Sermon

Spirit Lead Lifestyle | Part 1

Kelowna Christian Center

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  1. Thank you for listening to the Kelowna Christian Center podcast.

  2. Our desire is that today's message will be fresh and encouraging to you.

  3. For more information on KTC and how to connect, visit us at KTC.net.

  4. There are times in our life where it's not clear that we actually know what to do.

  5. And that we operate and we're living in a state of the unknown.

  6. And in that unknown space, there's one thing we know is that God is in control of the unknown.

  7. And when we don't know what to do, He knows what to do.

  8. And we don't where we when we don't know where to go, He knows where to direct us.

  9. And it's called faith.

  10. And it's oftentimes it's it's saying, you know, Father, I don't know these deeper things, I don't know these deeper ways.

  11. I don't know the direction you're going.

  12. But I'm choosing today to hold on to the hem of your garment.

  13. And I'm choosing to draw from you whatever you have for me.

  14. I will I need it now, and I and just expose in my heart my need, my desire, my uh the shift that needs to happen.

  15. It needs to happen in us, not in him.

  16. Because he's already perfect and holy, and he's making us holy, he's making us perfect.

  17. And when we're in a position where we don't know what to do, we need just need to sit and say, Lord, your will be done.

  18. Lord, you get the glory, Lord, your it's your power, it's your ability.

  19. When the enemy comes in like a flood, you'll raise up a standard against it, you'll raise up a wall.

  20. Father, we trust in you.

  21. We lean on you, not on our own ability, not on our own understanding, not on our own strength, on our own might.

  22. We lean on you.

  23. And Father, today we just announce that we're leaning on you.

  24. We're leaning fully upon you.

  25. We lean on you with all of our with all every need, every every cry in our heart, we lean on you.

  26. Father, with every desire, every healing that is needed, Lord, we lean on you today.

  27. Our heart is yours, our life is yours.

  28. It belongs to you, and we know it's we're safest when we're in your hands.

  29. So we trust you today.

  30. Amen.

  31. Amen.

  32. I just want to take a moment today, while you're all still standing.

  33. We've got a number of uh challenges that the church is facing within some of the families of the church.

  34. And I know uh Val and Jenna, you're here today.

  35. Uh kids are downstairs, and I was hearing from uh a number of the group that's in Mexico right now.

  36. Our global citizenship program is in Mexico, and uh a number of the students down there, grade 12 students, are actually uh have been on antibiotics, they got really sick, and uh it's just taking them out.

  37. And so we just believe that there needs to be a healing moment.

  38. And uh what the powerful thing about this song and the connection from this song is that that God can heal.

  39. God can heal.

  40. And the question isn't like how he's gonna do it, because that's in God's hands, but the question is where is and who's gonna get the glory in this point at this time?

  41. And we don't believe the enemy gets any glory from taking anyone or any person out or any ministry down or any life down.

  42. We believe that God is in control and he causes all things to work together for good to those who love him and are called to him according to his purpose.

  43. And I just feel like in this state of prayer, we should we need to just stretch our hands out and uh maybe Val and uh Jenna come on up here.

  44. Uh many of you know as part of the church.

  45. Sean Lalonde has been uh a part of our church for a long time now, and Val has been serving here in now 150 days.

  46. You guys put a post out yesterday, 150 days, Natalie.

  47. Come on up too.

  48. That we've known that uh Sean, we got the call that Sean has been diagnosed with liver terminal, stage four liver cancer.

  49. And the challenge is that on the first day that we heard of it, we knew that God needed to come through as much as he needs to come through today.

  50. We need a miracle.

  51. There's been no change.

  52. We still need a miracle, and we still serve the Lord who is the God of miracles.

  53. And so would you just join with me in your prayer and stretch your hand forth as a point of engagement here this morning, and just begin to pray and believe God for this family, the Laland home, and pray for Sean Laland today.

  54. Just raise your voice, church.

  55. Engage heaven with your prayers.

  56. The prayers of the righteous are mighty in power.

  57. They have an effect.

  58. We thank you, Lord, we thank you, Lord, we thank you, Lord.

  59. Hallelujah, hallelujah, ilamana shaw, ilala ma non, il ma non so.

  60. Hallelujah.

  61. Father, we know your love for your son Sean, your love for the family, the Lalon family, and Father, the faithfulness and the commitment to serve you, to live a life that is fully charged after you, lives impacted for your name's sake.

  62. Father, today we just lift Sean before your throne.

  63. We lift him before you, Lord.

  64. You are the God of miracles.

  65. And even at this space and in this time, Sean at home where he is, Father, we ask for your healing power to go and do its work in Sean's body.

  66. Father, restore, rebuild, renew.

  67. Lord, we speak to Cancer and we say the name of Jesus is greater than the name of Cancer.

  68. We say today that the name of Jesus, that Jesus is Lord over Sean, over his body today.

  69. We call cancer to die.

  70. We call cancer to drivel up and leave in the name of Jesus.

  71. The mighty powerful name of Jesus.

  72. We thank you, Lord, that the cross, through the cross, all of our sickness, all of our disease, all of our pain, all of our sorrow has been washed away.

  73. You completed everything on that day, and today, Father, we embrace our rightful inheritance as receiving the healing for our bodies in Jesus' name.

  74. We thank you for your spirit, Lord.

  75. The spirit of Jesus that stands beside Sean, that rests with him, that ministers to him, that teaches and counsels him in this time.

  76. We thank you, Lord, that he is not alone because you are with him.

  77. And the two of you, Lord, are that strength and can send an enemy to fight, flight, and can send that legion fleeing.

  78. Lord, we trust in you.

  79. We trust fully in you today.

  80. And we give you all the praise and all the glory and all the honor for your name's sake, in Jesus' name.

  81. Amen.

  82. Would you raise up a sound of applause for the Lord today?

  83. Amen.

  84. Amen.

  85. Amen.

  86. You know, it's part of the church.

  87. We're not alone.

  88. And uh, you're all part of the family.

  89. Before you take a seat, I'm gonna catch you before you sit down.

  90. I want you to greet a few people behind you, beside you, give them a high five, tell them welcome to church this morning.

  91. Welcome to church this morning.

  92. Uh we have uh a number of families who are away uh today.

  93. Um just want to update you on some of those families.

  94. Uh Pastor and Lisa are down in Mexico.

  95. We've got just a slide here.

  96. This is 41 of our graduates uh or of our grade 12 students who are in Mexico right now, and they're doing the work of serving.

  97. They went down there to uh part of the Global Citizenship Program, which is uh a program with Heritage Christian School, Heritage Online.

  98. And uh today they're at some of your churches down in Mexico.

  99. Do you know you have uh churches in Mexico?

  100. Churches for over 25 years we've been supporting and building in Zicatella, in Porto Escondido, uh, and they've been doing children's programs, uh going through children's festivals and sponsoring certain events there.

  101. They're doing an incredible job.

  102. Uh, we just got an update that they are asking for prayer.

  103. We don't know if it's Montezuma's revenge, we don't know what it is, but uh there are a number of them that are have gotten really quite ill and uh have asked for us to continue to keep them in prayer.

  104. Students that are away from home and uh are in a in a Mexican medical system.

  105. Is that something?

  106. And uh they're just asking for prayer that they would just continue to get well.

  107. And so we want that, we want them to know that the church is rallying behind them.

  108. On behalf of our family, the Calmans and and the Schneiders uh family today, we just want to share our appreciation as well to the church and those who convey their condolences after hearing about the passing of my grandmother, Grace Schneider.

  109. Last uh Sunday after service, I got a call to come and visit my grandma, who's 96 years of age.

  110. And uh I was able to be there at her bedside with uh her son, my uncle, and my sister, and we were able to watch as she passed on into the arms of the Lord.

  111. So that was a wonderful experience.

  112. Um I owe her an incredible debt.

  113. In ways uh you may not realize uh she and my my dad, my grandpa were have always been strong supporters of the church, even until uh a number of years, number of months ago, she was still downloading the media off the the uh off the the KCC app and listening to it at bed.

  114. And when she went to bed.

  115. Now, if a 95-year-old can do it, you can do it too.

  116. You go to the app store and you KCC and you just download messages, right?

  117. She couldn't be here, but she was here in spirit, she was here in heart.

  118. And uh a number of years ago, like they've always looked at ways to serve in the church, and in fact, they were 75 years of age and they were part of our welcoming committee.

  119. At 75 years of age, they were part of our welcoming committee.

  120. And one of the families that came to our church, first-time guests, visitors, they greeted at the door and they made a contact to go to their home, and that family was the Fry family.

  121. So they went to their home up in Black Mountain and uh sat with them and connected with them and integrate, helped integrate them and make a connection to have them come to uh KCC.

  122. And that Fry family got really close because they share the same maiden name as my wife, and if it wasn't for my grandma at 75 years of age, reaching out and being a part of the serving team here at KCC, uh, I don't know if I'd be in the same place I'm at.

  123. I you know, and if it wasn't for that and the incredible charm that came through the DNA and uh ability to swoop cause uh stop right now.

  124. I was doing so well this morning.

  125. Listen, 75 years of age church, part of the welcoming team, connecting, greeting people, introducing them to the city, helping them to connect to a local church, praying with them, supporting them.

  126. You don't know what your life don't ever retire.

  127. Don't ever retire.

  128. I don't have a grandparent who ever we don't hear the word retire.

  129. Don't stop.

  130. God has a plan for your life, and it's not over till He takes you home.

  131. It's not over till it's over.

  132. If you're still breathing, if you still have a pulse, God has a plan for you.

  133. Check your neighbor.

  134. If they have a pulse, God still has a plan for them.

  135. That's the plan.

  136. It's highly unlikely today.

  137. I'd be I'd be in the place where I'm at with the family I have if it wasn't for my grandparents, and I owe them an incredible debt.

  138. During this series, uh, we did have a celebration of life this Wednesday while our family was in town, and it was it was such a great celebration of my grandma, and uh just a wonderful time, and I'm sure she's in heaven today.

  139. It's interesting, all the kids are asking questions like, is she watching us now?

  140. I'm like, yeah.

  141. Yes, she is, you particularly.

  142. Oh, yeah, really?

  143. Great grandma's there.

  144. So during the season, how uh we are uh sharing some of the values that we hold close as KCC.

  145. And uh it's where KCC is really living at its best.

  146. KCC has a sweet spot.

  147. A sweet spot.

  148. That's where where and when everything that you're believing, the way you're living, is coming into synchrony, and and we're living at that place where we're living at our best.

  149. You may have played tennis, but on um for those of you who haven't, your tennis racket has that center point, and at that center point of that tennis racket is that sweet spot, and you just know when you connect.

  150. If you're a golfer, you know where that sweet spot is in your club, where you just connect and the ball just takes off and then does like a 90-degree hook in my in my life.

  151. But this this sweet spot, when you connect, it just takes off.

  152. We as a church have that sweet spot, and we're continually trying to resource it, trying to build towards it, trying to repeat and communicate what that is and those values, what those values are so that we imbibe them.

  153. Um just for the first week, we talked about Jesus as being first.

  154. That's the first value that we hold on to, that Jesus is first, his mission, his message.

  155. Secondly, uh Malachi, Pastor Malachi shared on belonging that people are our privilege, people are our passion, people are our pursuit.

  156. And then last week we talked about generosity.

  157. Everyone give a hand for generosity.

  158. Yeah, we are generous because God is generous.

  159. We are a giver because God gives us everything.

  160. He gives us the breath we breathe, he gives us the strength we have to stand, he gives us the life that we now have.

  161. Generosity is our way of life.

  162. We live generous, we give generous, we we want to live in that generous circle, looking at ways where we can give of ourselves.

  163. Uh today we're gonna spend some time sharing and affirming uh what we value as a spirit-led lifestyle.

  164. We as KCC believe in being spirit-led.

  165. We believe that when you're spirit-led, it can not only be contemporary, but it can be powerful.

  166. It can do something in your life when you're walking in the spirit.

  167. Now, when we begin to talk about this topic, uh there's a problem right off the bat.

  168. As soon as I say the word spirit, everyone's like the world, and everyone has this idea of what spirit means.

  169. What spirit is.

  170. And it's not an uncommon uh occurrence, it's not an uncommon challenge.

  171. Uh, in the days of Jesus, Jesus and the disciples actually dealt with it in the book of Acts.

  172. The problem was discussed.

  173. Uh it's the record of the first church, the early church, and uh there was this great experience where people got saved, and people uh realized that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus was there for everyone, for the Jew, the Gentile, the whole world.

  174. And when Paul was traveling, he uh went to a different some different places, and one of the places he went to was a place called Ephesus, and he started asking some of the disciples there.

  175. He said, Listen, you've gotten saved, but have you received the Holy Spirit?

  176. And then he said, And they said, Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became a believer?

  177. And their response, like many in the church today, is they were like, I know what it is to be saved, but I don't know what it is to actually have received this Holy Spirit.

  178. They said we don't even know that there was a Holy Spirit that we could believe in.

  179. In church today, we talk a lot about our salvation, but we don't talk a lot about the Spirit of God that was given to us to empower us to live a life that we're we were called to.

  180. Uh, in some part, this Holy Spirit has um been answered.

  181. And many of you today know what I'm talking about when I talk about the Holy Spirit.

  182. A lot of people seem to understand this relationship, but many just understand the relationship we have with the Father who identifies us, uh releases an inheritance towards us.

  183. Many people understand their relationship with Jesus who saves us, but they don't know about the relationship we can have with the Holy Spirit.

  184. And they go, first, does that mean that we're weird?

  185. Does that mean that we're wild?

  186. Does that mean we're wacky?

  187. Are we gonna act all crazy now?

  188. What is the Holy Spirit?

  189. Is it a fire?

  190. Is it a dove?

  191. Look out for the doves.

  192. Is it what is the Holy Spirit?

  193. Is it a ghost?

  194. How do I have a relationship with a ghost?

  195. Is it a the Holy Ghost?

  196. What is the Holy Spirit?

  197. Who is the Holy Spirit?

  198. And I'll be really honest with you today.

  199. Our desire at KCC is actually to have you develop a deep relationship with all three the Father, the Son, and And the Holy Spirit.

  200. Our hope is that you know all three because we believe that you're living at your best, and KCC will live at its optimal in its optimal space when you have a relationship with all three.

  201. You need the relationship with the Father, you need the relationship with Jesus, and you need the relationship with the Holy Spirit.

  202. I like to say that some more are more rejecting sometimes of the packaging that they've seen rather than the biblical narrative that the Bible shares about the Holy Spirit.

  203. Everyone who wants to experience the power of God, they want it.

  204. They want the power of God.

  205. I don't know any Christian that is wanting to reject the power of God.

  206. But they don't like the way that the Holy Spirit has been packaged in current culture.

  207. If you're a Holy Spirit church, you're gonna be expected to act a certain way or look a certain way.

  208. You're not contemporary in any way, you just are acting out, shouting out, uh making odd creating oddities in culture.

  209. But the Holy Spirit is not goofy.

  210. The Holy Spirit is real, he's a person, he's here right now, sitting beside you, under your chair.

  211. No, I don't.

  212. He's here.

  213. We welcome Holy Spirit.

  214. Every morning, every time we come to church, we we sing these songs.

  215. Welcome, Holy Spirit.

  216. Come, Holy Spirit.

  217. We want you, Holy Spirit.

  218. So, what is this Holy Spirit?

  219. Let me start by defining the word spirit.

  220. In the scripture, there are two words for spirit.

  221. They both mean pretty much the same.

  222. One of them is the word pneuma.

  223. Pneuma means a fresh blast of air.

  224. A fresh blast of air.

  225. It's like a fog horn going off, like one of those big ships that you see in the harbor on the coast, and that horn goes off, and everything is just shook when that horn goes off.

  226. That is a blast of air.

  227. It is a it's a blast.

  228. And the Hebrew word is the word ruach.

  229. And that word means like a it's like a shot that comes when when the Holy Spirit is in, it invades a space.

  230. The scripture says the first time the Holy Spirit came into a room, it came in like a rushing wind.

  231. It's a wind, a blast of air.

  232. Now, when I was a kid growing up, I I enjoyed fishing.

  233. My dad loved fishing.

  234. And he went to this little lake called St.

  235. David's in the Woods.

  236. He just named it himself.

  237. I won't tell you the real name.

  238. It was to keep it quiet on what lake it actually was, like anyone would outfish this lake, because this lake required you to paddle across one lake, find this like little trail, you'd pick up the canoe with all your paddles and everything, put it on your shoulders, and you'd portage for about 15 minutes into the next lake that could only be accessed through this chain.

  239. And I remember I was always the kid who was holding the paddles.

  240. My dad always had the canoe up front, which is it was kind of, I don't know how he did it today.

  241. He'd walk through this narrow trail and I'd walk in front of him so that he could see where he was going, like he could follow my feet where I was because he couldn't see.

  242. He was his head was inside the canoe.

  243. I'm sure there's a better system.

  244. We just didn't use it.

  245. Um and we would have this canoe, and the thing about this lake is you couldn't go in there with a motor because you couldn't haul a big boat in there.

  246. You had to go in with a paddle.

  247. And I remember working, working, working with this paddle.

  248. We'd paddle across this lake.

  249. The wind would come against us, we'd paddle a little harder, the wind would change, it would steer the boat in one way or another way.

  250. And to some of you, being a Christian and your life feels like you're paddling, you're going through life.

  251. I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna work, I'm gonna move forward in my Christian faith, and you're using the paddle.

  252. And the Bible talks about the Spirit of God like it's a wind.

  253. And he says, put down the paddle, raise the sail, and the difference is you don't have to do so much.

  254. You don't have to worry about the distractions, you don't have to worry about the disruption, the opposition.

  255. Just use that opposition for your benefit.

  256. When the wind blows, that's good for you.

  257. Set the sail, and it'll take you off.

  258. But when you're actually using your paddle, you're using your own strength, you're using your own ability.

  259. And the Spirit of God is there for us for a purpose.

  260. Jesus said, When I'm leaving, I'm leaving you with my spirit so that you're not alone and you're not without power, and you don't have to use the paddle anymore.

  261. You can use the sail.

  262. Now, in our life, there's some things that are automatic in terms of our relationship with God.

  263. Salvation isn't automatic.

  264. It's a free gift of God.

  265. It is the, it is a, you want it, you can have it.

  266. It doesn't matter what you've done, where you've been, where you've gone, how long you were in that place, how far you were from God, the Bible says there's no place you can't go where God can't reach you.

  267. But the Spirit of God, having the Holy Spirit, requires a waiting, requires a tearing, a drawing from who He is.

  268. Now, our relationship with the Holy Spirit, it's not just practiced inside these four walls.

  269. Now, when I grew up, I grew up in a very, very uh spiritually alive environment.

  270. Home, family, everywhere I was, I like I believed I was in that space where the Holy Spirit was present.

  271. And I believe we in that space, it was great.

  272. We could pray together, there was music, there was uh an audience, there was uh a band, there were lights, there was good sound, there were good seats.

  273. All this kind of made for the perfect space where we could just enjoy what God had for us.

  274. The challenge was when we tried to take Holy Spirit outside the four walls of the church, it got a little weird.

  275. It got a little weird.

  276. People didn't know how to contemporize a walk with God outside of church circles.

  277. So they'd walk into uh a restaurant and tell the server, can I pray for you?

  278. And the person would be like, What?

  279. What are you doing?

  280. Person would be like, so most are like, oh yeah, sure, good, yeah, no problem.

  281. You know, you'd hear about something, can I pray for you?

  282. Instead of just activating a spiritual walk with God.

  283. So at KCC, we believe that God can move through you at any space wherever you are at any time.

  284. It doesn't matter if you're at church on a Sunday or if you're at work on Monday.

  285. God, the Holy Spirit doesn't leave you because you leave the church.

  286. The Holy Spirit is there for you in your home.

  287. The Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit's there for you when you're sitting and you're teaching a classroom.

  288. Holy Spirit's there for you when you're working on your vehicle.

  289. Holy Spirit is there for you when you are, when you're uh coding and doing work on with technology.

  290. Holy Spirit is there for you when you're sitting across the table with a friend having coffee.

  291. Holy Spirit is always present with you for you.

  292. It's not just KCC on Sunday.

  293. Now the question is, do we actively engage with Holy Spirit on the regular?

  294. Every day, wherever we are, connecting, engaging with Holy Spirit.

  295. The fact is, Jesus, Jesus Himself, He He actually did a lot of His miracles outside of the church.

  296. A lot of his miracles were done outside of the four walls of the church.

  297. He worked with people from different economic brackets, he worked with people from different culture groups, he he actively engaged like the worst of the worst.

  298. He engaged them in that space.

  299. Even as much as people who were celebrating it at uh some of the the places in when I went to Israel, we uh we went to a location, uh Caesarea Philippi, and this was a space where they would throw the children into caves, kill them, like where there was child sacrifice.

  300. And Jesus went right to those people and began engaging in spiritual engagement with people who were like far from God.

  301. Your neighbor is not like that.

  302. These are people who are far, far from God.

  303. And Jesus made a point of saying, you know what, I'm going to engage culture at every opportunity.

  304. I'm going to walk in the spirit, engaging culture every opportunity I have.

  305. This engagement was with hands-on.

  306. His engagement was with people sitting, like we learned from Malachi a few weeks ago.

  307. The woman at the well, and Jesus just sitting back, waiting for a drink, waiting for lunch.

  308. Jesus is just connecting.

  309. Jesus was using every opportunity to walk in the spirit, listening to what God wanted to do in his behalf in that time.

  310. Now we have a power.

  311. The scripture talks very clearly about the Holy Spirit.

  312. It's dunamis power.

  313. And this power, this power is supposed to affect communities, cities, nations.

  314. It's not to be held inside the four walls of the church.

  315. In the past, through different experiences you may have had with the church, and I've experienced it myself, churches have felt that the Holy Spirit was really sensitive.

  316. It was like this dove, like a dove, not a dove, like a dove.

  317. And they felt that if you, you know, if you walked into the church and you made a noise, you'd scare off the Holy Spirit.

  318. If you weren't dressed the right way, you'd scare off the Holy Spirit.

  319. If you hit a wrong key, the Holy Spirit left.

  320. Everyone had to be perfectly still and quiet, or else the Holy Spirit would leave.

  321. And the fact is, you know, it's not about if you're whispering or chewing gum or you wear a baseball cap or if you have a tattoo.

  322. The Holy Spirit is still here.

  323. And he's not leaving.

  324. And he still wants to use us.

  325. We don't need a choir, we don't need an ensemble, we don't need perfect four-part harmony.

  326. Holy Spirit is there.

  327. One time, I'm just thinking about my grandparents because it's just so fresh right now.

  328. Uh, I don't know what happened.

  329. It was a Sunday afternoon, but I ended up in their vehicle.

  330. And probably my parents want some alone time or whatever.

  331. And they're like, I can imagine that now, it'd be nice.

  332. And uh I was like, I ended up in the vehicle with my grandpa and my grandma, and I'm sitting on a bench seat, and I'm sitting in the center of this bench seat, my grandparents are on each side, and my grandpa's out to get firewood.

  333. He was always collecting firewood, always.

  334. Apple wood, good wood, hardwood.

  335. It would like, it'd uh burn for a long time.

  336. And he'd be like, he's like, okay, we're gonna go up to the orchard.

  337. Well, we walk, we drive down the orchard, we're driving down this trail, and out of this trail, we come around a corner, and this guy comes running out of the orchard.

  338. And as he comes running out of the orchard, you could tell he had been working that morning, he had stopped, he'd started drinking, and he then he decided to go back chopping wood with his chainsaw.

  339. And uh he was clearly out of it.

  340. I don't know if it was because he had how much he had been drinking or if it was because of the loss of blood, but he came stumbling out of the orchard right to our vehicle, and like as a kid, I'm wondering what's going on.

  341. His top of his head to his feet was covered in blood.

  342. He had got the chainsaw and it had bounced back and hit him, and it was a bad scene.

  343. And I remember vividly, and I remember my grandpa at that time.

  344. Jesus, he just stopped.

  345. Jesus, and he stopped the vehicle.

  346. You stay in the car.

  347. I'm like, lock the doors.

  348. No one's coming in here.

  349. And I sat down and I sat and I watched my grandpa.

  350. The first thing he did, my grandma and grandpa did, they walked out there and they started laying hands on this guy.

  351. And this guy stood up from where he was.

  352. Like it's like he regained his mind.

  353. And he sobered himself, and uh it became immediately they started to demonstrate what a spirit-led lifestyle should look like.

  354. They started engaging right away in prayer, in ministry.

  355. They didn't have a choir, they didn't have a pre-service prayer opportunity, they were going out looking for firewood.

  356. And in that moment, they needed Holy Spirit, and they had walked in such a way that Holy Spirit was there in the right time.

  357. Like the Holy Spirit hadn't even hadn't gone anywhere.

  358. Holy Spirit was always with them because they were walking in the Spirit.

  359. As a kid, I remembered that, and I remembered anytime there was chaos, they would lean on the Holy Spirit and order would come in chaos.

  360. And sometimes it meant just praying.

  361. Sometimes it meant just entering into a state of worship and a place of worship.

  362. They began to activate what this is.

  363. Now, the role of the ministry, my role, is not for everyone to say, okay, Brody, we're gonna bring all of our people who need God to you.

  364. This is the way it used to be.

  365. One person would be the Holy Spirit guy.

  366. We laugh about it a little bit, but it's true.

  367. And there's an anointing, and I agree with that, and I believe in it.

  368. But the more powerful way that I see the scripture as producing this is saying it's not about the one person superstar, it's about each person walking, living, engaging, moving, going to your own spaces that I'll never go to, with responsibly knowing that you're walking in the spirit.

  369. And you're going to those places, you're not bringing people here.

  370. The altar has a real has a real value.

  371. We value the altar.

  372. We call it the altar, the front of the stage.

  373. It's not like a place where you're gonna die, okay?

  374. We value this place, and this is often a time, a place where I laid down my life.

  375. I came to the altar.

  376. But when I laid down my life, Holy Spirit gave me a power to go now with my life and make a difference in the lives of others.

  377. So it's not me after service standing here and everyone bringing their person to or people to me or their challenges.

  378. It's now actively engaging in community and saying, Lord, what do you want for us?

  379. And believing in the Holy Spirit together, that the Holy Spirit and you together can make a difference in the life and in the place where you're living.

  380. This is living a spirit-led lifestyle.

  381. It's contemporary, it's not weird or wacky, the Holy Spirit isn't like that all the time.

  382. And there are times when, like, Jesus spit in the mud and wiped it in people's eyes.

  383. He did some things that were like faith-based.

  384. But most often, it's engagement, it's spiritual engagement.

  385. It's saying, Lord, what do you want from me in this time, in this moment?

  386. It's not automatically converting into Christianese language and starting to share, you know, all the, but it's literally walking in your life every day in that time and in that space in the Spirit.

  387. And so when we walk, we pray this, we say, Holy Spirit, use me.

  388. Holy Spirit, please use me.

  389. Holy Spirit, guide me.

  390. Holy Spirit, give me insight.

  391. Holy Spirit, I'm believing for you to do something at this time and at this moment.

  392. The book of Acts is a great, such a great book in the scripture.

  393. Because in the book of Acts, it talks about, in the book of Acts, it talks literally about the disciples who actually got filled with the Holy Spirit.

  394. They learned this, what it meant to walk with the Holy Spirit, and it did something different in their life.

  395. All of a sudden, Peter, who literally could not announce that he knew Jesus in front of a little girl, 40 days later is announcing he knows Jesus and is willing to be strung up and leading thousands of people to Christ, and the only difference is a one-point experience where the Holy Spirit changed his life at that time.

  396. And the Bible says it gave them courage, the Holy Spirit gave them boldness, the Holy Spirit gave them power, he gave them the ability to be a witness everywhere they went.

  397. It literally created the book of Acts, it's not like an acts, the book of Acts is like the Acts of the Apostles, the Acts of people, the church, the first church.

  398. And if you read this book, the book of Acts, you'll read of miracles, signs, wonders, following the believers.

  399. I believe that KCC can never get to a place where we're so comfortable in our Christianity that we're just we're just coasting through our Christian walk.

  400. But KCC is at its best when we're trusting God for the miraculous.

  401. We're trusting God for signs and wonders.

  402. We're trusting God that we when we live a spirit-led life, it's gonna happen contemporarily, it's gonna happen, it's gonna be comfortable for people, aren't even gonna know the Holy Spirit touched them.

  403. And it's gonna happen powerfully.

  404. God can make a difference.

  405. So I don't I want to echo this.

  406. The scripture says this don't get drunk on wine.

  407. Because there's something in us that will hunger for something that's supernatural, something that's liberating.

  408. And the scripture reminds us don't use wine.

  409. Don't get drunk on wine, but be filled with the Holy Spirit and allow the Holy Spirit to liberate you.

  410. Allow the Holy Spirit to propel you into a new beginning and into a fresh start.

  411. God has so many things for us, church.

  412. And for KCC, He's got it for you, each of your lives.

  413. And I believe that that will happen when you're walking that spirit-led lifestyle.

  414. Would you bow your heads with me this morning?

  415. Father, we thank you for your presence with us.

  416. We thank you, Father, that you said that all we need to do is to accept the fact that we're a sinner.

  417. Accept the fact that we've done wrong.

  418. Believe in you, and then confess you as our Lord.

  419. And Father, you said that'll be the first step to us receiving you.

  420. You'll come into our life, you'll change us, you'll start teaching us what's right from wrong.

  421. You'll start moving in our hearts.

  422. But Father, today, you you want us to go deeper.

  423. And just then like in the book of Ezekiel, where it says that you called them, you called Ezekiel out into the water, and at first you moved him ankle deep.

  424. And Father, that's that's fine, but that's not where the life is.

  425. And then you called him knee deep and waist deep.

  426. And it was it was getting a little deeper, but still our feet were on the ground.

  427. And then you said, now I want you to go in over your head.

  428. I want you to go in over your head.

  429. I want you to get covered today.

  430. I want you to go into the deep.

  431. And you said, at that place, at that place where we were out of our own control, where you were alive in us, the shores began to team with life.

  432. The water began to team with life.

  433. Father, today we we acknowledge that we will never receive and operate and walk at our full potential if we don't go deeper.

  434. So, Father, today, we just acknowledge you as our Lord, but we're asking you, take us deeper, Lord.

  435. Take us deeper, Lord.

  436. Take us to that place, Lord, that next step on our journey.

  437. That might mean baptism, it might mean small group leadership, it might mean, it might mean actively engaging in missions, it might mean going that next route, it may mean Bible study, it may mean all of the above.

  438. But Father, we just hunger after you and we want to live that deep, deep, deep lifestyle.

  439. Lord, so that we can draw from you all that you have for us.

  440. So today, Lord, we celebrate you.

  441. We celebrate your Holy Spirit and we say, Lord, you're welcome in this place.

  442. You're welcome to comfort us and to challenge us.

  443. You're welcome to move in power in our lives.

  444. As you're doing in the kids down in Mexico, you're doing in Sean Lalande at his home right now, you're doing in our lives today, Father, you are making a difference and we trust you with all of our heart.

  445. In Jesus' name we thank you.

  446. Amen.

  447. Let's give the Lord a round of applause.

  448. Amen.