The Intent of the Spirit

It's the right day to talk about that. The intent of the spirit.

So, most of us know Acts 2 quite well because we've read it in the past on many occasions.

But one of the things that happens in... Hey, Wayne, am I taping?

Because I think last week it didn't tape.

Oh, it did? Oh, cool. The machine, yeah.

Maybe you got the master copy.

Oh, okay.

Okay. Well, then it taped. No worries.

Oh, the week before you did. Okay. I knew there was some fault at your end.

As long as blame can be assigned, I'm happy.

I was beginning to feel guilty. I blamed you without reason.

But thank God that feeling passed.

Okay. The intent of the spirit.

Guys, so if you go to Acts chapter 2, we know what happened in the upper room.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

But then I want to look at Acts chapter 2, verse 14ish.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

And that's when Peter stands up and that's where I want to start.

And just examine. So what's the intent of the Holy Spirit?

What's his intent? What does he want to do? Why did the Father have him come?

And what's his intent? So we look at that more than anything else today.

And fabulous, man. So if you go to Acts 2, verse 14, this is when Peter stands up.

Acts 2:14

Then Peter stood up with the leaven and raised his voice and addressed the crowd.

Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you.

Listen carefully to what I'm saying. These men are not drunk, as you suppose.

It's only nine in the morning. No, this is what was spoken of by the prophet Joel.

In the last days, God says, I'll pour out my Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions.

Even on my servants, both men and women, I'll pour out my Spirit in those days.

And they will prophesy. Man, I read so flat, eh?

If Chris read this, it would almost seem like the Holy Spirit was here.

Well, we shall survive. I will show wonders in the heaven above

and signs on the earth below. Blood and fire and billows of smoke.

The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great

and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

And so he borrows this from Joel, chapter 2, verses 28 to 32.

Joel 2:28–32

And that's how he begins to explain the intent of the Holy Spirit.

And we'll just look at those four verses and take it from there.

So if you want to go to Joel 2, verse 28 to 32, because we rarely visit Joel.

Joel 2:28–32

So let's go to Joel. I bet you don't know where it is.

Anyone found it yet? On your phone or in the Bible?

Really? I haven't found it yet. Oh, okay. Yeah, got it.

Yeah, Joel 2, verse 28. So just keep a finger there and then we move on.

Joel 2:28

Guys, so the first intent that God had with the Spirit of God coming onto the earth is this.

First intent was whosoever. I mean, when Jesus walked the earth,

he was just in one physical place at one physical time. It was impossible for people to really

have him when they wanted him. He could hang out at the most with a few people.

If he called them home, he had a small home. He probably couldn't take people home either.

And so there is Jesus who's physically limited as he walked the earth as Jesus of Nazareth.

But God's plan was much bigger. His intent was whosoever calls on the name of Jesus Christ

must get what is most personal to me. That's the beauty of this, huh? That God wanted people to

receive the most personal thing to him. Yes, so there was his son and his son was the joy of his

eye. He was the apple of his eye, beloved son. But there was something far more personal that

God had that he wanted to give. But he couldn't give it away until Jesus Christ died for us.

It does not get more personal than God's own Spirit being given to people like you and I.

It doesn't get more personal than that. I mean, what can you give away that is absolutely the

essence of you? Not your money, not even your sons or daughters. Hey, can you take the echo off a

little? Not even your sons and daughters. It's none of that. The most personal thing that you can

give away the essence of who you are is your spirit. And to give that away, you need people

that you can trust, people that you know will handle you with care. But God instead of giving

says, whosoever receives Jesus Christ, I'll give you the most personal part of me and that's the

Holy Spirit. It doesn't get more personal than that. This is why Jesus said, you can blaspheme

the father, you can blaspheme the son, but don't go around saying things about the Spirit because

he is the essence of who the father is. There is nothing that gets more personal than the Spirit

1 Corinthians 2 puts it this way, who knows the thoughts of man?

Best. And the answer is the Spirit of man knows the thoughts of man best. And then it goes on to say,

who knows God best? And it doesn't say Jesus Christ. It says God's Spirit knows God best.

And he says, it is this Spirit, Jacob, that I absolutely freely in fullness,

I'm willing to give you if you're willing to receive him.

What this does is it's almost like it's almost like any distance between the father and I

is suddenly completely removed because I'm connected by the Spirit suddenly.

I mean, I have a belt, but I don't want to take it off. But anyone wants to give them give me their belt?

I need my belt.

This is not church property. Basically, I wanted to show you how Jesus whipped people out of the

temple. No, I'm kidding. I'm kidding. Guys, if this is heaven and this is you, as long as the Spirit of

God wasn't on earth, Jesus could go up and down this belt and help you occasionally by being in

one place at one time. The moment the Holy Spirit came, the distance between heaven and earth was

completely taken away. You used to be here, God used to be there, there used to be a distance.

And suddenly, that's completely removed where you and God are one spirit, man. Distance is

completely removed. There is zero distance between God and you. I know I could have done this without

the belt, but somehow it made sense to do it with the belt that all distance is covered when the

Spirit of God comes. 1 Corinthians 6 17 says, you become one with the Spirit of God. We keep looking

for God somewhere out there. When God so desperately wants to convey to me, take him, I am forever with

you and I'm not far away. This is why it says, how do you get saved? You get saved by believing in

your heart and confessing with your mouth. God is no distant star. He's right here with us. One of

the things the Spirit does is bring the Father into your life, bring the Son into your life.

There's no distance. We've got to stop looking for things outside of us.

God so wants to keep leading me by speaking inside of me and he says, whosoever, I'm willing to come.

And God's first intent when he sent the Holy Spirit was not to make us better people or better

Christians. His first intent when he sent the Holy Spirit was very simple. I want to be able to give

you the ability to cry out, Abba Father, like my son Jesus did. The primary intent of the Holy

Spirit coming was not to make us better Christians. The primary intent of the Holy Spirit coming was

to help us see how God sees us. To help us see how God sees us. One of the things the Holy Spirit

does, you read Romans 8 15 and it says, I have not given you the Spirit of bondage. I have given you

the Spirit of fear. I haven't given you the Spirit of the world, but I have given you a Spirit that

begins to call out from within you. And what is the call? What is the cry? The cry is Abba Father.

And so given the fact that if you are a Christian, you have the Spirit of God in you,

every morning the first thing you must behold is not God, not Savior, not Lord. The first cry that

should come out of you is Abba Father. If you don't know Him as Father, and I think I said this

last week, if you don't know Him as Father, then you don't know the Christian God.

And if you can't approach Him as son or daughter, then your relationship needs to be improved.

Because the primary intent of the Holy Spirit coming on the earth was, I want to give you the

Abba cry. Go to Romans 8 15. It says it so well. Romans 8 15.

Romans 8 15.

Romans 8 15. Here's what it says, For you did not receive a Spirit that makes you a slave again to

fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry Abba Father. The Spirit Himself

testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. This is what the Spirit of God primarily

does. Begin every morning with the Father cry. Not the God cry, not the Lord cry, not the Savior cry.

That's done. Hey Noah, I didn't know you were here. Hi Noah. But start with the Abba cry.

Start with the Abba cry. Thanks Jonah. Sorry.

He elevates me to the same richness of relationship that exists between Father and Son.

He elevates me to the same richness of relationship that exists between Father and Son.

He elevates me to the same richness of relationship that exists

between Father and Son. Your intent while you walk the earth should be,

Oh God, a day should come before I die where I am able to connect with you as intensely

and as intimately as Jesus himself connected with you.

That's where we are heading.

Anything less than that would just be Christian.

Who wants Christian?

You can get that in any church.

That's the primary intent of God and it applies to whosoever.

Anybody who calls upon him gets this privilege.

And here's the thing, when he gave you the Spirit, one of the things he wanted to let

you know is, hey, now that I've given you my Spirit, now that I've given away the most

personal part of me, you can know anything you want about me.

All of me is open for you to take.

I mean, just imagine you going standing before someone who's not part of your family yet

and they have now just become part of the family.

They don't know you yet.

They still have wrong thoughts about you.

They're still hostile to you.

And you go open up your life and you say, hey, here I am.

There's nothing that I've held back.

I gave my son and you thought that was a big deal.

Now let me tell you something else I've given you.

I've given you the most personal part of me and that is my Spirit.

And you can have anything and everything that you want of me.

And if that is the invitation that the Father is giving you and I, then it is required,

it is demanded of us that we take advantage of that.

Exploit the Father's goodness, guys.

Exploit him.

Exploit him.

You know, we get scared.

I think I told you the story.

Someone once wrote to me and sent me their bank account and their PIN number and everything

and they said, you've blessed us.

Here is our bank account and here's our PIN number.

And feel free to put your hand into our account and take whatever you want.

Freak me out, man.

I started doing the pastoral thing.

Oh, let the Lord lead you in whatever you want to give and all those nice things that

you say when someone does that.

And they said, no, we won't make it easy for you.

Here is our bank account.

Here is our PIN number.

Put your hand and take what you want.

And then after you've taken once, put your hand again and take something for Acts 29.

Scares you when someone does that.

But in a sense, that's what God has done.

He's saying, put your hand in and take what you want.

This is why, get up tomorrow morning and go hungry.

Go hungry.

Make sure you're starving tonight because tomorrow morning you can go and take what

you want.

John 14, 26, Jesus actually says, hey, the Spirit will take from what is mine and give

it to you.

And then just so people don't misunderstand, he says, the reason I say the Spirit will

take everything that is mine and give it to you is because everything the Father has is

mine.

Which is why I'm saying to you, Jesus says in John 14, 26 and John 16, 13, or 16, 13,

he says, he'll give you everything that is mine.

Everything guys.

You know, the thing with God is he uses words so carefully.

When he says everything, he actually means, what do you want Jacob out of who I am and

who is he?

You can't even answer that.

Who I am is I am man.

There is nothing before or after.

What a name for a person to have.

Hey, what's your name?

I am.

And then to think that Moulton Canadian Beer borrowed that?

I am.

So what do you want?

All I'm trying to persuade us is to understand that tomorrow when you get up, take more than

you've ever taken.

You know, when finally I had the guts, I went and started asking the Lord, Father, so they

got this bank account and I saw there was a whole lot of money there that frightened

me even more.

Because if it was $20, I could have taken $15 and been happy and let them survive on

five.

But now there was a whole lot of money.

How do you handle it?

And I was asking God, so Father, how do you want me to go about this?

I felt him giving me a specific figure to it, so I took that out.

And then I went again and decided how to take out for Acts 29.

Took out $1500 for Acts 29 and gave it to Heidi.

Tomorrow morning, make sure that you get up and say, Holy Spirit, I'm here.

You are God's own spirit.

I want to reach into God and take what I've never taken, explore what I've never explored,

plumb the depths of God like I've never done it before.

Guys, the saddest thing on earth or the poorest man or woman on earth is a man who has come

into sufficiency and floats on God's goodness without diving into his heart with a passion

that a hungry man has.

Let me say that again.

A poor man or a poor woman is a man or a woman who has come to a place of sufficiency.

Life is going well and they float on the goodness of God, but they never dive in to retrieve

the pearls from the bottom of the ocean, from the bottom of God's heart.

And there are hundreds and hundreds of Christians who've come to a place of sufficiency.

You can never be sufficient in God.

It's impossible.

Because there are depths to plumb for the rest of eternity.

But so many of us come to a place where we are sufficient.

Life is going well, things are well arranged, business is good, Christianity is good, work

is good, marriage is good, everything is sufficient.

And these are the poorest people on earth because they're floating on the goodness of God.

And God for some strange reason will continue to be good to you because that's his nature.

But you float on the goodness of God, never diving in.

When you go to Bahrain, you'll find these boats called the dowels, which basically skim

the surface and then these guys just dive into the waters because one of the things

Bahrain is famous for are pearls.

And they dive into the water to retrieve pearls.

That is what God wants, eh?

And only a man who is hungry can do that.

If sufficiency is where you've come to, you are cursed.

I know that's a harsh statement.

But if sufficiency is where you and I have come to and where you and I are living, we

are cursed.

Never settle for sufficiency.

It's a really ugly place to live.

Really ugly place to live.

It's when you start eating the good of the land without working with the Father.

Here is your father farming away and you produce tomatoes and cucumbers.

No.

Let's assume the father is a shepherd who has cattle, beef and goats.

The whole idea of cucumbers and tomatoes was putting me off.

But let's assume he's digging away the land.

He's producing cucumbers and tomatoes and onions and stuff like that.

Onion is a fruit or a vegetable?

Okay.

Tomatoes are a fruit, by the way.

Did you know that?

Yeah.

And he's cultivating that and you as a son, because he's good, will eat the good of the

land but you and I will not work with the Father.

That kind of living will get you to heaven but it will suck here on earth.

May we guys who are sitting here never, never, ever come to a place of sufficiency and stay

there.

Refuse sufficiency.

Whosoever calls on the name of the Lord, I'll open my heart to them and give them whatever

they want.

Whatever they want.

Second thing he promised, the second intent of the Holy Spirit was a guarantee.

And it says in 2 Corinthians 1.22, it says that,

2 Corinthians 1.22, it says,

Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ.

He anointed us, set a seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a

deposit guaranteeing what is to come.

He anointed us, set a seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a

deposit guaranteeing what is to come.

The seal that's mentioned there was the kind of seal that was used when you buy property.

The moment you buy property, the title deed will be sealed as in this property belongs

to you.

And here's what God is saying, hey, now that you've received my son, I want to seal you

as my property, as God's property.

I want to seal you as my property.

But I'm not going to take hot wax and mark you 777.

I'm going to do something better.

I'm going to take my Spirit and seal you with my Spirit as a down payment for the future.

And for long the church has said, the down payment for the future, the Holy Spirit has

sealed us for heaven.

It's not for heaven that we were sealed.

If you go to Ephesians 1, 13 and 14, you'll see why we were sealed.

Ephesians 1, 13 and 14.

Ephesians 1, 13.

Guys, by the way, I'm going to Abu Dhabi.

It's good that we're going to plant a church.

We're planting a church in Abu Dhabi.

How are we going about it?

About two months ago, two and a half months ago, a fellow called up this guy who's in

the church in Bahrain.

And this is a young guy who runs a business there.

He and his wife, their parents live with them.

A fellow called up and said, do you want to move from Bahrain to Abu Dhabi to start a church?

That's a ridiculous thing to ask, to leave there, to leave the place where you have a

business, where they're living with their parents, move to another country, even though

it's only an hour or so away.

I called and I said, hey, guys, this is a big app.

And it's completely open.

He said, no, we've got to move to Abu Dhabi because we want to plant a church there.

Let me know.

It'll take weeks to let me know, but let me know.

And so I put the phone down.

And 40 minutes later, I get a call.

And it's been another five minutes.

I don't think it's been two or three weeks.

We were talking and we just sensed that this is a bad thing.

So let's go when and we'll move to Abu Dhabi.

And so these guys are uprooting them.

Young couple, they must be 27 or 20, so a little older than you.

I found out how old you were from your dad yesterday.

And so they're moving.

So I'll be meeting them in Dubai.

And in Dubai, I'll be preaching at one of the churches that Chad had set up.

Remember Chad, that he had set up in Dubai and then go to Abu Dhabi.

And let's see how this works.

When I come back, I'll tell you what happened.

So I just am amazed at people who are willing to pay that kind of a cost.

So if you get a call sometime this week saying, hey, would you like to move to Mexico?

You know how to respond.

Right, Mike?

Thank you.

That's it.

He's changing his number after he finishes church.

No, just Mike.

Guys, often people, Holies give a letter.

And if you see what it actually says, it says that having believed,

you were marked in him with a seal.

So the same thing that Paul was writing to the Corinthians.

He was writing to Ephesians.

But look at what he says then after that.

The promised Holy Spirit, verse 14,

who will guarantee not heaven, guarantee not inheritance,

until the redemption of those who are God's possession to the praise of his glory.

Meaning the Holies who said we can possess inheritance until we are redeemed and go to heaven.

This was supposed to happen now, man.

Then what?

Something that is in heaven.

It was the thing, hey, you're in heaven.

You're here.

Not when you get to heaven.

Not grab it.

So that's like a guarantee.

I'm guaranteeing you, Shantar, that if you take advantage of the fact that I have opened my life to you, says God,

then I'll let you have your inheritance.

That will be prepared for you before Jesus came to the earth.

I'll give it to you here on earth.

I'll give you long enough life to live it up.

This is what the Spirit of God can do for us, hey?

The whole thing is tomorrow morning you've got to go and ask, Father,

so what part of your inheritance am I supposed to inherit?

What am I supposed to get this year?

The strange thing is our work, our marriages, our families, our babies, our dogs, and even cats

draw our focus and attention that we forget to chase our inheritance and end up chasing our occupation.

We forget chasing our inheritance and chase our occupation.

If you and I were, I mean, just think of it, hey?

Let's assume that Gillian's dad has this huge hospital that he wants to give her as an inheritance.

You think she'd work at VGH another day?

Let's assume my mom had to give me this huge building on a hundred acres of land.

You think we'll continue in Pilgrim next Sunday?

What if God wanted to give him a Boeing 747?

He might retire tomorrow.

The point is, guys, this is such an important point.

When you know what God wants to allocate to you in terms of your inheritance, work takes its correct priority.

Ask God, Father, what is it that you want to allocate to me this year?

Otherwise, next year will be the same as this year as we pursue the never-ending cycle of work, salary, occupation, livelihood.

It just goes on and on and on.

Know your inheritance and things get sorted out.

That's a guarantee that he has, eh?

Guys, the other thing the Holy Spirit does, and this is such a marvelous thing he does,

he initiates, he conveys, he interprets, he directs, he unfolds, and he manifests God's promise in your life.

Every time you're going through a situation, here's what the Holy Spirit is doing.

So let's assume you're going through a difficult situation or a cheerful situation

or a situation where you need to know what you're going to do next week and where you're going to go.

Well, let's just take my going to Abu Dhabi, how this whole thing is going to work out.

Here's what the Holy Spirit is already doing.

He's beginning to initiate thoughts as in he's dropping it into my head.

He's willing to interpret them for me.

He's willing to show me of his presence.

He's able to convey it to me.

He's able to unfold it and he's able to manifest it.

This is the job of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit brings the promise of God alive in your heart.

He brings the promise of God alive in your heart.

He's the only one who does that.

Again and again and again, he takes promises that God has given and says,

hey, Don, remember that prophetic word that was sent to you?

Who do you think the gift of prophecy comes from?

The Spirit of God.

The Bible says so.

So he'll say to Don, remember that prophetic word you received?

And he begins to translate it, interpret it, convey it, unfold it, manifest it.

And if you and I are paying attention, suddenly this is what the Bible means when it says,

and the Spirit of God will quicken you.

He'll quicken you.

Something begins to trigger inside.

And he's waiting at the door, eh?

He's waiting at the door.

So tomorrow morning, why tomorrow morning?

It's morning somewhere in the world.

When you leave here, because I do want you to pay attention right now,

when you leave here, open the door and say, Spirit of God,

what is it that you have allocated for me this year?

I've got six months left, Spirit of God.

Show me.

This is the assurance, the guarantee that he brings.

Any questions, guys?

Any thoughts, anything you want to add or take away?

Anything?

Go ahead.

Sufficiently and contentment.

Contentment is when you are satisfied not with what you have,

but with the goodness of God and who God is,

and therefore you know how to be joyful in that circumstance

without complaining, without getting hostile with God.

That's what contentment is.

So contentment, a man can have a million and be content.

A man can have $20 and be content,

because he knows that his father is good,

and every good gift comes from his father.

So that's contentment.

And that with godliness is great gain.

Sufficiently is when you've come to a place where you're doing well.

Your job is going well, everything is going well,

and now sufficiency lulls you into this place where,

since everything is going good, let's just plateau here.

One wife, two cars, a dog, two grown-up sons, a good job,

enough money in the bank, and I go to church too.

And occasionally God answers my prayer.

My wife couldn't get better than this.

That is just repulsive.

That is what God calls lukewarm.

Another word for sufficiency is lukewarmness.

And that is puked out.

Refuse sufficiency.

Sufficiently is neither hot nor cold.

It's a settled place.

A settled place.

Any other questions, guys?

Or any thoughts you want to add?

No?

Okay.

The next thing, this is I think one of the best things,

that the intent of the Holy Spirit is to help me know the father and the son.

If he wasn't around, this would be impossible.

There's one place where Jesus says,

when the Holy Spirit comes, he says,

hey guys, I'm not going to leave you as orphans.

I'll be gone for a while, but then I'll come and live in you.

And he says that, here's what's going to happen in John 14,

John 14:18–20

verse 18 to 20, he says,

that day you will know that I am in the Father,

and you are in me.

No, he says, I am in the Father,

you in me, and I in you.

That's what Jesus says in John 14, verse 20.

John 14:20

That day, as in when the Holy Spirit comes,

Jacob, here's what's going to happen.

You will know that I am in the Father,

as in Jesus and the Father are one,

that you are in me, and I am in you.

As in there's zero separation.

Zero separation.

This is why you and I can live a Christ-like life.

It is possible to have the same purity as Christ.

It is possible to have the same intimacy with the Father

as Jesus did. It's absolutely possible.

Just imagine what he's saying, eh?

If Don was Jesus,

because he always takes a Jesus role in every skit.

So, did Don and Jeevan just come out for a second?

I mean, I know you don't need this illustration,

but somehow, just imagine, this is what Jesus is saying.

That the Father is in him,

so the Father and him are united.

There's no separation.

Just imagine that.

No separation between Father and Son.

This kind of unity we cannot even think of.

No separation between the Father and the Son.

So here's what Jesus is saying.

The Father is in me.

And then he says, but Jacob, I am in you.

And the same kind of union that the Father and Son have.

Now Jesus is saying, I have with you, Jacob.

And then he says, and Jacob, just so you know,

you are in me.

This is why other scriptures come to life,

where he says, if you receive me, here's what I'm going to do.

My Father and I are going to come and sup with you.

Guys, the closeness of God is no longer...

It can't even be described in terms of distance, inches, centimeters.

How do you describe it when someone is inside you?

Does a mother say, there's a baby that's two meters away from me,

two centimeters away from me?

The mother says, there's a baby within me.

This is the distance now between the King of the universe and you.

Reach in and take what he has, because you're not exploiting him.

He's saying, here, take.

I've given you the best of me, my Son,

and I've given you the most personal part of me, my spirit.

And it is for you, because you are as loved as Jesus himself.

Reach in and take, guys.

Reach in and take his thoughts.

Reach in and take feelings.

Reach in and take his gifts.

Reach in and take his provision.

Reach in and take every good thing that a father wants to give his children.

That's the intent.

Thank you.

To help me know the Father and the Son better.

Hey, think of this, sir.

If the Son, Jesus Christ, lives in you.

And we often hear it said, Jesus Christ, the hope of glory.

Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Christ in you, the hope of glory.

If Jesus Christ, the Son, lives in you,

then in all things, you must have the expectation of glory.

Just think of that again.

We say, Jesus Christ in you, the hope of glory.

If Jesus Christ, the Son, lives in you,

then in all things, you must have an expectation of glory.

As in, let's assume you've sinned and you've messed up.

In your mess that has been caused by sin,

because Christ is in you, you must have an expectation of,

this will be gloriously transformed.

People have hurt you, abused you, broken you,

and you're in a really bad situation because of someone else's fault.

Christ in you.

Therefore, in that situation, you must have the expectation of glory.

In the church, same situation.

Christ in us, the hope of glory.

Well then, every time we gather or not gather,

I must have an expectation that Christ in all things will bring his splendor,

his magnificence, his power, his weight, his honor,

to come into our houses and upon our church.

If Christ is in you, and write this line down,

because the more you ponder on it, the more you think,

then what cannot be transformed?

What cannot be transformed?

Which organ in your body? Which marriage? Which home? Which situation?

What is it that cannot be transformed?

If Christ is in you, if Christ is in you,

then you and I must have an expectation of his splendor, his power,

his weight, his magnificence, or in other words, his glory affecting it.

And when his glory affects things, it transforms it.

The same applies to your body.

This is the expectation that makes us a distinct people from the rest of the world, guys.

Otherwise, what distinguishes us?

But the simple fact that there is somebody called the king of the universe

who actually dwells in us by his spirit, by his spirit.

Just a fascinating thought.

That there is no situation that you can go into

and not expect that Christ in you will transform it

because there is always an expectation when a Christian goes into something.

There is always an expectation because you have become carriers of the Godhead.

You have become carriers of the Godhead.

You have become carriers of the Godhead.

Imagine that, man. Blows you away.

You...

Just brilliant what God has done.

Such a logical mind, eh? How he set the whole thing up.

As Christ died for you, pays your sins, makes you new, cleanses you,

become a temple, a temple must have a God living in it,

sends his Holy Spirit, comes to dwell in you.

You become the carrier of God.

They used to carry an ark. Now you walk.

You go where you're sent. You hear God.

You know all his thoughts and his feelings.

You know that when you enter a situation, you're carriers of the Godhead

and that there is an expectation that something will change.

When I was praying for that man who had the lung problem,

there was an expectation that it will change.

In Austria, when nine deaf people were getting healed,

there was an expectation.

It is impossible for a Christian to live without expectation.

When a Christian lives without expectation, you need to seek help.

I'm not saying depression is not real.

I'm saying depression is real, clinical depression is real,

chemical imbalances are real.

But beyond all that, there is something called hope,

which is an expectation we have.

That can be revived. That can be revived to break every barrier.

Here's another thought that I so hope I can grow in and you and I can grow in.

Guys, choose never to operate from your measure but from God's fullness.

Never operate from your measure.

As in, okay, so Sheldon, let's assume he's a decent pianist.

Not a decent, let's assume he's a really good jazz pianist

and can play phenomenally because he actually teaches piano.

But the moment he comes and sits here and plays out of his measure,

you and I will lose because I can't operate out of my measure.

I must always operate out of God's fullness.

Jesus Christ never operated out of his measure.

He operated out of his Father's fullness.

I bet his carpentry was the same.

He must have been an amazing carpenter, learned well from his Father Joseph.

But the strange thing was he would operate not from his measure but from God's fullness.

When I stand here and preach, if I preach out of the fact that I've been preaching

for the last 20 whatever years, then all you get is a measure of Jacob,

the best that Jacob can be.

And the best that Jacob can be ain't good enough for anybody.

And so the more skilled you are, the more careful you have to be.

The more skilled you are, the less you need the Spirit.

The more skilled you are, the more the chance that you'll operate from your measure

and not from the fullness of God.

Choose not to, eh?

And here's the other thing.

I mean, you don't know guys, every time I go to Vernon or go to any church

other than you guys, because I'm so used to you guys,

if I go anywhere else, I'm always scared.

I'm always scared that I won't be able to do well enough.

That I'll mess up somewhere.

That whatever God wants to do, I won't be able to do it exactly as he wants to.

That I'll let him down.

These things still come up, eh?

And when they come up, I go to this line that says,

I'm not going to do well enough, I'm not going to do well enough.

And when they come up, I go to this line that,

Father, I am scared that I will let you down.

And this is so true if I operate from my measure.

But Father, what if I started operating from your fullness?

How do you operate from your fullness?

It's like saying, Oh God, this is who I am, but I know you can do better, so here I am.

And now begin to just flow like Spirit of God, only you can.

Let things come out of my mouth that were not in my notes.

Let notes come out of the piano that were not in my fingers.

But suddenly God says, Sure, I can do that.

People begin to benefit, eh?

What a brilliant way to live.

Affects everything.

You should try cooking that way.

Not out of your measure, but out of the fullness of God.

Because this applies to routine things and to adventurous things.

There's nothing it doesn't apply to.

And you'll find that it's less of a struggle then, things become easier.

Someone said this line, I don't remember.

Guys, at your best, you're feeding on leaves and you're a caterpillar.

And then when his fullness takes over, you're feeding on nectar and you're a butterfly.

Leaves to nectar, caterpillar to butterfly.

That's the difference between your measure and the fullness of God.

It's very interesting.

Leaves to nectar, caterpillars to butterfly.

I want to look at one more scripture and then we'll call it a day.

I'll finish it when I come back home.

I may not finish it.

Let's look at one more scripture.

Hebrews 13, 6.

And after church, not after church.

Church doesn't end, right?

When you leave here, church is still living.

After the service of Jesus Christ, after the service of Jesus Christ, after the service of Jesus Christ, after the service of Jesus Christ.

Church is still living.

After the service, if you need prayer, guys will be up here and you can come up and be prayed for.

Why?

I'll tell you why.

Because the Spirit of Life is here, right?

And he's so willing to do stuff, man.

The fourth thing, I'll just write it down and we won't go there today.

But the fourth intent of God with the Holy Spirit and all this is from Joel 2, 28 to 32.

You'll find it all there.

The fourth intent was signs and wonders.

One of the things the Holy Spirit does is signs and wonders.

Let's go to Romans 15, 18 and 19 and you'll see that then we'll skip the rest of it and go to the third point.

Romans 15, 18 to 19.

This is a verse that we don't read very often, but it's such a cool verse.

Romans 15, 18 to 19.

One of the things the Holy Spirit does is he makes real the power of God.

He makes real the power of God.

He makes real the power of God.

Romans chapter 15, verse 18 and 19.

Romans 15:18

Here's what it says.

Let me start at 17.

Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God.

I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done.

You know, my topic at the men's breakfast this morning in Vernon was weaponizing your words.

Weaponizing your words.

Weaponizing your words.

As in how do you take your words and weaponize them so that they become effective combat instruments?

Here's what Paul is saying.

Listen, let me start again.

Because he uses words and words.

Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God.

I will not even venture to speak anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done.

Look at what it says next.

By the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit, so from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, nowadays they just say Illy, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.

So he proclaimed the gospel of Christ through powerful signs and wonders by the power of the Holy Spirit.

And the fourth intent, which we won't touch today, is the fact that the Holy Spirit loves showing God's power off.

He loves showing God off.

And we talked about this, that the kingdom has to have words and works.

If one is absent, it ain't the kingdom.

Words and works.

Which is why when Chantal was reading out how the hemoglobin level shot up and the creatinine level fell and the other level went up, it was fabulous.

Words and works.

How did it happen?

Through the declaring of words.

What happened?

Works.

By the power of the Spirit of God.

Otherwise all we are doing is information if there's no demonstration.

So, Hebrews 13 verse 6 and we'll end with that.

Hebrews 13:6

Hebrews 13 verse 6.

Hebrews 13:6

Hebrews 13 verse 6.

Hebrews 13:6

So we say with confidence,

The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid, what can man do to me?

So we say with confidence,

The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid, what can man do to me?

One of the names for the Holy Spirit is helper.

And I think we've talked about this before.

There's a word in Hebrew which says Yahweh Ezer.

Yahweh Ezer means God my helper.

But whenever we think of the word helper, we think of assistant.

So what we think is, we'll do what we can and then God will be an assistant and he'll come and help us with what we're doing.

But here's God's intent of being a helper.

He says, I will be your helper if you will be helpless.

God cannot be helper if I am not helpless.

We think of God as an assistant.

God says, I'm not your assistant Jacob.

I'll be your helper if you're helpless.

But if you're trying and then want me to come and assist you, ain't gonna happen.

One of the things the Holy Spirit is called, the Holy Spirit is called your helper.

The word paraclete means helper.

Here are three or four questions I want to ask you.

Since he lives in you, since you have an expectation that God will never abandon you, since you have this expectation that God will...

Remember this guys.

God may discipline you for your sins and say that your unrighteousness has distanced you from me.

God may say all that.

But thank God, we serve not just God, we serve Father God.

You and I need to be aware without a shadow of a doubt that because he is Father, even when you sin, he will not abandon you, he will not forsake you, he will reach out for you.

The greater the darkness, the greater is life.

The more you resist his truth, only then does delusion come in.

If he was just God, we'd be fried by now.

But because he is Father, that's why in the middle of sin, God still appears as Father.

So here are some questions I want to ask you.

Since he lives in you, since Hebrews 13 says, never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.

The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.

What can man do to me?

Here are some questions I want you to take home.

Guys, how would you live?

Let's assume you are assailed with fear.

How would you live that moment if you had no fear?

How would you live that moment if you had no fear?

One of the things we all deal with is this thing called fear.

When fear assails you, can you ask yourself this question?

When fear assails you, can you ask yourself this question?

How would I actually live this moment if I was not afraid?

So you're waiting at the doctor's office for results.

There's this queasy feeling inside you.

It's tense.

How would you live that moment if you were not afraid?

You're waiting for the results of a mortgage or you're waiting for the results of an exam or you're waiting for a job application to turn up and your stomach is in knots.

How would you live that moment if you were not afraid?

True, but surprisingly that's often absent.

And that's where we need to go.

And that's where we need to go.

Where I need to say to myself, Father, I feel afraid, but what would it look like if I wasn't afraid?

And you'll be surprised at how it is absolutely possible to begin to live life progressively without fear.

Something happened two days ago where suddenly I was afraid of how something would turn up.

Something would turn out.

I remember sitting and I was saying to myself, Jacob, so how would you live this moment if you were not afraid?

And immediately I knew why I would not be afraid.

Exactly for the reasons Marcus said.

Father, you are so in control.

You never abandon me. You never leave me. You never forsake me.

I'm your precious little boy.

You so care for me.

I'm special to you.

You like looking after me, looking out for me.

So why am I so afraid?

And the moment that went away, gosh man.

What would life look like if moments of fear just disappeared?

Fear is the presence in the person when it's asking for God.

Yeah. Perfect love casts out fear.

The moment I'm aware of a loving father, fear has to go out because his love towards me is perfect.

Think of that. The second question.

What would you plan if you were sure God would resource you?

What would you plan if you were sure that God would resource you?

How would your planning change?

What would life tomorrow look like?

How would your future look like if you were absolutely sure that God would resource you?

You've heard from him.

God's told you what he's going to do.

But we are hesitant.

We hee haw around it.

You receive prophetic words.

God has spoken to you multiple times.

We still don't want to step out.

It's the scary thing of how am I going to do this?

But what would you plan?

How would your life look like if you were assured that God would resource you?

It would change our lives, man.

All Jesus would hear is a whisper in his ear which would say,

I want you to go to Galilee, but I want you to go to Samaria.

Off we'd go.

Didn't have water because he was thirsty so he'd sit at a well.

Didn't exactly know why he was sitting at a well.

But oops, there comes a woman.

Wasn't good for a Jewish rabbi to speak to a woman.

But he begins a conversation.

Turns the entire Samarian village around.

And what is Jesus doing?

Something that was spoken about long ago.

That in the land where there is dense darkness a light will arise.

Isaiah 60.

And later on Jesus himself says it when he says,

and you shall go from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

And he had already started doing that.

Let by the whisper of the Spirit of God.

What would your life look like and how would you plan life

if you were absolutely sure that everything would be resourced,

that what you are going to do is resourced by God?

Third question.

I've got only four or five.

Third question.

What if confidence and joy marked everything you did?

What if confidence and joy marked everything you did?

What if confidence and joy marked everything you did?

Not confidence in happiness, not confidence in hahaha.

Confidence in joy.

What if confidence and joy marked everything you did?

What would life look like then?

These are the things the Holy Spirit wants to bring to our lives.

This is what makes Christians distinct.

And as a kid, we traveled by train from North India to South India.

A long three-day journey.

And so the train would come and stop at these platforms.

And kids were not allowed to step out on the platform.

But my dad would let me.

And I'd step out on the platform and I'd feel like a man.

And I'd walk around.

And I'd go buy fruit and go up to the window of the compartment and give it to my mom.

And it'd feel like, ah, finally I'm a man.

And all this was based on one simple fact, that my dad was behind me.

And my intent was always, could I jump into the train once it starts moving?

Because that's what men do.

Kids would have to get in before the train moves.

And in India, trains can move without telling you they're moving.

So, my dad would keep his eye on me.

And I'd pretend like I was there on my own.

But my dad would be watching.

And then the moment he sees the train about to move, he'd say, get in, get in.

And I'd say, no, I want to hang out.

I want to climb in when the train's moving.

And initially he wouldn't.

And then finally he started letting me do that.

But there was this joy of being a man and this confidence that I had finally become someone.

And then the train would start moving and I'd let one or two people go in.

And then my dad would be behind me.

And I'd go while it's moving and I'd step in while it's moving and climb in.

And my dad was right behind me because he was the guy next behind me.

And it would be such a thrill.

And that confidence that I had that I'd never be left behind at a platform in India.

And that I could always do this with such a sense of accomplishment came from one simple thing.

My dad had my back.

What would life look like if the Spirit of God could bring to you this reality

where every moment of life is transformed into a time of confidence and joy?

And the last question.

What if you lived in the certainty of knowing answers to your questions as sure as you know your own thoughts?

What if you are convinced that when you seek counsel or when you need an answer to a question

that it is absolutely 100% certain that God will answer?

Not 20 years from now, but now.

What would it look like if you had that kind of certainty?

I want to say to you that I am absolutely certain that in every situation that I am in

I will be given answers by the Living God conveyed to me by the Spirit.

Not vague answers. Not, oh, look at the skies and count the stars stuff that he did with Abraham.

That he did with Abraham. I'm talking about I am absolutely certain that there will never be a place in my life for the rest of eternity

where I will not know specific answers or the first step that will be followed by a second and a third step

for the rest of my life on earth where I will ask the Father and the Father will say,

no, or give me a nebulous answer. That does not happen, guys.

You must have that certainty to live on earth with the Holy Spirit.

Because if the Holy Spirit calls himself a parakeet, counselor, advocate,

then he will always give you answers. Always.

Don't fall for the stories that pastors tell you that God sometimes says yes, no, and also or something like that.

Or that don't ask God why. All that comes out of their experience, not from the Bible.

Isaiah, Jeremiah, David, Noah, Moses. What did these guys do?

They kept asking. They kept asking. They kept asking. And which covenant did they belong to?

The old covenant. Which covenant do you and I belong to? The new covenant.

They never had the Holy Spirit living in them.

They had to go to prophets and kings and priests to figure out God.

You don't have to figure out God because God has figured you out and he's in you.

Guys, live with the certainty, live with the certainty that any and every situation that you will face for the rest of your life,

be it good, be it bad, be it routine, or be it adventurous, will always have God leading you.

Because the Holy Spirit is your guide. This is his function. To help me know the Father and the Son.

It will be in small things and it will be in huge things. You've got to be absolutely certain.

And if that certainty isn't there, then we need to begin to grow in it.

I mean, on June 1st when we met here, after we were done, I'm heading out. Derek is waiting to lock the church up.

And I've gone out and I sense I've got to go back in and check. And I don't even know what I'm checking for.

All I know is, I know the Spirit of God is saying, go back and check.

So I'm going down into the men's washroom and since everybody had left, I went into the ladies' washroom to check if someone's hiding there or left there or whatever.

Switching off lights, going into the kitchen. I'm not a very brave guy to do all these things.

So I usually send Don and Derek or Jeevan to do it. Because if they get beaten up, I can always pray for them.

But this time I felt the Lord saying, you go. So I'm going while Derek and Don are waiting outside.

And I've checked everything and there is nothing left to check. And yet I know that there is something that I'm supposed to figure out.

And so finally I start pulling at every door and I go pull the front door and the front door is open.

And we were going to set the alarm and go away. And that door would have stayed shut but it is open.

And I'm thinking to myself, Father, how do you pull these things off? How do you do this?

How do you do this? These are routine simple things, guys.

Think of the bigger things then.

May you have or may you... Guys, we may not be able to get all answers right now.

But may you have the certainty that that is exactly where you're heading.

Exactly where you're heading.

I never had my dad turn to me when I ask him a question and say stuff like, count the stars in the sky.

As in with Abraham, God was trying to prove a point. What I'm trying to say is, your God is not nebulous.

Your God is not nebulous. I know a pastor who named his son Anderson.

Because the word Anderson means mystical and cannot be fathomed.

And he named his son Anderson because he said, God is like that. You can never figure him out. He's mysterious.

That is so sad, man.

And he bases on Isaiah 55, where God says, my thoughts are higher than your thoughts and my ways are higher than your ways.

That was in the Old Testament. And in the New Testament, you know what he says?

Sure, my thoughts are higher than your thoughts and my ways are higher than your ways.

Oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you, you have the mind of Christ.

Enjoy fathoming God, guys.

You've got to do it here on earth. After life here is over, you're in heaven.

And it's different. You'll fathom him. But it won't be as... as it's here on earth.

Let's pray. Father, I think you are marvelous. And the church thinks so, too.

I think it's just nuts that you allow us to figure you out.

Not through books, not through prayer, not through hours of worship, not through...

not through penance, not through all the things that other religions do.

You allow us to figure you out by coming and living in us.

And today on Pentecost, we want to say thank you. It's the best thing that could have happened to us.

Oh, God, would you please take some of the stuff that we were talking about and just impact us so that we really begin to understand that, gosh, life can be so different.

Every moment of life can be one of confidence, one of joy, one without fear, one fathoming the mind of God himself.

And then when we begin to do that, we begin to walk the earth like Jesus walked the earth. As he is, so are we.

We really like that Father for all of us. And I know that's your desire, too.

I like what you said in John 14. You said, I'm going to the Father so that I can send you the Holy Spirit.

This was your desire. All these things were your intent. And we say, yes, thank you. We invite that into our lives.

And we bless you now. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Bless you guys as you go. If you need prayer, feel free to come up while...