Servants Devoted to God - Part 5: The Power of The Kingdom - The Holy Spirit | Pastor René Dekker

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're in this series called

Servants. devoted to God. We're well underway

in this series, and I hope it's been very helpful

for your journey of loving God and serving Him

with devotion. The moment Jesus saved us, not

only did we become children of God, we also became

servants for the purpose of building God's kingdom

on earth in partnership with Him. In Jesus' life

and ministry, the kingdom of God was a central

theme. And you and I, as servants devoted to

God, have been called now to make the kingdom

of God also the central theme for our life and

ministry. And as we have already learned, being

part of this kingdom comes with a new culture.

The culture of the kingdom of God is vastly different

from the worldly culture that we used to be part

of. Being and thinking and behaving in the culture

of the kingdom is just completely different.

So we need to adjust to that culture. We need

to learn this new way of being, thinking and

behaving. And one of the things that we need

to learn is the power of the kingdom of God.

The driving force behind the expansion of God's

kingdom. And as we will learn today, the power

of the kingdom of God. is the Holy Spirit. Ever

since the Holy Spirit was poured out on a group

of 120 believers in the upper room on the day

of Pentecost, the news about Jesus starts spreading

like wildfire. It happened first in Jerusalem,

but soon it went out to the other parts of Israel.

And soon after, the gospel was shared with countries

surrounding Israel. And from there, it took a

flight. And it impacted the world. And today

this group of 120 believers 2 ,000 years ago

has grown into a worldwide movement of billions

of people who are gathering in tens of millions

of local churches all around the world. That's

powerful. The kingdom of God is expanding. But

what has caused this movement? What is causing

this movement? Well, the Holy Spirit. He is the

power of the kingdom. He is the one who has caused

the movement of the kingdom and is causing the

movement of the kingdom. And for a proper introduction

to the Holy Spirit in the larger story of God,

we need to turn to page one of the Bible. It's

there where we are being introduced to... The

Holy Spirit. This is how the word of God begins.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and

the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty.

Darkness was over the surface of the deep. And

the spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

Before creation. The Holy Spirit was already

there. What was he doing? Oh, he was hovering

over the waters. He was hovering over that what

was still dark and empty and formless. But he

was ready to speak life and beauty into all of

that. Psalm 33 says that the heavens and the

earth were created by God's Ruach. God's breath.

Ruach is the Hebrew word for breath, but exactly

the same word is being used for spirit, like

here in Genesis 1 and in different places. It

was through God's breath that the world was created.

So when God began to speak and he said, let there

be light and let there be a heavens and earth

and land and sea and nature and animals and seasons

and people. So it came to be, as we know from

the rest of the story of Genesis 1 and 2. And

the Holy Spirit was deeply involved in that work

of creation. The Holy Spirit was from the very

start involved. He had a prominent role in creating

light and life and order in places of darkness,

emptiness. And chaos. And the Holy Spirit never

stopped doing so. When you follow the story of

redemption throughout the Old Testament, the

story of God saving his people back to him because

sin entered the world and people were confronted

with, again, darkness and emptiness and chaos.

Throughout that story of redemption, the Holy

Spirit continued to play a prominent role in

this new creation work. The Holy Spirit empowered

certain people for specific assignments in this

redemptive work that God was undertaking. We

read about leaders like Moses and David and Samson

and prophets like Daniel and Ezekiel and Eliza

who were empowered by the Holy Spirit to speak

truth. to God's people, but also to perform miracles

and signs all for the sake of God wanting them

to return to him. He wanted to redeem them. And

again, the Holy Spirit was deeply involved in

creating new life, new light, new order in that

what had become dark and empty and chaotic. And

it was during this time of redemption where God

started to enlarge the scale, where a life, a

game -changing element came into play. Not only

did God want his Holy Spirit on a few people

for specific assignments, no, no, no, no. God

wanted all people to have the Holy Spirit, which

is why through the prophet Joel, this is what

God promised. I will pour out my spirit on all

people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy.

Your old men will dream dreams. Your young men

will see visions. Even on my servants, both men

and women, I will pour out my spirit in those

days. That's a game changer. God's strategy now

changed into, hold on, not a few people. No,

no, no. Everyone whom I'm saving to myself, I

will pour out the Spirit on them. That changes

the perspective on God's kingdom building. The

Holy Spirit for all. And as you probably know,

this promise speaks into our era. The era after

the day of Pentecost. The era after Jesus came

to launch the building of God's kingdom on earth.

And now I've brought Jesus into the picture.

Look at what happened to Jesus right before he

began his ministry on earth. When all the people

were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too.

And as he was praying, heaven was opened and

the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form

like a dove. Apparently for Jesus to undertake

his kingdom building ministry, he first needed

to receive the Holy Spirit. In a chapter later,

in Luke 4, when Jesus is quoting the words of

the prophet Isaiah, he fills us in on what this

actually means. The spirit of the Lord is on

me, says Jesus, because he has anointed me to

proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me

to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery

of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed

free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

Where did Jesus get his anointing and his power

from to proclaim the good news of the kingdom

and to do all these signs and miracles? From

the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the power

of the kingdom of God. Do you see the essential

role that the Holy Spirit has been playing from

the beginning and is playing until this very

age in God's strategy for building his kingdom?

We need to understand that building the kingdom

of God does not rely on our expertise, on our

intellect, on our skill, no matter how gifted

we are. It relies on the power of the Holy Spirit.

And can I tell you, if Jesus needed the Holy

Spirit to undertake his kingdom building ministry,

you and I certainly need the Holy Spirit for

our kingdom. building ministry. Today I want

to look with you at the early church in the book

of Acts to see what it means, what the power

of the Holy Spirit really means also for our

day and age. But before we go there, I want to

give you an illustration that I believe will

help us understand how this works. The power

of the Spirit empowering us. And I want to show

you this picture. If you come from a windy country,

like my country, you know what this is. You know

what this is? Windmills, right? Or wind turbines.

Yeah. Thailand has a few fields, so if you want

to see one or many with your own eyes, it's just

an hour and a half drive to visit one of those.

I'm not sure why you would do that, but hey,

if you want to see one. You know how a windmill

works? A windmill... harnesses the wind, and

the wind allows the windmill to produce power.

Here's how it works. When the blades of a windmill

are rightly positioned towards the wind, the

blades will begin to turn, which will cause the

rotor to turn, which will set in motion the generator

that is, I'm not an engineer, but there's a generator

apparently in this windmill construction, and

that will generate power to give away to the

grid. You know what a windmill field is capable

of doing? It's capable of generating power to

power up cities and nations, to set alight cities

and nations and to cause life and business and

all of that to happen. That's the picture that

I want to give you, the illustration of thinking

about the power of the Holy Spirit empowering

us. And I promise I will get back to this illustration

at the end of this sermon. Empowered by the Spirit.

If you wonder, hey, where did I hear this phrase

before? Well, you walk by it every Sunday morning.

to this worship center. If you're in Jubilee

Center, you won't see it. But if you're normally

here, you will see it because it's one of the

foundations of ECB. Everything we do here is

empowered by the Spirit. Why have we put that

on the wall? Because we believe it is true. Without

the power of the Holy Spirit, we will not accomplish

a thing. Today I want to share with you three

insights from the early church in the book of

Acts to help us understand and live out what

it is to be empowered by the Holy Spirit. Here's

the first insight I want to share with you. The

Holy Spirit helps us overcome our reservations.

What we see happening on the day of Pentecost

in Acts chapter 2, is that the 120 people who

Acts 2 · chapter mention

were in the upper room first had zero reservations

in sharing the message of Jesus with the people

on the streets in Jerusalem. There were many,

many nations gathered there on the day of Pentecost.

They were celebrating the festival of Shavuot,

which was an existing Jewish celebration. So

people from all kinds of nations were there,

and hey, They heard the news about Jesus in their

own language because the Holy Spirit had gifted

these people to speak in tongues. Boldly, they

were proclaiming the news of Jesus. And at a

certain point, Peter, the apostle Peter, had

taken the microphone. He had preached his best

sermon ever. He did an altar call, and 3 ,000

people responded and came to faith in Jesus on

that day. What had happened to these people who

just a few weeks before were so scared, were

so afraid to be seen with Jesus because the Jewish

leaders and the public opinion was strongly opposed

against Jesus, afraid. What happened to this

guy Peter who just a few weeks before had publicly

renounced knowing Jesus? What had happened to

these people that all of a sudden they were bold

witnesses, no longer afraid? Well, the Holy Spirit.

That is what had happened to these people. As

Jesus had told them a few days before the day

of Pentecost, Jesus had told them, you will receive

power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you

will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea

and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. Where

they had felt anxious and fearful before, that

was all gone after they had received the Holy

Spirit. There was no way that they could not

speak about Jesus and they became powerful witnesses

on that day in Jerusalem not just on that day

the Holy Spirit continued to empower them like

we read in Acts chapter 4 after they prayed the

Acts 4 · chapter mention

place where they were meeting was shaken and

they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and

they spoke the word of God boldly Bold and impactful

witnessing is a mark of the power of the Holy

Spirit on the life of believers. In order to

build the kingdom of God, the news about the

kingdom of God needs to go out. And we are the

designated ones, the called ones, to communicate

that message. But if we don't have the Holy Spirit,

We'll make lousy witnesses. If the 120 in the

upper room would not have had the Holy Spirit,

they would probably still today be in that upper

room, afraid as they were for their reputation

of being arrested. Without the Holy Spirit, you

and I make lousy witnesses. If we will witness

at all, afraid as we are of our reputation, the

opinion of others. Or maybe we're just afraid

because we don't know what to say. But we have

been given the Spirit, who is not a spirit of

timidity or fear. He is a spirit of power, helping

us to be bold and impactful witnesses to build

God's kingdom on earth. Here's a second insight

about being empowered by the Holy Spirit that

we get from the book of Acts, the early church.

The Holy Spirit enables kingdom impact beyond

our limitations. You know, we are capable people.

You know that, right? Do you know that? We're

very capable people. Psalm 8 says that God created

us. He made us just a little bit lower than...

The angels. So apparently God wants us to be

able and he wants us to accomplish things. But

God also wants us to know that we have our limitations,

especially when it involves the expansion of

his kingdom. Listen to these words that God spoke

through the prophet Zechariah. It's where God

said, not by might nor by power, but by my spirit,

says the Lord Almighty. God spoke these words

to a man called Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel was the

governor of Judah around the time when the people

of Israel came back from their exile in Babylon.

And Zerubbabel had to lead a massive building

project. He led the rebuilding project of the

temple in Jerusalem. But before beginning his

project management task, this huge, immense assignment,

God wanted him to know, Zerubbabel, this project

will not succeed because of your smarts, your

capabilities, your skills, your expertise, the

fact that you're a really good leader. No, no,

no, no. Your role is very important, Zerubbabel,

don't get me wrong. But it will only succeed

by my spirit. And these words God is speaking

to you and me. He's saying, guys, you have a

very important role in building my kingdom on

earth. But it's not your smart, your skill, your

intellect, your expertise. It is by my spirit.

If it's not, the mission will fail. If it is,

the mission will succeed. Here's an important

lesson to take away from these words. Do not

push for things that only the Holy Spirit is

capable of. And one of the areas that we have

to apply this to is in wanting to see our loved

ones coming to faith in Jesus. Of course, salvation

is important. Salvation is where it all begins.

I mean, if you're not saved, you will not be

able to enter the kingdom of God. But can we

be honest here? As we so badly want to see our

loved ones coming to know Jesus the way we know

Jesus, every once in a while at least we throw

in some of our tactics, don't we? A little bit

of massaging here, maybe some manipulation, some

pressure here and there. Try to talk them into

a relationship with Jesus. It's what I tried

with a friend of mine who I met in college 30

years ago. He was and is not a believer, and

I was and I am. And he was very open to the conversation

about God and about faith and about Jesus, so

we talked a lot. during the first years of our

friendship, about Jesus. But he was not making

a lot of progress, at least not fast enough to

my liking. And I got annoyed. So I upped my game.

I threw in some more powerful arguments. I challenged

him on his lifestyle. I tried the harsh way.

I tried the nice way. Nothing worked, okay? It's

because I tried to push for things that only

the Holy Spirit is capable of. You cannot talk

your child, your parent, your friend, your colleague,

your spouse into faith in Jesus. It doesn't work

like that. What your child, your parent, your

spouse, your friend, whomever you're doing life

with needs is conviction. And conviction is something

that only the Holy Spirit is able to give and

should be giving. Not you, not me. As Jesus was

explaining to his disciples that the Holy Spirit

would come, this is one of the things that he

said about the Spirit in John 16. When the Holy

Spirit comes, he will convict the world of its

sin and of God's righteousness and of the coming

judgment. Salvation involves conviction of hearts

about sin. As I mentioned, this is something

that only the Holy Spirit can do. The more you

and I will try to convict our loved one, the

more condemned they feel. Let me say that again.

The more you and I will try to convict our loved

ones, the more they will feel condemned. Don't

confuse your bold and impactful witnessing for

talking your friend into a relationship with

Jesus. Do the following. Use your story. Share

your life. Give the Holy Spirit something to

work with. But then, hands off. You get on your

knees, you cover it in prayer, and you wait on

the Holy Spirit while you are doing life and

giving your story and testimony. Salvation. And

conviction, the other way around, conviction

and salvation is not your work, not my work,

it is the Holy Spirit's work. Where we have the

joy of ministering to those we love, sharing

Jesus with them, the results are totally His,

okay? By the way, this is not the only area where

the Holy Spirit enables impact beyond our limitations.

The Holy Spirit also gives us abilities that

are beyond our natural skills and knowledge and

expertise. We read this from the early onset

in Acts chapter 2. Early church, everyone was

Acts 2 · chapter mention

filled with awe at the many wonders and signs

performed by the apostles. And a couple of chapters

later in Acts chapter 5, we get more detail of

Acts 5 · chapter mention

what this looked like. More and more men and

women believed in the Lord and were added to

their number. And as a result, people brought

the sick into the streets and they laid them

on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow

might fall on some of them as he passed by. Crowds

gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem,

bringing their sick and those tormented by impure

spirits, and all of them were healed. Wow, this

sounds a lot like the ministry that Jesus did,

right? He preached the message of the kingdom

of God, but he also performed miracles and signs,

healing the sick and casting out demons and whatnot.

And now all of this is happening with Jesus not

being around? Yeah, happening indeed. You know

why? Because Jesus delegated the authority to

use the power of the kingdom to his disciples,

to his followers. Read about it in Matthew 10,

right before Jesus was sending his disciples

on a mission trip. These are the instructions

that he gave them. As you go, proclaim this message.

Preach the gospel. The kingdom of heaven has

come near. But also heal the sick, raise the

dead. Cleanse those who have leprosy. Drive out

demons. Freely you have received. Freely give.

Jesus delegated the authority to use his power

to his disciples. And the book of Acts is a witness

to that. While preaching the message of the kingdom

of God that has come, the apostles were healing

the sick. casting out demons. And there are even

two occasions, Peter and Paul, both of them had

the privilege of raising the dead to life. And

friends, this is not just for the early church

in the book of Acts. Jesus has delegated to us

the authority to use his power to build God's

kingdom on earth. This is why here at ECB, we

do see people get healed. This is why here at

ECB we offer deliverance, helping people to be

set free from the demonic oppression of evil

spirits. It's because we believe that Jesus has

delegated his authority to us and we intend on

using it. Let me say there is a lot that we do

not understand about Jesus' authority. We need

to remember. that it's delegated authority, and

God always operates on his terms. So we don't

understand why one time God heals, and other

times he allows someone to pass away. But we

do understand a couple of things. God always

knows perfectly well what he is doing, whether

it's through healing or through allowing someone

to pass and be with him. We do believe and know

and see that God works with miracles and signs

in our day and age. And we have been given the

authority to use the power of the kingdom for

our ministry of building God's kingdom here and

now. Let me make a quick sidestep here. Have

you ever wondered why God does miracles? I mean,

it's cool that he does, right? We all enjoy hearing

and seeing stories of people getting healed and

people delivered from demons and all of that.

But our entertainment is not the purpose for

God to actually do those miracles and signs.

Hear me, please. Whenever God does a miracle,

he is reversing the impact of sin on creation.

Before sin entered the world, there were no demons

that harassed us, there was no sickness, there

was no death. But now, because sin has entered

the world, the system is broken and we are confronted

with all those things that we don't like, right?

So whenever God does a miracle, he is reversing

the impact of sin and effectively he is allowing

his kingdom to break in. So whether it is a sinner

repenting from his sin, coming to faith in Jesus,

or someone healing from cancer, or someone being

set free from the demonic oppression of evil

spirits, God does that to reverse the impact.

And effectively, we can say, hey, the kingdom

has come in that place, in that person, in that

situation. So what is the role of the Holy Spirit

in all of this? Well, as I already shared, the

Holy Spirit gives us abilities that often we

don't even understand because they go beyond

our limitations. And the Apostle Paul speaks

about these abilities in a couple of places in

the New Testament, like here in 1 Corinthians

12. Now to each one the manifestation of the

Spirit is given for the common good. To one there

is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom.

To another, a message of knowledge by means of

the same spirit. To another, faith by the same

spirit. To another, gifts of healing by that

one spirit. To another, miraculous powers. To

another, prophecy. To another, distinguishing

between spirits. To another, speaking in different

kinds of tongues. And to still another, the interpretation

of tongues. All these are the work of the one

and the same spirit. and he distributes them

to each one just as he determines. So when you're

a follower of Jesus, you have received at least

one, but probably more, spiritual gifts, gifts

that the Holy Spirit has given you. Not for yourself,

as we read, it's for the common good. It's to

build up the church. It's to edify others. It's

to build God's kingdom here on earth. And there

are different gifts. We all have the same gifts.

Apparently the Holy Spirit wants us to work together

so that all the gifts that Paul speaks about

are represented in our building of the kingdom

of God. So what is our role in getting these

gifts? Well, I know that in many cultures it's

not really appropriate. to ask for gifts, right?

In my culture, you just wait what you get for

your birthday and you say thank you even when

you don't like the gift. That's how we do things.

But in kingdom culture, it's different. This

is what Paul says two chapters later. Follow

the way of love, yes, it's most important, and

eagerly desire the gifts of the Spirit, especially

the gift of prophecy. What's our role in getting

these gifts? Desire them. Pursue them. Boldly

ask for them. Open yourself up to them. Asking

Holy Spirit, tell me more. Explain me more. How

do I use this? The Holy Spirit wants you and

me to discover the gifts that he has given us,

to understand them and to use them in his power,

but for the sake of building his kingdom. If

you're wondering about your spiritual gifts,

maybe you've never wondered this. I've included

a few links to online spiritual gifts tests.

You can take one of those or all of them. It's

not perfect, I know. But at least it gives you

some insights in the spiritual gifts that the

Holy Spirit has given you. Please take away this

from this insight. We have been authorized and

gifted to use the power of God's kingdom. And

like with all other areas of discipleship, this

area is developmental. It goes from hearing about

it to learning and then to doing. So if this

is a new aspect of discipleship for you, and

maybe you even feel taken aback a little bit

by it, can I encourage you, don't walk away from

it. Don't dismiss it, but open yourself. Open

yourself to growing, hearing about it, learning

about it, doing it. We're doing this together

as a church, seeking what the Holy Spirit has

for us, empowering us to build God's kingdom

on earth. One more insight that we get about

being empowered by the Holy Spirit from the book

of Acts. The Holy Spirit reshapes our inclinations.

A good idea may be a good idea, but it may not

be the Holy Spirit's idea. So we are journeying

with Jesus. There may be lots of things that

we think is fitting really well in that journey

and in our ministry. But we need to discern this.

There may be times where the Holy Spirit says,

hold on, you're going off track. I'm going to

intervene now and I'm going to change and reshape

your inclinations. This is what Paul and his

ministry team experienced as they were traveling

through minor Asia. This is the story that we

read in Acts chapter 16. Paul and his companions

Acts 16 · chapter mention

traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and

Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit

from preaching the word in the province of Asia.

When they came to the border of Mysia, a lot

of ia, right? They tried to enter Bithynia, but

the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.

So they passed by Mycenae and went down to Troas.

And during the night, Paul had a vision of a

man of Macedonia standing and begging him, come

over to Macedonia and help us. 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. So Paul and

his team had made a plan to go and preach in

an area called Bithynia, which is in modern -day

Turkey. We don't know what strategy they used

or how they came up with the plan of going there,

but hey, it's Paul, okay? So he probably had

thought about it for a long time. They had some

prayer gatherings, and they really thought it

was a good idea to go to Bithynia. It made sense

to them. Well, it didn't make sense to the Holy

Spirit. The Holy Spirit had a different idea.

He wanted them to go to Macedonia, a completely

different place. Today, even a completely different

country. It's in Greece. So the Holy Spirit had

to intervene. The Holy Spirit had to change the

plan and the inclinations. So literally, on the

border of Bithynia, he stopped them. He gave

Paul a vision about his new destination and that's

where they had to go. Obediently they followed

that inclination that the Holy Spirit had given.

Loved ones, not everything that seems right or

feels right is of the Holy Spirit. We do well

to carefully discern if that what is in front

of us is really a God idea or just an idea that

we came up with ourselves. I shared with you

at the beginning that after knowing that the

Lord is transitioning us out of Bangkok, we really

thought he would bring us back to the Netherlands.

It made a lot of sense to us. I mean, my mother's

health situation, Honoka's aging parents, a country

that is in need of Jesus and probably could use

four or five other people to help with that.

Friends who had been asking us for a longer time,

could you please come back and do what you do

in Bangkok and now do it here? And even doors

were opening to some exciting ministry opportunities

in the Netherlands in September, October. It

made a lot of sense to us to go back home. And

I was even in well -advanced conversations with

a ministry organization in the Netherlands. So

mid -October, I flew there thinking this is the

final round of conversations. After that, we

signed a contract. And before I jumped on a plane

to Amsterdam, we were basically praising God

for his timing. Say, wow, Lord, thank you. You

make us aware in August of this, and it's only

October, and you're already telling us where

to go next summer. Praise you, Lord. We're kind

of looking for houses and schools for our girls.

So I got on the airplane, landed in Amsterdam,

and literally the moment of touching down, my

soul was deeply unsettled, and I had no idea

what that was. And it didn't go away that whole

week of being there. And when I entered the conversation

with the board of this ministry organization,

we were 15 minutes in, and we both knew this

is not going to work. This is not it. Unsettling.

Wondering, Lord. And I came back and I said to

Chanukah, I don't get it. I'm confused. Aren't

you? The Lord has made us aware. It made so much

sense to us. So why? Why not? Knowing now what

God has done over the past two, three months.

Making our paths cross with global disciples.

Moving us to the U .S. Now I know. that it was

the Holy Spirit who caused my soul to be deeply

unsettled because he wanted me to be aware, Rene,

it's not the Netherlands. It's something else.

Keep looking for me. I'm doing something else.

It's what the Holy Spirit does. Friends, can

I suggest this? If you truly believe that God's

ways and his thoughts are higher than your ways

and thoughts, if you truly believe that God in

all things is working for your good and for his

glory, can I then suggest that as servants devoted

to God, we hold our agendas loosely and we allow

the Holy Spirit to make a course correction whenever

he desires to do so. That is the attitude of

adjustability, the attitude of flexibility that

we need as servants devoted to God, trusting

that the Holy Spirit knows better than you do

and I do where to effectively use us for the

advancement of his kingdom, even if it's just

for a season. Hold your agenda loosely and allow

the Holy Spirit to intervene, to course correct.

whenever he desires to do so. I promise to get

back to the illustration of the windmills. I

hope you had not forgotten about the windmills.

When the blades of a windmill are rightly positioned

towards the wind, some really powerful things

happen. The blades start to turn. The rotor turns

with it. The generator is activated. And this

field of windmills powers up cities and nations

to bring light and power to those places. But

when a windmill is not rightly positioned towards

the wind, nothing happens. It will just be a

long stick in the ground, okay? Not so pretty.

Windmills are not so pretty. But windmills have

an inbuilt mechanism. So whenever the wind is

picking up, that mechanism causes the rotor to

turn towards the wind until the moment where

the blades really catch it and start to turn.

And the rotor begins to turn. The generator starts

to generate power. And the impact starts to happen.

That's us, friends. Empowered by the Spirit means

that the Holy Spirit is ready. He is ready to

empower you and me. But we need to be rightly

positioned towards Him. We need to catch wind,

okay? And the only way to do that is to position

ourselves, to attune ourselves to the Holy Spirit.

for our mind and our heart and our soul, for

our blades to begin to turn and then our rotor

and then the generator. And from that place,

we collectively, we can light up a city. We can

light up a country. We can light up the world.

We can bring light and life and order in places

where currently there is still darkness and emptiness

and chaos. How about that? You want to be involved

in that movement? Then attune yourself to the

Holy Spirit. Seek the Holy Spirit the way you

seek God the Father. Engage in intimacy with

the Holy Spirit the way you do with Jesus. Build

in those moments of careful listening in your

times with God so that you can hear from the

Holy Spirit. Ask the Holy Spirit boldly, Lord,

what is it? What kind of gifts do you have for

me? And how do you want me to use them for the

building of your kingdom? Position yourself towards

the Holy Spirit. Attune yourself to the Holy

Spirit. If the Holy Spirit makes you feel uncomfortable

because you do not have a theological category

for him yet, can I encourage you, open yourself.

Ask in your life group, ask your pastors and

your leaders about the Holy Spirit. The Holy

Spirit is indispensable for a holy life and he

is indispensable for leading a life of power

as servants devoted to God, changing cities,

nations, the nations of the world. Can I ask

you to be, Quiet yourself for a couple of moments.

And then I will pray. Holy Spirit, you are here.

With us. In us. And it seems that we're only

scratching the surface in our... Knowing and

understanding of you, Holy Spirit. But we want

more. More of you. More of your power. We acknowledge,

Holy Spirit, that without you, we will not accomplish

much. But with you, with you, Literally, the

sky is the limit. Not for our sake, but for the

sake of the kingdom of God. So Holy Spirit, as

we will sing a song of invitation to you, I pray

that you will encounter us in new and fresh ways.

And I especially ask this for those among us

here, brothers and sisters, who sense reluctance

in engaging with you. Whatever has caused that,

I ask you, would you gently break in, remove

any resistance there may be, and show yourself,

Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, would you empower your

church, ECB, Lord, it's not just a statement

on the wall that we are empowered by you. No.

We have seen you move in powerful ways in us

and through us. And we will see more of that.

But we cling to you. We need you. So Holy Spirit,

more of you for your church ECB. For the churches

here in Bangkok and in Thailand, Lord. For ministries

that are taking place to win this nation back

to you, Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, rain, rain

down. We love you, Holy Spirit. We need you,

Holy Spirit. It's in Jesus' name that we pray.

Amen. 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.