Sermon

150 ~ CATCH THE WIND ~ PART 1

We Are Zion - Sermon Podcast

Open publisher episode ↗

Publisher transcript

Transcript

View source ↗
  1. Hi, and welcome to the, we assign summon podcast.

  2. We are local church based here in Chennai, India.

  3. We are so glad you are with us and hope that this will

  4. encourage Inspire. And in still, fresh faith in

  5. you, we want to wish you and your family, a blessed new year

  6. as we enter the year 2023. Our team For the year is catch

  7. the wind. Our desire is that through this

  8. year. Each of us would live completely

  9. reliant on the Holy Spirit and we'll follow him wherever he

  10. leads us. We have guest room are all share

  11. God's word with us and challenge us to live such a bold and

  12. daring life with the Holy Spirit as our guide.

  13. I charged it such a joy and a privilege to meet with you on

  14. very first Sunday of 1923, and it also happens to be the very

  15. first day of 2023. So on behalf of the church

  16. leadership and everyone here at because I'm physically who are

  17. present here and also to all those of you who are meeting

  18. online and watching as a probably, even listening to us

  19. on time, we just want to wish you a blessed New Year.

  20. I pray that this year will bring God's presence more clothes.

  21. More deeper and that we all will experience him far more, you

  22. know? Yes.

  23. It search last year in 2022. Our team was all about our God,

  24. you know we have the different attributes of God and for those

  25. of you actually received a calendar as you would have

  26. noticed that the word oh was you know kind of like we did a cut

  27. right through all the way to December and it's pretty much to

  28. symbolically say you know that God has to be present, he has to

  29. be marked in. Every month.

  30. And so this year, as we start, you know, we've have a theme.

  31. We have a, we have a passage which we really want us to look

  32. into. I believe, God's going to speak

  33. specifically to us as a church, as we navigate 2023, but more

  34. than anything I want us all to be prepared.

  35. That we wouldn't take this time lightly because I believe God's

  36. wanting to set the course right for us.

  37. So that we are on the right track.

  38. I don't know how, you know, as we Start today, you're probably

  39. for you. It's just seems like another

  40. day, you know, for some of us, it might just feel like, you

  41. know what, 22 was a great year and 2023 and I'm expecting for

  42. something greater to happen or for some of you, it could have

  43. just been a flat line. You know?

  44. One of those graphs that we see a flat line, but nothing

  45. happened. If you have to recall about when

  46. you trying to be like, you know, to just like any other year, you

  47. have nothing, significant spiritually or probably even

  48. physically your work to see me. The same, your friends with the

  49. same, everything just went on as normal offer.

  50. Some of you, the curve could have been like those sine curves

  51. going up and down, but you had moments of highs and you had

  52. moments of laws or for some of you.

  53. It could have just been one of those curves which went, which

  54. was on a high earlier in 2021 and then it just went bottom

  55. down in 2022. So I don't know what your

  56. experience is our. It can be varied but if there's

  57. one thing I know for sure is the fact that We need God more than

  58. ever before. You might be spiritually.

  59. Weak, emotionally dry, physically, weak spiritually

  60. dry. The combinations can vary.

  61. However, you feel, we need the Holy Spirit.

  62. And so today, our theme for the entire is called catch the wind,

  63. it's called catch the wind. You heard me, right?

  64. We're going to catch the wind. Who is this wind that you're

  65. talking about? This wind is none other than the

  66. Holy Spirit. This holy spirit is God, one of

  67. the three forms in which God manifests himself and he's the

  68. one who was promised for us and, you know, in Luke 24:49.

    Luke 24:49

  69. He's the one who Jesus told his disciples.

  70. I'm going, but I'm sending another helper to you.

  71. He's going to be constantly with you.

  72. And so if you read that, it goes on to say, I'm going to send you

  73. what my father has promised, but stay in the city until you have

  74. been clothed with Will someone? Hi so today church if one thing

  75. I want to start right as we need to be clothed with his power on

  76. high so that we can start this here, right?

  77. You and me don't have the strength to do it on our own you

  78. and me don't have the sustenance.

  79. We can probably physically build, we can now help with that

  80. endurance, but all those are just for a particular, it just

  81. helps us make feel good. But in the situations that we

  82. feel we need to operate out of the power that comes from a pie

  83. and he's willing to give that power if we wait on him that

  84. same power, which I'm talking about is what happened in the

  85. day of Pentecost. And the reason why we say cats

  86. the wind is because, you know, the manifestation of the Holy

  87. Spirit which happened in Acts 2, verses 1 to 4 is that it came

    Acts 2:1–4

  88. like a rushing wind. It came on everyone who was

  89. waiting there. He's distinctively operating.

  90. He doesn't, you know, have a common pool which he saying, you

  91. know what? This is what?

  92. Going to give all of you. He distinctively caters to each

  93. and every one of us in our Brokenness.

  94. He comes, he ministers, he mends, he shapes, he helps us in

  95. our emptiness. He comes and fills us and shows

  96. us what it is like to have the infilling of the holy spirit in

  97. our doubts, he dispels doubts and gives his promises so that

  98. we hold on to him. So today, what is it that the

  99. Holy Spirit has to come into your life for?

  100. Are you willing to catch the wind is my question, clear.

  101. To you. And as we look, you might be

  102. thinking guest room, is this, just a part of the New

  103. Testament? It was evident in the Old

  104. Testament, the Old Testament. He came on, select few in the

  105. New Testament, he came for all in the Old Testament.

  106. He came to a group of people who were, you know, Remnant who are

  107. following God, who are doing what he asked, who actually took

  108. time to hear from him, they were the prophets, they were the

  109. people who, you know, had dedicated their lives to do,

  110. what God's call them. To do.

  111. And so the manifestation that came upon their lives was one

  112. with power, they did Miracles. They God of Glory was seen in

  113. and through them, but when we move into the New Testament, the

  114. promise is he's there for entirety of mankind.

  115. Not just for the Jews. But for the Gentiles, not for

  116. just a select you but all those who call on his name.

  117. And so today, are you the one who's calling on his name?

  118. Are you the one who's calling on his name?

  119. So, the team was that we've taken for the entire year.

  120. Is from John chapter 7, John chapter 7 and the worst goes is

    John 7 chapter mention John 7 chapter mention

  121. being read from 3:5-6 and this is what it says, Jesus answered.

  122. Very, truly. I tell you.

  123. No one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of

  124. water. And the spirit flesh gives birth

  125. to flesh. But the The spirit gives birth

  126. to Spirit, you should not be surprised at my saying.

  127. You must be born again. The wind blows wherever it,

  128. pleases, you hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes

  129. from or where it is going. So, it is with everyone.

  130. Born of the spirit, I'm going to read verse 8 again, the wind

  131. blows wherever it, pleases you hear its sound, but you cannot

  132. tell where it comes. From or where it's going.

  133. So it is with everyone born of the spirit.

  134. So it is everyone. Born of the spirit.

  135. Jesus here is talking to Nicodemus and we go into the

  136. couple of early passages in a few minutes, but I just want to

  137. stay here for a few minutes because here this wind that

  138. Jesus is talking about in Greek is Numa and when we look at this

  139. wind, this wind is something which, you know, we cannot

  140. predict and what are the things that we love today in?

  141. Any 22 is and 2023 is predictions.

  142. We, you know, we as a city had, just experienced some heavy

  143. rains, a couple of weeks back. And if there's one thing that we

  144. relied on is on predictions predictions on which person

  145. which weatherman from Twitter was actually be accurate.

  146. You know, we want predictions of the stock market.

  147. We want predictions of, you know what?

  148. The future is going to look like we want.

  149. Probably predictions of what's happening with this whole

  150. sudden. Emergence of covid.

  151. That's happening with this train coming today.

  152. The holy spirit is like wherever you are at wherever you're at

  153. whatever stage of life, you're at whatever position in life.

  154. You're at, I'm willing to blow my rent.

  155. And the thing is, we can feel the wind, we can hear it.

  156. But we can never know where it's coming from and where it's going

  157. and that's one thing which the Holy Spirit brings Clarity.

  158. That's the one thing which Holy Spirit brings purpose for many

  159. of us, the things that we are prepared to do the things that

  160. we want to do all seem, you know, well planned and laid out,

  161. but many a times you're not evil to move in the direction because

  162. many times it seems like we just orchestrated all this to fulfill

  163. our plan and purposes. But when we actually are Align

  164. ourselves with God's plan and purpose is.

  165. There's, there's a little bit of direction change that happens

  166. and we don't get to see it when you're on that journal.

  167. But a few years later we get to look back and say God thank you

  168. for taking me on that Journey because without that, I think I

  169. would have been lost without that.

  170. I would have been crumbled and putting this verse into context,

  171. Jesus talks to Nicodemus and he saying it's important for you to

  172. realize that you need to be born again.

  173. So this New Year, I'll be willing to be born again.

  174. A lot of us probably would have had the born-again experience,

  175. you know, a lot of us would have had, you know, the experience of

  176. taking water baptism but that's not something which I want to

  177. weigh stress on right now because life happens.

  178. And for a lot of us, that's just an experience.

  179. And that probably could have been like a season, which is

  180. long past to God today, God wants to refill and do a new

  181. thing. So, John chapter 7, verses 1 to

    John 7:1–3

  182. 3, can we continue reading? It says, there was a man of the

  183. Pharisees sect Nicodemus, a prominent leader among the Jews.

  184. Late one night. He was did Jesus Etc by.

  185. We all know you're a teacher straight from God.

  186. No one could do all the god pointing, God, revealing acts

  187. you do if God weren't in on it. Jesus said, you're absolutely

  188. right. Take it from me, unless a person

  189. is born from above, it's not possible to see what I am

  190. pointing to that's to God's kingdom and putting things in

  191. context. The first, you know, in as part

  192. of the whole thing, I just want us to have this as the, you

  193. know, the subheading is the fact that we do not jump to us.

  194. Some options about the Holy Spirit.

  195. We do not jump to assumptions about even our faith in about

  196. Jesus, and it's interesting because here Nicodemus, who

  197. probably was seen Jesus from afar who probably interacted

  198. with a couple. And then later, as he's been

  199. seeing, realizes that God is in him.

  200. He says, he clearly, we all know you're a teacher straight sent

  201. from God. So they know that, whatever he's

  202. talking teaching doing is all gods.

  203. Sent God revealed, God told, but yet in their assumption, they

  204. feel like he's just one among them.

  205. So as he starts a conversation, he is setting the tone here to

  206. say, you know what, God, you are one, just like us.

  207. We have. We are also learned.

  208. We are also people who know the scriptures.

  209. We are also, people are doing what is called as to do.

  210. You probably know a little bit more, but Jesus, corrects him to

  211. say that until unless a person is born, again, he says Born

  212. from above, you won't be able to see the things of above.

  213. And so today let us not jump to conclusions and say holy spirit.

  214. This is who you are and put him in a box.

  215. The holy spirit, is this Myriad of colors?

  216. We will never be able to know that.

  217. This is how he is. We will see the manifestations,

  218. the fruits. The end product will be able to

  219. see and say, oh, this happened because of the Holy Spirit, but

  220. we will never be able to see in. What if you look one, two,

  221. three, and in the fourth step, the holy spirit is going to come

  222. home. He is a personal surprises and

  223. that's what catching the wind. As we do not set patterns here,

  224. To see this is how the Holy Spirit has to come.

  225. We are just available here to say that this is what the Holy

  226. Spirit has to do in and through our lives.

  227. So as a Nicodemus came to Jesus I would ask as we all go to

  228. Jesus as we all are asked in and pray today let us not go see

  229. God, I already know about the Holy Spirit now we're going to

  230. go from here. I'm going to be standing for

  231. place of assumptions or knowing what you're going to be standing

  232. from a place of desperation. To see God I've had experiences

  233. before but I want you, I still need you.

  234. I still want you to fill me from head to toe annoying me a fresh

  235. so that I can see the things of above And I can do what you're

  236. calling me to do here on this Earth.

  237. As we read from John 3:5-6, we need to be born again.

    John 3:5–6

  238. And what Jesus wants us to do is born again.

  239. Not of water, but of the spirit, And so, what does the spirit, do

  240. you know the spirit today? This wind when it comes in, it,

  241. changes us. It changes us as individuals.

  242. It that trickles down into, you know, it just moves in heavily

  243. into the roles that we play as a father, as a husband, or, as a

  244. young adult, or as a grandfather, or as a video of,

  245. whatever role you're playing, or if you're single, you're mad mad

  246. at, you're divorced, whatever role it will trickle down into

  247. that it will give you Fiction, God will heal those wounds and

  248. he will set us free. And then this knowing interest

  249. of, you know, God I can't take the next step without you being

  250. in it and so we desire we thirst for him.

  251. And so that entire process, which happens because of the

  252. infilling of the holy spirit is more like a birthing that

  253. happens. And so, today, God wants us To

  254. be birthed in the spirit. He gives two things.

  255. He says flesh gives birth to flesh spirit gives birth to

  256. Spirit. And In the Flesh if you realize

  257. we are born physically the water that's denoted here, many of

  258. theologians believe that it's the birthing that happens

  259. physically when your water breaks in your birth out of

  260. that. But when we accept Jesus into

  261. our hearts, we no longer Jesus was in fact talking to

  262. Nicodemus, he was telling him the way a Christian life would

  263. be after he ascends into heaven and from Nicodemus, it could

  264. have been far beyond what he can think, because all he was used

  265. to was what governed him. And so today, God wants us to

  266. move us from that place. That's governing us.

  267. You might think, you know what, if I listen to 10 minutes of

  268. worship music, I'm filled by the Spirit of God.

  269. No that's not how probably you know if I'm going to church for

  270. two hours a week it's no that's not or you know what?

  271. If I'm reading the verse of the day or watching the worst of the

  272. day video on you version that is it?

  273. No that's not. It comes to a place of Desiring

  274. of thirsting of lamenting and seeing God I'm desperate for

  275. you. And so when this birthing

  276. happens within you, that wind that you need that extra energy

  277. that extra Threats that you need.

  278. He would Breathe In that breath. That you've been struggling to

  279. have because of anxiety. He would replace it with this.

  280. New mom, went into you that breath that causes you to go

  281. into a shelf and, you know, just be clustered and think, you

  282. know, this is, this is my lot. I just need to deal with it.

  283. He will be the life into you and hope into you.

  284. A lot of us today are lacking the wind, you know, and Charles

  285. Spurgeon says is beautiful. He says, without the spirit of

  286. God we can do nothing. We are a ships without wind.

  287. We are useless. These are times when ships were

  288. heavily dependent on the Wind to make the course of their Journey

  289. quicker. And you know, with less using of

  290. less energy didn't have to roll all the way.

  291. And a lot of us today are happy and content in US.

  292. Rowing, and I was doing the things.

  293. I'm, I'm all for that, but I think if we allow the wind of

  294. God, to come into our lives, we will arise with the opened.

  295. Our eyes would see. There's always a deep Revelation

  296. that comes with God, wants to reveal to us.

  297. And so, today will be a love that deep Revelation to come in.

  298. So even as we start this year, you know, as we progress into

  299. the next couple of weeks were going to go more deeper into

  300. this topic of catch the wind. But today as I give you a

  301. introduction to the whole thing, I want to leave you with two

  302. things. The first thing that I want to

  303. give you is when we catch the wind, we need to pursue him

  304. individually for our own cells. We need to pursue him

  305. individually for our own selves. There's this common narrative

  306. that constantly keeps coming and going as Christians, you know

  307. what that when we are with everyone, you know, everything

  308. is happening, right? You know, when your opinion

  309. Spirit-filled Community, we are in a spiritual family.

  310. All that is raised, we can be in the midst of others, being

  311. spirit filled. And yet, we can be Spirit, not

  312. filled, or Spirit 0. And today our narratives also

  313. driven by culture today, our spiritual lives is not this

  314. common Narrative of people are shouting and you know, clapping

  315. their hands loud and then, you know, speaking out in various

  316. times is the manifestation of the spirit is that we do speak

  317. out in tongues, we do do all that.

  318. But that is not just the limitation of the spirit that we

  319. are talking about when he fills us.

  320. It's far more deeper It's us recognizing him in everything

  321. that we do, John 3:7 do not be surprised that I have told you

    John 3:7

  322. you must be born again, reborn from above spiritually,

  323. transformed, renewed and Sanctified was seven as we read.

  324. It says here in the Amplified spiritually, transformed,

  325. renewed and sanctified So today's Nicodemus, when he came

  326. to Jesus he want to find out who he is all about.

  327. But Jesus wanted to say, you know what the very thing that I

  328. have as a spirit you too can have it and he in fact came to

  329. equate God to you know, they are same status as teachers.

  330. Keep them in that but Jesus went to step up and said, hey, you

  331. too can experience the Holy Spirit.

  332. Would you allow of your eyes to be opened?

  333. Open up, will you be able to see who I really am?

  334. Would you be able to see the god things?

  335. And so today, are we willing to be spiritually?

  336. Transformed? Are we willing to be renewed?

  337. Are we willing to be Sanctified? You know, when we have to be

  338. born again, God does something in us.

  339. A couple of things that he does very evidently our, he causes us

  340. to have the conviction of sin. We know, you know, you were

  341. Sinners, everything that I've done till now is all because of

  342. the Fall that happen, and you're having to understand that you're

  343. in need of a savior, you probably have made so many

  344. choices or probably are currently struggling with

  345. certain choices probably quietly in your room.

  346. You still are holding on to that one habit, which you have.

  347. It could be probably watching something on the screen.

  348. It could be probably quietly consuming something, when no one

  349. else is mine, or it could be probably or indulging in

  350. something, which Keeps which you feel?

  351. Like if you let go, you are missing something, I would say,

  352. would you allow Jesus to come in?

  353. This is where his in feeling comes in.

  354. This is where when he comes in, he sets us free when he comes

  355. in. He does a work in and through us

  356. and there are two things that Nicodemus hears from Jesus.

  357. He says you know, you're born of the spirit he talks about a

  358. baptism that happens, the baptism of this wartime, baptism

  359. of the spirit and so many a times, You know, we are happy

  360. with the important thing. Yes, when you accept Jesus

  361. Christ, as a testimony of faith and as a testimony, seeing to

  362. the people that are around, as if we are all followers of

  363. Christ in obedience, we come, I want to take a stand as a

  364. follower of Jesus and so we commit to the Waters of baptism.

  365. And so what is that? We tell people.

  366. You know, we are not going to turn back to the world and

  367. follow the world but I'm going to turn and we follow Jesus.

  368. But as much as that's important, that's not everything.

  369. I think there's an other beautiful element called the

  370. Holy Spirit who becomes an essential part of her life, who

  371. we need to desire far more than ever before.

  372. We need to desire and want it more ever than before.

  373. Because without him, we cannot take the next step because

  374. without him, we cannot do what he's called us to do.

  375. Because without him, we will lack Direction.

  376. Because without him, we will not have the power without him.

  377. We won't have the strength and as See here.

  378. What is spirit? Do he transforms us?

  379. What does he transform us? He patches us up.

  380. We are all Broken Vessels. You know, before we know Jesus

  381. Christ. There was no hope he brings in

  382. Hope before knowing Jesus Christ.

  383. We had the fruits of the world of, you know, of the Enemy

  384. being, you know, anger lies, deceit, you know, sexually Model

  385. T. All those fruits were, the ones

  386. that are exhibiting or of us, he slowly is cutting every shoot.

  387. And he's wanting us to renew. His pruning us, he's shaping us.

  388. You know, I'm just before I was just coming to preach for the

  389. online. I was, I was just thinking to

  390. myself and I was having my bot and we have a bucket in a

  391. bathroom and it's been probably like ever since you moved in.

  392. It's been four and a half years since you've had that.

  393. And I think that there's a leak that's happening.

  394. There's a crack in the bucket in and just leaking leaking each

  395. happening. And so every After everyone has

  396. about the rule is that we empty the bucket fully so that, you

  397. know, there's no water dripping because we constantly keep

  398. hearing the dripping noises and I realized, you know, we

  399. many-a-times our content living with the leak.

  400. But when we have the Holy Spirit come and live inside of us, You

  401. don't have to be empty, I don't have to empty myself out so that

  402. I don't show my leakages out, but if I allow him and he'll

  403. come and Patch me up, he will do a work in me.

  404. And when he does that work in me, I can be filled and

  405. overflowing with him. And today, God wants us to catch

  406. the wind so that we can live in the Overflow.

  407. Not that we live content in certain level, but we live in

  408. the Overflow church. I think we are coming to A

  409. Pivotal stage where Willie God's kingdom is going to be seen

  410. through the church, it's going to be evident to the people of

  411. the church. It's going to be evident through

  412. the faith of the people of the church is going to be evident

  413. through the work that the people of the church are doing because

  414. we all are spirit filled. At the end of the day, I want us

  415. all to come to a place to see. Lord, we need you more than ever

  416. before. God's kingdom is only seen when

  417. you're born again, the spirit birth, It's in US Vision Vision

  418. to see. And so what happens even if a

  419. hurdle comes, you're able to say, you know what, this God

  420. allowed for something bigger, the struggle that I'm going

  421. through is for something bigger this.

  422. This promise of a child, that God gave me.

  423. I'm holding onto, he'll give it in his time.

  424. And many of us today, are recipients of God's miracle and

  425. we forget it. We are like, you know what I'm

  426. content. I know people who've received

  427. God's miracle after an amazing encounter with him and now they

  428. are in a place of, you know, complacency they're like, you

  429. know what? Yeah, God is there.

  430. So what know what happened to the fire?

  431. What happened to the desperation?

  432. What happened to the longing when you wanted that miracle?

  433. You sought him with all your heart, what happens after you

  434. receive it? You need to still push through

  435. it because it's through that Miracle.

  436. He'll enable you to be a witness.

  437. You know, when you're talking about this Numa being born of

  438. the spirit here, the catching, the wind.

  439. Also, there's a direct reference where Ezekiel talks about and

  440. we're going to read a couple of verses from that, as you, 36

  441. verses 24 to 30 and goes on to say for are take you out of the

  442. nation's, I will gather you from all the countries and bring you

  443. back. Back in your own land.

  444. I will sprinkle clean water on you and you will be clean.

  445. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your

  446. Idols, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in

  447. you. I will remove from Your Heart of

  448. Stone and give you a heart of Flesh.

  449. I will put my spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees

  450. and be careful to keep my laws. Then you will live in the land.

  451. I gave you an answer. Does you will be my people?

  452. And I will be your God. And so today, our understanding

  453. is, you know, if I'm born, if I've taken Waters of baptism,

  454. I'm clean fully, that's one aspect.

  455. But the more important thing is the spirit because the spirit

  456. does not do any outward. Work, it won't shape your

  457. muscles. It won't suddenly give you a six

  458. pack, but what the spirit will do is it will cleanse your

  459. heart. It will cleanse your motives, it

  460. will cleanse that insecurity. It will cleanse.

  461. That inadequacy it will cleanse that area of being unloved.

  462. It's lens that area of you know you being you know different and

  463. you being a person who's been carrying so much and it sets you

  464. free to realize that there's a savior about it sets you free to

  465. a place where, you know, you have a bigger purpose and

  466. Mission here on this Earth it gives you a clear understanding.

  467. And lot of us today are lacking that birthing of a vision that

  468. God Promising as you can hear. In fact, we will read some

  469. verses in to Ezekiel 37 where the same wind, the same word.

  470. Pneuma is spoken or dry bones and so he says I will remove

  471. from you, Your Heart of Stone and give you a heart of Flesh.

  472. And what is it? Heart of Flesh mean heart of

  473. flesh is, which is which moves, which which kind of fits in.

  474. It's not, you're not cold because of the experiences

  475. you've gone through your not cold and, you know, hard

  476. thinking that Is no God, but you're coming to a place to

  477. realize. There is a God.

  478. There is love. There is justice that hurt us to

  479. Prevail all this happens. Only when you are loved the

  480. spirit to work in and through you.

  481. So today my question for you is, as I mentioned, are we

  482. personally Desiring the Holy Spirit, you can be part of

  483. church come and go. And it's a it's a question which

  484. we won't ask when we meet in person, but this is something

  485. which God is probably asking us today as we start the year, you

  486. personally Desiring it. Because if he personally decided

  487. we need to say God come and fill me.

  488. I want to catch the wind birth in me.

  489. The spirit I'm willing to endure the pain and willing to endure

  490. that Journey lat because one thing I'm sure is that as a

  491. community we're going to desire it as a community we're going to

  492. long for it as a community we're going to see it happen.

  493. I believe as a church we are going to see signs wonders and

  494. miracles happen. We are going to see people being

  495. here. Healed people being restored.

  496. People being fulfilled into the callings in the pot plants and

  497. God has for them. We are wanting to see the

  498. supernatural work of God, come and happen in our lives.

  499. And I believe God setting the tone starting of the year for

  500. us. We are ready to catch the wind

  501. as a community. Are you individuals ready to

  502. catch the wind? Why is it important to catch the

  503. wind? You see it.

  504. The beautiful thing about a community is United.

  505. See someone a Spirit-filled and Becky not I won't have that same

  506. Spirit of intercession that they have.

  507. I won't have the same Spirit of giving that they have.

  508. I want to have the same Spirit of humility that they have.

  509. That's where we catch one another within the four walls of

  510. a community. And there's a beautiful story of

  511. Elijah actually catching the wind of Elijah, you know, and he

  512. asked Elijah, what is it? Need.

  513. He said I need double portion of what you have.

  514. He said it's something hard that you're asking, but the minute

  515. Elijah got taken the minute. Elijah got, you know, whisked

  516. away to Heaven. He took his cloak and he did the

  517. same thing. And the manifestation of the

  518. holy spirit that was within him, was seen by the prophets were

  519. far. And they said that the god of

  520. Elijah. The spirit that was within

  521. Elijah is in Elijah. So today we are not here to

  522. copycat or, you know, mimic someone else's, no, but you're

  523. all going to operate in the uniqueness of who the spirit is,

  524. and what he gives each of us individually, he will give us

  525. discernment. He will refrain us from saying

  526. certain things that he will get us.

  527. Used to the understanding of time, his time, his Kairos time

  528. said, we were able to speak at the point in time.

  529. So today can we as a church come and see God.

  530. We are here we are desperate for you.

  531. We as individuals are seeking you for your Holy Spirit In Our

  532. Lives. Both in us this Vision birth in

  533. us your spirit so that we'll be able to live it to the fullest.

  534. The second thing is we move when we catch the wind mean, move in

  535. the direction in which he leads me.

  536. In fact move in the direction. Where the wind leads?

  537. Where the Holy Spirit leads? Where this new movement leads?

  538. Today. What is it that the Holy Spirit

  539. wants us to do? You need to wait on him?

  540. The more you wait on him. The more Direction.

  541. He'll give you in Acts chapter 16, verse 6, to 8, Paul was

    Acts 16:6

  542. about his journey and in the busyness of it.

  543. You know he had a plan out, he didn't he didn't just you know

  544. he didn't just sit somewhere, he always was you know intentional

  545. and in that intentionality he was also sensitive.

  546. And I believe as a community today, as we start this year, as

  547. a church, we are going to ask God, God, to lead to a way where

  548. if you say tell me not to go, I won't go.

  549. If you tell me. Yes, I will be in.

  550. Yes, so let's read acts. 16 was a six to eight Paul and his

  551. companions travel throughout the region of forgive him and

  552. galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching.

  553. The word in the province of Asia.

  554. When they came to the border of Messiah, they try to turbot Nia,

  555. but the spirit of Jesus would not allow them to do so.

  556. So they passed by Mesilla and went down to troas.

  557. Today, the Holy Spirit wants his church to be attentive to his

  558. promptings to is leading. As I said, it's an individual.

  559. When we are tuned to the spirit, we will move in line with the

  560. spirit Paul. Here was so tuned that when he

  561. knew it wasn't his time to enter into this place of Monsieur.

  562. They moved past that they held back.

  563. What is it that God's calling us to go in a particular direction

  564. and you're not taking that step, you know, we're not taking that

  565. step because you know, got I don't have the resources or I

  566. don't know what this is. I think you have to only lean

  567. onto the holy spirit for me and my wife.

  568. God's been moving us in a direction which we've not

  569. entered it in earlier. And we were relying on the Holy

  570. Spirit more than ever before because you're comfortable doing

  571. what we're doing. But when we know that Gardens is

  572. the direction gods revealed, we don't have the necessary

  573. strength of a the capacity to do it.

  574. But we know that this is the place where the holy spirit is

  575. doing is he's been nudging us. He's been telling you, this is

  576. what you're doing. And so we've learnt over the

  577. years, you know, I would rather be obedient then try finding a

  578. solution as to why I have to remain here.

  579. And so in our obedience he will reveal his Mysteries.

  580. There's a beautiful story of Peter and Cornelius, Peter was

  581. lying down taking a nap at the same time Cornelius was in

  582. another place and he was praying.

  583. And it's a spirit who shifted the entire realm of a Christian

  584. faith from just being centered around a community of Believers

  585. to an entire world, that needed the savior of one man's prayer

  586. and asking God. And the god of and Jesus

  587. actually coming to Peter and a dream and revealing him as a

  588. leader to go and take that step. And we need took that he saw

  589. that God broke even ways in which he operated within the

  590. Gentile Community. He preached and the spirit of

  591. God just came down into the entire house of Cornelius.

  592. So today, are we willing to move in the direction in which the

  593. spirit leads? Because catching the wind is one

  594. thing, okay. You know what, I know something

  595. with the Holy Spirit, but doing what the Holy Spirit wants us to

  596. do is very important Earthly. Wisdom is doing what comes

  597. naturally. Godly wisdom is doing what the

  598. Holy Spirit compels us to do. This is what Charles Stanley

  599. says and a lot of us have Earthly.

  600. Wisdom, work experiences, our experiences with people are

  601. interactions. Are, you know, the way we deal

  602. with people all that Kind of starts working in and through us

  603. and the we think we have wisdom. But, you know, we are all

  604. longing for a Godly wisdom. It's only comes from the spirit

  605. today. You and I should be operating

  606. out of Godly wisdom. You and I should be opting out

  607. of place where the spirit is. Guiding us, we will look back

  608. and we become a testimony saying, you know what?

  609. We didn't realize, but it's a spirit who guided our

  610. conversation. So today, we are going to go in

  611. the Direction with speed. Needs today as a church.

  612. We are going to go in spirit in the direction of its Spirit

  613. leads, if the Holy Spirit leads us towards evangelism.

  614. In a particular way, we are going to be obedient towards

  615. that. If a if the Holy Spirit leads us

  616. in a way of parenting in this particular, we are going to lead

  617. with that if the Holy Spirit leads us as a couple in this

  618. particular way in which um marriage has to be given a lead

  619. with that. What is it that the holy spirit

  620. is actually asking you to do for yourself for the role that you

  621. play and for the community that you're part of?

  622. You know this is not your typical Instagram influence over

  623. a person says you know three things that you as parents to do

  624. for 2023. No.

  625. It goes far beyond you are going to be in your knees saying, God,

  626. what is the will and your purpose for my child.

  627. Lord help me lot not to break their Spirit.

  628. Whether help also, they help me at the same time not to cloud

  629. and have my plan and purpose, but let me come and give your

  630. plan and purpose to your child and children.

  631. Titus Chapter 3 Verse 3 to 7, goes on to see this.

    Titus 3:3–7

  632. It says, at one time we to a foolish disobedient deceived and

  633. enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures.

  634. We lived in Malice and envy being hated and hating on one

  635. another. But when the kindness and love

  636. of God, our savior appeared, he saved us.

  637. Not because of our righteous things we have done, but because

  638. of his Mercy he saved us through the washing of rebirth and

  639. Renewal by the Holy Spirit whom he poured out.

  640. So generously on us through Jesus Christ, Our Savior so that

  641. having been justified by his grace we might become as having

  642. the hope of eternal life. So today we all need to go

  643. through this renewal process. We all need to catch the Holy

  644. Spirit and say, God, I'm here, ready to wait to deceive you.

  645. It's an act, it's an act of seeing God.

  646. I am ready and waiting here. My prayer is that we would allow

  647. him to actually come down into a homes.

  648. This new Merwin would come down that our homes would carry so

  649. that it will alter the atmosphere of our homes.

  650. Paul's increasing Titus. You know what you just don't do

  651. Top rate seeing that you've accepted Jesus, you start doing

  652. the good works. That he's also asked you to do

  653. through the help of the holy spirit.

  654. It's he who moves you to do certain things.

  655. It's he causes you to go out of your comfort zone and meet with

  656. someone else. It's he who causes you to see

  657. the pain that, you know, that's evident in your life.

  658. You're also able to see the pain and someone else's wife and be

  659. an encouragement. That's what the church is all

  660. about. That's what the choices are.

  661. It's us. Moving from where we are.

  662. Are at to where God's calling us to be hit.

  663. Ezekiel chapter 37 verses 12 to 14 and you know as as I

    Ezekiel 37:12–14

  664. mentioned earlier Ezekiel is standing there and the Holy

  665. Spirit, brings life into dry bones and it says you're

  666. beautiful and I'm Zone. Read a couple of verses it.

  667. He goes on to say therefore prophesy and say to them this is

  668. what the Sovereign. Lord says my people.

  669. I'm going to open your Graves and bring you up from them.

  670. I will bring you back. The land of Israel.

  671. Then you my people will know that I am the Lord.

  672. When I open your Graves and bring you up from them, I will

  673. put my spirit in you and you will live and I will settle you

  674. in your own land, then you will know that.

  675. I the Lord have spoken and I have done it, declares the Lord

  676. church, I want to profit equally declare today to you that as

  677. you're listening to this, I don't know what Grieves you

  678. actually closed in your own life for some of you who've gone

  679. through a separation. You You closed the grave over

  680. your life and God's calling you to say, I still have a plan for

  681. you. For some of you who've had bad

  682. experiences, you've closed the grave on Jesus.

  683. You know, saying, I'm done with faith.

  684. He's here to say, I'm here to resurrect you.

  685. In fact, the word Spirit that's used here is the word rule,

  686. which means breathe. He's wanting to Breathe new

  687. life. And if you see what God does as

  688. Ezekiel speaks, is he Add to the bones, he has muscles to the

  689. bones, he adds flesh to the bones, he adds the whole new

  690. person being, and God wants to rebuild that, so that you will

  691. be set free to accomplish his plan and purpose.

  692. So, today, church, we are going to ask God for this Holy Spirit.

  693. This wind that's been that's ready to blow into us.

  694. Would we allow him to blow into our areas, into our dry bones

  695. into our lives, into a marriage as into a family's.

  696. It was church into a cities, into our nation's into a job

  697. into a financial Oz into our sexuality into our identity.

  698. So that when he blows in it shapes, everything if you're

  699. closeted, I pray and ask that the holy spirit will bring life,

  700. he'll bring in life so that you'll be able to see who he has

  701. created you to be. You will be able to stand and

  702. you'll be able to see him being real in your life Corrie ten.

  703. Boom says his beautifully. Says the human Spirit fails

  704. except when the Holy Spirit fills The human Spirit Fields

  705. except in the Holy Spirit fills and I love what he has said,

  706. because she's not talking from a place of, you know, or I'm just

  707. doing life as such. And then, you know, if he fills

  708. me only have known, they were in the midst of life and death

  709. situations. He saw her family members killed

  710. in front of her. She was a prisoner of war with

  711. the second world war because of that.

  712. She I'm sure the statement that she made is is coming from a

  713. place of What sustained a through those camps and as she

  714. walked out, she was aware that this I was able to sustain all

  715. this because the holy spirit that we lived within me, you

  716. have to fight this battle individually.

  717. For those of you who've been walking alone, you are, you've

  718. been, you've been so many at times holding onto the sickness

  719. and claiming that sickness as your biggest thing.

  720. It's time to let go and allow the Holy Spirit to manifest

  721. himself in the healing that he's going to.

  722. To bring. Are we ready to catch the wind?

  723. Because our spirits will fail us?

  724. With every problem that arises with everything that comes at

  725. us, a spirit gets battered and beaten, but it's in filling of

  726. the Holy Spirit, which causes us to rise up again and stand up

  727. and say, Jesus, I'm ready to take ground as he killed

  728. chapter. 36 verses 33 to 38, and I want to read this as a closing

  729. promise for the church, as we read, yes.

  730. We are going to catch the wind. What happens when we catch the

  731. wind? As we start this year?

  732. May this be a revelation of what will happen if we choose the

  733. Holy Spirit? Can we go ahead and read as you

  734. look on screens are out for those of you listening to it for

  735. most 33 onwards from third chapter 36.

  736. This is what the Sovereign Lord says on that.

  737. Be I cleanse you from all your sins.

  738. I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt.

  739. The desolate land will be Dated instead of lying desolate in the

  740. sight of all who pass through, they will see this land.

  741. That was laid, waste has become like the Garden of Eden, the

  742. cities that were lying in Ruins desolate and destroyed are not

  743. fortified. And inhabited, then the Nations

  744. around you that remain will know that I the Lord have rebuilt and

  745. I've destroyed and of replanted. What was desolate?

  746. I the Lord have spoken and I will do it.

  747. This is what the Sovereign Lord says.

  748. Says, again, once again, I will yield to Israel's plea and do

  749. this for them. I will make their people as

  750. numerous as a sheep as numerous as the flocks for the offerings

  751. at Jerusalem during her appointed festivals.

  752. So will the ruined cities be filled with flocks of people?

  753. Then they will know that I am. The Lord.

  754. God is willing to Change things around.

  755. If you're willing to catch the wind, we are living in a time

  756. where God promised the Holy Spirit was as a counselor as a

  757. comforter as a friend. Would we receive him today?

  758. Would be receiving today. I came across this quote by John

  759. Stewart, and this is what it says, what we need is not more

  760. learning, not my liquids, not more persuasion, not more

  761. organization, but more from the Holy Spirit.

  762. We need more from the Holy Spirit.

  763. What we need as a church is more from the Holy Spirit.

  764. What I need more for my life is more of the Holy Spirit and so

  765. church today as we as you come to a close, are you willing to

  766. catch the wind individually for yourselves?

  767. And second, are you willing to move in the direction?

  768. These two things are, one of the things which you have to be done

  769. intentionally. You intentionally allow the Holy

  770. Spirit to comment and intentionally move in the

  771. direction. Direction that he causes you to

  772. move called you to move. Let's not live in a world of

  773. assumptions. Let's say God I want to put the

  774. scales down my eyes. I want to see for who you are.

  775. I want to hold you to your word. Many people caught the wind the

  776. writers of the scripture that we read caught the wind and that's

  777. why we actually have a word today that's penetrable into a

  778. spirit man across the ages. We are not living in a time and

  779. age where these words avoid know they are truth.

  780. In fact, it says his words will remain forever as time, passes

  781. Heaven, and Earth will pass away, but his words will remain.

  782. So church I would ask you today. Would you lift your hands better

  783. where you're at in submission to see Jesus?

  784. Thank you for your holy spirit, thank you for the promise of the

  785. Holy Spirit and even right now I just want to ask us all.

  786. Can we invite him into our homes?

  787. Can we invite him into our lives?

  788. Can we invite him into the spaces that we are in right now?

  789. Loving Heavenly Father. Lord, we thank you Lord for this

  790. time. Thank you, Lord!

  791. For the church as we've gathered, Lord Jesus online, I

  792. believe, Lord Jesus. You're moving in our midst, I

  793. believe. Lord Jesus, that you're doing

  794. something and I pray. Holy Spirit, would you come

  795. down? Will you fall afresh?

  796. Would you follow fresh right here?

  797. Will you follow fish in the homes?

  798. In the people are watching this right now?

  799. Lord, Jesus. Wherever they're at.

  800. I pray specifically for those who are listening to it or even

  801. after a new That they would experience an outpouring of the

  802. Holy Spirit on their lives. We thank you.

  803. I. Pray that God as we read your

  804. scriptures, Dry Bones will start seeing flesh.

  805. I pray, every part that is been closed as a grave will start

  806. resurrecting. Lord, you will start opening up.

  807. Lord Jesus. I pray dreams that have been

  808. shrunk and let a lot have gone missing.

  809. I pray, you will revive it. Lord Jesus.

  810. I pray hearts of stone will be turned to Hearts of Flesh body.

  811. Pray specifically that you would come through.

  812. We pray specifically that your hand be upon each and every one

  813. we pray specifically Lord, Jesus, your Holy Spirit

  814. anointing. Come down on each and every one

  815. of us that we individually will Mark ourselves out there.

  816. We want you more than ever before, we individually.

  817. Lord, Jesus will take a step in the direction that you're

  818. calling us to take. Lord, we thank you Lord.

  819. We thank you. I.

  820. Pray that God. We will see the manifestation of

  821. the Holy Spirit In Our Lives. Lord, we will see the holy

  822. spirit's manifestation happen in our families, in our Churches,

  823. Lord, Jesus. I pray as we step into this

  824. year, we thank you, Lord, that Lord.

  825. We don't know where you're going to blow the wind or Jesus, but

  826. we are here to receive it. We as a church are here to

  827. receive it. I pray, as we catch it, we will

  828. experience the newness that you bring me will experience the

  829. freshness that you bring. We will experience you for who

  830. you are and we will deliver it. Lord, Jesus, we will take it

  831. out. We will shine your light.

  832. We will be your kingdom bad as here on this Earth.

  833. Lord. We thank you.

  834. Phyllis protect us. I pray that even as we start

  835. this year, Lord, I pray that we would be, people of consistency,

  836. will be people, who lured are able to do things.

  837. Well, we will finish. Well, Lord Jesus.

  838. I pray as we all start this year, Lord, that you will give

  839. us great. You will give us strength.

  840. You will give us favor. You would go.

  841. Before I start you will bless the work of our hands.

  842. Strengthen us be with us. Lord, we ask all this in your

  843. most precious. Amen.

  844. Amen. the church even as we come to a close, I just want to

  845. encourage you be confident in who the spirit of God is calling

  846. you to me for those of you who've experienced spirit of God

  847. asked him to still keep feeling, because we can never have more

  848. of him. For those of you who've moved

  849. away and I've, you know, been cold, I would say over the next

  850. couple of weeks, allow him to fill you shape.

  851. You plug those holes. So that those leaks aren't

  852. happening that he'll be able to strengthen you every step of the

  853. way. And he'll be able to show what

  854. he's called you to do. A God wants to fulfill establish

  855. you and cause you to flourish so don't hold back.

  856. Let him work in and through you and our prayers that as a

  857. church. As a community, that we all will

  858. be able to catch the wind and see him glorified in our lives.

  859. I pray that you have a blessed week ahead.

  860. And as a church, we are here, wishing you a blessed and a

  861. prosperous new year. God bless you.

  862. Thanks for listening to this message.

  863. We hope you were blessed to hear more messages like this.

  864. Make sure to subscribe and check out our podcast channel for past

  865. episodes. If you like what you want,

  866. hearing consider rating us subscribing.

  867. And even sharing it with friends, that could really help

  868. us for more content, from Ria's Ian and to connect with us.

  869. Go to Via Zion.T iin remember Whoever finds Jesus finds life.

  870. Whoever finds Jesus finds life.