CALLED together and SENT out | Donovan Rillion | It Comes With a Gift

Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he

it is who loves me. And he who loves me will

be loved by my Father, and I will love him and

manifest myself to him. Judas, not Iscariot,

said to him, Lord, how is it that you will manifest

yourself to us and not to the world? Jesus answered

him, If anyone loves me, he will keep my word,

and my Father will love him, and we will come

to him and make our home with him. Whoever does

not love me does not keep my words. And the word

that you hear is not mine, but the Father's who

sent me. These things I have spoken to you while

I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy

Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name,

he will teach you all things and bring to your

remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace

I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not

as the world gives do I give to you. Let not

your hearts be troubled, neither let them be

afraid. Last week we talked about how following

Jesus comes with a cost. Surrender, self -denial,

laying down your pride, your desires, your wants.

It comes with the cost of obedience. But it's

also true, and I kind of hinted at this last

week, that following Jesus comes with a gift.

And I put the gift in the slide because it is

the gift. It's the most important, the greatest

benefit, the greatest reward that comes to us

on this earth in this lifetime from following

Jesus. It's not just a reward for later, but

it's a resource for right now. See, Jesus doesn't

call us to follow him and sacrifice and give

up all of these things and leave us with just

that. He equips us to follow him. The equipping

comes in the form of this gift. And in a church

of Christ, I may get in trouble for it, but we're

going to talk about it anyways. The Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit. Now here's the deal, this is

not some side benefit of faith like we've kind

of treated it as for a long time. It's not this

thing that we can just kind of have. But it is

the gift that Jesus sends for us for our time

in this life. It's not just a theological idea.

It's also not an emotional experience. It's God's

presence given to me and given to you so that

we can actually live out the calling that he

has placed in our life. I've got right here a

car key. These little fancy keys that have little

switchblades. I love I'll play with this thing

all day, but I've got a car key. And I want you

to imagine that I hand you this key and I say

this key unlocks power. It can open a door. It'll

let you move forward in a really fast way. It'll

take you places. It'll bring you to a place faster

than you could ever imagine walking, running,

or even riding a bike. Unless you ride bikes

like Tim. This key right here gives you access

to power. And it does. But it only does that

if it's connected. If it's plugged in to something

greater. See a car key is not power in itself.

It just gives you access to power. And you might

parade the key around. You might show it off.

And you could say I've got this new key. It's

really nice. It's really fancy. You might put

it on a nice little lanyard. You could even memorize

all there is to know about the key. And what

it gives you access to. But until you put that

key in the ignition. and you give it a turn,

it will not do anything of substance for you.

In the same way, you can know your Bible, and

you can attend church services, you can say the

right things, read the right things, sing the

right things, associate with the right people,

but without the Spirit living in you, you will

not have the power to follow Christ when it costs

you something. When following Jesus costs you

your wants, when it costs you your dreams, when

it costs you the things that you had propped

up for yourselves or that you had set out to

attain in life, when it costs you your family,

when it costs you your reputation, when it costs

you the job, the home, the friend group, when

it gets tough, when it gets real, it will not.

Unless you have access, unless you are using

the access that you have to the spirit. I want

us to look at John 14 because this is where Jesus

really talks about the Holy Spirit. And at this

point, Jesus has just told us that, well, he

told those listening that he is the only way

to eternal life. That's what he says leading

up to this part that we just read. I am the way.

To eternal life. And in order to be a part of

the fulfillment of God's redemptive mission,

you have to follow Jesus' call. Now Jesus is

going to say, if you follow my call, keep my

commandments. And I'll have the Father send you

a gift. And that's how we get to John 14, verses

John 14:15–16

15 through 16, where he says, if you love me,

you will keep my commandments. And I will ask

the Father, and he will give you another helper

to be with you forever. Even the spirit of truth

whom the world cannot receive because it neither

sees him nor knows him. And Jesus doesn't say

I might give you, I might send to you, but he

says I will send to you a helper. Someone like

Jesus actually. Somebody that is sent to be with

us forever to help us, to enable us, to equip

us, to do what it is that he is calling us to

do. In fact, the word there that reads, Helper,

and you'll notice that's a capital H. Helper

also translates to advocate, counselor, comforter.

Maybe you've sang that song, counselor, comforter,

keeper, spirit we long to embrace. This is not

temporary either. And it's also not something

that we earn. The Spirit is a gift of promise

from our faithful God. It was promised before

and He makes good on His promises always. See,

when you're exhausted from following Jesus, when

you maybe are a little discouraged because...

following Jesus isn't exactly easy. When you're

overwhelmed because life is hitting you hard

and you want to revert back to pre -Jesus ways,

but you know that you have something greater

to do. When you're tempted to lash out in anger,

the Spirit can check your heart. When your parenting

feels hopeless, the Spirit gives wisdom and peace.

When hit after hit... keeps coming and you just

don't know how you'll keep going, the Spirit

can hold you up and push you on. See, God knew

that following Jesus, that walking this journey

would not be possible in our own strength. And

I even want you to think about the Israelites

back in Exodus. You notice in their story, they

can't walk to the promised land on their own.

God has to give them light. He has to give them

guidance. He has to give them food. He has to

give them water. God knows that for us to get

to where he needs us to be, we need some strength

that is not our own. And so he gave us himself

as he always does. This time in the form of the

spirit, we read on to verse 17. You know him.

And Jesus didn't say you will know him. He didn't

say you'll recognize him. He says, you know.

Him. For He dwells with you. Not only does He

dwell with you, He will be in you. And this isn't

a symbolic presence. This isn't a metaphor. This

is a real, tangible indwelling. God lives in

His people. Not just beside you. Not above you.

He lives in you. And the Christian life isn't

behavior modification. It's not just about being

a better person. It's not about just saying the

right things, doing the right things, going the

right places. This is about spiritual transformation

from the inside out. I want to tell you a story

about a guy named Brian Welch. Maybe you've heard

of the heavy metal band Korn. I've never actually

listened to them. I just came across the story

and I thought it was interesting. But Brian Welch

was the lead guitarist for this heavy metal band.

And I don't know about y 'all, but I was told

growing up that heavy metal was from Satan. And

sometimes you listen to it and you think, yeah,

maybe there's a point there. But anyway, so Brian

Welch, he's got fame. He's got money. But he's

also got a lot of women. He's got a lot of drugs.

Brian Welch has everything that you can imagine

that a heavy metal band member might have, but

he was empty. He felt like his life just wasn't

fulfilled. He's strung out on meth. He's losing

himself. He's failing his family. And one day,

Brian Welch walks into a church because, believe

it or not, a real estate agent, looking at you,

Chad and Noah, a real estate agent, that was

helping him buy land, invited him to church.

And Brian Welch says he didn't understand everything

that the pastor was saying that morning. He didn't

understand all the language in the songs, but

he felt something. He felt a presence. He felt

a heaviness. Something that he really couldn't

explain, that he couldn't put his hands on. And

that week, he's alone in his house, and he's

high. And he decides to open his Bible. And what

Brian Welch prayed is something maybe you've

prayed before in a way, probably not these exact

words, but maybe you have. He says, Jesus, if

you're real, take these drugs from me. Come into

my life and help me be a good person. Help me

be a good father. That was it. That's all he

knew to say. He didn't have this fancy prayer

with all these really nice big words. But in

his own words, he says after he prayed that prayer,

the high stopped. And then after that, the craving

stopped. It was like something came into the

room and cleaned him out. It changed the way

that he felt, the way that he thought, the things

that he wanted. And not too long after that,

Brian Welch gets baptized. And gives his life

to Christ. And over the years, the Holy Spirit

continues to work in him. Not just freeing him

from his addiction. But changing his heart. Changing

his purpose. And even restoring broken relationships.

And today he's still playing music. But now he's

doing it as a bold, unashamed follower of Christ.

Using his platform to reach people who never

imagined that Jesus wanted them. That's the power

of the Holy Spirit. That's the power. of this

presence of God that's not just comforting, that

doesn't just excite you when you're worshiping

and causes you to raise a hand. It's more than

that. It's a transformational presence that when

God steps in and He starts working and when you

allow Him to work, He will wreck shop and fix

it up better than you could have ever imagined.

And here's something that we often overlook or

maybe even neglect and sometimes we ignore. The

Spirit doesn't just dwell in us individually.

dwells in us communally. We read what Paul says

in 1 Corinthians 3, verse 16. Do you not know

1 Corinthians 3:16

that you are God's temple and that God's spirit

dwells in you? See, in the Greek, and I'm not

a Greek scholar, I read this online, I won't

lie. The you in this verse is plural. So when

Paul says, do you not know that you are God's

temple and that God's spirit dwells in you? He's

not talking about me. He's not talking about

one person. He's talking about the church there

in Corinth. God's spirit dwells in all y 'all.

God did not call you to follow him in isolation.

There's this lie that goes on and people say,

well, I can be a follower of Jesus by myself.

I don't need the church. And I want to challenge

anybody that says that, tell me how well that

works out for you. We talked about the need for

community a few weeks ago, and I will tell you,

every time I've ever tried to do it on my own,

I have wound up on my face. But when I've got

the body working alongside the spirit, scratch

that, the body with the spirit working in it,

I'm a lot more successful in this following Jesus

thing. He calls us to family, to community. You

may feel lonely, but you're not, or at least

you don't have to be. You don't have to be alone.

When you're a part of this body, you're a part

of a gift from God. God gave you His Spirit and

He gave you His people. He gave you something

more than just a place to go. When it comes to

the church, the church is a people that God uses

to walk with you, to pray with you. To bear your

burdens. To sit with you. To cry with you. To

sharpen you. To lift you up when you can't stand

on your own. To help you keep going. And sometimes

the church just flat out has to carry you. And

maybe you've been there. The church is here.

The body is here to remind you of a truth that

we all so often forget. Another passage that

communicates this idea is Ephesians 2, verse

Ephesians 2:22

22. You are being built together into a dwelling

place for God by the Spirit. The church can be

messy sometimes. We all know that's true. We

all know that sometimes people say things and

do things that are kind of hurtful. They make

us feel bad. Sometimes people isolate us. Sometimes

we do things that cause these divisions. And

it doesn't really feel like the church is a good

place. But here's the truth. We also know that

we're all a bunch of imperfect people. But the

church, the church is a spirit -filled, God -ordained

tool for our growth. And our mission. And when

I say the church. I'm not talking about any other

building that just slaps church on it. I'm not

even talking about a group of people that just

say we're a church. I'm talking about the church

that is consumed. That is only focused on glorifying

God. Following his word. And bringing Jesus to

the world. That's what I mean when I say the

church. I mean the body of believers. The family

of God. And that is a gift. It's a tool. And

if we're going to be successful in this redemptive

mission that God has asked us to join Him in,

we've got to be a part of that body. We have

got to be filled with the Spirit. And there's

another gift that God gives you to walk faithfully.

Actually, some people believe that this is what

it means when Jesus says He's going to send us

the Spirit. And I don't disagree. I think it's

a part of it. I just don't think it's all of

it. It's his word. There is a part to that gift

that we need. Jesus told his disciples back there

in John 14, 26, that the spirit would teach all

things and bring to remembrance all that I have

said to you. See, we don't have to guess how

to follow Jesus. We don't have to try to figure

it out on our own. Sometimes we get a little

too creative. And man's creativity. And our pride

and our brain has been our downfall from the

beginning. We don't have to guess. We don't have

to try to figure out what God means. He tells

us. He gave us his written word. Here's what

Paul says in 2 Timothy 3, verses 16 -17. All

2 Timothy 3:16–17

scripture is breathed out by God and profitable

for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and

for training in righteousness, that the man of

God may be complete, equipped for every good

work. Did you catch that? Paul said equipped.

See, if you feel stuck, if you feel unsure, If

you're not quite clear on what God wants from

you, if your faith maybe feels cold or it feels

distant, don't neglect this gift. Open it up.

Read it. Meditate on it. Let it shape you. Let

it correct you. Let it comfort you. Something

I've been doing over the last couple weeks. One

of my friends, Buddy Bell, some of you know him.

He did this challenge at the church we were attending

a few years ago. And it was 40 days. And it was

Bible before phone, knees before feet. So before

you get out of bed, read your Bible. Well, really,

before you get on Facebook and see what all the

people are saying. Or for some of you, check

your emails like weirdos. Read your Bible. Read

your Bible first. And then. Pray before you stand

up and go do whatever it is you were going to

do. And I've been trying to do that because starting

my day with the word, it helps me set the tone

for the way the rest of it's going to go, right?

And then asking God, take the words I just read

and take the things that I just thought about.

And apply them and help me to use them to transform

my day. And here's some good news. Good news,

beauty in these words from Christ. We go to verse

27 there in John 14. Peace I leave with you.

My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives

do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled,

neither let them be afraid. Jesus knows trouble

is coming. He knows trouble will be a part of

our daily lives. He knows how steep the cost

to follow Him can be. He knows what you may have

to give up, where you may have to go, what you

might have to sacrifice. He knows how uncomfortable,

how painful, how terrifying, how sorrowful it

can be to follow Him in this world. And that's

why He promises peace. But don't be mistaken.

Peace does not mean your life gets easier. In

fact, What I think peace means is that you're

anchored when the waves of life start tossing

your ship in a stormy sea. When it gets rough.

When you don't know how you're going to keep

going. When tragedy strikes. Peace. It's what

sustains you. It holds you firm in God's hands.

It helps you to know that no matter what's going

on around you, the waves, the winds, the rain,

it is not powerful enough to remove you from

God. One of my favorite people that I've been

blessed to know is a mom of one of my former

students from one of my youth groups. And she's

been battling cancer for a while now. It's gone

away and it's come back several times. She has

three children. They're amazing kids. And she's

got a husband. And thinking about them and what

this constant fight with cancer means, it's hard

on her. I mean, you can imagine maybe you've

suffered with it. Maybe you're going through

it right now. Or maybe you've had a loved one.

It's a hard thing to deal with. And we were on

our way to a youth trip. and she's sitting shotgun

with me, and we're talking, and she's talking

about how she had just got back from a trip to

MD Anderson, and she's talking about how difficult

it's been. And I just asked her, I said, how

do you, she's always so positive, and she's always

just a smiling face, very encouraging. I said,

how do you deal with that? And she said this,

if I'm going to suffer from this, if my family

is going to hurt over this, I at least want to

make sure God is glorified through it. And if

I do that, I'm at peace with it. Can you imagine

having the strength to know that your kids, all

under the age of 15, may lose their mom? To know

that this life that you've built and all these...

These connections you've made. And this wonderful

family that you have. That it could all just

kind of be broken. Because of this thing that

you're struggling with. That you're suffering

from. And in it you're going to say. All you

want to do is make sure God is glorified. That

has to be the most pure example of peace. That

only the spirit can bring. If your life is lacking

peace. As you try to follow this calling that

God has called you on, the solution isn't more

control. It's not more treatments. It's not more

counseling. It's not more medication. It's not

more you figuring things out. Those things are

helpful. But it can't be you calling the shots.

It's not you doing what you want. It's not you

chasing your desires. It's not you pursuing what

makes you happy. It's total dependence on God.

By way of his spirit. Jesus told the disciples

in Acts chapter 1 verse 8. You will receive power

Acts 1:8

when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. And you

will be my witnesses. You'll be the ones that

make me glorified in this world. Jesus didn't

say you might receive power if you try hard enough.

He said you will receive power when you receive

the gift. The gift. All the things this life

throws at you. All the schemes that Satan has

to keep you distracted from your calling. All

the ways that we convince ourselves. To go our

own way and do our own thing. All of these things

are weak compared to the power that the Spirit

gives us to pursue God's call. And I want you

to notice this. That power isn't just for personal

peace. It's not just for inner strength. It's

for our purpose. So that we can be His witnesses.

So that we can go out as the church, as the body,

as the family into this world. And reach people

for Jesus. The spirit gives peace for your heart.

It gives peace for our power. For our purpose.

So I want to ask you this morning. Are you trying

to live the Christian life on your own strength?

Or are you trying to do this thing on your own?

Maybe you've been holding the key. You know the

language. You attend the worship services. You

go to all the events. You read your Bible. You

try to do the good things. But you've never really

put the key in the ignition. Maybe you've never

even received the engine. The indwelling of the

Holy Spirit. See in Acts chapter 2 verses 38

Acts 2:38–39

-39. Some of you may know this very well. Repent

and be baptized. And you will receive the gift.

The gift. The gift. Of the Holy Spirit. He doesn't

just offer forgiveness. He doesn't just offer

salvation. He doesn't just offer some place that

we'll go to one day. And be for forever. He offers

the presence of God within us. Wherever we go.

Whatever we do. Whatever we go through. The gift

is more than just a church service. It's more

than just a religious activity. It is an offer

of new and abundant life. filled with power,

peace, and purpose. So if you've never been baptized

into Christ, we would love to talk with you and

pray with you about that. Maybe you have been

baptized and you've just been holding on to this

key and you really need the prayers of the church

to help you, to encourage you, to strengthen

you, to support you, and putting that key in

the ignition, turning it over, and getting on

down the road to tell people about Jesus. Whatever

you need this morning, if it's prayer, if it's

comfort and support, if it's salvation, we would

love to help you in that this morning. Please

come as we stand and as we sing.