Sermon
Come Holy Spirit Part 1 | Who Is The Holy Spirit? with Chris Schlotterbeck
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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Welcome to Hub City Vineyard. To get connected
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or to give online, please go to hcv .church .connect
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or hcv .church .give. If at any point during
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this message you feel called to make a change
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in your life, text CHANGEME to 97000. Now enjoy
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the message. We're kicking off a five -week journey
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of exploring, learning, and experiencing the
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Holy Spirit in our June series that we've entitled
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Come. Holy Spirit. Now, if we're really honest
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about that topic, there's a lot of confusion
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around the Holy Spirit. Who is he? What does
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he do? Can he really be experienced today? It's
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pretty obvious that he's probably the most misunderstood
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member of the Trinity. So who is the Holy Spirit?
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A simple question, but if it was posed to many
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in the church, All outside of the church, they
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would struggle to find an answer. This is what
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happened when the crew from Alpha, Alpha is a
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course designed to help people understand who
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God is. We actually host Alpha here at our community
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of faith. You can see Kelsey if you're interested
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in learning more about it. But the crew from
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Alpha went around asking different people from
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different backgrounds with different beliefs,
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who is the Holy Spirit? And let's watch some
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of their answers. Who is the Holy Spirit? I don't
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know who I'm sorry. I don't know That's a tough
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one God Jesus and the Holy Spirit all like a
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trendy angel. I don't know It's it's God I think
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the Holy Spirit is different for everyone. Wouldn't
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that be your conscience? I don't really have
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a lot of, I don't know. I don't know who the
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Holy Spirit is. I mean, I don't know. Third person
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of the Trinity? The Holy Spirit? I've never even
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really much thought of that. See, I believe if
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we went out into our community right now, and
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begin to ask people the same question, we would
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receive a lot of similar responses. There's a
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lot of confusion around the Holy Spirit. And
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this confusion, unfortunately, is not limited
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to people who are just not in a relationship
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with Jesus. There's many Jesus followers in the
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church today who are confused about the Holy
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Spirit. According to a recent study by the Barna
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Group, the Barna Group is a firm specializing
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in studying of religious beliefs and behaviors
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in Americans. 62%. Let me say that again. 62
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% of Christians in the United States no longer
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believe that the Holy Spirit is a real being.
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They see him only as a symbol, a symbol of God's
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power and presence. 62 % of the people in churches
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in the United States, that's two -thirds of the
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Christians in the United States, don't believe
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in the Holy Spirit. Don't believe they can be
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empowered today. Why? You know, why is that there?
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Because there's misunderstanding in the complexity
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of doctrine. There's diverse interpretations
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of the scriptures. There's a lack of clear and
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consistent teaching across different denominations.
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For example, some denominations and churches
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believe that God's power and presence in the
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form of the Holy Spirit was only for those people
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that we read about in the Bible. That the signs,
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wonders, and miracles that were recorded in the
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book of Acts ended with the early church and
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no longer in operation today. See, with these
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different interpretations and beliefs, churches
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today, they avoid teaching about the Holy Spirit.
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They focus on God. They focus on Jesus. And the
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Holy Spirit is more of an afterthought. It's
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kind of quickly brushed over. And it leaves people
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wondering, questioning, who is the Holy Spirit?
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When you add in the confusion of translators,
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they took the Bible, right, and they changed
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the word spirit to ghost when they translated
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the New King James Version. And people began
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to wonder, well, is the Holy Spirit a ghost?
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Is he a person? Is he a spirit? Is he a being?
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What is he? Unfortunately, some of you here today,
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you've had negative experiences with the Holy
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Spirit. Maybe you or someone you know was told
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unless you speak in tongues, you're not really
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saved. Maybe you've seen pastors or leaders in
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churches pushing people over in the name of the
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Spirit. Maybe you have seen too much emotionalism,
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flopping around, running around, screaming, yelling,
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laughing, and you're turned off by this idea
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of the Holy Spirit. Well, let me explain to you
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what we believe. Here at the Vineyard, we are
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a church that is a part of movement of churches
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across the U .S. and around the world that believes
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the Holy Spirit is a person. He is the third
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person of the Trinity that includes the Father,
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the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Those three are
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co -equal. They're co -eternal. We believe in
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a triune faith, which means we believe there
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is one God. in three persons. And each of those
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persons have unique roles and responsibilities,
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all working together in harmony and unity, which
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is an example of what the church is supposed
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to look like. Here at HTV, we believe in the
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person, the power, and the presence of the Holy
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Spirit. So each of us are on a journey with Jesus.
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We all have different misunderstandings. We all
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have different comfortability when it comes to
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the Holy Spirit. My encouragement to you is this.
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I want to invite you to participate on this journey
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with me over the next five weeks. I want to encourage
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you. Be open to a new understanding of who the
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Holy Spirit is in your life as we study and explore
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who he really is. Because I believe. All of us
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are going to learn something much more than we
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previously knew. I'm going to open in prayer.
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And you may have noticed, if you've been here
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for any time, every week at HTV, before worship,
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before I share, we always what? We always invite
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the Holy Spirit to come. Because we want the
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Holy Spirit to empower us in our teaching, in
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our leading of worship. Because he's the one
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that draws us closer to God. Let's open in prayer.
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Holy Spirit, come. God, I just pray that you
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would silence the distractions in Jesus' name.
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Open our minds, open our ears. More importantly,
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unlock our guarded hearts to receive so much
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more from you. Help us, God, to grow closer to
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you through learning about your Holy Spirit.
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In Jesus' name, amen. So our first thought this
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morning, who is the Holy Spirit? Well, the Holy
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Spirit is the breath of God. In the Bible, the
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Hebrew word for Holy Spirit that we read about
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in the Old Testament is the word ruach. And this
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word means breath or wind. Many of us know that
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in the very beginning of the Bible, Genesis chapter
Genesis 1 chapter mention
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1, the first words that were written, it says,
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God created the heavens and the earth. The earth
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was empty, covered in dark. And the spirit, the
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ruach of God was hovering over the surface of
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the waters. This would be the wind or the breath
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of God. Then we read in Genesis 2, 7. The Lord
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God formed the man from the dust of the ground.
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He breathed the breath, the ruach of life into
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the man's nostrils. And the man became a living
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person. Fast forward to the New Testament, which
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is mostly written in Greek. We find the word
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pneuma, which again is defined as breath or wind
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of God. We read this in John 20, verse 22. Again,
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he said, this is Jesus speaking to the disciples.
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After he had risen from the dead, peace be with
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you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending
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you. Then he breathed on them and said, receive.
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The Holy Spirit, receive the pneuma. Now, all
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of us know that breathing is essential for life.
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I mean, we can't survive without the breath of
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life. And the word that is used to describe the
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Holy Spirit reveals to us how vital the Holy
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Spirit is in our lives. Interestingly, throughout
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the Bible, we'll discover many other vivid descriptions
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of the Holy Spirit. He is described as wind.
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Water, a dove, fire. So you can see where some
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of the confusion comes from, but we must remember
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the Holy Spirit is a person. The Holy Spirit
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is found in the entirety of the Bible. From the
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very beginning, Genesis chapter 1 that I just
Genesis 1 chapter mention
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read to you, all the way to Revelation chapter
Revelation 22 chapter mention
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22, we read about the work of the Holy Spirit.
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Which is interesting because many people in the
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church, when discussing the Holy Spirit, they
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zero in on Acts chapter 2, the day of Pentecost,
Acts 2 chapter mention
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when the Holy Spirit fell on the early church
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and was poured out on all people. But he's so
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much more than just Acts chapter 2. Take a look
Acts 2 chapter mention
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at this slide. I found this online. I found it
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very interesting. The Holy Spirit in the Old
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Testament and New Testament. Now, this is not
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every... but I found it interesting that both
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in the Old and the New, the Holy Spirit is everywhere.
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Like I said, he created humanity, right? He fell
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on and empowered Deborah, Saul, Zerubbabel in
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the Old Testament. He anticipated the anointed
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one, the Messiah, right? The prophecies predicted
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that the Holy Spirit would come. In the New Testament,
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Jesus was born of the Spirit. Jesus lived a sinless
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life in the... Power of the Spirit. And any time
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that that's referenced, who is it referencing?
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The Holy Spirit. He created. He empowered. Throughout
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the prophecies, Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit
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in his ministry. Now, the best definition of
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the Holy Spirit that I have found was written
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by Diane Lehman. Diane Lehman is one of the founding
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pastors of the Vineyard Church in central Illinois.
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And in her book entitled, Hello, Holy Spirit,
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she writes these words. Who is the Holy Spirit?
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He's not a ghost. He's not an impersonal force.
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He's not an elusive power somewhere out there.
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He is neither a doctrine to be studied nor a
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distant deity to be feared. He is a person to
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be known and loved. He is God himself. He is
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one of three persons of the Trinity, the Father,
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the Son, and the Holy Spirit. One God, three
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persons. He is God's gift of himself to each
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of us. He makes the Christian life indescribably
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beautiful and a fun -filled delight. What a powerful
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description telling us of who the Holy Spirit
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is. He's a gift. To each of us. And he's going
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to make our life abundant, overflowing, full
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of joy. This is who the Holy Spirit is. What
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does he do? Well, our second thought, the Holy
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Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. See, when
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we begin a relationship with Jesus, we experience
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what the Bible calls a new birth. Or to be born
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again. Now this can be, again, very confusing
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language for humanity because we understand birth
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as what happens when a baby is born from their
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mother. So the idea of experiencing this new
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birth or this rebirth, which points to a person
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going back up inside their mother to be born
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again, can be confusing because, let's be honest,
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it's impossible. Right, moms? It's impossible.
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Jesus tells us though that the Holy Spirit is
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going to be a key component to this miraculous
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experience which a lot of people don't understand.
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He is actually going to be the agent of this
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new birth. Let's read John chapter 3 verses 5
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through 8. Jesus replied, I assure you no one
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can enter the kingdom of God without being born
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of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce
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only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth
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to spiritual life. So don't be surprised when
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I say you must be born again. The wind blows
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wherever it wants, just as you can hear the wind
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but can't tell where it comes from or where it
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is going, so you can't explain how people are
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born of the Spirit. So Jesus, he makes this bold
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statement saying, We can't, you and I can't experience
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the kingdom of God without being born again.
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And the Holy Spirit is the agent of this rebirth.
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What does this mean? Well, it means that the
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Holy Spirit is the one who draws you to Jesus.
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The Holy Spirit is the one who makes what was
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once unknown, known. Like we understand this
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new life. When we come into a relationship with
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Jesus, it's actually the Holy Spirit in us empowering
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us to understand that truth. We don't do anything
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on our own. It's not possible in human strength.
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The Holy Spirit is the one who gives birth to
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our spiritual life. And friends, this is good
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news. Because it means if we said yes to Jesus,
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the Holy Spirit is living inside of you. The
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same Spirit that rose Jesus from the grave lives
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where? in a person who believes. But please understand,
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this does not mean that we're gonna understand
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everything about the Holy Spirit. This does not
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mean we won't have questions about God or faith.
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This does not mean we are living in the abundance
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that Jesus promised through a relationship with
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him. Why? Because quite often we ignore the Holy
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Spirit. There's times in our life that we grieve
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the Holy Spirit. And let's be honest, in our
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everyday lives, we have a tendency to forget
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that we have that power living inside of us.
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The point, if you've said yes to Jesus and you're
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in a relationship with him, you have the Holy
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Spirit living inside of you. Jesus has been revealed
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to us through the power of the Holy Spirit. But
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our enemy, the enemy of this world, is working
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overtime on us. To make us confused about this
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truth. Right? He wants us scattered. He wants
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us divided. Because he doesn't want the church
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living in the abundance that Jesus promises.
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And that happens when we're connected to the
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Holy Spirit. Which leads us to our next thought.
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The Holy Spirit reveals Jesus to us. He speaks
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to us. He releases truth into us. Now the church
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is obviously confused about the Holy Spirit.
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62%. Of people who don't believe in the Holy
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Spirit. While the world is just confused about
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God in general. Right? If we're to go out into
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our community and ask not who is the Holy Spirit,
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who is God, we're going to get a lot of answers
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that are very diverse. The world is filled with
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confusion over who God is, who Jesus is, and
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why do we even need them? Well, the Holy Spirit.
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is active in revealing the truth about why we
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need them to us. We have to be open to receiving
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that truth. See, the Holy Spirit desires that
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our minds, right, that wander and go everywhere
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are being transformed by his power. That we begin
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to think, act, and live like Jesus each and every
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day. Now, in John chapter 16, Jesus, he begins
John 16 chapter mention
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to tell the disciples that he's about to go.
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He's about to leave this place. And of course,
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what did the disciples do? They argued with him.
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No! No, no, no, you can't go. Remember, they
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believed that Jesus was the king that was going
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to usher in a new kingdom and overthrow the Roman
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authorities that were oppressing God's chosen
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people. But Jesus responds to them. And he says,
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no, I have to go so that I can leave you a helper,
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a gift. That will change your life forever. We
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read this in John 16, 13 through 15. When the
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spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into
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all truth. He will not speak on his own, but
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will tell you what he has heard. He will tell
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you about the future. He will bring me glory
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by telling you whatever he receives from me.
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All that belongs to the father is mine. This
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is why I said, the spirit will tell you whatever
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he receives from me. See, this is a beautiful
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picture of the Trinity, three in one, working
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together, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit,
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revealing truth that was previously unknown.
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In a world that is full of confusion about who
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God is, who we are, what is our purpose, the
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Holy Spirit is the key to reveal those truths
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to us. We have to be open to receive it. Remember,
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Jesus said this in John 14, 9. Have I been with
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you all this time, Philip, and yet you still
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don't know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has
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seen the Father. See, the Holy Spirit is now
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revealing the Father and the Son to us. And this
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is important as we walk through a life full of
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ups and downs. How many of you had a bad day
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this week? Show of hands. Come on, let me see
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it. Oh, give me a break. So you're telling me
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that there's 400 people in here. You're telling
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me that 30 people had a bad day this past week.
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How many of you had a bad day this past week?
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Man, some of you are lying. I know you are. You're
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just lying. I'm just, like if you didn't put
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your hand up, you're lying. It's just that simple.
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Right, Steve? If they didn't put their hand up,
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they're lying. Lying. I know that because someone
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asked me how I was doing last week. You know
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what I said to them? I said, I feel like I'm
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on the Rebel Yell. Has anybody ever been on the
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Rebel Yell? Now, some of you are younger. You
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have no idea what the Rebel Yell is. The Rebel
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Yell is a death -defying roller coaster made
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of wood. You're not strapped into a cart. I don't
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even know if it's still at Kingston Minion. It's
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probably been torn down. But it may still be
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there. I have no idea. I haven't been there in
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20 years. But it's this death -defying roller
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coaster made of wood. And you go down this giant
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hill and make the sharpest turn ever in your
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life. And you think you're going to fly out on
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the other side. Right? Whew. It's scary. Anyway,
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last week I was like, yeah, I feel like I'm on
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the Rebel Yell. I have highs and I have lows.
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And I have highs and I have lows. See, here's
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the reality when it comes to the Holy Spirit.
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When we're having a bad day. All we have to do
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is simply pause, step back, and ask the Holy
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Spirit to come. And say, God, what is happening
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right now that I'm having a bad day? Is it my
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attitude? Am I ungrateful? Am I angry? Am I unforgiving?
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Am I just having a bad day because I didn't get
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enough sleep? And if you pause and invite the
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Holy Spirit to reveal that truth to you, he will
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if we listen. See, the Holy Spirit wants to free
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us from a destructive mindset that pulls us away
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from God. He wants to free us from a confusion
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of who he is so that we can embrace all that
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God has for us. Church, the Holy Spirit is not
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a ghost. He's not a non -important member of
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the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is a revealer who
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is always revealing God to us. He's revealing
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Jesus to humanity and speaking about life change.
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Now, in John chapter 9, we read about Saul's
John 9 chapter mention
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conversion experience. Listen to how the Holy
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Spirit revealed Jesus to Saul, Acts 9, 3 -6.
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As he was approaching Damascus on this mission,
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On a mission to kill Christians, a light from
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heaven suddenly shone down around him. He fell
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to the ground and heard a voice saying to him,
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Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? Who are
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you, Lord? Saul asked. And the voice replied,
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I am Jesus, the one who you are persecuting.
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Now get up and go into the city and you will
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be told what you must do. See, when this interaction
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took place, some of you are thinking, well, Chris,
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that's Jesus speaking to Saul. When this interaction
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took place, Jesus had already returned or ascended
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where? Into heaven. He had left the earth. This
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conversation between Jesus and Saul was the Holy
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Spirit revealing truth about who Jesus was and
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is to Saul. And see, that initial revelation
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of Jesus is so important to us because it draws
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us into a relationship with God and launches
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us onto a journey of life change. Now, I'm going
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to be sharing my story about life change and
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start with why today, right after this gathering.
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If you want to know about our church, how we
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began, what God is doing right now, and where
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we're headed, you can join me right after this.
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Just go out to the Welcome Hub. I'll tell you
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the story about our community of faith, and you
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will learn that in my conversion experience,
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I was 22 years old, and I woke up in my bed at
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5 a .m. in the morning to a voice that was telling
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me to go to church. And for about an hour, I
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laid in my bed, rolling back and forth from side
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to side, sweating, trying to figure out if I'm
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going crazy or if this is a real voice. I didn't
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know what was happening. Go to church. Go to
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church. Go to church. I got up, got a shower,
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and started heading to Smithsburg to my old church.
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And as I was driving to Smithsburg, about halfway
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there, I heard that same voice, same tone, same
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audible come back and say, you're going to the
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wrong church. Turn around. And as I continued
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to drive towards Smithsburg, trying to ignore
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the voice, it got louder and louder and louder.
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And eventually I pulled over on the side of the
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road and said, either I'm going crazy or I need
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to turn around. I turned around and headed back
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to another church I had been invited to and sat
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across the street for 20 minutes because I wanted
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to go in and sneak in late, just sit in the back,
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check things out. Right? What all of you would
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do. Some of you come in late because you want
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to sit in the back and you want to check this
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out. I don't know if I trust that Chris guy yet.
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There's some Holy Spirit activity going on there.
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I'm not quite sure if this Jesus thing's real.
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I know how you think. Don't worry. I know how
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you think. So as I sat across the street, it
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was about 11 .20, I decided to walk in. And as
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I was about to sit down in the back seat of the
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very back row of the church, I heard another
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voice that was not the voice of God say, Oh,
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Chris, we're so glad you're here. Let's go up
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to the second row. To which, at that time, I
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said a swear word in my head, not out loud, and
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sure enough, ended up in the second row. And
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it was on that very day that I heard that same
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voice come back to me, speak into my heart. I
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gave my life to Jesus, and I've been radically
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changed ever since. The point, the Holy Spirit,
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the Holy Spirit is the revealer of Jesus to us.
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But he's not just the revealer of Jesus to us.
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Number four, the Holy Spirit guides us through
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life. Now, we're going to read about a man named
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Philip. And Philip was this ordinary guy in the
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early church that was selected to oversee a food
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program in the early church because there were
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so many needs that were not being met. Philip
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was selected because he was wise, he was a leader,
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and because he was full of the Spirit. He was
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faithful in serving those in need. Philip was
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committed. To serving the church in this capacity
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while he was in Jerusalem. Unfortunately though
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the early believers were forced to leave Jerusalem.
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Because of all the persecution they headed to
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Samaria. And it's interesting when they arrived
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in Samaria. Philip he wasn't serving food anymore.
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He began to preach and pray for people. And the
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power of God showed up. And the Holy Spirit came
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upon people. And they were healed and set free.
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Actually Acts 8 verse 8 says that the city was
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full of joy. For all the miraculous wonders that
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Philip and the disciples were performing. Now,
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an angel comes and tells Philip, you know that
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voice, that he's supposed to go to 60 miles south
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on the road to Gaza. Philip listens and begins
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to walk. And while he's walking, he notices a
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distinguished -looking man sitting in a chariot
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reading a scroll. Philip learns that this man
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is an Ethiopian eunuch who is the chief financial
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officer of Queen Candace. In other words, he's
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a very big deal. And he had come to Jerusalem
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searching for truth. He was reading a passage.
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of the scriptures that he couldn't figure out.
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And I want you to listen to what happens when
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the Holy Spirit partners with Philip. Acts chapter
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8, verses 30 to 38. Philip ran over and heard
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the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip
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asked, do you understand what you are reading?
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The man replied, how can I unless someone instructs
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me? And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage
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and sit with him. The passage of scripture he
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had been reading was this. He was led like a
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sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb is silent
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before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.
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He was humiliated and received no justice. Who
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can speak of his descendants? For his life was
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taken from the earth. The eunuch asked Philip,
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tell me, was the prophet talking about himself
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or someone else? So beginning with the same scripture,
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Philip told him the good news about Jesus. As
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they rode along, they came to some water and
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the eunuch said, look, there's some water. Why
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can't I be baptized? He ordered the carriage
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to stop and they went down into the water and
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Philip baptized him there. This, friends, is
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a story of how the Holy Spirit uses a person
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to reveal the truth about Jesus to someone else.
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The Holy Spirit tells Philip, what's he say?
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He says, go down 60 miles, go over to the man.
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And as Philip was listening to the man, he discovered
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he was confused. And in that moment, Philip was
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able to share the good news about Jesus with
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him. This man chose to receive that truth. And
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then Philip baptizes him right away. What an
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incredible story of life change. But here's the
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reality, church. God wants to do the same in
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you. That's what he wants our lives to look like.
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God wants us to be open to the leading of the
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Holy Spirit. And I personally believe the Holy
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Spirit gives us opportunities just like that
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each and every day. But we, you and me, we have
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to be open to his leading. Which means we have
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to prioritize listening to the Holy Spirit. Every
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day, we are bombarded with voices. True or false?
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You're not right, it's true. Every day we're
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bombarded with voices. The loudest voice in our
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ear is our own, typically. But we also have the
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enemy's voice. We also have friends' voices.
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We have culture's voices. Do we really know the
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voice of the Holy Spirit? How do we distinguish
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between the two? How do we recognize which one
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is God, which one is the Holy Spirit, and which
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one isn't? See, it's so important that we prioritize
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hearing that voice because that voice leads us
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to living what? A life of abundance. So many
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people, 62%, two -thirds of the church in the
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United States aren't living in abundance because
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they don't believe in the Holy Spirit. But this
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church, our community of faith, was founded on
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the Holy Spirit. The whole reason we came to
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this community to plant this church is because
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God told me to. I was going to Charleston, South
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Carolina. Chris was going to the beach. I already
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had a plan. I had nearly 40. Let me say this
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again. I had nearly 40 people going with me to
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Charleston, South Carolina. They were ready to
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go to the beach and change the beach for Jesus.
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And then, after a vacation, walking on the C
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&O Canal, God told me I'm going to the wrong
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place, that I had to come home. And I said, I
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don't want to come home, God. I want to go to
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the beach. But I listened. And I went back to
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Syracuse and told the team that I changed my
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mind, that we're going to Hagerstown. And I lost
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all of them. And we started this church with
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12 people. The point, to live in abundance, we
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have to experience the Holy Spirit. And notice
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these two steps in experiencing the Holy Spirit,
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they're really hard. Be expectant and wait. Be
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expectant. Acts chapter 1, verses 4 through 5.
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Once when he was eating with them, he commanded
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them, do not leave Jerusalem until the Father
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sends you the gift he promised. And as I told
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you before, John baptized with water, but just
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a few days you would be baptized with the Holy
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Spirit. Now think about it. This is in Acts.
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Jesus had already given the church its marching
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orders. Therefore, go and make disciples of all
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nations in Matthew 28, 19 through 20. Why don't
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you suppose someone like Peter, for example,
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wasn't already out there living the Great Commission,
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sharing the good news about Jesus? Because after
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all, during Jesus' earthly ministry, Peter was
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the one that what? He was bold, outspoken, ambitious.
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He was the one that walked on the water. When
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all the other disciples were afraid and trembling,
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Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water.
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Why isn't he living the Great Commission? Well,
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we know he's not living the Great Commission.
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Because of the difficult and painful experience
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he had in denying Jesus three times. See, Peter
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has not yet been empowered. When he tried to
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do it in his own strength, he what? Failed. And
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that's why Jesus told the disciples to be expectant
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and to wait to be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
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Fast forward to Acts chapter 2, verses 1 through
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4. On the day of Pentecost, all the believers
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were meeting together in one place. Suddenly
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there was a sound from heaven like the roaring
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of a mighty windstorm. It filled the house where
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they were sitting. Then what looked like flames
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and tongues of fire appeared and settled on each
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of them. And everyone was present and filled
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with the Holy Spirit. Began speaking in other
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languages as the Holy Spirit gave them the ability.
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This group was gathering in the upper room. Many
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scholars believe it was the same upper room that
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the 12 had celebrated the Last Supper, except
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this time there was 120. We're also told that
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it's Pentecost. That's one of the three major
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Jewish festivals that's celebrated in the temple
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each year. It takes place 50 days after the Sunday
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following Passover, which is Easter Sunday. So
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this is 50 days after Easter. The resurrected
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Jesus was with the disciples for 40 days after
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Easter. After he had died and risen, then he
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ascended back to heaven. So that means that Pentecost
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was just 10 days after that. So the disciples,
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remember, they had been waiting in expectation
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for 10 days in the upper room. And they're waiting
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and praying. And I can imagine many of them,
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they're thinking, it's going to happen on the
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third day. Jesus rose on the third day. Holy
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Spirit's going to fall on the third day. And
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the third day came and nothing happened. And
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the fourth day came and went. And the fifth day
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came and went. And the sixth and the seventh
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day came and went and nothing. And still they
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were expectant. Their expectation grew and they
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waited. And on the 10th day, the Holy Spirit
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fell. See, we live in an impatient culture. And
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if we're not careful, our lack of patience will
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find its way into our relationship with Jesus.
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Is the church supposed to wait to be empowered
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by the Holy Spirit today as it was in the book
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of Acts? Yes or no? Yes or no? Yes or no? Yes.
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And for some of you, you're too impatient to
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wait on the Holy Spirit to change your life.
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So here's what we're going to do. I'm going to
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give God space. I'm going to invite you right
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now with me to just put your hands like this.
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That's what I want you to do. If you want to,
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you don't have to. I'm not going to tell you
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what to do. I'm not a manipulator. I'm not going
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to say this is going to radically change your
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life. I'm going to invite you. This is a posture
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of saying I want to receive. Now, as Rhett and
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Carl lead us in worship, some of you, some of
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you may begin to weep. Don't pretend like you're
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not weep. Some of you may want to stand and raise
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your arms. Do it. Some of you feel like you need
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to come up and kneel down and repent and get
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rid of the sin that's in your life. Do it. Whatever
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God tells you to do, be obedient. Because that's
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how you learn who the voice of the Spirit is.
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Amen? Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready?
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There's no impossible I believe that you are
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working now So pour it out Oh, pour it out