Fresh Fire Second Wind; Pentecost Sunday - Pastor Pete Wright

Hey there, this is Jen Wade, part of the core team here at Springs Church.

We just want to say thank you so much for joining us and listening to our podcast.

We are praying that it encourages you and it inspires you.

And if you'd like to find out more about Springs Church, please visit our website springschurch.co.uk.

Here's today's message.

Bless you church.

Thank you band.

So, so, so good.

Are you glad you came to church this afternoon?

I mean, we could have sat in our gardens on this cloudy day.

No one wants to sit in a garden on a cloudy, humid day.

No way.

And so, no way we're going to miss church for that.

And it's good to be here this afternoon.

And I'm excited because today is the date in the church calendar that's known as Pentecost Sunday.

Can we hear it for Pentecost Sunday?

So, I was at church service this morning where my dad, Tony Wright, he was preaching.

And the chap who was hosting was actually Ben Wade's dad at this church service.

And he said, you know, we celebrate Pentecost every single day.

And that is true because we are Holy Spirit believing people.

Is that good?

They might not call us a Pentecostal church, but we are a Pentecostal people.

Amen.

We okay with that?

And so that is good news for us.

That's good news for the world.

That's good news for this community.

We believe in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Great things can happen.

Now, somebody very special has turned up to church this afternoon.

He's got a much better beard than I have.

And he's just realized who I'm talking about.

I haven't seen Gareth Hydes in the flesh for a few years now.

But the guy just there, that one there with the beard and glasses, he's one of the most wonderful men of God.

I personally have had the privilege of knowing.

I'm really sorry.

Can you come and join me, mate?

Oh, Gus.

This is Gareth Hydes, everyone.

Let's give him a round of applause.

This Thursday night, Gareth is doing something incredibly special.

Hello, mate.

It's been a while.

So Gareth was previously a youth pastor at Sedgley Community Church and has lived down south for quite a while now.

But you are right.

You've been written and you're producing an amazing production.

Do you want to tell us a little bit about it as well?

This Thursday night at Dormston Mill Theatre, what are you doing, mate?

Thank you.

So, yeah, on Thursday night, we've got a world premiere of this musical that God laid it on my heart to write.

And there's a poster at the back.

I didn't see that.

Thank you so much.

And we're just praying that God will use this both to encourage us as Christians, as believers,

but also that it could be used as a gospel event for people to invite a friend along who maybe wouldn't normally come along to church

or maybe hasn't been to church for a while to come in a hopefully creative way to hear the good news of Jesus.

And so we've got a professional cast of eight.

And yeah, we're touring.

This is the first night.

And then we're doing Thursday.

Friday is going to be in West London.

Saturday is in Chelsea in London.

And then...

Sold out show in Chelsea.

Praise the Lord.

And then Sunday will be in Whitney in West Oxfordshire.

So appreciate your prayers.

And if you're able to come along, it's not too late to book tickets.

In fact, there's a special discount code if you're interested.

Okay.

Springs 20 will give you 20% off.

I'll leave it there.

What?

Come here.

Come here, guys, come here, come here, guys, guys, come here, come here.

Listen, so this is an amazing thing that you're doing, mate.

And you're an incredibly humble guy.

You have written this from scratch.

You're telling a story of an amazing Christian man.

If you know the hymn, it is Well With My Soul.

So telling the story around that song.

And so can we just throw our hands towards Gareth in a posture of prayer

and ask that God would use him and bless him and anoint this production?

And the last thing Gareth wants is for it to be a cold script.

What he would much rather is the anointing of the Spirit of God all over it.

And so we know it already has it.

And so, Father, we pray in the name of Jesus, Lord God,

that every word that is spoken, every act that is acted, Lord Jesus,

we pray, God, that it would lead people into a hunger for who you are.

And, Father, I pray, God, that Gareth would have the most phenomenal,

phenomenal stories as he tours around the country, Lord God,

of so many men, women and children coming to him afterwards and saying,

tonight it's Well With My Soul too.

Father, let it be well with so many souls.

Father, bless him, bless his wife, Lord bless his family, Jesus bless the cast.

Yeah, God, let it be an amazing opening night on Thursday.

In Jesus' name. Amen.

Bless you. Bless you.

Amazing. So Thursday night is coming.

I'm going, I'm going. Bring a friend.

Amazing. Spring's 20.

Cheeky little discount in there as well. Amazing.

Well, let's get into the word tonight.

And I want to start by saying, do you know what Spring's Church is all about?

If you've been here for a while, you will know that there are four pillars,

four characteristics, four flavors, four things that we want to make sure

that we are at the very least as a church.

All those old schoolers from the pub days, we are people of faith, hope, love and joy.

And the Apostle Paul, he says, when it all boils down to this faith thing,

it all boils down to these three things, faith, hope and love,

but the most important is love.

And we reckoned as a leadership when we planted this church

that faith, hope and love will overflow with joy.

And so we are to be a church full of faith, hope, love and joy.

Now, can I give a little bit of a mention?

We have a lot of new people in church that have been coming to our church

for the last few months, maybe even the last few weeks.

If you're a springster through and through and you've been around a while,

make sure you're saying hi and hello and welcoming people.

And if you're new, feel free to be part of the family from day one.

Nothing is off limits. This is not an exclusive club.

This is a family to become a part of.

And so if you've heard about teams that you'd love to serve on, come and see me.

Of course you can serve on a team.

If you've heard about life groups and being discipled by a group of people,

hungry for God together, don't wait around for three or six months.

Come and get involved. Is that okay?

So if you've recently joined Springs, we are so very blessed to have you here.

Let me tell you what Springs is all about.

And if you feel it in your heart, you can amen with me, okay?

Springs is a Bible-believing, God-honouring, Jesus-following, people-loving,

committed to the Great Commission, fully dunking, baptising, Holy Spirit-filled church.

That's our heritage. That's our present. And that is our future.

Are you up for it?

If it's a little bit loud, let's turn it down a bit.

This is what Springs is all about.

Whatever God has for us, we want it.

Hello?

Whatever God promises, we believe that we can be beneficiaries of those promises.

If Jesus said it, we can expect it.

If Jesus said we could, we'll give it a go.

Are you with me this evening?

If Jesus commanded it, we're up for it.

Is that okay?

That's what this church is about.

On the 11th of June, in just two Sundays' time, we're going to be putting together the Nonagon.

It's not an MMA octagon. It's a Nonagon, a nine-sided baptismal tank.

And we're going to be baptising, so far, three people.

How good is that?

If you've never been baptised in water, Jesus said,

look, go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Listen, if you've been christened, that's cool.

I don't know what your background is. That might be the case.

In this church, the baptism we practice is full immersion adult baptism.

And so, if you've never been baptised in that way, come and see us.

We'd love to baptise you, talk about baptism and what it's all about.

How exciting is that going to be?

Can't wait. We can't wait.

Pentecost Sunday.

We believe that God is just one, everyone say one,

but we actually happen to believe as Christians that God is three distinct persons in one.

That's a good deal.

And we believe that God is Father, that God is Son and that God is Holy Spirit.

And the three persons of God make up the fullness of who God is.

Pete, how on earth can one God be three? I don't know.

But if we could work it all out completely, he would not be God,

because we'd be smart enough to understand everything that he is.

So the fact that he is a mystery is very exciting for us,

because there's always something to know more about God, always something to learn about God.

The Holy Spirit, the Father and the Son, known as the Holy Trinity,

it is what the Bible confidently calls and is not a shame to say, a mystery.

A mystery.

And it's okay to press into the mystery, especially when it's God.

We know that it's going to be loving, we know it's going to be full of grace,

we know that these mysteries that he has for us are going to bring life.

If you're saved today, if you know Jesus as your Lord and Saviour,

it was the Father's love that drew you to him.

If you're a Christian today, it was the sacrifice of Jesus that paved the way for your salvation.

And if you're a Christian today, it's the Holy Spirit who right now is living on the inside of you.

One of my favourite scriptures says that it was the Father who sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,

so that we know that we're children of God.

So if you're sitting in this church today and you know you're a child of God,

the only reason you know it in your knower is because the Holy Spirit is right there in the centre of your being

since the day you called on Jesus Christ.

If you don't know that you know that you're a child of God today,

I want to encourage you that the invitation of Jesus to be your Lord and Saviour

will usher in the presence of God himself into your very life.

Is that good news this afternoon?

Is this Spring's church or Sleep Church?

This is good news. This is amazing, amazing news.

To be Christian means this, to know and to be known by your Heavenly Father.

It's to be a disciple apprentice of Jesus, and it's to be a temple, a vessel of the Holy Spirit of God himself.

Oh man, let's press into the mystery a little more, shall we?

This Holy Spirit idea wasn't just a bolt on idea at the end of Jesus' early ministry, earthly ministry I should say.

The idea of the Holy Spirit of God was right there at the beginning, right from creation itself.

But I'm not going to go back that far, we're going to be a bit more recent.

We're going to have a little look at the prophet Moses.

Moses is the patriarch of our faith. In other words, he's a forefather.

If it wasn't for the prophets, the patriarchs, the mothers and fathers in the faith that had gone before us,

we would not be sitting here in the freedom that our hearts have.

It's so important that we call to mind how God used such people.

In Exodus 33, verse 12 to 19, Moses has got some questions for God.

Exodus 33:12–19

He's got some ideas, he's got some things he wants to talk with God about.

Moses says to the Lord, see, you say to me, God, bring up these people.

You remember Moses, the guy bringing the Israelite slaves out of captivity in Egypt.

See, God, you say to me, bring up these people, but you've not let me know whom you will send me with.

You have said, I know you by name, Moses, and you have also found favor in my sight.

Now, therefore, I know I've found favor in your sight.

Please show me now your ways that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight.

Consider to God that this nation is your people.

And God said, my presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.

I can imagine Moses being slapped around the chops as God speaks to him.

I will give you my presence, and I will give you rest.

And then Moses starts to make some rhetorical statements.

He said, if your presence will not go with me, don't bring us any further than here.

But how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people?

Is it not your going with us so that we are distinct, I and your people,

from every other people on the face of the planet?

And the Lord said to Moses, this very thing that you have spoken I will do,

for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.

Moses said, please show me your glory.

I will make my goodness pass before you, says God,

and will proclaim before you my name, the Lord.

And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious,

and I will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

As a Christian in 2023, as somebody who may be exploring the Christian faith in 2023,

perhaps you say things along the similar lines of Moses.

Maybe you say today, God, you say to me, live this Christian life,

be my disciple, be an example, to live in the freedom you've paid for,

but you've not let me in on how to do it.

You say, you know my name and I've found favor in your sight,

now then, please show me your ways so I know how to live in a way

that keeps finding favor in your sight.

This heart is yours, God.

Just like he said to Moses, he says to us today,

my presence will go with you, I will give you rest.

And just like Moses in his rhetorical not needing an answer question, question,

that he says we can ask the same question, God,

since you have given us your presence, is it not that that makes us distinct

from every other personality, person, people, tribe on the face of planet Earth?

Church, this afternoon, the thing that makes us distinctly Christian is not our

church attendance.

The thing that makes us distinctly Christian is not our religious reading

of Scriptures every single day.

The thing that makes us distinctly Christian is not the kindness

we show to people.

The thing that makes us distinctly Christian is the Holy Spirit in us.

That's the one thing that makes us distinctly different.

I am glad that God would not just have me

harbour a long life on just some cold,

you know, placid religious experience.

The thing that makes it distinctive to be a Christian

is the very presence of the God I worship

in my life and in your life.

Is that good news today?

So the first thing this afternoon

that we're talking about is the Holy Spirit

is who makes us distinctive in this faith.

Is that good news this afternoon?

We're all made in the image of God, you see.

But for those who trust the Father

and believe in Jesus Christ,

and for those who take the Holy Spirit at His word,

those who are created in God's image

become filled with the Spirit of the same God

who created us.

Is that phenomenal or what?

What a holy combination.

So it's the Holy Spirit that gives us our distinctiveness

in the world.

That's why Jesus said,

you can be light in a dark world.

That's why you can be salt and bring flavor

to a world that is crying out to taste something good.

So the second thing is this,

you're with me this afternoon.

Let's get it on the screen.

Next one.

Keep going along.

It is the Holy Spirit who directs us in our discipleship.

It is the Holy Spirit who directs us in our discipleship.

If you've grown up in church

or you've been around church for a long time,

you'll have people you look up to, correct?

Me too.

And I might be someone you look up to.

That's scary.

We've got people who are heroes in our faith journeys.

My dad is a huge hero.

My dad is not just my dad, he's also my spiritual father.

He taught me the things of the Lord.

So we did my mom.

And so I've got heroes in faith.

John Rowe is a hero.

Mel Allen's a hero in my faith journey.

So many heroes in my faith journey,

people who have mentored and discipled me on purpose

or by accident,

but we watch their example and we go,

I wanna follow Jesus like they follow Jesus.

Do you know what I'm coming from this afternoon?

Hey, when I was there in 2006, I was a 22 year old teacher.

I was fresh out of university and I'd learned everything

and I'd got all the theory

about how to be a history teacher.

And then I actually started teaching

and I had to apply what I'd learned at university

into the real world situations.

I'm 22 and I'm from Gornal.

And I end up in the school, Ormiston Forge Academy.

Yes, Jake, head of music over there.

And I've got to teach these old hill kids

that I absolutely loved.

But I'll be honest with you, I became a teacher

and then I was in the staff meetings

where all the abbreviations under the sun would come out.

And suddenly I'd have to learn who the hoois were,

the heads of year.

And then I'd have to learn who the assistant hoois were.

And then I'd have to learn who the SLT members were.

And then I'd have to learn about different strategies

and then I'd have to learn about who the DSL was.

And I'd sit in meetings as a 22 year old

pretending I knew exactly what everyone was on about.

I didn't have a clue, did not have a clue.

Thankfully, I had a mentor called Louise Tromans.

And she taught me through my first year.

She was my mentor in my first year.

I was able to ask her questions

so that when I was feeling a little bit out of my depth,

I'd go, Louise, I actually haven't got a clue

what people are talking about.

Can you help me out here?

It was like a whole new language

if I was gonna succeed in this role.

Sometimes it can be like that when we become Christians.

We become a Christian, we've got this new kind of thing

that we're a part of, this new person

that we've become in Christ Jesus,

but we need mentors to help us out with the lingo, anyone.

We need mentors to help us to work out how to live the life

that God has called us to.

Have you ever been challenged by a brother or sister

in church and say, look, you are amazing,

but if we're gonna be like Christ,

we're gonna walk this way and not that way.

Have you ever had those conversations?

If that's a no, it's about time you add some.

And you can find mentors in people

who have been Christians for longer.

You can be impressed or maybe amazed or inspired

by other preachers that you see on the internet

or on podcasts or anything like that,

but nothing compares to the divine mentor,

that is the Holy Spirit.

Nothing compares to the mentorship,

the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

You see, we're not called to be converts.

Did you know that?

We're called to be disciples.

Do you know what a disciple is?

A disciple is someone who learns.

A disciple is a pupil.

If I'm a disciple of Jesus,

I've enrolled into the school of Jesus

and I wanna learn from him and I wanna become like him.

I'm so amazed by what he can do

and who he is that I wanna become.

And do you know the scriptures promise

that we will become ever more Christ-like

when he is our desire.

Is that amazing?

I love the way a pastor in America says,

he says, if you're a Christian today,

you are simply this, an apprentice of Jesus.

Isn't that gorgeous?

You're an apprentice of Jesus.

Wayne and Sarah, not in today,

but I love Wayne and Sarah and I think they're amazing.

And Wayne's an electrician.

He runs his own business and his son is his apprentice.

Isn't that a beautiful picture?

And so I'm guessing as an apprentice

that they're doing jobs together.

He's showing his lad how to actually wire things up

and how not to get electrocuted

and how to put lighting across, I don't know,

spots in a new kind of constructed house or whatever.

And they do it together.

They learn together.

And I love this about Jesus because Jesus promised us

that when he ascended back to heaven,

he would not leave us without someone to follow.

Look what the scriptures say, John 14, verse 27.

John 14:27

Jesus himself said this, he says,

if you love me, you will keep my commandments.

And I will ask the Father and he will give you

another helper to be with you forever,

even the spirit of truth.

You can't, the world cannot receive

because it neither sees him or knows him,

but you know him.

Does anyone know him today?

For he dwells with you and will be within you.

Isn't that incredible?

Jesus promised to send us the Holy Spirit

so that we could carry on our apprenticeship of Jesus.

You know the word, if you love me, that word love there,

it's a Greek word, it's agapeo.

Can you say agapeo?

Agapeo, and agapeo, some people boil it down

to simply meaning compassion.

It's a bit more than that.

Agapeo actually means to welcome,

to entertain in the way that you host.

So if you've got guests in your house,

you entertain the guests, you see?

The root word for agapeo means to befriend.

So let's rewrite that scripture,

let's reinterpret it a little bit.

If you love me, in other words, if you welcome Jesus,

if you host him in your life,

if you befriend the person of Jesus,

what does he say will happen?

The Spirit of God himself will come and be with us

and within us.

Is that good news tonight?

So how can I be filled with the Holy Spirit?

It starts with, I love you, Lord.

I love you, Lord.

Being filled with the Holy Spirit

starts with a love for Jesus.

Not an applied religious practice

or even a compassionate worldview.

It starts with a love for Jesus.

And I wanna encourage this afternoon

that Jesus would never ever force his Holy Spirit upon you

because the first move is, do we love him?

And then he says, verse 18, he says,

I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you.

Yet a little while and the world will see me no more,

but you will see me because I live, you also will live.

In that day, you will know that I am in my Father

and you in me and I in you.

If you're God's child this afternoon,

it's because your body has become

a temple of the Holy Spirit.

God is in you.

That's how you know you are saved.

So on your most amazing Christian days,

when you're praising from the mountain tops,

you know you're a child of God.

But even when you're in the lowest of the low,

when you're down and life is just getting on top of you

and you're stressed out your mind and anxiety rules,

that's how even in those days,

you can still know you're a child of God

because that Holy Spirit that entered you

the day you put your faith in Jesus is going nowhere.

Thank you, Jesus.

Verse 21, Jesus says,

whoever has my commandments and keeps them,

he is who loves me.

And he who loves me, remember welcomes me,

will be loved by my Father and I will love him

and manifest myself to him.

God, Jesus himself wants to manifest to us.

Wow.

Judas, not Iscariot, said to him,

Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us

and not to the world?

Jesus answered, if anyone loves me,

he will keep my word and my Father will love him

and we will come to him and make our home with him.

So church, how will Jesus make himself known to us?

According to the words of Jesus, number one,

if we love him and welcome him,

if we welcome his word,

welcoming his word is welcoming God himself.

That's what we can take from what the Lord himself says there.

God makes his home in us.

Verse 24, he says,

whoever does not love me does not keep my words.

And the word that you hear is not mine,

but the Father's who sent me.

These things I have spoken to you while I'm still with you,

with the Helper, the Holy Spirit,

whom the Father will send in my name,

he will teach you all things

and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.

Is that good news this afternoon?

So firstly, it is the Holy Spirit of God

that makes distinctive who we are

as followers of Jesus Christ in this world.

That is what makes us distinctive.

Number two, it is the Holy Spirit who enables,

who empowers, who leads us in discipleship.

How you doing, apprentices?

Thank you, Holy Spirit.

And lastly, it is the Holy Spirit

who makes our faith dynamic.

Anyone impressed with the three Ds?

It's a three D, it's a three D.

It's like, you know,

you can really get to grips with this evening.

So it's about, it's about, I forgot.

First one, it was about, what was it about?

Distinctive, discipleship,

but also it is the Holy Spirit

that makes our faith dynamic.

Acts chapter one, verse eight.

You see, Jesus, he gone back,

when he was about to go back to heaven,

he told his disciples,

his apprentices to stay in Jerusalem,

stick together, pray together.

It's gonna be a scary time,

but hold on because something's gonna happen.

Acts first one to eight, Jesus said,

you will receive power.

Everyone say power.

Power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you

and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem

and in all Judea and Samaria

and even to the remotest parts of the earth.

How incredible is that?

Jesus promised to give us his power.

Now I wanna give you a bit of information.

The word power in Greek is the word dynamis.

Everyone say dynamis.

What does that remind you of?

Dynamite.

God wants to give us the kind of power

that is in fact explosive.

Not to blow things up,

that's not the kind of faith we're a part of, all right?

But to give us power that creates incredible change.

Is that amazing?

God wants to give us not just a discipleship journey,

he wants to give us his power,

he wants to give us his dynamis.

Wow.

What does dynamis means?

It means he wants to give us his moral power

that leads to excellence of the soul.

It's the kind of power we need, right?

What else does dynamis means?

It means he will give us supernatural strength and ability.

Wow.

And it also means that he would give us power

to perform miracles.

Hello.

Yeah, it's that kind of church.

We believe that God still does miracles today.

And it also means power for the sake of influence,

to influence this world with his gospel.

So I don't know about you,

but I need the power of God in my life.

Do you know the world needs the power of God in your life.

Did you know that?

Wow.

When the day of Pentecost arrived,

here it comes on the screen, Acts 2.

When the day of Pentecost arrived,

they were all together in one place.

And suddenly there came from heaven

a sound like a mighty rushing wind,

and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.

And then it divided this wind into tongues of fire

and rested on each of them.

And they were filled with the Holy Spirit,

and they began to speak in other tongues

as the Holy Spirit gave them utterance.

Why did the Lord give the disciples

his Holy Spirit power not to stay in, but to go out?

This world needs some Christians with some guts

to tell the story of the love of Jesus.

And I really believe that as a church,

we should always adopt the position

that the gospel of Jesus Christ will not die out

in my community while I'm alive.

That should be my heart, and that should be your heart.

As far as we are concerned,

the message of Jesus will not die out on our watch.

Come on now.

And how is it possible?

It's possible because of the dynamis

of the power of the Holy Spirit.

And the scriptures tell us that we don't just get filled

with the Spirit one time,

we go on being filled with the Holy Spirit.

And for some people, for a lot of people,

that looks like being blessed

with different spiritual gifts.

Some have the gift of tongues.

Some are able to interpret the foreign language

that the people are speaking

that they don't know they're speaking.

Thank God for that.

So important.

Some are given the gift of prophecy

to receive what is true from God and speak it out

so that people can be encouraged in their faith walk.

That's dynamic, isn't it?

Some people receive what's called the gift of discernment

so they can walk into the room

and know spiritually what's going on

and make a difference in the name of Jesus Christ.

Is that incredible?

But it's not just about the gift,

it's also about the character that develops within us.

What happens is as we're filled with the Holy Spirit,

oh man, you unpatient people,

you're filled with a powerful patience

that comes from God alone.

Oh, patience, kindness, forbearance,

all these fruits of the Spirit.

We start to become more like Jesus.

And there's no point being a Christian

if we don't wanna become more like Jesus.

Wow, wow.

I don't wanna be powerful for my sake.

You don't wanna be powerful for your name

or your fame or for your sake.

We wanna be powerful because the God who saved us

is powerful and there's a world lost without him.

What happened?

The disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit

and they went from being scared

and intimidated in an upper room

and they went out to be light to the world

and we're sitting here as a result

of the filling of the Holy Spirit that day.

They were given the power of God,

just like he promised to take the message of Jesus out.

For the last 2000 years,

God has continued the pouring out of his Holy Spirit.

Every generation has been filled with the Holy Spirit.

Every generation who says yes to Jesus

has been filled with the Holy Spirit.

Simple evidence is this.

Christianity would have died out a long time ago

if it wasn't for the Holy Spirit.

Clearly, he's real.

Clearly, he is in us.

Thank you, Jesus.

Right back at the start of it all,

God called that Moses and the people of Israel

to be people of the presence

and he calls us today to be people of his presence.

Is that good news?

If you're a disciple apprentice of Jesus today

and you've been wondering how,

how on earth am I meant to go from glory to glory?

How am I meant to grow spiritually?

It is this, the welcome of the Holy Spirit

to fill your life and to give you power.

Is that good news?

It'll change everything.

It'll change nothing and change everything

all at the same time.

You'll read your Bible

having been filled with the Holy Spirit

and it'll be like you're having a conversation

with God himself.

Wow.

I want to encourage you this afternoon,

let's chase after the Holy Spirit.

What did I say at the start?

If God promises it,

we choose to believe that we can be beneficiaries

of the promise.

If God commands it,

then we'll give it a crack.

If God says we can, then we will.

So church, this afternoon,

I think we should just go for a good old fashioned altar call.

An altar call?

What the heck's an altar call?

Back in the temple days, there would have been an altar,

a great big temple where the sacrifices were made

to put someone's life right with God.

We don't have an altar in this church,

we don't have an altar in this church,

but we can alter our position for an altar call.

That's clever play on of words, isn't it?

Two different spellings, I think.

We're gonna get the worship team up.

And if you're sitting here this afternoon,

you're like, I know that I have never been baptized

in the Holy Spirit and I want to be baptized

in the Holy Spirit.

It's just gonna be a real pleasure

to just very gently and kindly pray

that the Holy Spirit would fill your life this afternoon.

I'm gonna be praying for two things.

I'm gonna be praying for fresh fire and a second wind.

Have you ever heard that phrase,

oh, she's got a second wind?

You know when you're knackered and all of a sudden,

the kid's got energy and you're like,

where did that come from?

Thought it was bedtime, right?

As children of God, I'm gonna ask God

to give us a second wind for right where we are,

right now in our faith journey.

That the passion and the enthusiasm

of the presence of God would so fill us

that we would feel so close to God

that we haven't done for such a long time.

I'm gonna pray for a second wind

and I'm gonna pray for a fresh fire.

If you're a new Christian,

I'm gonna pray for a fresh fire of God,

a fresh passion, a new understanding of who he is

and where he is and what he's doing in your life.

Church, we've brought communion out to you.

Sometimes we have communion at the front

and we come and receive communion.

Remember the body and blood of Jesus.

And I'm just gonna encourage you

to come out the front today.

You don't have to stay for long.

You don't have to come at all,

but I wanna encourage you, if you know,

God, I want your Holy Spirit.

I'm just gonna encourage you to come

and be blessed and prayed for.

And that's the Holy Spirit to fill your life.

He loves you so much.

He loves you so much.

In your heart of hearts, just talk to the Lord right now.

Say, Lord, I appreciate the Father

and I've really got to grasp of Jesus.

I'm not so sure about the Holy Spirit.

But if you're available to me

and it's crucial for my ongoing discipleship,

then fill my life, Lord.

Fill me up.

You know that I love you, Lord.

I welcome you.

I wanna host your presence, Lord.

I'd say you'd fill my whole life.

I wanna host your presence, Lord.

I'd say you'd fill my whole life.

Not just by my heart, but my understanding too.

Lord, I wanna do miracles in Jesus' name.

I wanna live a distinctive life.

I wanna learn from you, Master Jesus.

Bless your Holy name.

Bless your Holy name.

So come on, if you love the Lord this afternoon,

just begin to worship Him.

Lord Jesus.

Perhaps as a gift of the Holy Spirit

that you've so desired for so many years,

and you're like, Lord, I want it

because you said I could have it.

I want it because you said I could have it.

Heh heh.

Perhaps there's healing that only the Holy Spirit can do

when you're saying, Lord, fill me.

Fill me with the power of your healing.

King Jesus.

Doesn't matter if you're a leader in this church

or brand new, we can be filled

and go on being filled in Jesus' name.

So if and when you want to, feel free to come for prayer

or in just and joy worship, bless you.

When we were praying before the start of the service,

Sam read a scripture from the book of Matthew.

Jesus was telling a parable of 10 virgins waiting,

10 bridesmaids, if you like,

waiting for a wedding to start.

And it was nighttime, and they had their old fashioned

first century lamps, and what they would do

is they were little clay lamps

that they would fill with olive oil, most likely.

They'd have a wick in it, and they'd set fire to the wick

and it would give light to a house or wherever it was,

or whatever, but it would also guide your way.

So there Jesus sets this parable at nighttime,

and five of the bridesmaids, they've run out of oil.

But then there were five others who had bought extra

so that when their oil ran out,

there was plenty to refill and go again.

You may have heard this parable.

And Sam used this phrase, he said,

the time has come for all of us

to not be dependent on other people's oil,

not be dependent on another preacher's message,

and not be dependent on another pastor's wisdom or advice,

or dependent on this or that,

but the time has come to have your own oil

and be full of the oil of God.

The scriptures talk about the oil of gladness,

of gladness. God wants to give you the oil of gladness,

some of you this afternoon, is that good?

The oil of gladness.

If you sang the hymn,

give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning,

it's the parable it comes from.

If you sang this afternoon, Lord, I need fresh oil,

I need the oil of your Holy Spirit.

I'm just gonna ask you to stand to your feet if you know,

if you're like, Lord, I've been running on fumes,

running on empty, some of you have even run out,

but the Lord says, I wanna give you fresh oil.

And he can call me in a moment of attention, worship.

So if that's you, just stand up this afternoon,

give God your whole heart and attention,

and just give yourself in a way that says, Lord, I know,

I know I need, I know I need you, I know I need you.

It's a bit of a mysterious thing to say,

but even just to say, Lord, give me fresh oil,

who knows what that means, the Lord does.

Lord, give me fresh oil, fresh anointing, fresh anointing,

fresh anointing, fresh anointing,

fresh anointing, come upon this place, Lord,

Holy Spirit come, fresh anointing, fresh anointing,

fresh anointing.

Lord, I've been hurt and I've been put off and I've,

I've become disaffected, but Lord, I know,

I know you're there somewhere, God.

The Holy Spirit's in me telling me, I know you,

I know you still, you've still got things for me to do

in this life, I know that you, oh God, I don't know what,

just fill me with your Holy Spirit.

Fill me with the joy of salvation once again.

Give me the oil of gladness today, God.

Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning, Jesus.

Give me oil in my lamp, I pray.

Give me oil in my lamp, give me oil in my lamp.

We love you, Jesus.

It's our pleasure to host you in our lives.

It's our pleasure to host you in our lives.

You're the friend I need more than anything else.

Thank you, Jesus.

Do you know, church, there are seeds of the kingdom of heaven,

seeds of the Holy Spirit, seeds of kingdom adventures,

Do you know church, there are seeds of the kingdom of heaven, seeds of the Holy Spirit,

seeds of kingdom adventures that have been lying dormant and asleep below the surface

for a long time.

The oil, precious water of the Holy Spirit brings life to dormant seeds.

There are some seeds that only spring to life when there's been a terrible forest fire and

everything is burnt and it looks like there is no life.

There are seeds that require the landscape to be destroyed in order for the new to come.

You may be in church this afternoon and part of the landscape of your life may well have

been destroyed and God is with you in that pain but he's also got a smile on his face

because he can see what's coming.

All you see is charred, smoky destruction but the Lord smells an opportunity and he

sees what is coming.

If that word resonates with you right now would you in faith bravely raise your hand.

Bless you, bless you, bless you, bless you, bless you.

Thank you Jesus.

Father you see these hands raised, Lord God.

Thank you Jesus.

Thank you Jesus.

It's been painful and it's been a long time coming Lord God but Father we pray right now

God that you would water these hands raised, water these souls and bring to life what has

been dormant and let them grow strong, let them grow fruitful, let them produce many

times over what you originally put in their heart Lord Jesus.

Oh because you can do it Jesus.

You can do it Lord.

Thank you Jesus.

Thank you Jesus for new life.

Thank you for resurrection.

Gain that the truth church with the Lord when there's death there's always a resurrection

coming.

Thank you Jesus.

Thank you Jesus.

Thank you Jesus.

No longer slaves to fear, no longer slaves to doubt.

Your King is in you and with you.

Praise his holy name hey church.

Come on.

Every day can be a Pentecost Sunday.

Every day you can wake and say God thank you that I am full of your Holy Spirit.

Now show me what you want me to do.

Lead me where you're taking me.

Every single day is a holy day of Pentecost.

Be full of the Holy Spirit.

Church the scriptures tells us we don't get this stuff easily.

We have to contend for things of the Spirit.

There's only one Holy Spirit and we must go after him.

In Jesus name Amen.

Bless you.

Thanks again for listening.

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God bless.