John Gunter: Happy New Year to you. So thankful to be back with you. Thank you for allowing me the time off to see family as well. And I also wanna thank Ryan and Carlos for stepping in. I know they both did wonderful jobs.
Make sure you let them know that as well, especially Carlos. I'm pretty sure Ryan knows he did a great job. Is that right, Ryan? No. I'm just kidding.
Ryan was actually he told me this morning he was sick last week, so thank you for pushing through on that. It's very difficult. We we got to be at both families. Got to stay at Katie's parents some and my parents as well, and then we made my parents laugh because their beds are basically concrete. And so, you know, after a couple nights on those, we're ready to come home, and so we're we're so glad to to be back with you.
We're gonna begin in a in a different place this year. Anybody like survival shows? Yes? Yes? No?
Yes? So Alone is one of our favorite shows. Alone is a show that I think what do you start out with? 10? Something like that?
10 contestants, And they are dropped in some of the most remote places on earth, where they are allowed to take some things with them to survive, but the whole deal is you have no contact with anyone. You have to survive on the land, you have to just live, basically. The whole goal is to live, and the last one standing wins. And being from the country, I've always loved the outdoors. I love being out there.
Now, I'm I'm probably I would probably overestimate my skills to live out there because, you know, once I get cold, I could go in and mama had, you know, chili on the stove, and I could warm up. And but alone kind of it kind of celebrates that. That you can live off the land. They they try to put them in in very scary places as well, like, they put them in places where there are a lot of bears, like way too many bears, and mountain lions, and things like that. And so it's interesting to watch as you connect with the contestants as they go about their life and realize that it's not that great to be alone sometimes.
One of the funniest contestants to me was a was a man who they they'll show you a little preview of things building up to where they get on the show, and this guy had a party at his house, and he knew where he was going, and he was he was kind of bragging. He was telling his friends, he's like, you know, wait till those bears see me coming, you know, and just give him give him a high five and all that stuff. And that same contestant made it about thirty minutes being alone before he saw the first bear poop, and it was rather large. And before it even got dusk, he had already radioed in saying he was done. Nothing had happened, Just saw evidence of Bear, and he was gone.
Often, you know, celebrating being alone is one thing, but to actually live it is a different thing. Many contestants will make it for a while until they realize, man, it's very valuable to be with my family right now. I I always look at Evan when they when they start talking about, well, I've got a I've got a son or daughter at home, it's almost their birthday, and Evan and I look at each other like, well, they're done. It's over with. Because it is very valuable for us to be with someone.
And the series we're going to start, today is not, about being alone, it's actually quite the opposite. It's you're not alone, living with God's presence. And so, for the next six weeks, we're gonna be talking about God's presence within you, talking about the holy spirit. And so we're gonna begin this morning, with the scripture from John chapter 14, starting in verse 16. And it goes like this, Jesus speaking, and I will ask the father and he will give you another helper to be with you forever, even the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him.
You know him for he dwells with you and will be in you. And so Jesus is is saying this when he is about to leave his disciples. Those very people that he has walked with for a couple of years here, they've been his closest confidants, are now trying to deal with the fact that Jesus is leaving. And Jesus says, it's okay. Now, if your friend is leaving, just saying it's okay is probably not enough.
But what Jesus says is, I will ask the father, he will give you another helper to be with you for a limited time only, Forever. Even the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him, you know him for he dwells with you and will be with you. Church, for the next six weeks, you're going to hear me say, you are not alone. Oftentimes, it's this time of year where we start to we start to feel all the feelings. Right?
We enjoy the holidays, but with the the the good feelings of the holidays comes some bad as well, you've lost family members or you're missing something. And often, that can lead to especially after we get past the holidays and it's just kind of a waiting for the next thing. It can become this this lonely feeling, and I want you to know, at church, you are definitely not alone. In Exodus 33, we're gonna read verses 12 through 14. Moses said to the Lord, see, you say to me bring up this people, but you have not let me know whom you will send with me.
Yet you have said, I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight. Now, therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people. And he said, my presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. From the very beginning in the Garden of Eden, God's plan was to dwell with his people.
It was not to sit on high and look down and be uninvolved. It was to, very literally, walk within the garden with his people. And what we see throughout scripture is God's desire never changes. Now, it kind of morphs in the way that he does it because we always think we know better, but God's desire constantly is to be with his people, and that is his promise even to Moses at this point. In Hebrews thirteen five, the Hebrew writer says this, keep your life free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for he has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.
Why do you bring up this verse? Because oftentimes, what we do instead of filling our life with God in the presence of God, we try to fill it with other things. To think, well, what I can do when I feel lonely is fill that with another feeling. This time of the year, we might think about shopping. Shopping ever made you feel good?
Amen? Oh, come on. Logan bought himself some art supplies with his Christmas money, and yesterday, I saw on the app that the Amazon van was getting close, and he was just sitting in the window looking. And we probably all know that feeling. Some of you are lying, that's what you're doing.
Like, I I desire this thing. I want this thing because it it brings me joy for a limited time only. Right? It feels great until you forget you even bought it. How many of you have have bought it?
Because we get things so quickly with Amazon now, sometimes I'll get a box if it didn't come, you know, the next day. Katie and I are like, what did you order? I don't remember. It was that important. Until I opened that box, don't even know what I got.
But sometimes what we can do is we can I'm not saying shopping is bad, but we we can make shopping bad, can't we? If what I'm trying to do is fill my life with with things so that I I feel better, I think we're going down the wrong path because God is with you. And I think the problem is is that we don't turn to him, we turn to other things. So don't don't go and and pursue the love of money, pursue God. Back to John 14 in verse 18, that next verse we didn't read, he says this, I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you.
That is Jesus' promise to these people. And I take that very seriously, do you? That Jesus loves these men and he cares for them, and so what he says is, I will not leave you alone, I will come to you and I will be with you. God is going to send a helper to to help you without throughout your life. Did Jesus come back in three days and and two weeks or a month?
Well, okay. Jesus came back for a short time and was gone, but he sent the spirit of God to be with them. In Psalm thirty four eighteen, the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. I love what Heath said, for the communion time this morning. It is God loves a complicated problem.
Jesus loves a complicated situation. We spend a lot of time trying to figure out those complicated situations. Right? God goes to them. Jesus goes to them.
The brokenhearted, the crushed in spirit, God is near. God is coming. God wants to be with you, and he will be. In Isaiah forty one ten, fear not for I am with you. Be not dismayed for I am your God.
I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. There's no reason to pursue other things because God is with you. Romans eight starting in verse 10.
But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness. If the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit who dwells in you. Now Paul says it this way, if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you do you think he he knows that the spirit does? If the spirit dwells in you so if you have been baptized into his name, you have put on the name of Jesus in baptism, you are part of the family of God, and the spirit dwells within you. We can go back to Acts two on that.
You'll be given the gift of the holy spirit. So if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit who dwells in you. You can have comfort. You can have peace that the spirit of God will also bring life to your body. Anybody just love dealing with death?
Absolutely not. Even the thought of death brings up, oh goodness, I don't wanna talk about this. I think I I asked you one time, how many of you have a will? Raise your hand if you've got a will. Anybody just skip on down to do that?
I can't wait to talk about this today, who gets my stuff when I'm gone? That was one of the most depressing things that Katie and I did. After we had Evan, we thought, okay, well, now it's complicated. Now we need to make sure, and we even we sat down and did all the stuff, and okay. We've got to word this in such a way that if we have more kids, Evan doesn't get it all.
I'm breaking news to him right now, so you guys are my witnesses. If we've got a notary in the house, that'd be great. We had to word it in such a way, but you have to deal with, okay, well, I'm not even gonna be here all the time. And God says even in those moments, those moments of fear, those moments where you're not you're unsure, the spirit of God is with you. If you have the spirit of God, remember what Paul is saying is, if you have the spirit of God, remember that same spirit raised Jesus from the dead.
And if you have the same spirit, what's he gonna do for you? He's going to raise you to new life. In second Corinthians four, we read this from the the apostle Paul. Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, I believed and so I spoke, We also believe, and so we also speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. Amen.
For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people, it may increase thanksgiving to the glory of God. Somebody say amen. I must not have read that real well. You're still chewing on it. For it is all for your sake so that as grace extends to more and more people, that was their desire.
That grace keeps extending. More people hear about the grace and the love of God. Resolve for your sake so that as grace extends to more and more people, it may increase thanksgiving to the glory of God so we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.
As we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. So the things that are seen are are moving around. It's it's hard to grasp, and it feels good one time, the next time it doesn't. You you guys know I like to use the the new car metaphor.
Right? New car example. I love that car. It smells wonderful. I get in it, I feel a sense of pride, I don't I don't feel like it's gonna break down, and it's not that long, unfortunately, that you don't think about that at all the same way.
Right? Because that that moment of happiness, that feeling of happiness keeps moving. Well, I thought that would bring me happiness, and it did for a short period, but now this is gonna bring me happiness, and and that's gonna bring me happiness. And I keep trying to chase it, and and it's very limited time. He says, but things that are unseen are eternal, and one of those eternal things is the promises of God, that he will be with you.
In second Timothy one verse six, for this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God gave us a spirit, not of fear, but of power, and love, and self control. That God has given you his spirit. There's also a command in there to fan into flame. And so if our focus is always on something else bringing us joy or giving us a feeling of satisfaction, we're gonna miss out on that.
When's the last time that you prayed, Lord, fan into flame the spirit that is within me? Because that's a scary thought. Something. I might have to get involved, I might have to teach that class for Tyler. Uh-oh.
Which by the way, I'm sure Tyler would be happy to sit in with you if you want to get your feet under you. Yeah? No? Okay. No?
No. I can't fix it here. But fan into flame the gift of God. You understand you have been given a gift. You understand that, church?
Say yes. You have been given a gift. So don't look around and think, well, I didn't get what they got. Well, you might not have got the same spiritual gift, but you have been given the same spirit. Now, your obligation now is to fan that into flame.
Pray to God to light within you the fire of the spirit. And he says, I know this is scary again, I think that's why he says this, for God gave us a spirit not of fear. So if your first thought is, I don't wanna do that, you you haven't turned that will over to God yet. Step back. God, wherever this leads, fan this into flame for me.
You don't have to know where it's going. You don't have to have anything lined out. All you have to do is have faith. Depend on him. And God, I trust in you that I don't have to know the hows, and the whys, and the what am I gonna do next.
Right? But I can have a faith that God is with me. I have been given his spirit, not of fear, but of power and love, so we're not running over people. This fanning into flame is not just I'm in I'm in charge now or anything like that. It is of love, that I care for others, and notice that last one.
We don't talk about that enough, self control. I'm gonna do that in such a way that you're gonna see the fruits of the spirit. Right? You're you're gonna see the evidence that the spirit is with us, that God gave us the spirit, and I wanna fan that into flame. And I understand it can be scary.
I started off we were talking beforehand about Carlos preaching and saying, yes. And you've heard me say it before, but it's so important for other people to have the opportunity to do things here, to teach or to preach or other things. That's how I began. And I've told you guys before, it started for me very vividly when I used to hand out communion, we had to sit on the front row, and I wasn't even going to pray. All I was going to do was pass a tray, and I would just hold my hand up, and I'd just be shaking like a leaf.
But at some point in my life, I had to say, am I serious about this? Am I gonna be serious about following God? And at that point, I've gotta let go of all the reasons why I'm shaking. All the reasons why I can't do it, and they would be a better option. And I've gotta say, yes, I will do it.
It's not gonna be comfortable. I know I'm not gonna be comfortable in it, but God, you've got me. And I had I haven't had a crowd throw a vegetable yet. Some probably wanted to, let's be honest. But all I've had is support, and that comes from the spirit that God gives us that you can do this, and you don't do it alone.
When Carlos stood before you last week, when Ryan stood before you last week, they did not stand as men who were alone only in what they had learned or studied or what they had planned. They stood as people and dwelt by the holy spirit, the presence of God with them. And that doesn't just go for those men who stood in front of you, that goes for every one of you who have put on the name of Christ in baptism. And so the question ought to be, what that fanning of the flame, what does that look like in my life? Maybe it doesn't look like standing here.
Maybe it looks like being a fantastic example to my family starting off. Or at my work, or maybe I meet someone at the funeral where I I just can't tell you how much love I feel within our church. That you feel that when somebody really believes that, it's not fake, you really feel it because I think it is because the holy spirit is just there, you feel it. What they're experiencing is love and the power that comes from God. Psalm 16, I have set the Lord always before me because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
Not because I have done something. You see that? Because I have prepared, because I have gone to school, because I have done x y and z. No. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
God desires to be with you, and he will be with you, and as soon as you understand that, you open up your life to many more things and ways of serving God. Because he is at your right hand, you won't be shaken. In Proverbs if I can get this Proverbs three verse five, trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. How many of you are planners and you want to lay everything out before you, and you you want it to go a certain way?
Yeah. I don't understand any of you then. I've met people who they they had their whole life, their career planned out. I don't understand that. But but look, trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
How many of you feel like you need to understand the situation before I can confidently go into it? Yeah. Even even the places we sit, right, affect us. Even if you haven't been here long, you may already have a spot. Be be because the unknown the the different feelings one Sunday, we're gonna do is I'm gonna have you switch up.
That'd be the most uncomfortable thing. Right? Because I'm used to used to seeing John at this angle, and if I sit over there, his bald spot is glowing and yeah. But we don't want uncertainty. We want planning.
We want to understand what are the risks, what are the pros and cons, how is this gonna work out. But what what we read in scripture is lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him. Just acknowledge that God has got it, and walk forward in faith. Don't lean on your own understanding.
You don't have to understand it. How many times have you been through a situation that you had no idea where it was leading, but after it, you know. You know the way God used it, you know how you grew from it, you know all the things afterward, but not in the moment. Don't lean on your own understanding, lean on God. And in Isaiah forty three two, when you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.
When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned, and the flames shall not consume you. We even sing a song about this because God has got you. Last verse, Matthew 28, starting in verse 19. Jesus says this, go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the holy spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. You, church, are not alone.
And as soon as we figure that out, as soon as we understand that God is at our right hand, that God has always desired to walk with you, that he has always desired to have a close relationship with you, as soon as we embrace that and accept it, our church will be turned loose. You're talking about fanning into flame, we will see that right in front of our eye. But you've got to desire it. You've got to want it. I'll pick on Carlos one more time.
He's probably heard his name too many times. You've got to say yes when asked. You've got to speak up and say, I I think I would serve in that way. I think God is fanning into flames something that that can be put to use here. And it and it's not about me, it's not about what I can do, it's about what I can do with the help of God.
And so I wanna encourage you this morning to lean on that, to fan into flame the gift, the Holy Spirit that God has given each of you, indwelling in you right at this very moment. You've got any needs this morning, we'd love to pray with you. We'd love to see you put on Christ in baptism and begin that walk right now. Would you come as we stand as you sing?