Text to Talk Part 3 | Learning to Yield with Chris Schlotterbeck

Hey guys, this is Tracy. If at any time you'd

like to connect with HCV, go to hcv .church forward

slash connect. If you feel called to give, go

to hcv .church forward slash give. And if at

any time you feel called to make a change in

your life, text change me to 970 -00. Enjoy the

message. Hey, good morning, everyone. How's everybody

doing today? I don't know what it is about today,

but everybody is ruckus, man. You're just loud,

extra coffee, feeling good. Welcome to HCV. If

you're joining us from home, thank you for welcoming

us into your space. So I'm excited. We're in

week three of our series, Text to Talk, where

we are learning a daily routine. of connecting

to God through the Bible and being led by Him

in every area of our life. Week one, Rudy kicked

off our series focusing on how to read the Bible.

Last week, we discussed how Jesus desires that

we abide in Him or why we read the Bible. And

today, we're going to be focusing on being led

by the Holy Spirit. See, one of the hardest things

to do in life is learning who or what is leading

you. Some people are led by emotion, other people

are led by fear, still others are led by culture,

while some are led by success, comfort, addiction,

relationships, or unfortunately the opinions

of others. Truth is, whatever leads you eventually

shapes everything you do in life. And this is

why it's so important for us to be guided by

God rather than just our impulses, desires, or

fears. Unfortunately, so many followers of Jesus

have no idea what it means to be led by the Spirit.

Because the church has made it this mystical,

abstract idea that is over -confusing rather

than simple and practical. Let me start out by

saying it this way. God is directing your life.

You are led by the Spirit more than you can even

imagine. God has been guiding and leading you,

whether you know it or not. The very fact that

you are gathering here at HCV this morning is

because you were led by the Spirit of God. See,

God has not left us out on our own to figure

out this thing called life. And aren't we grateful

that God has led us and is guiding us? See, I

believe that God... gave me my spouse. Like that

he brought us together. That God established

in me the opportunity to plant this church. After

all, the Bible does tell us whatever is good

and perfect is a gift coming down to us, given

to us from God our Father. And it's not because

we work hard for it. It's not because we made

it happen. It's because we have God who created

all the lights in the heavens coming alongside

of us to make his plans and his purpose happen

in our lives. Even the very salvation that we

experienced through Jesus was not because we

earned it, worked for it. It was because the

Spirit of God led us and drew us into a relationship

with him. And see, if we learn how to recognize

the Spirit's leading in our life, then we will

daily be able to leverage it to walk in God's

plans, His purposes, His power for our very life.

Church, He wants to lead us. Unfortunately, though,

we also must recognize it's possible to be very

busy but not Spirit -led. We also have to guard

against being religious but not led by the Spirit.

We can be talented but not Spirit -led. We can

even be passionate about God. yet still make

decisions in our own strength. So maybe the greatest

question today is not, do I believe in the Holy

Spirit? But rather, am I actually being led by

him? Because being led by the Spirit can change

everything in your life. Our decisions, our relationships,

our very outlook on life, our purpose, and our

future. And that intro leads us to our first

thought. See, the Holy Spirit is not just a power

to experience, but a person to follow. The Holy

Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. He

is not some abstract spirit that's just kind

of floating out there somewhere, waiting for

us to connect with him. He is the Spirit of God

that has been given to us, lives within us. to

guide and direct us. Now, when you hear the subject

of the Holy Spirit spoken about in church, suddenly

there are two camps or positions taken. The first

is the Holy Spirit camp. It's that person that

immediately becomes excited because you just

learned that we're talking about the Holy Spirit

today. You've been waiting, wanting, and desiring

with excitement and anticipation for this talk

to happen. See, you or they enjoy the chaos and

the craziness of the charismatic movement. That

is actually, just being honest, the movement

where I met Jesus. So I know and love the Holy

Spirit personally. I experienced a lot of amazing

God encounters in that church. Healings, deliverance,

the prophetic. Let's put it this way. Church

was never boring. There was always something

new. While at the same time, it can get a little

weird. I mean, just being honest, I still remember

some Sunday night gatherings where the whole

goal of the evening was to receive prayer so

that you would fall down in the Spirit. And if

you didn't fall down, you felt like you weren't

as spiritual as the other people that were falling

down. So, there were nights that I think, maybe

a few times, where I kind of had a courtesy fall

just because I felt bad for the person who was

praying for me. You know, just a courtesy fall.

Just like, oh, you know. Some of you are thinking,

courtesy fall? Like, what is that all about?

Well, chances are you're in the other camp, right?

The people that avoid anything dealing with the

Holy Spirit because of the craziness that maybe

you've read or seen online, right? The misuse,

the confusion, the flesh that seems to be involved

in those different gatherings. Let me first say,

the Holy Spirit is not weird. People are weird.

Right? Let me just get that out of the way. It's

not the Holy Spirit. It's the people. The Holy

Spirit is the third person of the Trinity given

to us to lead God and empower our lives so that

we can accomplish the mission of God on earth

today. I want to say this to you and I want you

to receive it. We cannot fulfill the purposes

of God without the power of the Holy Spirit.

We need the power of the Holy Spirit evident

and working in our lives. If we want to live

a fruitful life, then we need to live a filled

up life. So don't avoid the Spirit of God. I

want to encourage you this morning. Lean into

it and open up your life and your heart to Him

to speak to you today. Because I believe He will.

He will speak to you. He will guide you. He will

give you ideas that are outside of the box. He

will create fruit in your life and you will never

be the same as you impact and change the world

that you can never do on your own strength. See,

this power is not something that was given to

the church 2 ,000 years ago. It's available to

us this morning so that we can become the people

of God that he's called us to be in the tri -state

area. See, I believe that we need the Holy Spirit

every single day in our life. And if you remember

last week, we discussed what it meant to abide

in God, that when we remain connected to the

root, to the source, Jesus, that we will produce

much fruit. Now, one chapter before that, in

John chapter 14, we read these words. I am telling

John 14 · chapter mention

you these things now while I am still with you.

But when the Father sends the advocate as my

representative, that is the Holy Spirit, he will

teach you everything and will remind you of everything

I have told you. See, Jesus knew his disciples

would face confusion, pressure, fear, spiritual

battles. After he ascended to go back to be with

the Father, he's now ascended to be in heaven.

But he didn't leave them abandoned or orphaned.

He sent them the promised Holy Spirit. That tells

us that we don't have to figure out life on our

own. We don't need to rely solely on our emotions

or the culture or human wisdom to guide us. God

literally has placed his Spirit inside of Jesus'

followers to instruct, convict, remind, and guide.

Think of it this way. A student can sit in a

classroom full of information, full of technology,

and still remain confused without a teacher to

explain it. In the same way, many people in the

church own a Bible, but struggle to understand

how to apply it to their life. The Holy Spirit

takes the truth of God written in the Bible,

makes it real, understandable, and personal.

See, Paul writes it this way in 2 Corinthians

13. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the

love of God, and notice, the fellowship of the

Holy Spirit be with you all, meaning every single

one of you. And notice how Paul described our

relationship with the Holy Spirit. It's close.

It's personal. It's an ongoing relationship with

God's Spirit. It's not just believing in him.

but it's living in communion with him. Now that

word fellowship brings with it the idea of partnership,

participation, sharing life together, close companionship,

and intimate connection. And Paul is teaching

that the Holy Spirit is not merely a force or

a feeling, it is God's presence actively involved

in our everyday life. Now, these are some of

the final words that Jesus would share with his

disciples before going to the cross. Let's jump

two chapters ahead to John 16, verse 7 and 13

John 16:7

to the 15. But in fact, it is best for you that

I go away. Now, just pause there for a second.

Imagine the disciples. They hear Jesus speak

those words. They're thinking, you're leaving

us? Like, dude, you've only been with us for

three years. How is this good news? Like, what

is happening here? Then Jesus tells them why,

continuing on. Because if I don't, the advocate,

there it is again, won't come. If I do go away,

then I will send him to you. Verse 13. When the

spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into

all truth. He will not speak on his own, but

will tell you what he has heard. He will tell

you about the future. He will bring me glory

by telling you whatever he receives from me.

All that belongs to the Father is mine. That

is why I said, the Spirit will tell you whatever

he receives from me. So look at this progression

of these truths. The Father sends the Son. The

Son dwells with the disciples, tells the disciples

that what we experienced in the last three years,

yes, it was amazing, miraculous, but it's better.

That I go away because now I'm going to send

the Holy Spirit to come and fill you and anyone

else who believes in the entire world what I

did for you. It's amazing, right? What Jesus

did with the 12, the Spirit of God can do with

all of us. He can walk with us. He can guide

us. He can fill us. He can empower us. Now notice,

Jesus called the Holy Spirit the advocate. Not

just in chapter 6, I mean in chapter 14 as well.

Now the word advocate here means one who is called

alongside of you. He is called to come alongside

of us. It's the Greek word parakletos. And then

ancient Israel, this term was used for a defense

attorney in the courtroom. In other words, with

this definition, the Holy Spirit empowers us.

He comes alongside of us so that we can win at

life. Like, he's not going to let us lose. He

is behind us, supporting us. We need the Spirit

of God in this life, right? Relationships and

marriage, right? They're a struggle without the

Spirit of God. Raising children, right? You're

pulling your hair out without the Spirit of God.

Building a business, making wise financial choices,

right? It can be stressful, overwhelming without

the Spirit of God. the Spirit of God. See, the

Spirit of God is not this audible voice that

we hear every single day. Now, He can speak to

us audibly, but it doesn't mean it happens all

the time. It's literally the Spirit of God with

us, in us, leading us, guiding us, convicting

us. Forgive that person. Like, we may have this

thought within us. We need to forgive them. We

need to release them. And in your mind, you're

wrestling with it, but I can't forgive them.

They've done this to me. They did that to me.

No, when you forgive that person, right, then

you are free. So that's the Holy Spirit trying

to speak to us. The Holy Spirit nudges us, give

that money, but I don't have that money. It must

be in my mind. No, the Holy Spirit is nudging

us to give that money, so he stretches us. Right?

Start that business. Launch that class. Whatever

it may be, are you responding to God's direction?

See, the Holy Spirit has literally shaped my

entire life. And he desires to do the same with

you. And the best example I could find for the

Holy Spirit was something we use almost every

day, and it's called the GPS. Right? Now, years

ago, if we got lost while driving somewhere,

you had to pull over on the side of a road, unwrap

a map that was bigger than the windshield, and

try to figure out where you were. Now, we can

open our phones, open up a map, and it's literally

going to give us turn -by -turn directions to

our destination. Now, please understand, a GPS

is only helpful when we actually follow its directions.

Did everyone hear that? Because if you're anything

like me, we hear the GPS and we think directions.

And we think, wait a minute, there's a quicker

way. And I'm going to go my way because my way

is quicker. I know it's quicker. I've been that

way before. But we didn't know that 30 minutes

down the road, there was a 10 -car pileup and

it was a two -hour wait. And the second you turn

left away from the GPS, what happens? That phone

starts going crazy. You know, recalculate, recalculate,

recalculate. And it does everything in its power

to get us to go the other way. But notice, it's

our choice. It's our choice of which way to go.

Many of us want God's destination while resisting

God's direction. See, many of us, we want all

that God has for us, but we're going to resist

his direction. And we must remember the Holy

Spirit speaks, convicts, nudges, but we ultimately

get to choose whether we will obey. And another

thing that's great about the GPS, at least it's

never happened to me, maybe for you, I've never

had my GPS yell at me. Right? It's never screamed,

you're going the wrong way, moron. Right? It's

never done that. It's just this kind British

voice, please turn the other way. I am recalculating

for you. And see, that's how the Holy Spirit

works. Right? The Holy Spirit doesn't scream

at us. The Holy Spirit simply convicts us quietly.

See, when we drift away from God, God keeps calling

us back. Right? The same voice that can guide

us to a restaurant, a city, or an address. Right?

That same voice we can use as an example of the

Holy Spirit guiding us into truth, purpose, wisdom,

and eternal life. The question is not whether

God is speaking. The question is whether we are

listening and willing to follow. See, the Holy

Spirit's job is not to control our life. It's

to advise us. Right? And I've often heard people

say, well, I want the Holy Spirit to fix my spouse.

To which I say, you know what the Holy Spirit's

going to say? You better fix your attitude and

start practicing humility because it all starts

with us. God, get me out of debt. He isn't going

to get you out of debt, but the Holy Spirit will

give you wisdom on how to handle your finances.

See, the Holy Spirit is all about us walking

into abundance, which leads us to discuss how

the Holy Spirit leads our lives. Four simple

practical ways on how the Holy Spirit leads our

lives. And the first is this. He leads us to

know the truth. Now, there is a lot of disinformation

in our world today. There's a lot of lies and

confusion. A lot of fake news. Can I get an amen?

And I am not just talking about the media or

the government. I'm talking about the lies that

we believe from the enemy that are spoken over

our lives. The lies about our identity, the lies

about our future, the lies about our past mistakes.

See, those lies bombard Jesus followers and keep

us from walking in the victory that God has already

done for us. How do we get free? Well, Jesus

tells us in John 8. Jesus said to the people

who believed in him, you are truly my disciples

if you remain faithful to my teachings and you

know the truth and the truth will set you free.

And how do we know the truth? Well, we have the

Holy Spirit. Again, John 16, 13. When the spirit

of truth comes, he's going to guide us into all.

Truth. See, as we are led by the Spirit, he guides

and empowers us to combat the lies of the enemy

and embrace the truth of the Bible. Because our

enemy, if you're in a relationship with God,

is working overtime on lying to you. It's been

his job since the very beginning. I mean, John

10 .10 reminds us that these purposes to steal,

kill, and destroy. The way we overcome these

lies is by embracing the truth from the Bible

revealed to us through the Holy Spirit. And as

we live a life that is Spirit -led, we simply

ask Jesus to reveal His truth to us so that we

can walk in freedom and the plans He has for

us. That is why I read the Bible every single

day. I am in my fourth or fifth year. I don't

remember where I'm reading the Bible cover to

cover. And before I listen to the Bible every

single morning, the first thing I do is, Holy

Spirit, come. I say, Holy Spirit, come. Reveal

your truth to me. Let it come alive inside of

me. And let me say, if you're reading your daily

Bible plan and you're receiving nothing from

it, then you need some help from the advocate.

It's just that simple because we can never read

the Bible and not have truth spoken to us. There

are times when going through the Old Testament

that we think in our minds, whoa, these words

are hard. I don't understand all these rules

and these regulations and these rituals. What

is happening? Well, chances are we're reading

them too fast. We're reading them out of context

or we're not really connected spirit to spirit

with the Bible. We're just doing it out of obligation

and duty. And if that happens where we don't

get truth when we read the Bible, you need to

pause it. You need to close the book, shut off

your phone, and say, Holy Spirit, come. Activate

these words to reveal your truth to me today

and then read it again. Because when we read

it again, chances are that truth will come forth.

Theologian John Stott says it this way. The Holy

Spirit is the author of the scriptures, meaning

he wrote them, and the interpreter. of the scriptures.

Meaning he speaks and reveals that truth to us

because why? He's living inside of us. We cannot

read the Bible through our flesh. It's just pointless

because it's just words. We have to activate

the Holy Spirit because the words written in

the Bible are truth and life for us. So whatever

area of your life you're desiring truth in today,

I want to encourage you, pause and ask the Holy

Spirit to reveal it. For example, If you're dating

someone currently and you're wondering if they

are your future spouse, simply ask the Holy Spirit

to get involved, especially if it's early on

in the process. Remember, the Bible tells us

that God looks at the heart while humans or humanity

looks at... Oh, you don't know that? You don't

know that scripture? The Bible tells us that

God looks at the heart while humanity looks at

the... Outward. Hmm. So if he or she looks real

good and it's real pleasant to your eyes, but

has questionable character, maybe you should

pump the brakes a little. Just saying. God wants

to empower us to live a truthful, fruitful life.

Truth is found in the Bible. which leads us to

live in God's way, which then allows us to walk

in God's will for our life. Now, the next way

the Holy Spirit leads us is he leads us to walk

in God's will. See, people, we have to understand

the God of the universe who guides our lives

into his ultimate will for our lives is available

to us if we surrender our will to him and we

connect to him daily. Because he will guide us

into abundance. Jesus says it this way in John

16, 13. When the spirit of truth comes, he will

not speak on his own, but will tell you what

he has heard. He will tell you about the future.

See, God knows our future. And he guides our

steps into knowing what is coming next for us.

Isaiah 30, verse 21 says it this way. Your own

Isaiah 30:21

ears will hear him. Right behind you, a voice

will say, this is the way you should go, whether

to the right or to the left. And this is a beautiful

picture of what the Holy Spirit does. Notice,

he comes behind us. He encourages us to walk

this way, not that way. And that gentle nudge

allows us to walk in abundance. And please understand,

church, this is not necessarily an audible voice.

Though it can be sometimes, it's like this gentle

nudge on the inside of us. It's what the world

calls a hunch. Right? It's this great idea that

suddenly pops into our minds. Listen, that great

idea isn't you. It's not us. It's the Spirit

of God. And He put it inside of us to guide us

and lead us. And as we learn to listen to that

voice, then we will walk in God's will. The Holy

Spirit may not reveal all the details to you.

You know why? Because He wants us to live by

faith. If our entire life was planned out for

us, what's the point? That would be boring. No,

he wants us to live by faith. But he will always

show us the next clear step to take. Psalm 119

Psalms 119:105

verse 105 says it this way. Your word is a lamp

to guide my feet, a light for my path. So you

think about your iPhone or your smartphone flashlight.

Right? All of us have smartphones now, or most

of us, and those smartphones have flashlights.

And when you turn it on, if this room was completely

dark, you wouldn't be able to see much. But that

light gives you enough light to see what? Your

next step. It gives you the next step. Now, if

all of our lights were shining bright, we would

be able to see. But on our everyday lives, Monday

through Saturday, when we're disconnected from

other believers, when we're working the job,

when we're at school, we need that light in front

of us. So I want to encourage you. Be obedient

to what the Holy Spirit is speaking to you. The

Holy Spirit gives us the next clear step from

God. However, we need to learn what this road

sign actually means. Has anyone ever seen this

sign before? Now, some of you have never seen

this sign before because you don't even know

what it means, right? You immediately in your

head think, oh, it's red. It's a stop sign, right?

This sign does not mean stop, okay? So when you're

getting on the interstate, can I get an amen?

Yeah. When you're getting on the interstate.

And you're pulling up in your merge lane. Notice

I said merge. And there's a tractor trailer bailing

down 81 at 85 miles an hour. And then you look

up and there's a car stop. Do you immediately

think, oh, dear God, I'm going to die, right?

Because this sign doesn't mean stop. It means

yield, slow down to oncoming traffic. This is

how the Holy Spirit works in our lives, right?

And this is not a suggestion. Right? This sign

means yield. It means slow down, look around,

pause, and figure out what the Holy Spirit wants

for your life. It may have felt good, right,

to say or respond with negativity, I got them

back. But then the next day you're like, oh my

gosh, I totally messed up. You know why? It's

because we didn't yield. It's because we didn't

yield in that situation. See, confrontations

may end up the best for both parties if we actually

slow down and yielded to the Holy Spirit. Your

finances may improve if you actually slow down,

yield, and ask God's help in leading you through

how you should spend and budget your money. Listen,

maybe you should delete your Amazon app. Just

saying. Because chances are that app is leading

you to purchase things you don't need because

you're not yielding to the Holy Spirit. Now listen,

I want to go into four simple ways of how to

confirm we are hearing God's voice and they all

center around this sign, yield. Right? And the

four ways we start is this. You always start

with Scripture. Right? God's leading never, everyone

say never. God's leading never contradicts the

Bible, right? If you have an idea that goes against

what is written in the Bible, then you immediately

know that idea is not from God, right? You start

with the Bible. Let's go back to our dating scenario.

Right? We're back to the dating scenario. You're

dating this individual. Man, they are fine on

the eyes. You are excited. This could be the

one. You're passionate. But then you quickly

learn that they don't believe in Jesus. And not

only do they not believe in Jesus, but they have

a questionable character. Dare I say to you,

it ends right there. Find someone else. Right?

Oh, but I'm dating evangelists. No, you're not.

You're lusting. Let's be truthful. They're fine

to your eyes. Right? If the Bible contradicts

what we believe, then it's not God's will for

your life. You always start with the Bible. Next,

you bring it to the church. Again, you're yielding.

You're bringing it to the church. You're asking

for confirmation from godly community and spiritual

authorities of your life. Pastors, we all need

some godly friends to speak into our lives. Do

you agree with that? That's why we encourage

you. Get in a growth group. Connect with other

people. Serve on a team so that you have godly

voices. That when you need to make a decision,

it's not just you and God. It's not just you

and the Holy Spirit. But you have other people

speaking your life. You say, well, do I need

that? Well, the Bible does tell us there is wisdom

in a multitude of counselors. Therefore, we yield

to what other people may speak to in our life.

For example, you're going to take a new job or

you're thinking. about taking a new job that

requires you to relocate. It requires you to

spend a lot of money on a new apartment or a

house. Before you make that decision, you sit

down with a few friends and a pastor and you

listen to them and you talk with them. One friend

says, will the move help you walk with God or

will it pull you away from him? The next friend

says, have you prayed about this or are you just

excited about the opportunity? Another friend

says, is there a healthy church there? Because

if you're moving and relocating, you desire your

spiritual environment to grow and flourish. And

your family needs a place to plug in. And see,

suddenly that decision becomes bigger than money.

It becomes bigger than success. Godly voices

help you to see that it's not just your emotions

driven, it's God driven. All right, I think about

planting this church here in Hagerstown, Maryland.

Many of you know that I wanted to plant the church

at the beach. I had a bunch of people that wanted

to go with me. I thought that was the destination.

I made up every excuse why we should be there,

but then finally had to pay attention to what

other people, like my wife, was saying, and then

I planted the church here. And if I wouldn't

have listened to that outside source and those

outside voices, dare I say thousands of people

wouldn't have been changed by Jesus. You see,

a lot of times our decisions have bigger consequences

than what we could ever imagine. Next, we look

at our circumstances. And you're like, Chris,

really? Yeah, God provides open doors and closed

doors for us to yield to. We have to realize

that God is leading. We have to stop trying to

push doors open when God's already closed them.

Right? We wonder why we're missing it, and God

is simply trying to lead us. Right? He's just

trying to lead us. We have to allow ourselves

to understand that the circumstances involved

here, like, for example, back to our dating scenario.

Right? You met someone. You're excited about

it. You're desiring to be in relationship with

them. They're a believer. They're passionate

about Jesus. You talk to friends. They're all

like, oh, wow, this could be the one. You should

continue to pray about it. And then after your

next date, suddenly they ghost you. And then

you get worried and upset and they don't respond

to your calls. And then you hear them say, I'm

not interested anymore. I'm going to date someone

else. Okay. Does that mean that it's not God's

best that you marry that person? Well, chances

are you need to pump the brakes. You need to

yield because they don't want to be with you.

So I'm not saying it's never going to happen.

But because of the circumstances of them ghosting

you, you might want to consider moving on. Just

saying. And the last one is this. Peace. The

Holy Spirit's leading requires faith. but will

be accompanied by peace, right? There is peace

involved. So if you are making a decision and

you're full of anxiety and stress, wondering

why this is so frustrating in making this decision,

chances are you haven't yielded to God because

you are trying to push it through in your own

strength, right? There's a lot of things that

require great faith. But if I don't have the

peace of God, then I'm not doing it, right? When

Jess and I planted this church 20 years ago,

we had the peace of God as we sold our house,

sold everything, just about everything we owned,

right? And relocated here to start this church.

I am so over followers of Jesus making terrible

decisions based on bad emotions. Led by what

the world wants and our flesh wants rather than

what the Holy Spirit wants. And if you put those

four points into action in your life, church,

you will be led by the Spirit. And the third

way the Holy Spirit leads us is this. He leads

us to glorify Jesus. John 16, 14, he will bring

me glory by telling you whatever he receives

from me. The Holy Spirit's role in our life is

to bring glory to Jesus, right? He makes Jesus

known to the world, to the known world through

us. The Holy Spirit's goal is to not make much

of us, but to make a whole lot of Jesus. There's

already too much of us in the world, right? Let's

be honest. We can't change the world, but Jesus

in us can impact and change the world. And the

Holy Spirit in us is not to make our platforms

bigger. Let me say that. It's not for us to gain

more followers. It's not to make our bank accounts

bigger. It's not for us to receive praise. The

Holy Spirit exists and moves through us so that

Jesus gets all the glory, so that Jesus gets

all the praise. Living a Spirit -led life means

that we yield. And we ask the Holy Spirit in

this situation to bring glory to Jesus. I'm about

to go in this tense meeting at my business. Holy

Spirit, help me, allow me to be the light. I'm

about to attend a family reunion that I'm not

looking forward to and haven't been looking forward

to it for two years. Holy Spirit, help me be

a light and to bring you glory. I'm walking into

this school. I don't want to be in this school,

but I know God's led me to this school, and I'm

going to go into this school. Holy Spirit, fill

me and allow me to be a light. You see where

the Holy Spirit desires to bring glory to Jesus.

Matthew 5, you are the light of the world, like

a city on a hill that cannot be hidden. No one

lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket.

Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand where it

gives light to everyone in the house. In the

same way, let your good deeds shine out for all

to see so that everyone will praise your heavenly

Father. Why do we serve the community? Why does

HTV serve the community, right? Why are we going

to build beds? In a few weeks, we're going to

build beds. All of you can build beds. We desire

to build 60 beds for kids that don't have them.

Isn't that a good thing to do? Well, we're going

to have a bed build, right? You can sign up.

You can register. You can be a part of that.

Why do we do it? Is it to bring glory to HTV?

No. It's to bring glory to Jesus. That's why

we do it. You just saw our top banana. Our top

banana is the tech team. Hey, Donnie, can you

stand up? Stand up back there. That's Donnie.

He's been back there for years. And I'm not making

that up. Years. serving our community of faith,

him and John and the entire team, years. And

it sounds good, doesn't it? And it looks good.

And we got a broadcast team and cameras and all

that kind of stuff. It's because of their faithful

service and commitment because they want to make

Jesus known to the entire world. Amen? And listen,

they need your help. Get on their team, okay?

If you can mix sound, if you can... If you can

shoot a camera with your phone, you can be on

the camera team. We need some help back there,

man. So if you can see them, hug them, and tell

them you want to get involved, please do it.

The point, we desire for other people to come

and know Jesus. We want to make him known to

the entire world. And that happens the way we

live our lives. We need to be filled by the Spirit,

which leads to our last example of how the Holy

Spirit leads us. He leads us to live a fruitful

life. John 16, 15, all that belongs to the Father

is mine. This is why I said the Spirit will tell

you whatever he receives from me. He leads us,

church, to know the truth, to know his will,

to glorify Jesus, and to live a fruitful life.

Meaning, we're making a difference. Are you making

a difference? Are you living a life of overflow?

John 15, 5 says, yes, I am the vine, you are

the branches. Those who remain in me and I in

them will produce much fruit. For apart from

me, you could do nothing. Living a Spirit -filled

life means that we look more and more like Jesus.

And that is why Galatians 5 .22 tells us the

result of living a Spirit -led life. And notice

the things you won't see. When we read this verse,

you will not see the outcome of living a Spirit

-led life is speaking in tongues more. You're

not going to see that. The outcome of living

a Spirit -filled life is falling out in the Spirit

more. You're not going to see that. The outcome

of a Spirit -led life is being moved to tears

by His presence. You're not going to see that.

And I'm not against those things. Hear me out.

I believe in the Holy Spirit. I believe in the

charismatic world and the Bible world, and I

want to bring them together. And I want to live

what the Bible tells us to live. But this is

the fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience,

kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,

and self -control. There is no law against these

things. Those who belong to Jesus have nailed

the passions and desires of their sinful nature

to the cross and crucified them there. Since

we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the

Spirit's leading in every part of our life. See,

as we let the Spirit work in our life, we look

more and more like Jesus because the primary

evidence of the Spirit's involvement is not the

gifts of the Spirit, but the fruit of the Spirit.

And if we recognize, if you and I recognize that

the fruit in our lives doesn't look like Jesus,

don't be frustrated with the fruit. Look at the

root. Because it's not about the fruit. It's

about the connection. It's kind of like our car

indicator lights. When the check engine light

comes on, if you're anything like me, you're

like, where's that fuse? I want to unplug it.

It's the most frustrating thing in the world.

But the Holy Spirit desires to reveal to us when

we aren't loving, when we aren't patient, when

we have no self -control. You know that self

-control? I'm never going back to that habit.

I'm never going back there. And now you're stuck

in it again. Right? Don't get frustrated with

the fruit. Focus on the root and allow the Holy

Spirit to change your heart. It doesn't mean

we try harder. It means we act. Activate His

presence to come alive in us and recognize it

every single day. See, friends, we have to learn

to be grateful for God's Spirit. Will you stand

with me? And I think that's where a lot of us

are missing that connection with the Holy Spirit

today. We're not grateful that the very presence

and power of God lives within us. It's not some

abstract idea. It's a person living inside of

you. And today I want to challenge you. Will

you activate it? Will you activate it? So this

is how we're going to close. I asked the worship

team to join us, and I want them to sing a song

over us as we invite the Holy Spirit to come.

Now, if you're comfortable with this, I want

to invite all of you, and I know some of you

aren't, but do it anyway, to put your hands this

way. And all this means, church, all this means

is I'm going to receive from the Holy Spirit.

That's all it means. Okay? And I'm going to pray

for the Holy Spirit to come. I'm going to invite

them to sing. And then we're going to close in

prayer. Can we do that? Alright. And as we sing,

as they're singing over you, all I want you to

say is this. Is my fruit, how I live my life,

a product of the Holy Spirit? Or is it a product

of me? And whatever the Spirit reveals to you

that's your own strength, that's what you've

got to deal with. Amen? All right, let's go to

God. Holy Spirit, come. I want you to take your

hand. I want you to put it over your heart. I

want you to pray these words. Holy Spirit, you

have control. Not me, but you. Activate your

presence, your power, your authority, your leading

in my life. In Jesus' name. And you can do that

at any time. You can do that on your own tomorrow

when you're struggling, when you're getting ready

to go into that meeting and you're stressed and

you're overwhelmed. Boom. Activate the power

and the presence. It's in you if you believe.

But if you're here and you don't believe and

you're distant and you're far from God, we pray

this prayer every Sunday because we want to welcome

people home into God's kingdom. Amen? So let's

pray this prayer together. Jesus. I'm broken.

I'm full of doubt, shame, regret, sin. Change

me. Forgive me. I believe you're God's son. I

believe you died for me. I believe you're alive

today. Make me new. Set me free. Fill me with

your spirit. In Jesus' name, amen. So you prayed

that prayer, see me, see Rudy, text me, do something

so we can give you some next steps. There was

a couple words of knowledge I need to share.

You have right leg sciatica pain that shoots

down the back of your leg. You have pain in your

inner left thigh. You have a left thumb that

is going numb and is causing you discomfort.

If any of those are you or you need prayer for

anything else, prayer team will be on my right

and my left. Next week, I'm going to be focusing

on prayer. It's going to be a next Sunday of

transformation. God bless you guys. Have a great

week.