1 00:00:00,717 --> 00:00:04,187 Romans 8:16–18 2 00:00:04,788 --> 00:00:08,509 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit 3 00:00:08,509 --> 00:00:12,880 that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs 4 00:00:13,280 --> 00:00:17,718 heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided 5 00:00:17,718 --> 00:00:23,391 we suffer with him, in order that we may also be glorified with him. 6 00:00:23,675 --> 00:00:27,395 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time 7 00:00:27,395 --> 00:00:31,517 are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed 8 00:00:31,550 --> 00:00:34,553 to us. 9 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:38,274 Well, 10 00:00:38,274 --> 00:00:41,277 welcome to the weekend here at Christ Community Chapel. 11 00:00:41,277 --> 00:00:43,513 We're so glad that we get to be part of your weekend. 12 00:00:43,513 --> 00:00:44,480 My name is Zach, 13 00:00:44,480 --> 00:00:47,751 I'm one of the pastors here, and we're so glad you're here. 14 00:00:47,751 --> 00:00:50,203 And hey, if you're watching this on video on Sunday, 15 00:00:50,203 --> 00:00:51,588 it's because I'm out at the tent. 16 00:00:51,588 --> 00:00:54,391 Thanks for being here this weekend. 17 00:00:54,391 --> 00:00:58,429 We are in week three of our four-week sermon series 18 00:00:58,429 --> 00:01:00,748 we're calling More Than Religion. 19 00:01:00,748 --> 00:01:02,750 It's been pretty a pretty simple series. 20 00:01:02,750 --> 00:01:06,871 The focus has been on how God is really not interested 21 00:01:06,871 --> 00:01:10,241 in religious formality or religious ritual, 22 00:01:10,241 --> 00:01:15,080 but instead in us, in our hearts, in relationship with us. 23 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:18,467 That's who he is. That's what he wants. 24 00:01:18,634 --> 00:01:22,521 Two weeks ago, we talked about how God the Father has designed us 25 00:01:22,755 --> 00:01:24,189 for relationship. 26 00:01:24,189 --> 00:01:27,226 He built us with that in mind. 27 00:01:27,226 --> 00:01:32,832 And then last week we looked at how Jesus Christ, his son, has earned our access 28 00:01:32,832 --> 00:01:36,553 to that relationship in his life and his death and his resurrection. 29 00:01:36,553 --> 00:01:41,191 He's gone before us to prepare a room in the father's house. 30 00:01:41,191 --> 00:01:44,912 And this week, we're going to be talking a little more practical 31 00:01:44,912 --> 00:01:48,949 in terms of what that relationship actually looks like. 32 00:01:48,949 --> 00:01:53,921 What does it look like to have a relationship with God and including 33 00:01:53,955 --> 00:01:59,277 asking the question, how can you be sure if you have a relationship with God? 34 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:03,031 So to do that, we're going to be looking at Romans chapter eight, verse 16 35 00:02:03,081 --> 00:02:03,598 through 18. 36 00:02:03,598 --> 00:02:07,719 But full disclosure, this is some old school Bible teaching we'll be all over 37 00:02:07,753 --> 00:02:10,038 so I recommend just watching the screens 38 00:02:10,038 --> 00:02:14,477 and writing the verses down, and then you can look them up later. 39 00:02:14,510 --> 00:02:17,630 I have three points I'm going to use to guide our time together. 40 00:02:17,630 --> 00:02:18,881 Very simple. 41 00:02:18,881 --> 00:02:20,633 And they go like this three words. 42 00:02:20,633 --> 00:02:23,636 Actually I want to talk about presence, 43 00:02:23,636 --> 00:02:26,106 prepositions, and promise. 44 00:02:26,106 --> 00:02:29,826 Okay, presence, prepositions, and promise. 45 00:02:29,876 --> 00:02:32,880 All right, let's start first with presence. 46 00:02:33,030 --> 00:02:37,751 I don't know if you've ever thought about this, but in life there are 47 00:02:38,669 --> 00:02:44,042 natural relationships and what I'll call a supernatural relationships. 48 00:02:44,042 --> 00:02:45,910 I don't mean like with aliens or anything. 49 00:02:45,910 --> 00:02:47,278 That's not what I mean. 50 00:02:47,278 --> 00:02:47,946 What I mean is 51 00:02:47,946 --> 00:02:51,550 there are some relationships that just move forward 52 00:02:51,550 --> 00:02:54,553 because you take the steps that you're supposed to take, 53 00:02:54,586 --> 00:02:57,990 and then there are others that you just can't explain that way. 54 00:02:58,040 --> 00:03:03,596 Like consider getting a job, like building a career that's a natural relationship. 55 00:03:03,629 --> 00:03:05,348 Do you want to work at a place? 56 00:03:05,348 --> 00:03:09,552 You figure out what the requirements are to work there, and you go do that. 57 00:03:09,585 --> 00:03:12,672 You get a degree to unlock the door. 58 00:03:12,705 --> 00:03:16,510 You get an interview, you wear what you think they'll like. 59 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:19,596 You say the things you think they'll like. 60 00:03:19,630 --> 00:03:20,681 Then you get the job 61 00:03:20,681 --> 00:03:25,719 and you do the things you know they want you to do in order to move up. 62 00:03:25,719 --> 00:03:29,273 When you tell the story of your career, it's a series of steps 63 00:03:29,273 --> 00:03:33,878 you've taken, decisions you've made, doors you have unlocked. 64 00:03:33,911 --> 00:03:36,431 That's a natural relationship. 65 00:03:36,431 --> 00:03:38,917 Falling in love is very different. 66 00:03:38,917 --> 00:03:42,838 So if I were telling you the story of my relationship with my wife 67 00:03:42,838 --> 00:03:46,708 and I said, yeah, I just did a lot of research about her 68 00:03:46,992 --> 00:03:50,229 online, I figured out what she likes for guys to wear 69 00:03:50,229 --> 00:03:52,515 and how she likes for guys to do their hair, 70 00:03:52,515 --> 00:03:56,269 and I kind of hung out in the spaces where she hung out and listened to 71 00:03:56,269 --> 00:03:58,271 the things she talked about, 72 00:03:58,271 --> 00:03:58,755 and I 73 00:03:58,755 --> 00:04:02,392 kind of just observed her from a distance and figured out what her hobbies were 74 00:04:02,592 --> 00:04:05,595 like. Zach, you're describing a felony. 75 00:04:05,679 --> 00:04:08,799 That's that's stalking, right? 76 00:04:09,032 --> 00:04:10,717 That's because they're not the same. 77 00:04:10,717 --> 00:04:13,354 Like like you want to be loved romantically. 78 00:04:13,354 --> 00:04:17,191 I want to be loved romantically in a more supernatural way. 79 00:04:17,642 --> 00:04:20,828 I mean, there are there are obviously natural parts of it. 80 00:04:20,828 --> 00:04:23,915 But I want my wife to say, you know, I just saw you new 81 00:04:24,466 --> 00:04:26,918 you know, there was just a moment where I realized 82 00:04:26,918 --> 00:04:28,753 I want there to be some something 83 00:04:28,753 --> 00:04:32,040 inexplicable, something she didn't manufacture 84 00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:34,476 because getting a job and falling in love, 85 00:04:34,476 --> 00:04:36,679 they're not the same kind of relationships. 86 00:04:36,679 --> 00:04:38,881 And I say that to ask this question. 87 00:04:38,881 --> 00:04:41,917 Well, which one is a relationship with God? 88 00:04:43,386 --> 00:04:44,754 Is it natural? 89 00:04:44,754 --> 00:04:48,041 Meaning the way you get a relationship with God is you just put in the work. 90 00:04:48,074 --> 00:04:51,361 You you take the steps, you do the things you're supposed to do. 91 00:04:51,361 --> 00:04:54,347 And over time, you unlock access to God. 92 00:04:54,347 --> 00:04:58,469 Or is it a little more like falling in love and there's just something 93 00:04:58,469 --> 00:05:01,672 you can't manufacture to it? 94 00:05:01,705 --> 00:05:04,108 Well, I think the answer is the latter. 95 00:05:04,108 --> 00:05:05,910 It's a little more like falling in love. 96 00:05:05,910 --> 00:05:09,630 And one of the places the Bible says that is our passage this weekend. 97 00:05:09,681 --> 00:05:13,151 Here's what Paul says in Romans eight verses 16 through 18. 98 00:05:13,151 --> 00:05:16,238 He says, the spirit himself bears 99 00:05:16,238 --> 00:05:20,225 witness with our spirit that we are children of God. 100 00:05:20,225 --> 00:05:25,948 And if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided 101 00:05:25,948 --> 00:05:28,951 we suffer with him in order that we may also 102 00:05:29,118 --> 00:05:31,954 be glorified with him. 103 00:05:31,954 --> 00:05:35,475 The the point Paul is making is here's how you know. 104 00:05:35,475 --> 00:05:37,827 He's saying you have a relationship with God. 105 00:05:37,827 --> 00:05:42,866 It's through the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life. 106 00:05:43,150 --> 00:05:47,438 Now the Bible tells us that there's one God, but he is three persons 107 00:05:47,438 --> 00:05:51,275 father, son, and spirit, one and yet three, three, and yet one. 108 00:05:51,275 --> 00:05:53,794 And if you're like, man, that's hard to understand. 109 00:05:53,794 --> 00:05:54,512 That's not a sign. 110 00:05:54,512 --> 00:05:57,348 You're not getting it. It's a sign you are getting it. Okay. 111 00:05:57,348 --> 00:06:00,235 That's because I don't know if this makes sense the way I teach it. 112 00:06:00,235 --> 00:06:02,437 Like even when I teach kids, there's nothing. 113 00:06:02,437 --> 00:06:05,707 If there is a God, there would be nothing like him, right? 114 00:06:05,757 --> 00:06:09,311 He. He wouldn't just be like a giant human in the sky. 115 00:06:09,628 --> 00:06:11,630 There'd be nothing and no one like him. 116 00:06:11,630 --> 00:06:14,900 And so when the Bible says God is one and yet three, three, and yet one, 117 00:06:14,967 --> 00:06:16,318 we go, man, that's hard to understand. 118 00:06:16,318 --> 00:06:18,721 Yeah, but doesn't that make sense? 119 00:06:18,721 --> 00:06:21,040 God would be hard to understand. 120 00:06:21,040 --> 00:06:25,028 He wouldn't fit neatly in any of our boxes or categories. 121 00:06:25,028 --> 00:06:25,195 Even. 122 00:06:25,195 --> 00:06:28,999 Sometimes people will be like, well, can you give me an analogy or a metaphor? 123 00:06:28,999 --> 00:06:31,435 And the answer is no, not really. 124 00:06:31,435 --> 00:06:34,121 No, I can't, because there's no one like God. 125 00:06:34,121 --> 00:06:35,389 There's nothing like God. 126 00:06:35,389 --> 00:06:39,710 He's one in yet three, three, and yet one father, son and spirit. 127 00:06:39,710 --> 00:06:42,279 The father designed us for relationship. 128 00:06:42,279 --> 00:06:47,635 The son earned our relationship the spirit, his presence in our lives 129 00:06:47,635 --> 00:06:52,040 is the evidence that we actually have the relationship. 130 00:06:52,440 --> 00:06:54,392 To explain this, let me reference. 131 00:06:54,392 --> 00:06:55,794 We won't read it, but just reference 132 00:06:55,794 --> 00:06:58,947 another part of the Bible in the book of Ezekiel. 133 00:06:59,114 --> 00:07:00,115 Ezekiel was a prophet. 134 00:07:00,115 --> 00:07:03,469 His job was to tell the people what God wanted for them. 135 00:07:03,469 --> 00:07:05,721 In 37 God has. 136 00:07:05,721 --> 00:07:09,592 There's this vision God gives Ezekiel of a valley of dry bones. 137 00:07:09,759 --> 00:07:11,828 And the reason why they're called dry bones 138 00:07:11,828 --> 00:07:14,831 is because this is not like a recent battle that happened there. 139 00:07:15,115 --> 00:07:19,186 These are like more like Indiana Jones archeological dig, 140 00:07:19,236 --> 00:07:22,589 kind of bones like like they're they're dry, they're dusty. 141 00:07:22,639 --> 00:07:24,358 There's no organic matter on them. 142 00:07:24,358 --> 00:07:26,160 That guy's kneebone is there. 143 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:27,761 And his his arm bone is there. 144 00:07:27,761 --> 00:07:28,429 You get it? 145 00:07:28,429 --> 00:07:30,031 It's an old scene. 146 00:07:30,031 --> 00:07:34,235 And God says to his, Ezekiel, can these bones live? 147 00:07:34,719 --> 00:07:36,437 And Ezekiel does what you should do. 148 00:07:36,437 --> 00:07:39,758 When God asks you a question like that, he's like, I don't know, God. 149 00:07:39,791 --> 00:07:41,910 What do you think? 150 00:07:41,910 --> 00:07:44,997 And God says, watch this, basically. 151 00:07:44,997 --> 00:07:47,266 And he causes the bones to come alive. 152 00:07:47,266 --> 00:07:51,554 And then he tells Ezekiel, he says, hey, one day I'm going to pour out my spirit 153 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:55,992 and I'm going to make people who are dead come alive. 154 00:07:56,909 --> 00:07:59,712 That's what Paul is talking about. 155 00:07:59,712 --> 00:08:02,515 To become a Christian is not to wake up one day and be like, you know what? 156 00:08:02,515 --> 00:08:04,150 I need to get serious about my faith. 157 00:08:05,151 --> 00:08:07,320 I need to take some steps towards God. 158 00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:09,189 I need to modify my behavior. 159 00:08:09,189 --> 00:08:10,841 No, no, no. It's not like getting a job. 160 00:08:10,841 --> 00:08:15,346 To become a Christian is to experience the presence of the Spirit of God. 161 00:08:15,346 --> 00:08:18,349 Your story would go like this I was dry bones. 162 00:08:18,399 --> 00:08:22,670 I was dead, and then I came alive. 163 00:08:23,321 --> 00:08:25,907 To be a Christian is not a natural relationship. 164 00:08:25,907 --> 00:08:28,677 It's a supernatural relationship. 165 00:08:28,677 --> 00:08:31,913 Now that begs the question, of course, for you to say, well, wait a minute. 166 00:08:31,913 --> 00:08:32,798 Hold on. 167 00:08:32,798 --> 00:08:36,268 How how do I know if I have that? 168 00:08:36,318 --> 00:08:38,837 Because, you know, every survey that comes out, 169 00:08:38,837 --> 00:08:42,308 they'll say 80% of Americans or so will say that they're Christians. 170 00:08:42,675 --> 00:08:44,594 But I don't think that's what they mean. 171 00:08:44,594 --> 00:08:48,915 I don't think 80% of Americans are going, I was dead and I came alive, 172 00:08:48,948 --> 00:08:53,320 like I am experiencing the presence of the Holy Spirit of God. 173 00:08:53,320 --> 00:08:54,955 I think what they mean is I get up and go to church, 174 00:08:54,955 --> 00:08:57,357 and I stand when they tell me to and sit when they tell me to. 175 00:08:57,357 --> 00:08:59,760 And I try to live generously and keep the rules. 176 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:04,865 And so how do I know if I have this presence of the Spirit of God? 177 00:09:04,865 --> 00:09:06,751 Well, that's my second point. 178 00:09:06,751 --> 00:09:10,438 Not just the presence of the Holy Spirit, but prepositions. 179 00:09:10,588 --> 00:09:14,425 I have four prepositions I think the Bible would use to describe 180 00:09:14,425 --> 00:09:17,595 what the presence of the Holy Spirit is like in your life, 181 00:09:17,595 --> 00:09:20,949 and then you can work through hey, have I experienced this now? 182 00:09:20,999 --> 00:09:22,668 I think these are all prepositions. 183 00:09:22,668 --> 00:09:24,386 If you're an English teacher and I'm wrong, 184 00:09:24,386 --> 00:09:27,439 I have to do this a bunch of times this weekend, so come see me. 185 00:09:27,473 --> 00:09:29,708 But whatever they are, I needed to start with P. 186 00:09:29,708 --> 00:09:31,994 Okay, so just replace it with a p word. 187 00:09:31,994 --> 00:09:35,798 So prepositions for prepositions I want to talk about on, in, 188 00:09:35,832 --> 00:09:39,869 for and through on in for and through. 189 00:09:39,919 --> 00:09:41,554 All right. Let's start with on. 190 00:09:41,554 --> 00:09:46,276 The first job of the Holy Spirit is to work on us 191 00:09:46,310 --> 00:09:50,431 externally in to to cause us to see that we're dead 192 00:09:50,481 --> 00:09:53,951 bones, to see our need for God. 193 00:09:54,118 --> 00:09:57,188 This is the way Jesus describes it in John 16. 194 00:09:57,238 --> 00:09:59,190 It'll be on the screen. Here's what it says. 195 00:09:59,190 --> 00:10:02,877 And when he he hears the Holy Spirit, and when he comes, 196 00:10:02,877 --> 00:10:06,681 Jesus says he will convict the world 197 00:10:06,915 --> 00:10:11,320 concerning sin and righteousness and judgment concerning sin, 198 00:10:11,320 --> 00:10:14,156 because they do not believe in me concerning righteousness, 199 00:10:14,156 --> 00:10:17,426 because I go to the father, and you will see me no longer concerning 200 00:10:17,426 --> 00:10:20,429 judgment, because the ruler of this world is judge. 201 00:10:20,429 --> 00:10:23,633 Jesus says that the first job of the Holy Spirit 202 00:10:23,633 --> 00:10:29,305 is to awaken people to the reality that they have sinned against God, 203 00:10:29,556 --> 00:10:33,710 that they're under God's judgment, that they're in rebellion to God, 204 00:10:33,710 --> 00:10:37,080 and they're in need of a remedy to that. 205 00:10:37,147 --> 00:10:37,948 Listen here. 206 00:10:37,948 --> 00:10:38,515 Here's the way 207 00:10:38,515 --> 00:10:42,353 I would say it in like our experience, sometimes people will say to me, 208 00:10:42,386 --> 00:10:46,707 Pastor Zach, when you were preaching, it was like you were talking to me. 209 00:10:48,076 --> 00:10:50,828 That's the spirit working on you. 210 00:10:50,828 --> 00:10:52,797 I don't know what's going on in your life. 211 00:10:52,797 --> 00:10:54,866 I'm not in my office like that guy. 212 00:10:54,866 --> 00:10:56,985 Third row, little to the left. 213 00:10:56,985 --> 00:10:58,387 This is going to nail him, right? 214 00:10:58,387 --> 00:11:03,108 I, I don't I don't have that kind of infrastructure, that kind of network. 215 00:11:03,158 --> 00:11:03,909 That's the spirit. 216 00:11:03,909 --> 00:11:05,027 Sometimes people will say, 217 00:11:05,027 --> 00:11:08,314 I don't know why, but when I come, I just get super emotional. 218 00:11:09,031 --> 00:11:10,917 That's the work of the spirit. 219 00:11:10,917 --> 00:11:11,751 I'll give it to you this way. 220 00:11:11,751 --> 00:11:12,201 At one time 221 00:11:12,201 --> 00:11:16,439 I was meeting this, this really bright young woman in downtown Cleveland. 222 00:11:16,439 --> 00:11:18,358 We were she was curious about Christianity. 223 00:11:18,358 --> 00:11:19,476 I was pastoring in Cleveland. 224 00:11:19,476 --> 00:11:22,396 We were talking and she was a doctor, very bright. 225 00:11:22,396 --> 00:11:26,350 And and one day she we were meeting was like the fifth of fifth or sixth meeting. 226 00:11:26,350 --> 00:11:28,118 And she asked me a question that I couldn't 227 00:11:28,118 --> 00:11:30,354 I didn't have a great answer to, and it frustrated me. 228 00:11:30,354 --> 00:11:33,708 Her name was Karen, and I just said, Karen, let me ask you a question. 229 00:11:33,841 --> 00:11:35,193 Why do you meet with me? 230 00:11:35,193 --> 00:11:37,996 And she's like, I don't know. 231 00:11:37,996 --> 00:11:41,232 And I said, you're you're smarter than me. 232 00:11:41,316 --> 00:11:42,634 You're more educated than me. 233 00:11:42,634 --> 00:11:45,387 And I thought at some point she'd jump in and be like, no, no, you're pretty smart. 234 00:11:45,387 --> 00:11:48,357 But she was just like, yep, yep. 235 00:11:48,357 --> 00:11:52,761 And I said, why do you keep meeting me in this coffee shop to talk about Jesus? 236 00:11:52,761 --> 00:11:55,481 And she looked at me and she said, I don't know. 237 00:11:55,481 --> 00:11:57,266 I just can't let it go. 238 00:11:58,351 --> 00:12:00,153 That's the spirit. 239 00:12:00,153 --> 00:12:02,789 That's the spirit working on you. 240 00:12:02,789 --> 00:12:04,390 Now, here's the thing. 241 00:12:04,390 --> 00:12:05,959 You may have experienced this. 242 00:12:05,959 --> 00:12:08,795 Sometimes that happens here in a big way. 243 00:12:08,795 --> 00:12:11,298 Like I'll be preaching or we'll be in a moment 244 00:12:11,298 --> 00:12:12,950 where you can just sense God in the room. 245 00:12:12,950 --> 00:12:14,318 You can sense him moving. 246 00:12:14,318 --> 00:12:14,918 But but, 247 00:12:14,918 --> 00:12:18,189 you know, here's what you and I know on is not enough because it goes away, 248 00:12:18,906 --> 00:12:19,190 you know, 249 00:12:19,190 --> 00:12:20,875 we'll experience this incredible moment, 250 00:12:20,875 --> 00:12:23,795 and then the service ends and somebody goes, what's for lunch? 251 00:12:23,795 --> 00:12:24,912 And it's like, it's gone. 252 00:12:24,912 --> 00:12:27,348 You know, it's like we've turned the page, right? 253 00:12:27,348 --> 00:12:29,317 So it's not just on that's on. 254 00:12:29,317 --> 00:12:31,236 Here's the second one in. 255 00:12:31,236 --> 00:12:33,672 Now this is where the real change happens. 256 00:12:33,672 --> 00:12:36,158 Not on us having us go. Man. 257 00:12:36,158 --> 00:12:38,477 I feel like maybe I'm at odds with God. 258 00:12:38,477 --> 00:12:41,513 I feel like I need some solution for God in 259 00:12:41,547 --> 00:12:44,517 is when who I am begins to change. 260 00:12:45,668 --> 00:12:48,988 Like the things I want, the things I value, 261 00:12:48,988 --> 00:12:53,309 the way I feel about God, the way I feel about Jesus, everything begins to change. 262 00:12:53,309 --> 00:12:56,196 This is how Paul describes this in the Book of Titus. 263 00:12:56,196 --> 00:12:56,997 It'll be on the screen. 264 00:12:56,997 --> 00:12:58,231 He says this. 265 00:12:58,231 --> 00:13:00,150 He says he saved us. 266 00:13:00,150 --> 00:13:04,154 Listen, not because of works done by us in righteousness, 267 00:13:04,188 --> 00:13:08,476 not a natural relationship, but according to his own mercy, 268 00:13:08,476 --> 00:13:13,398 by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 269 00:13:13,431 --> 00:13:17,719 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior. 270 00:13:17,719 --> 00:13:19,037 Here's what Paul saying. 271 00:13:19,037 --> 00:13:23,041 He's saying our relationship with God is not like getting a job. 272 00:13:23,508 --> 00:13:24,993 He said, we didn't dry bones. 273 00:13:24,993 --> 00:13:27,796 Don't wake up one day and say, you know what I want to do today? 274 00:13:27,796 --> 00:13:29,598 I'm going to come alive. 275 00:13:29,598 --> 00:13:31,717 And we don't do that with God. 276 00:13:31,717 --> 00:13:35,388 Instead, what happens is the spirit begins to work in us. 277 00:13:35,388 --> 00:13:38,358 And you may have experienced this, you start finding. 278 00:13:38,358 --> 00:13:42,278 I used to think all this stuff was silly, and now people tell me all the time, 279 00:13:42,412 --> 00:13:43,713 I'll say, when did you become a Christian? 280 00:13:43,713 --> 00:13:45,282 And they'll go, maybe this is your story. 281 00:13:45,282 --> 00:13:47,033 They'll go, I don't know. 282 00:13:47,033 --> 00:13:49,386 I mean, I started coming, I thought it was crazy, 283 00:13:49,386 --> 00:13:52,556 and then I was coming and I didn't believe, but I was curious. 284 00:13:52,706 --> 00:13:55,476 And then I was coming and I didn't believe, but I was interested. 285 00:13:55,476 --> 00:13:57,795 And then one day I woke up and I was like, oh, no, 286 00:13:59,313 --> 00:14:01,949 I believe this stuff. 287 00:14:01,949 --> 00:14:03,234 That's the spirit working in you. 288 00:14:03,234 --> 00:14:06,988 One of my favorite stories is another really bright 289 00:14:06,988 --> 00:14:10,225 young woman I was meeting with in Cleveland, who her name was Alex. 290 00:14:10,225 --> 00:14:13,228 She had just become a Christian and we were talking that day. 291 00:14:13,712 --> 00:14:16,348 We got coffee together and and we were talking about 292 00:14:16,348 --> 00:14:18,000 what it means to follow Jesus. 293 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:19,468 And she had just become a Christian. 294 00:14:19,468 --> 00:14:22,521 And I said, you know, I was just trying to wrap it up and get home. 295 00:14:22,521 --> 00:14:24,557 And I said, what are you doing this weekend? 296 00:14:24,557 --> 00:14:27,226 And she said, oh, there's this big party on campus. 297 00:14:27,226 --> 00:14:28,311 And, and I'm going to go, 298 00:14:28,311 --> 00:14:31,598 there's a guy I'm interested in, and I'm hoping we're going to hook up, 299 00:14:32,349 --> 00:14:35,869 which I really appreciated because no one ever tells pastor stuff like that. 300 00:14:36,586 --> 00:14:39,640 Everybody I know, all they do is read the Bible and pray 301 00:14:39,640 --> 00:14:43,878 and, you know, so I was just glad someone was treating me like a human. 302 00:14:43,878 --> 00:14:45,229 But then I was like, 303 00:14:45,229 --> 00:14:49,117 oh man, I'm going to have to tell her what Jesus says about that. 304 00:14:49,117 --> 00:14:54,672 And she is going to stop calling herself a Christian after like 18 hours. 305 00:14:54,989 --> 00:14:58,426 And I just said, hey, Alex, do you mind if I tell you what Jesus said about that? 306 00:14:58,426 --> 00:14:59,111 She said, no. 307 00:14:59,111 --> 00:15:02,197 And I took 30 minutes to walk her through a biblical understanding 308 00:15:02,197 --> 00:15:05,517 of sexuality and, and covenant and and all that. 309 00:15:05,517 --> 00:15:07,670 And at the end I said, what do you think? 310 00:15:07,670 --> 00:15:09,438 And she looked at me. I'll never forget it. 311 00:15:09,438 --> 00:15:10,706 She looked at me, big smile on her face. 312 00:15:10,706 --> 00:15:14,277 She said, well, it looks like I'm going to have to make new plans for the weekend. 313 00:15:14,911 --> 00:15:15,745 And I said, really? 314 00:15:15,745 --> 00:15:18,515 And she goes, listen, I can't explain it. I love Jesus. 315 00:15:18,515 --> 00:15:22,586 Whatever he wants is what I think is best. 316 00:15:23,386 --> 00:15:24,755 How do you explain that? 317 00:15:24,755 --> 00:15:26,506 You don't, you don't. 318 00:15:26,506 --> 00:15:29,793 She she didn't decide in 36 hours to become a new person. 319 00:15:29,793 --> 00:15:33,681 The spirit wasn't just on her, but he was working in her heart and in her 320 00:15:33,681 --> 00:15:38,953 mind, changing what she wanted, changing what she valued, changing who she was. 321 00:15:38,953 --> 00:15:41,673 Not at a natural way, but a super natural way. 322 00:15:41,673 --> 00:15:42,290 Here's the third one. 323 00:15:42,290 --> 00:15:45,827 You're going to love this if you don't know this, not just on and in, but for. 324 00:15:46,394 --> 00:15:48,196 This is one of my favorite verses in all of the Bible. 325 00:15:48,196 --> 00:15:51,316 Here's what Paul says in Romans eight, just a little bit later than our passage. 326 00:15:51,316 --> 00:15:52,267 He says this. 327 00:15:52,267 --> 00:15:55,271 Likewise, the spirit helps in our weakness, 328 00:15:55,638 --> 00:16:00,192 for we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself 329 00:16:00,226 --> 00:16:03,880 intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 330 00:16:03,880 --> 00:16:06,916 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the spirit, 331 00:16:06,916 --> 00:16:10,237 because the spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 332 00:16:10,237 --> 00:16:13,590 Here's a Paul saying, The Holy Spirit does a number of things for you. 333 00:16:13,640 --> 00:16:16,994 You don't even know he's doing, one of which is he prays for you. 334 00:16:17,027 --> 00:16:19,313 Things you would pray if you knew what was coming. 335 00:16:20,347 --> 00:16:21,832 Think about that. 336 00:16:21,832 --> 00:16:24,669 The Holy Spirit is praying for you. 337 00:16:24,669 --> 00:16:28,756 Things you would pray so you don't know when the next big thing is coming, right? 338 00:16:28,790 --> 00:16:30,558 You don't know when the diagnosis is coming. 339 00:16:30,558 --> 00:16:32,627 You don't know when the career is going to take a turn, 340 00:16:32,627 --> 00:16:34,279 when the relationship is going to dissolve. 341 00:16:34,279 --> 00:16:37,315 But he does, and he's praying for you. 342 00:16:37,349 --> 00:16:41,120 Things you don't even know on and in and for. 343 00:16:41,153 --> 00:16:44,640 How do you make God pray for you to himself? 344 00:16:44,673 --> 00:16:45,307 You don't. 345 00:16:45,307 --> 00:16:45,958 He does it. 346 00:16:45,958 --> 00:16:47,760 It's not natural. It's supernatural. 347 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:49,228 Here's the fourth one. 348 00:16:49,228 --> 00:16:55,001 On and in and for and through acts one eight, Jesus says this to his disciples. 349 00:16:55,001 --> 00:16:59,306 He says, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, 350 00:16:59,306 --> 00:17:01,758 and you will be my witnesses 351 00:17:01,758 --> 00:17:05,746 in Jerusalem, and all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. 352 00:17:05,746 --> 00:17:07,314 Jesus says, here's what's going to happen. 353 00:17:07,314 --> 00:17:09,316 I'm going to tell the whole world 354 00:17:09,316 --> 00:17:12,503 what I've done, and I'm going to do it through you. 355 00:17:12,520 --> 00:17:16,441 You see, one of the evidences of my own relationship with God 356 00:17:16,441 --> 00:17:21,680 is that you get something from what I say, when when I'm up here 357 00:17:21,680 --> 00:17:25,667 helping you understand the Bible says that coming from me. 358 00:17:25,717 --> 00:17:27,269 It's like I went to school. 359 00:17:27,269 --> 00:17:29,121 It's not because I have some natural gift. 360 00:17:29,121 --> 00:17:33,309 Anything meaningful that's accomplished is because what the spirit 361 00:17:33,309 --> 00:17:36,028 is doing through me. Here's all I'm trying to say. 362 00:17:36,028 --> 00:17:39,632 A relationship with God is not coming to church 363 00:17:39,632 --> 00:17:42,919 and trying hard and doing the right thing. 364 00:17:42,952 --> 00:17:46,706 A relationship with God is dead, bones coming alive 365 00:17:46,706 --> 00:17:52,346 because the Spirit of God is on us, in us, for us and through us we. 366 00:17:52,346 --> 00:17:55,866 We live a life full of his presence. 367 00:17:55,866 --> 00:17:57,468 Is that what you mean? 368 00:17:59,470 --> 00:18:01,556 Because it's possible that you're sitting, you going, man, 369 00:18:01,556 --> 00:18:05,109 you know, I, I do all the right things, but but I don't have that. 370 00:18:06,961 --> 00:18:09,114 Like, that is not my experience. 371 00:18:09,114 --> 00:18:12,234 And I would just ask you to consider if maybe 372 00:18:12,234 --> 00:18:15,270 the first sign of the spirit working on you 373 00:18:16,471 --> 00:18:19,475 is to help you see that, 374 00:18:19,908 --> 00:18:22,878 to awaken you to that, to say you're 375 00:18:22,878 --> 00:18:27,800 you have a natural relationship with me, but that that isn't what I want. 376 00:18:28,067 --> 00:18:30,119 I want a supernatural one. 377 00:18:30,119 --> 00:18:33,189 But if you're here and you're a Christian, you say, 378 00:18:33,239 --> 00:18:36,276 well, no, I have experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit. 379 00:18:36,276 --> 00:18:39,112 I just wish I experienced it more. 380 00:18:39,112 --> 00:18:40,547 Do you ever feel that like. 381 00:18:40,547 --> 00:18:43,117 Like, yeah. Yeah, he's worked on me, but I wish more. 382 00:18:43,117 --> 00:18:46,070 He's worked in me, but I wish I was changing more. 383 00:18:46,070 --> 00:18:49,307 He's done things through me, but I wish more. 384 00:18:50,041 --> 00:18:52,910 Listen, if that's how you feel, I just want to end with encouragement. 385 00:18:52,910 --> 00:18:55,230 So my third point is promise. 386 00:18:56,481 --> 00:18:57,265 If you 387 00:18:57,265 --> 00:19:00,352 wish that the Holy Spirit was more present in your life, that's good. 388 00:19:00,385 --> 00:19:01,870 I don't want to talk you out of that. 389 00:19:01,870 --> 00:19:03,388 I want you to want that. 390 00:19:03,388 --> 00:19:05,958 I want you to want him to use you. 391 00:19:05,958 --> 00:19:08,677 I want you to want him to change you. 392 00:19:08,677 --> 00:19:12,431 I want you to be as awake and alive to the presence 393 00:19:12,431 --> 00:19:16,436 of the Holy Spirit in your life as is humanly possible. 394 00:19:16,436 --> 00:19:17,787 I want that for you. But. 395 00:19:17,787 --> 00:19:19,672 But here's the danger. 396 00:19:19,672 --> 00:19:24,427 You might focus on what you don't have more than you do. 397 00:19:25,679 --> 00:19:26,396 Here's what I mean. 398 00:19:26,396 --> 00:19:31,335 Paul says, the Spirit of God testifies to our spirit that we are children. 399 00:19:31,352 --> 00:19:32,753 In other words, here's what he says. 400 00:19:32,753 --> 00:19:35,556 You're looking at the wrong thing. 401 00:19:35,556 --> 00:19:38,159 Sure you want more of the Holy Spirit, so do I. 402 00:19:38,159 --> 00:19:39,560 But he says, but if you have any, 403 00:19:41,279 --> 00:19:44,032 that means you're a child of God. 404 00:19:44,032 --> 00:19:45,633 Paul writes it this way in Ephesians. 405 00:19:45,633 --> 00:19:46,801 He says it this I love this. 406 00:19:46,801 --> 00:19:50,555 That's what he says in him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the 407 00:19:50,589 --> 00:19:52,040 gospel of your salvation, 408 00:19:52,040 --> 00:19:56,278 and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 409 00:19:56,946 --> 00:19:59,949 who is the guarantee of our inheritance 410 00:20:00,116 --> 00:20:03,269 until we acquire possession of it to the praise of his glory. 411 00:20:03,319 --> 00:20:05,438 That word guarantee means down payment. 412 00:20:05,438 --> 00:20:08,391 In other words, here's what Paul is saying if the spirit has worked 413 00:20:08,391 --> 00:20:11,878 on you, in you, for you, through you. Yes. 414 00:20:11,878 --> 00:20:14,281 You want more? Yes, you wish you were doing more. 415 00:20:14,281 --> 00:20:16,466 But if he's done any. Here's what Paul says. 416 00:20:16,466 --> 00:20:19,470 That is the proof positive you're having bound. 417 00:20:21,188 --> 00:20:23,441 In other words, let me just get really real with you for a second. 418 00:20:23,441 --> 00:20:25,626 Let's just take something very common. 419 00:20:25,626 --> 00:20:27,111 Let's say you have a problem. 420 00:20:27,111 --> 00:20:28,029 Another kids in the room. 421 00:20:28,029 --> 00:20:29,197 So I'll say it this way. 422 00:20:29,197 --> 00:20:32,667 Let's say you have a problem with looking at websites you wish you didn't look at, 423 00:20:33,401 --> 00:20:34,552 and you hate it. 424 00:20:35,670 --> 00:20:37,789 I hate it, you're shamed. 425 00:20:37,789 --> 00:20:38,990 You're guilty. 426 00:20:38,990 --> 00:20:39,958 You hate it. 427 00:20:39,958 --> 00:20:41,877 You know, it grieves God. 428 00:20:41,877 --> 00:20:43,228 You know it's not what he wants for you. 429 00:20:43,228 --> 00:20:46,315 You know, it's probably robbing you of the closeness 430 00:20:46,315 --> 00:20:48,267 you're meant to have with him. You hate it. 431 00:20:48,267 --> 00:20:50,720 And I don't want you to not hate it. That's not. 432 00:20:50,720 --> 00:20:53,039 I'm not trying to talk you out of that. I want you to hate it. 433 00:20:53,039 --> 00:20:55,642 But I want you to realize something. 434 00:20:55,642 --> 00:20:58,511 Years ago, you were looking at the same websites 435 00:20:58,511 --> 00:21:01,515 and you didn't hate it. 436 00:21:01,882 --> 00:21:04,318 People all over the world look at those websites. 437 00:21:04,318 --> 00:21:07,321 They don't hate it. 438 00:21:07,521 --> 00:21:09,189 So you wish you hated it more. 439 00:21:09,189 --> 00:21:11,108 And I wish that for you, too. 440 00:21:11,108 --> 00:21:14,111 But you're forgetting your dry bones. 441 00:21:15,146 --> 00:21:17,432 If you hate it at all, 442 00:21:17,432 --> 00:21:20,435 it's because of the Spirit of God in you. 443 00:21:20,785 --> 00:21:23,238 See, we all wish we were better. 444 00:21:23,238 --> 00:21:24,706 We all wish we were more like Jesus. 445 00:21:24,706 --> 00:21:25,957 And I want you to wish that. 446 00:21:25,957 --> 00:21:29,878 But have you ever stopped to say, but if all I am are bones, 447 00:21:30,195 --> 00:21:30,913 let me put it this way. 448 00:21:30,913 --> 00:21:33,265 Can you imagine some of the bones God brings to life? 449 00:21:33,265 --> 00:21:36,669 And as 37 and walks up to just, 450 00:21:36,719 --> 00:21:40,590 I guess, one of the bone guys and he's like pretty nuts, man. 451 00:21:40,590 --> 00:21:44,077 And the guys like the guys like, yeah, you know, I just wish I could jump higher. 452 00:21:46,146 --> 00:21:47,681 You know, run faster. 453 00:21:47,681 --> 00:21:51,435 A couple of tendons would go a long way, you know. 454 00:21:51,468 --> 00:21:53,637 Do you know what as he would say to him is like, dude, I get it. 455 00:21:53,637 --> 00:21:57,041 But you were dead like five minutes ago. 456 00:21:59,510 --> 00:22:02,513 Brother, sister in Christ, 457 00:22:02,596 --> 00:22:03,481 I know you want more. 458 00:22:03,481 --> 00:22:05,349 I want more for you. 459 00:22:05,349 --> 00:22:07,001 I don't want you to not want more. 460 00:22:07,001 --> 00:22:08,870 I want right now you to be praying God, 461 00:22:08,870 --> 00:22:12,307 but I, I want you to work on me, in me, for me, through me more. 462 00:22:12,674 --> 00:22:14,593 I want to participate in your kingdom more. 463 00:22:14,593 --> 00:22:17,112 I want I want to be holy like you more. 464 00:22:17,112 --> 00:22:20,199 I want to experience conviction over sin. 465 00:22:20,199 --> 00:22:22,751 I want to experience your blessing, your gifts. 466 00:22:22,751 --> 00:22:26,956 I want more, but I hope when you do that, you 467 00:22:26,989 --> 00:22:31,311 marvel at the grace of God that you even want it at all. 468 00:22:32,278 --> 00:22:33,797 And you take a second to 469 00:22:33,797 --> 00:22:37,400 say to hear what Paul saying that that in and of itself 470 00:22:37,717 --> 00:22:41,838 is the down payment of the home 471 00:22:42,789 --> 00:22:45,309 that is most definitely yours. 472 00:22:45,309 --> 00:22:47,511 It's not a natural relationship. 473 00:22:47,511 --> 00:22:51,198 You don't manufacture it, but you can have it 474 00:22:52,550 --> 00:22:55,119 if you just ask 475 00:22:55,119 --> 00:22:58,039 that through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, 476 00:22:58,039 --> 00:23:02,277 you might gain the presence of the Spirit of God. 477 00:23:02,310 --> 00:23:05,113 Let me pray for you. Father God, thank you so much for everyone here. 478 00:23:05,113 --> 00:23:09,985 Thank you for those that are awakening to the first time that they're religious, 479 00:23:10,552 --> 00:23:13,305 but they don't know anything about the presence of the Holy Spirit 480 00:23:13,305 --> 00:23:14,190 that you might show them. 481 00:23:14,190 --> 00:23:18,161 You're not showing them that to wound them, but rather to woo them, 482 00:23:20,079 --> 00:23:22,198 and they might turn towards you. 483 00:23:22,198 --> 00:23:25,986 And for those of us who wish we had more, 484 00:23:26,386 --> 00:23:30,157 who wish we were further along, that we wouldn't stop wishing that 485 00:23:30,157 --> 00:23:33,394 and wanting that, and even participating in the work of the spirit 486 00:23:33,394 --> 00:23:35,679 to get there, but that we would take a second to 487 00:23:35,679 --> 00:23:38,666 say, God, I can't even believe I'm alive at all. 488 00:23:40,201 --> 00:23:41,435 We would marvel at the grace 489 00:23:41,435 --> 00:23:45,156 we have and the evidence that is of the future that's coming. 490 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:47,776 In Jesus name we pray. Amen.