that is very clear. Now I love when I'm studying

the scriptures. That making these distinctions

as you're trying to connect dots. Because when

you read the gospel, when you read the book of

Acts, you're reading narrative. It's history.

It's telling you, hey, this happened and then

that happened and that person said that. And

you're reading and you say, but why? How does

that work? And it doesn't tell you. It's descriptive.

It's just telling you what happened. That's it.

But you go to other parts of the Bible, especially

the letters of the apostles, and that's not narrative.

It's not describing something that happened.

It's telling you how it happens and how it should

work and why it's this way. That is much more

what I call prescriptive. And when you engage

with those passages, oh, it helps you understand,

ah, okay, now I get it. So it works this way.

And when you go to Ephesians, it tells us how

this works. The Apostle Paul writes to these

Christians in the city of Ephesus, which was

a famous city, because people worshipped there

the goddess Artemis. And today we still have

the ruins of ancient Ephesus. In fact, some of

you have already visited, perhaps, that area.

But for the first Christians in that city, when

the Apostle Paul is trying to help them understand

how this whole thing works, he tells them this.

Will you read it with me? And you also were included

in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the

gospel of your salvation, and having believed,

you were marked in him with a seal, the promised

Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our

inheritance until the redemption of those who

are God's possession to the praise of his glory.

He tells us, look, Christians from Ephesus, you

are confused about how the Holy Spirit works

and all these things. Let me tell you. Do you

remember when you heard the word of truth? What

word of truth are you talking about? The gospel

of your salvation. Oh yeah, the gospel. Yeah,

I remember when I heard the gospel. Well, do

you remember when you believed in it? Yeah, I

remember when I believed in the gospel. Well,

on that moment, when you heard the gospel and

you believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit.

At that moment, the Holy Spirit came to live

in you, like Jesus said, will be in you, not

just with you anymore. And at that moment, he

came to be like a seal that is guaranteeing something.

What is it guaranteeing? It's guaranteeing that

you will experience the fullness of your salvation

all the way until the day of redemption when

Jesus comes back. Because on that day, when you

said yes to Jesus, I want to follow you, and

you repented of your sins, like Peter said, you

will be given the gift of the Holy Spirit. It

was a gift that Jesus gave you that day that

you asked Jesus to save you. And on that day

on, the Holy Spirit is going to be in you forever,

until the day of redemption. He's there to stay.

And who's going to receive all the glory and

the praise because of this? Oh, God. I find that

revealing and freeing so much. Because it means

that if you believed in Jesus Christ and you

are following him, if you truly, truly believed

in Jesus Christ and you're following him, then

you have the Holy Spirit in you. Because the

day you heard and you believed, you were sealed

with the Holy Spirit. And that is something that

we have to understand. Why do I say that? Because

throughout the many years I met Christians that

are following Jesus, but they are wondering...

Pastor Paulo, I do not know if I have the Holy

Spirit. How do I not have the Holy Spirit? Maybe

I don't have the Holy Spirit. Do I need to do

something to have the Holy Spirit? And they go

to a church and the church tells them, oh well,

if you don't fall on the floor and start having

some kind of shaking or something, you don't

have the Holy Spirit. And they try, but it doesn't

work. And that creates so much fear and anxiety.

That's why Paul writes this to the Ephesians.

Don't worry about any of that stuff. If you believe

in Jesus as your Savior, the moment you heard

and believe, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit.

The second thing is that sometimes people say,

yeah, but I do not know if the Holy Spirit is

going to get tired of me because sometimes I'm

not obedient, I don't pray as much, I don't read

my Bible, and sometimes I'm mean, and I do things

I shouldn't. So maybe the Holy Spirit is going

to get tired of me. And then the person says,

you know, I'm afraid that I have committed the

unpardonable sin. So maybe the Holy Spirit left

me. And they are stuck in that place of uncertainty.

And here what Jesus said and what Paul says repeats

the same thing. Look, the day you believe in

Jesus, if you truly believe in Jesus, Jesus gave

you a gift. Called the Holy Spirit. And that

gift is to stay with you until the day of redemption.

He's not going to leave you because he got tired

of you. Have you ever been in a dating relationship

where the guy keeps breaking up with you? He

doesn't like you anymore. He comes back. He says,

actually, I changed my mind. I like you. You

take him back. And then he says, I don't like

you anymore. You break up again. And then he

comes back a third time. By the fourth time,

what you already knew the first time is confirmed.

This guy doesn't really love me, does he? So

then you break up for sure. You cannot have an

intimate relationship with someone that keeps

dropping you like that. The Holy Spirit is not

like that boyfriend. Well, I'm tired of you.

I don't like you anymore. Look, you are such

a sinner. No, I think I'm out. Hey, wait, I want

to come back in. No, it doesn't work that way.

The moment you believe, it's a gift to stay with

you. Really? You see how that changes everything?

Because now I can have freedom just to seek a

relationship with the Holy Spirit without the

fear that He's not going to be happy and leave

me. The Holy Spirit comes to be with you. And

what He does is amazing. It's really amazing.

What is He going to do all of this time forever?

You know, it's like, with me? Yes, with you.

I'll tell you what He's going to do. First thing,

He's going to indulge you. He comes to live in

you. Which means that no matter where you go

or where you are, you have God's presence in

you. So the next time you decide to go places

you shouldn't, remember who is in you. You cannot

leave him at the door or at church, at ECB. He's

in you to stay. And now that he's indwelling

you, he justifies you. He starts making the salvation

of Jesus apply to you. To be justified means...

That he has forgiven all of your sins, washed

away all the guilt and the shame from you. And

in addition, he has given you the fullness of

the righteousness and perfection of Jesus in

you, in your account. Now, God does not see you

for your imperfections. Like, oh, he's not good

enough. No, he sees you with the righteousness

of Jesus in you. You are in Christ. Christ is

in you. He justifies. But now that he's in you

and you are free from condemnation and guilt

and shame, because he's not going to shame you,

you're already forgiven for all of your sins.

Then he's going to sanctify you. He wants you

to experience his life in you because before

you came to know Christ, the only thing you could

experience was your sinfulness. And it wounded

you, didn't it? It hurt you. I hurt others. Well

now he comes to try to help you. So that you

can experience his life. Love. Joy. Peace. Faith.

Faithfulness. Self -control. All these things.

The nature of who he is. Now you experiencing

it. That's why. As you start following Jesus

and time passes, you notice, well, I'm not the

same person I was before. There are desires that

have changed. And I have just a new nature in

me. That's the Holy Spirit. It's sanctifying

you. And then, that He has saved you, He wants

you to fulfill the purposes and plans He has

for you. So He's going to guide you. He directs

you. And then on top of that, he's going to empower

you so that everything that he's calling you

to do, you will have the giftedness you require,

the discernment, the wisdom you require, the

resources you require to fulfill his purposes.

He's going to empower you. And if you die before

Jesus comes back, the same Holy Spirit that resurrected

Jesus from the dead, guess what he's going to

do with you? He's going to resurrect you from

the dead. And you will become immortal. And you

will become sinless. And that is what we call

glorification. And if you happen to still be

alive when Jesus comes back. You're going to

be changed in an instant. And who is going to

do that transformation in you? The Holy Spirit.

The advocate that Jesus promised to send the

gift. That he gave you the moment you believed

in him. This is what the Holy Spirit does. And

that's why this gift is so amazing. And the more

you understand it. The more you want more of

it. More of you Holy Spirit. In my understanding

of you. In my intimacy of you. In my experience

of you. I want to know you more deeply. I understand

that if you are not a Christian, some of this

stuff may sound like cuckoo, like weird. I also

understand that if you are a new believer, many

of these things are new to you. But this is part

of our growth and our understanding in following

Jesus. Because Jesus wants you to have an intimate

relationship with the Holy Spirit in your life.

That's why I love listening to stories, testimonies

of people that came from so many different backgrounds

and they tell the story of how is it that they

came to know Jesus and then they start telling

you this story and you have so many things in

common and you feel so much joy because you realize

that your experience is also somebody else's

experience. There's a guy, his name is Beckett

Cook. I enjoy reading his life story. I enjoy

watching some of the interviews he does and videos

that he has produced. But Beckett was born in

Texas, the same state where we were serving before

in the U .S. before we came here. And from there,

he moved to California to pursue his career.

He pursued his career in the creative arts and

fashion and stage creation. So he started working

with lots of artists and famous people. And he

really grew a lot in his career. He was at the

peak of his career, visiting lots of different

countries. And just like the world, he was living

the life. And one day, as he's in this dinner

with the famous people and drinking and talking

about different things, he perceives the emptiness

of it all. And he remembers asking, is this all

there is? Is there more to life than just this?

Oh, and he had pursued everything available to

him. The world had told him, hey, Beckett, if

you have same -sex attraction, you pursue that.

It's going to make you happy. It's going to fulfill

you. So he pursued it. And he had lots of relationships

throughout the years. He had experienced the

money, the success, and the sex. And yet he's

there sitting in that place, wondering, feeling

empty. Is there more to life? You see, He has

not yet experienced at that moment what the Apostle

Paul simply says, the love of God in you. Because

when the Holy Spirit comes to you when you believe

Jesus, the Apostle Paul simply puts it in these

words, God's love has been poured out into our

hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given

to us. God's love, the presence of the Holy Spirit

in you after believing in Jesus, that is what

is missing. That is why you feel there's more

to life that you are not experiencing. There's

something that is missing that you do not know

what it is. And Beckett had to discover what

that was from his own experience. So he writes

his biography in this book, A Change of Affection.

And he says, you know, I was in California wondering

about all these things in my mind. I made these

Christians in a restaurant. I did not know them.

They invited me to their church. So I decided,

okay, you know, couldn't hurt. I'll just go and

see. So he went to their church. And he is there.

And guess what is the topic of the message on

that day? The gospel. The person is preaching

the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ, that

you are a sinner, but Jesus came to die for you.

What's missing in your life is the love of God.

He wants to fill you with that and all of that.

And the more he was listening to it, Beckett

was like realizing this is what it is. This is

what's been missing. But he was wrestling. Because

previous to stepping into that church that day,

he thought Christians are weird. They're ignorant.

You know, they have no idea what they're talking

about. And he had all these preconceptions. So

he decided that at the end of the service, he

went to the front to be prayed for. But he tells

the person, he says, you know, I'm not a Christian.

I don't really know what to believe. But I'm

here. So the person says, fine, I'll pray for

you. The person prayed for him. He went and sat

down. As he was sitting down, suddenly, he says,

I became overwhelmed by this need to start crying

and weeping and sobbing. And it would not leave

him. He was just sobbing and sobbing for a while.

But that sobbing, what was happening in his life,

was like something was washing away. He didn't

understand. He hadn't heard the sermon yet. He

was being justified. The washing of his sins,

the righteousness of Jesus, he was experiencing

this at the moment. And he tells us in his book

what happened. In that moment, everything became

clear. God was real. Jesus was real. The Bible

was real. The resurrection was real. Heaven was

real. Hell was real. It was all real. Everything

that I had dismissed as a fairy tale was all

true. Like Paul, it was as if the scales fell

from my eyes and I was able to see. It was as

if a curtain had parted and I could finally see

the truth. When you read these words, you can

identify with them as well if you have come to

know Jesus. Now you understand. Now you see.

And it's not because you became smarter. No,

it's because you have the Holy Spirit in you

that is justifying you, sanctifying you, working

in you. And that's what continued in his life.

He tells us many things. He says, when I was

fully immersed in that lifestyle I lived before,

My entire identity was wrapped in my sexual orientation.

The only thing that changed that identity for

me was the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

It required nothing less than a supernatural

encounter with the living God. I don't believe

that lasting change of behavior is possible without

Holy Spirit transformation. Sanctification that

he's talking about. And then he says, after my

stunning encounter with God, I knew I could no

longer pursue romantic relationships with men.

I had finally come to the realization that homosexual

behavior was a distortion of God's perfect design

for human sexuality and flourishing. Surprisingly,

I was perfectly fine with that realization. The

complete reversal of my opinions and pursuits

in this area worked like this. I had just met

the king of the universe. The last thing in my

mind was men. My identity is no longer in my

sexuality, but in Christ. And to be honest, I

still struggle with sexual desire for men. That

didn't go away. But I have to say that after

my encounter with Jesus, by the grace of God,

that desire has greatly diminished. I am more

than willing to deny myself, take up my cross,

and follow Him because He is worth it. To say

that every other relationship paled in comparison

with my new relationship with Christ would be

a massive understatement. How could I hold on

to anything that didn't bring me closer to him?

My relationship with Christ was the real deal.

I knew in my bones that it was what I had been

longing for my whole life. It was what I was

made for. My faith in Christ compels me to pursue

a life of obedience. The thought of being disobedient

to the one who took on himself the penalty of

my sin makes me sick. The fleeting pleasures

of sin are not worth the agony of grieving the

person I love the most. It is said that there

is no one more miserable than a Christian living

in sin. I couldn't agree more. He had his identity

on something that was not God. And any one of

us, before we came to know Christ, we had our

identity on something. And whatever that something

was, was a distortion. Because when we come to

know Jesus, now we realize who we truly are.

A loved son and daughter of the Most High One.

And the gift of the Holy Spirit in you. reveals

that to you, and now you're able to see yourself

for the first time through the eyes of truth.

Why truth? Because it is the spirit of truth

that is in you now. With time, Beckett not only

became a Christian, but he decided to go... To

seminary, he wanted to serve God with his life.

He did not know exactly how. And one of the things

that God led him to start was the Beckett Cook

Show, a program that he has on YouTube. You can

see his videos, lots of interviews, lots of people

with different backgrounds. And the Christian's

testimony is fascinating. But this is how this

works. This is what the Apostle Paul was writing

to the Ephesians. This is what Jesus was telling

the Apostles was going to happen. This is what

Peter was preaching for the first time. It's

the invitation to encounter God because the Holy

Spirit can live in you. And therefore, for us,

the focus of our walk with God is one about alignment.

When you are misaligned with the Holy Spirit,

you'll know it. And therefore, your job is to

become misaligned with the Holy Spirit. For those

of you who are married, you can understand what

I mean. If you are not good with your spouse,

things are not great. You walk in, it's quiet,

and you may ask, is everything okay? I say, no,

I'm fine. Everything's fine. It's like, it's

not fine. You know. And until you sit down and

you talk and you align things, okay, now things

are good. And with the Holy Spirit, it's like

that. If you're not aligned with him, you will

know you are not aligned with him. And it is

very important that we align ourselves with the

Holy Spirit. And I'll tell you why. To understand

this, we have to read. I want to go quickly through

this story because it's just a point of illustration.

But the Apostle Paul was preaching his second

missionary journey. He went from Corinth all

the way to Ephesus. And that's how he encountered

the Ephesians for the first time. When he goes

to Ephesus, he discovers something that stopped

happening. It was a pagan area, lots of worship

of idols and things. There was a Jewish community

there as well. But we are told in the book of

Acts that this happened. Some Jews who went around

driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the

name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon

-possessed. They would say, In the name of the

Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come

out. They thought that it was a magic formula

of some sort. And it wasn't. You cannot fake

the power of the Spirit. If He's not in you,

He's not in you. So they learned the hard way.

Seven sons of Jehovah, a Jewish chief priest,

were doing this. One day the evil spirit answered

them, Jesus I know. Paul, I know about, but who

are you? Then the man who had the evil spirit

jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave

them such a beating that they ran out of the

house naked and bleeding. When this became known

to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they

were all seized with fear and the name of the

Lord Jesus was held in high honor. You can imagine,

they were realizing, oh, this Christian thing

is real power. We cannot fake it. By the way,

just as a parenthesis, if this whole thing about

demon and evil spirits, all of that is new to

you, you don't understand it, you want to learn

more about those things. In my own journey of

studying these things, apart from my experience,

these three books were very insightful in different

ways. Demonic Falls, written by a psychiatrist.

He was writing it from the perspective of a psychiatrist

that had to work with many cases like this. Fascinating.

The other one is They Shall Expel Demons, written

by a pastor who served for more than 30 years.

And he had to deal with these experiences that

he was not planning for and all the things he

learned from it. And the other work from a theologian

that is trying to figure out where do demons

come from and what does that do? And so he goes

into the Greek. Into the history, into all this

stuff. So all these different books talk about

it. But end of the parenthesis, let's go back

to the text. Many of those who believe now came

and openly confessed what they had done. A number

who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls

together and burned them publicly. When they

calculated the value of the scrolls, the total

came to 50 ,000 drachmas. Now, one drachma was

the salary of a day. So 50 ,000 days of salary.

Imagine that. A lot of money. In this way, the

word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.

These people came to believe. And what happened

the moment they heard the gospel and believed?

The apostle Paul wrote to them later in Ephesians.

What happened at that moment? Ah, the Holy Spirit

came to live in them. They were sealed. And why

did they start feeling convicted after they started

following Jesus? You have a book in your house

you need to get rid of. Oh yeah, but I spent

a lot of money on that book. Yes, but that witchcraft

is not what I saved you for. You need to get

rid of it. Where was that conviction coming from?

Ah, the Holy Spirit. And they went, took all

that stuff, and they were willing to do that

which was hard. Come in the open and remove it.

The Holy Spirit wants to transform you. And he

will require that you respond to him in the right

way. Because what is at stake is not just your

transformation. But would you read again, but

this time with me out loud, what was the outcome

of this work? In this way, the word of the Lord

spread widely and grew in power. When God's people,

followers of Jesus, became aligned with the work

of the Holy Spirit in their lives, the witnessing

got much more impactful. The word of the Lord

spread widely and also there was more power as

a result. Why? Because the power of the Holy

Spirit now could flow through them towards others.

That It's how this works. And that is why it's

so important that you and I take this call of

intimacy with the Holy Spirit seriously. That's

why I want to finish this study with three clear

commands that the Apostle Paul writes about our

relationship with the Holy Spirit. Very precise

verses, but very clear commands. The first one

is this. Since we live by the Spirit, let us

keep in step with the Spirit. If the Holy Spirit

is in you, he wants to guide you now. There's

a direction that he wants you to pursue. And

now that he is guiding you, he needs you to follow

him. I remember sometimes when we would go to

the supermarket with our kids when they were

younger toddlers. You know, whenever we got to

the section where there was candy. Sometimes

next to the cashier, you know. It's like, oh,

you want that. Or you are walking by and you

pass the aisle that has all the Legos. And it's

like, oh, they want to go there. So if you're

walking with them with hand, you know, holding

their hand, it's like we're going there to buy

medicine, you know. And it's like, oh, Legos.

It's like, no, no, no, no, no. Let's move over.

Oh, Legos. It's like, look, I'm trying to guide

you. You need to keep in step with me. And that's

you and I. The Holy Spirit says, that's the future

I have for you. Follow me. No, no, I want this.

Come here. If you live by the Spirit, keep in

step with the Spirit. If He's guiding you, follow

Him. The second command is this. Do not grieve

the Holy Spirit of God with whom you were sealed

for the day of redemption. You were sealed with

Him until which day? Ah, sealed. No one can open

that. And because he's with you and in you, whatever

you do, wherever you go, you cannot keep the

secret from him. That's why when you say, well,

nobody knows. That's not true. The Holy Spirit

knows and he is somebody. And that's why you

have no peace. It's because you are engaged in

behaviors and practices that the Holy Spirit

wants you to be free from so that you can experience

His life. And as long as you decide to keep the

secrets, as long as you decide to engage in ungodliness,

as long as you decide to go to the wrong places

or see the wrong things, the Holy Spirit is going

to be grieved. Because that is not. What he envisions

for you. That's not the potential he sees in

you. That's not the plans he has for you. But

he has to wait for you. To get it. Do not grieve

the Holy Spirit. If you are walking in shameful

ways. Come clean. He's not going to leave you.

He wants to love you. But he also wants you to

love him back. And the third command. is do not

quench the Spirit. What does that mean? Do not

put out the fire of the Spirit. What does that

mean? Sometimes the Holy Spirit is going to prompt

you to do certain things. You say, where does

that come from? It's like, I wasn't thinking

about it. Out of the blue, you know, I thought

of this. And you start feeling something that

you resist. That's the first response. It's like,

As if the Holy Spirit is saying, look at that.

No. Yes, look at that. No, not now. Yes, I want

you to look at that. And typically these things

happen a lot when God is leading you into a calling,

into a change of direction. And now you start

feeling this struggle within because it's like

you experience something that I call holy dissatisfaction.

You are not satisfied with where you are now.

God is asking you to walk into the unknown. But

the unknown makes you uncomfortable. But this

thing is not going away. You have the option

to put out the fire and say, no, I'm not going

to do it. I'm not going to do it. Please stop

insisting. Holy Spirit, not a good idea. Or you

say, Holy Spirit, if this is you, I'm willing.

Let's go for it. Do not quench the Spirit. You

see, all these three commands are simply commands

to help you embrace the reality of who we are

in Jesus. Now that we are His followers, now

that He saved us. Because as we embrace this

intimacy with the Holy Spirit, We keep in step

with him. When he convicts us, we confess. When

he prompts us, we follow. When we do this, we

grow in intimacy with the Holy Spirit. And you

know who will benefit? You. And the kingdom.

Because now the power of God can flow through

you to the next level. And you will live for

increased kingdom impact. So I conclude this

study with a simple question. Are you seeking

intimacy with the Holy Spirit? Because if you

are not, I want to encourage you today, take

this relationship to the next level. Take it

seriously. Pursue it. First, If you're not a

follower of Jesus, if you don't understand these

things, and for the first time you've been hearing

about God loving you and Jesus dying for your

sins, offering forgiveness, I want to invite

you. Could it be today, the day you're feeling

this desire that you need to follow Jesus? And

if so, during this time of worship, would you

invite the Holy Spirit and say, please come in

my life. I want to follow Jesus. I may not understand

everything. But today I gave my life to you.

If that is you. Do that during this time of worship.

If you are a follower of Jesus. And you have

the Holy Spirit in you. I want to invite you.

To ask the Holy Spirit. To grow in an intimate

relationship with you. That you can experience

him. That you can know him more and more. So

that the things that he has for you, you will

be able to experience. If this is your desire

during this time of worship, please join us.

Lord, we stand in your presence. In awe. In awe

of what you have done. This is huge. The fact

that you would love us so much to give us the

advocate. To be with us forever. And Holy Spirit,

for you to stay in us, to love us, to sanctify

us, to justify us, to transform us, to guide

us. We need you desperately. So we ask you, Lord,

guide us. If there's anything that is holding

us back from pursuing this relationship with

you. We are asking you right now in Jesus name.

Break that. So that nothing and no one will hold

us from pursuing you with everything we are.

In the powerful name of Jesus. Amen. 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.