REWIND
The podcast "REWIND" features a collection of past sermons from Organic Church. Each episode takes listeners on a journey through the teachings and messages delivered during previous worship services. The content is a retrospective look at the spiritual guidance and insights shared by Pastor Michael and visiting guests!
Listeners can expect to revisit powerful sermons, meaningful scriptures, and impactful messages that have been shared in the past. The podcast aims to provide a convenient and accessible way for the church community and new audiences to engage with the timeless wisdom and spiritual teachings presented during earlier sermons.
Whether it's a reflection on a particular theme, a series of teachings, or a selection of sermons covering various topics, "REWIND" offers an opportunity for individuals to deepen their understanding of the faith and find inspiration in the timeless messages.
The podcast may also include commentary or reflections on the historical context of each sermon and how it continues to resonate with the present-day congregation.
REWIND
The Holy Spirit: God Among Us (September 7, 2025)
Have you ever noticed how comfortable we are talking about God the Father and Jesus the Son, but when conversation turns to the Holy Spirit, things get... awkward? That's exactly what we're tackling head-on in this powerful message about the third person of the Trinity.
The Holy Spirit isn't a "what" but a "who" – fully God, just as the Father and Son are God. Using the analogy of water existing as ice, liquid, or steam while remaining H2O, we unpack how the Trinity functions as three distinct persons sharing one divine essence. But understanding the Holy Spirit goes beyond mere theological concepts – it's about relationship.
For many believers, especially men, the emotional aspects of engaging with the Holy Spirit create discomfort. When the Spirit moves, it often manifests through tears, physical sensations, or deep conviction. We explore why so many resist these experiences and how true strength is found in surrender, not avoidance. As the message reveals, "There is nothing stronger than a man on his knees at the altar."
The Holy Spirit fulfills crucial roles in our spiritual lives – convicting us of sin (John 16:8), giving us new life (Titus 3:5), empowering our witness (Acts 1:8), and guiding our decisions (Galatians 5:16). Yet how often do we try to negotiate with Him? "I'll stop when You give me this" or "I'll start when You provide that." This bargaining reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of who God is and our position before Him.
Ready to move beyond intellectual understanding to personal engagement with the Holy Spirit? This message challenges you to ask, "Lord, what are you calling me to do?" and to recognize that the same resurrection power that raised Jesus lives within every believer. The question is – are you willing to access it?
Amen, amen, whoo whoo. Tell you what. There's something about a full house that changes that music ministry experience, doesn't it? Amen, amen, amen. We'll let the kids get situated. Gets a little crazy as they try to leave. Everybody gets excited. So we're in week three of our message about the Holy Trinity and so today we're talking about the Holy Spirit. So I opened with I've got the Holy Ghost, because why not? Right Felt appropriate. Did you guys like that? I like that song, it's fun, right Felt appropriate. Did you guys like that? I like that song, it's fun, right.
Speaker 1:There are a lot of people who don't quite understand what the Holy Spirit is and oftentimes that's the question that I get asked is what is the Holy Spirit? And I think it's really easy to explain to people. But we have to be honest. We're really comfortable about talking about God, right, god, the Father. We know who God is right. We're really comfortable talking about Jesus because we know who Jesus is right For the most part. But when we start talking about the Holy Spirit, it's something that isn't tangible and it's a little bit like because you get some people who really understand the Holy Spirit and they scare us, right? You notice I'm not looking at Pastor Holly right now, because if you're going to talk about somebody who's in tune with the Holy Spirit this lady is in tune with, she walks the walk, she talks the talk right, and she'll come to me and she'll say Pastor Michael, I had this dream and I'm like I don't know how you live in that head. I say that to you regularly, don't I? Because she sees and she hears and she knows, and she says the Holy Spirit is telling me, and sometimes, when you hear it, you think this lady's off her rocker. I want to tell you guys something she said. She told me this much later in our friendship, when she, her and Dave first started coming here. She told Dave that Alyssa and I were going to have another baby. I will fight you, no. So here's the thing I didn't know that she had ever said that, and then it was spoken to us multiple times after that. We talked about this already. But here's the thing she saw something that I could never possibly believe, right? So you think it's crazy.
Speaker 1:Let me tell you something we have to understand who God the Father is, who Jesus the Son, god the Son is, so that we can truly understand who the Holy Spirit is, because it is not a what it is, a who Amen. Who the Holy Spirit is, because it is not a what it is a who Amen. And see, that's where we get lost. We get focused on the what about the Holy Spirit and not about who he is. Can I make it simple for you? He is God, that is the Holy Trinity, amen. It is super simple, that's it. That's what we need to understand Now. We need to grasp what does he do in our lives and what should we be looking forward to?
Speaker 1:There's a lot of scripture. We're not gonna get to all of it today, but we're gonna get to as much as we can. And I wanna start in Matthew 28, 19. You ready? It says therefore, say therefore, okay, I just wanted to make sure you were paying attention. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1:Now, I prefer Holy Ghost, right? I prefer Holy Ghost. I don't know, there's just something about it. Right? It should spark excitement in our lives when we begin to think about, talk about and deal with the Holy Spirit, because he's the one that comes and changes our lives. Right, whenever you form a relationship with Jesus and you start walking hand in hand with Jesus, the Holy Spirit shows up in your life and he starts to wreck you right From the ground up. And it's never fun. Amen.
Speaker 1:Any of us ever been wrecked by the Holy Spirit Laid on the floor and cried because God has said you know, he has sent the Holy Spirit to just tell me that what I am doing needs to change right, or to tell me what I'm doing is right. Listen, sometimes we think when the Holy Spirit shows up, it's always conviction. Listen, sometimes he gives us peace and comfort and allows us to know that the path that we're on is the right path. Listen, somebody said to me the other day that they didn't like the gym project. And listen, you guys can tell me that all you want. But I'm going to just tell you now because I'm very honest, right, honest with you guys. I don't care, because the Holy Spirit told me that that was the direction that we were supposed to go. My responsibility to the Holy Spirit is to listen, discern and move Amen. So I can't sit and wait for you to get on board. You gotta figure that out on your own right, because when the Holy Spirit starts to move in your life.
Speaker 1:What happens is you want to argue with him, you want to rationalize with him. Well, you know, the Holy Spirit told me I'm supposed to start tithing. God spoke into my life, I know. I woke up and he said you know you're supposed to start giving your 10%. And I've always told the Holy Spirit well, I'll give when I get this job or I'll give when I get. Listen, you're not getting because you aren't giving right. You aren't getting because you aren't listening to what the Holy Spirit. It's not just money, it's not just about your time.
Speaker 1:Whenever you argue with him, listen, I'll stop smoking when you do this. Right. Whenever you show me, I'll stop or I'll start. You're trying to rationalize with the one who created you. You're trying to negotiate with your creator. Can I tell you something? He didn't make you to be stubborn. He didn't make you to be stupid. He didn't make you to be stubborn. He didn't make you to be stupid. He made you to be reverent and to hear what he is saying to you and move in the spirit.
Speaker 1:When he says to move, but we don't know how because we don't know who the Holy Spirit is. He said to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. He didn't say names, he didn't say in the name of God, in the name of Jesus, right, because they are one. They are, in fact, god. See, god created everything. Everything was created through Jesus.
Speaker 1:When Jesus left, he told us that he was sending another, the Holy Spirit. Right, amen, that's what we're talking about right now. This is the Jesus that we don't get to see, but we get to feel every day. How many of you wake up knowing that God is present in your life? And oh, there is. If you're not feeling that, we should talk, because there is no greater feeling.
Speaker 1:When I get up in the morning, I say to my wife, the very first thing out of my mouth every morning is I don't wanna go to work today. Right, it's the truth, right, hallelujah. And then the Holy Spirit says but you get to, but you get to. Do you understand that I have provided for you in a time that you didn't think provision was possible? You know, I talk to people all the time who are like well, god's never done anything for me. You're standing here talking to me. He's done something for you. He woke you up today, right. He brought you to a place of learning. He brought you to a place of understanding. God has not forsaken you. He has not left you. He has not left you in need, he has not left you in want. He has given you everything that you need. He is clothing the lilies of the valley, he is feeding all of the birds of the skies, and yet we can't see what God has done for us through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1:I'm gonna tell you, I don't fully understand the Holy Spirit. When the Spirit moves, sometimes I get a little bit nervous, right? Can I tell you why, though? Every experience that I've had with the Holy Spirit has been one of those, and I shouldn't say that that's not a fair statement. Most experiences that I recall with the Holy Spirit are those ones that wreck you. Most experiences that I recall with the Holy Spirit are those ones that wreck you, right?
Speaker 1:I remember laying on the floor on this side of the sanctuary just weeping, because the Holy Spirit was just beating me up about something in my life, and I thought you know, this isn't what I want to experience, but then, when I realized that he's only doing that because he's jealous of me. He's jealous for me. He wants the best for me in all things that I'm able to readjust the lens at which I look at the Holy Spirit. He's not coming. He's not punishing me by telling me to make adjustments in my life. Amen, it's not a punishment. It's a standard at which I should grow, and when I'm willing to grow in the spirit, my flesh man has to die and it has to lay on that floor and die. Amen, through tears and fighting and arguing and rationalizing. That has to die. But some of us aren't willing to let the flesh die, amen.
Speaker 1:See, when the Holy Spirit takes a hold of us and he tells us what we should be doing. Listen, sometimes we hear that still small voice and he says quit your job. Right, ashley? Holy Spirit tells you quit your job every day, doesn't he? He really does, but the confirmation does not come from her husband, right? So until the Holy Spirit moves on him to tell you to quit your job, guess what? Sorry, sweetheart, you got to go to work. She says I'm quitting today. Hopefully the Holy Spirit's coming over you right now, andrew, we're going to pray for you before we leave here today.
Speaker 1:I'm speaking it into existence. Listen, there is confirmation that comes when the Holy Spirit moves in your life. Right? You don't get to say everything that happens. Well, god told me. Right. I don't get to do everything I say. It can't be. God told me right.
Speaker 1:I have people that I am accountable to, but first and foremost I am accountable to God in all things. So if I stand here and tell you God said that I'm supposed to spend all the church money on a new church van, I'm going to tell you something my church council ain't going to like that too much. And do you know why? Because I am responsible to this body, but I am responsible to God. And if I'm saying that because I want to create a transportation ministry, because I want to be able to get people to, that's not God speaking to me, that's my own selfish desires to have more seats, full right. I want to be very clear. That is never going to happen unless somebody gifts us a van. Because I shouldn't say that. Because now I said it and now God's going to be like watch this. He's tricky like that sometimes with me. He gets me to say it in front of all of you and then I have to backtrack in front. It's bad, it's bad, but I know that if that's what God truly wanted for us, he's going to provide it in a way that does not strip us of our needs, of the things that keep us operational. Amen, I can force it, I can say this is what God said, but without confirmation, and that confirmation comes a lot of ways. Most of the time, what happens is Pastor Holly will call me. She says Pastor Michael, I was thinking about something, or in the prayer room, or on Wednesday night I had this thought and it's exactly whatever it was that God told me. Right, that's confirmation and that's what I look for. I don't make decisions haphazardly.
Speaker 1:I remember the first time the gym project was really spoken about publicly. It's been in my heart for a long time, but I remember the first time it was spoken publicly. It was Pastor Holly and Pastor Roger. Pastor Holly said I'm so excited because I can see it already. It was blue walls with carpet on the walls. You guys remember that, that ugly blue carpet that was on the wall. The walls had the bathroom. She could already see the vision that I had seen. That's confirmation, right, that's what we trust the Holy Spirit to do, right, we trust him to give us something and make sure that it's the right thing, amen.
Speaker 1:Okay, think about water for just a second. It can be ice, so it can be a solid, it can be a liquid, it can even be a gas whenever it turns into steam. All of those things are exactly the same, right? It's all water at the end of the day. And so when we talk about, oh, I'm bleeding, I got the Holy Ghost, it's all over my fingers. Look, I don't know what it is, it's probably from biting Roger earlier. Yeah, he bit me back. Is what happened? If we picture, if we picture that analogy of water, it helps us to understand the essence of three in one. Amen.
Speaker 1:Now, I'm not trying to rationalize or marginalize the Holy Trinity in saying that, but sometimes we have a hard time understanding or visualizing what it actually is. See, the Holy Spirit is actually personal. It's not just an it, it's not something that's impersonal, that just floats around in space. The Holy Spirit is in relationship with each of you, just as Jesus is in relationship with each of you, amen. And so my experience with the Holy Spirit is different than Pastor Holly's experience with the Holy Spirit. That doesn't mean I'm not filled with the Holy Spirit. It doesn't mean I don't have a relationship. She is much deeper connected than I am to the Holy Spirit. But it's her gifting and that's why I believe in the five-fold ministry. Don't freak out on me, but it's important to have people who understand, when the Spirit moves, what is actually happening in the building.
Speaker 1:Romans 8, 27,. It says and the Father, who knows all hearts, knows what the Spirit is saying for. The Spirit pleads for us believers, in harmony with God's own will. Leave that up there for just a second. And the Father knows. The Father, who knows all hearts, knows what the Spirit is saying for. The Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will. That means that whenever we are praying and we are in need, the Holy Spirit, just as we talk about Jesus interceding for us, is interceding for us. He is pleading for us in harmony with God's own will. Not your will, right? Not your will. See, when Jesus was in the garden he said to the Father should it be your will, let this cup pass from me. Now we understand that Jesus is God in a physical form. Anything that he asked the father would provide. But he didn't say father, let me come home to you, spare me from this death, he said. Should it be your will? Are we praying that way? Are we so closely connected to the Holy Spirit that, when we go to the foot of the cross, that we pray Lord, let your will be done in my life today?
Speaker 1:Lord, I don't understand what's happening. I'm frustrated, I'm angry. How many of you have ever been frustrated or angry? How many of you are sitting here frustrated or angry? Right, steph, you're always frustrated and angry. That never changes, sweetheart. I kid, I actually couldn't. I need. What I really need is like a wet wipe or something more than the Band-Aid. Okay, hold on, dr Rogers in the house. Oh, that Band-Aid ain't gonna stick. Look, it's already coming off. The Holy Spirit is a Band-Aid. It's stopping the blood, alright. Ephesians 4.30.
Speaker 1:When my tech person gets back there, it says and do not bring sorrow to God's Holy Spirit by the way you live. I hear that. And do not bring sorrow to God's Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. Do we think that the way that we live our lives every day is good to God's Holy Spirit, or are we asking ourselves are we bringing sorrow to God Because he's disappointed when we don't do great things for the kingdom? Amen, he is disappointed. He's not angry at you, he won't trust me. He gives me a lot of grace, he forgives me for a lot of things, right. But we have to understand that it is our responsibility to bring joy and not sorrow to the Holy Spirit by the way that we live. Amen. Okay, amen, bring joy and not sorrow to the Holy Spirit by the way that we live. Amen. Okay.
Speaker 1:That note is a really weird note, and why I wrote it, I don't know. I've learned that sometimes the thoughts that are up here don't correlate whenever they go down there. Sometimes I'm like you can't grieve electricity, what. That has to be a typo. You can't grieve electricity, I don't know what If power's turned off. Yeah, I guess that's probably pretty true. Now I wanna just we're gonna breeze over this point, but this is the part that we wanna talk about. We wanna understand the Spirit's role in the Holy Trinity. So this is the part that I wanna tell you the Father is the architect, the Son is the builder and the Spirit. This is why I wrote it. This is why I wrote it, but I wrote it before this line. The Spirit is the one who brings the power Right Now.
Speaker 1:I've told you before that when I look at the Holy Spirit, I look at it as emotion. I've told you before that when I look at the Holy Spirit, I look at it as emotion. Right, because I think that when the Holy Spirit is working on us, he's eliciting physical emotion from our flesh. Right, because our spirit is so overwhelmed by what the spirit is doing that our flesh man responds in some emotional way. And again, it's anger, it's sadness, it's angst, it's anger, it's sadness, it's angst, it's frustration. All of those feelings come when the Holy Spirit begins to work in our lives. Right, I don't know, have any of you ever had like a genuine experience with the Holy Spirit? Holly, keep your hand down. She's like it's my life.
Speaker 1:When the Spirit moves on you, you feel that in your emotions, right? Yeah, and it's a little bit different for everybody. I remember one time I was listening to somebody speak and the Holy Spirit was just really starting to move in that place and it felt like just there was like a windstorm going on around me. Nobody else could feel what I was feeling. But that experience, for me, was incredibly real and I was able to experience it, touch it and feel it. Right, that's what the Holy Spirit is about.
Speaker 1:And then the emotion starts to well up inside of us. We become I tend this is sorry, guys, this isn't macho, but I tend to cry when the Holy Spirit moves on me, right, because I don't know what he's doing. He's like he just really starts to shake me up on the inside and then when I'm doing that, I'm thinking Lord, whatever it is that you're doing, I need you to do it quickly, because I know there are people staring at me right now. Right, lord, I don't want to be laying on the floor crying, lord, I know that they're. And he says you just need to be in my presence, right.
Speaker 1:And so you guys noticed that this morning some of you may have noticed I stepped out of the sound booth this morning during worship and I was standing down front because there was something that was moving in the atmosphere today that I needed to be in front of the Holy Spirit. I needed to be as close as I could to that move. Now, he could have met me in the sound booth, but he said I don't want to meet you in the sound booth, right, because back there you're distracted Up here. Up here you're focusing on me. Right, and sometimes we don't want to listen to the Spirit when he says move, because there are some of you that know you should come to the altar on some Sunday mornings, right, and you stay in your seat. Right, because you don't want people looking at you. You don't want people going oh, I wonder what they're up there for, right. Or going oh, I know why they're up there. Right, you don't want that in your life because it's unnerving, it's scary.
Speaker 1:Men, we tend to not come to the altar, right, because we're tough and we're strong. I'm not gonna point that out. Dave just got tapped a little bit there. We're manly men, right? I'm going to tell you something there is nothing stronger than a man on his knees at the altar. And can I tell you that if you are on your knees at the altar and you are genuinely in the presence of the Almighty, you aren't just there for yourself. You're there for your family, you're there for the community that you surround. We are leaders and we shouldn't be afraid of being in relationship with the Holy Spirit. Right? Listen, when I'm talking to God. I'm like Lord. I don't know. I don't know what you need from me today, but I want you to know that I am here to serve you and that I love you, and I am thankful that you love me.
Speaker 1:Men, most of you won't even say I love you to your mama, right, right, some men won't even say it to their wives, to their children. I tell my friends I love them all the time. Right, I hang up the phone with you. Love you Listen. Right, I hang up the phone with you. Love you, listen. Love is the greatest of all things. Right, and if I can do that one thing, that I am doing something right. Right, men, we gotta stop being so tough and stop avoiding the Holy Spirit and we have to embrace him.
Speaker 1:I can tell you that almost every woman in this building can give me a story of an experience with the Holy Spirit. Right, you know why? That is Because they show up, because they show up, and when they show up, they show up expecting. Right, they come in ready for a move of the Spirit. When us men show up, we think I hope they don't talk to me. Listen, sometimes I'll come and do technology for Pastor Holly in some of her women's meetings and I will hunker down as low as I can in that sound booth Don't see me, I'm just gonna run sound. And then they'll be like Pastor Michael come up here and next thing I know I'm laying on the floor crying. I'm just going to run sound and then they'll be like Pastor Michael come up here and next thing I know I'm laying on the floor crying. I'm like I didn't come for that.
Speaker 1:Men, am I being honest? Right, when we need a healing, do we come forward for a healing? No, usually our wives are dragging us to the front, or our wives are saying you shouldn't really go and you're like I'm good, my toe's green and falling off, I'm good, it's fine. It's fine, it's the same with the doctor. You ain't going to the doctor unless your wife makes the appointment. Hallelujah, hallelujah. Listen. My doctor called for a follow up appointment. I sent the text message to my wife. I'm like can you call and schedule this? She said you know, you're not one of my children. I'm like well then, I just won't go. Right, if my wife has to make an appointment with the physician, certainly she's going to have to encourage me to see the great physician.
Speaker 1:Right, because, men, we are afraid of what the Holy Spirit will do in our lives, especially when he shows up and he says listen, stop, or listen. Go here I am, lord, use me. As long as it's something that I want to do, right here I am, lord, my feet have hit the floor. I am ready to give you glory. Use me, lord. Oh, no, no, no, I don't want to call them. I haven't talked to them in years. I don't want to talk to them. No, no, no, lord, I'm not going over there. The last time I talked to Dale, he said something I didn't like, so I ain't going to talk to Dale again.
Speaker 1:Amen, men, is that us? And when we get together, do we want to talk about Jesus? Men, I'm asking a question, and it's a real question when we get together, do we want to talk about Jesus? It's a mixed bag. Some of us are saying yeah and some of us are saying no. Can I tell you something? The ones that are saying yes need to show up to more, because the ones that are saying no are the ones that show up to everything. Amen, amen, it's true, those of us who are afraid to talk about because we don't want to get emotional.
Speaker 1:Well, our men's meeting was phenomenal. It was phenomenal Listen it wasn't phenomenal because of the word that was preached. It wasn't phenomenal because we got to sit and hang out with one another. It was phenomenal because there was a move of the spirit at the end of that meeting where we shared our hearts with one another. Amen, guys, when the Holy Spirit moves, that's what we should be doing. We got to stop being so tough all the time, amen.
Speaker 1:Okay, let's talk about some stuff that the Holy Spirit does. He convicts us of our sin. Yes, been there, done that and didn't stop and had to have it again One more, please, right, because we don't want to believe what God is saying to us or what the Holy Spirit is saying to us. We want to argue John 16, 8. There it is. And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin and of God's righteousness and of the coming judgment. So when he comes and he convicts the world of his sin and of God's righteousness, he is preparing us for the coming day of judgment, amen.
Speaker 1:And so when we willingly walk in sin, do you think that, when we enter into heaven, that you are going to hear? Well done my good and faithful servant, or are you going to hear depart from me, for I never knew you? Because, listen, you can know who Jesus is right, you can know who God is, you can know who the Holy Spirit is, but knowing who they are is not the same as knowing them personally. A lot of people in the world know, listen, there are people who despise Christians who know who God is, who know who Jesus is and know who the Holy Spirit is. Because they know, do you think that they will enter into the kingdom of heaven? The answer is no. You have to have relationship with Jesus Christ. You have to be in step with the Holy Spirit. Amen, all right, are you ready?
Speaker 1:Titus 3.5. It says he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and a new life through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has given us new life. Amen, what a day, what a day. I am excited about the change that God made in my life Because, listen, those of you who would have known me before would have looked at me and said there is no way that guy should be a pastor.
Speaker 1:As a matter of fact, some of you have heard that from the community he's your pastor. What? How did that happen? I'm going to tell you how that happened. I'll give you the full story right now. It's a quick one Grace and mercy, that's it. I wasn't qualified, I wasn't qualified. He doesn't call the qualified right. He doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called.
Speaker 1:And when it was time for me to be here, he said it's time for you to be there. All, at that point, all it was was obedience. All it was was obedience. Lord, here I am, use me. Here I am, lord, use me. And I served on worship for a long time and I thought, lord, if this is where you want me, I'll live here as long as you want that.
Speaker 1:And then one day he said, no, I'm going to have you preach. And I said no, no, no, no, no, not interested in that. And he said but I'm gonna. And I said yeah, but I'm not gonna. He said but I'm going to, and I said, yeah, but I'm not Catching that pattern, kind of like the Israelites. You get it right for a minute, god shakes it up and then you're like, ah. For a minute God shakes it up and then you're like ah, I'm going to mess this all up. His grace and mercy has sustained me through all things. He did not qualify, I was not qualified for the calling, I was not called. You get what I'm saying. I'm not going to get it right at this point.
Speaker 1:He empowers us to witness, acts 1.8. He says but you will receive the power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be my witnesses telling people about me everywhere, in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. The same power that rose Jesus from the grave lives in us. Amen, that is resurrection power. That means we are calling dead things to life. Amen, that is resurrection power. That means we are calling dead things to life. Amen, we are calling dry bones to live. Amen.
Speaker 1:Now, I don't know about you. I've never seen an actual dead body be resurrected Never seen it. But I have seen a lot of dead spirits come back to life. Amen. I have seen a lot of dead spirits come back to life. I have watched God work in ways I could have never imagined. Listen, I tell you guys about my family a lot, and my dad's not here today, my wife's not in here, so I can talk about my family all I want. Amen.
Speaker 1:Oh, oops, I didn't see him. Didn't see him, whoops. All right, maybe I should tone it down. Nah, my sister said to me I will never set foot in a church again. My brother has never. I don't know that my brother's ever been in a church before, right, and that scares me because that means that my family may not enter into the kingdom of God, they might not enter into glory. Right?
Speaker 1:My brother reached out to me the other day. He sent me a Facebook message and he was talking about this is this is dating me. The green Power Ranger from the nineties you guys remember that stuff? Oh yeah, he's a pastor now. Tommy, he's a pastor now. Why would my brother care to share that with me? Something at some point in his life? Those seeds that I have planted have taken root. They aren't deep yet. He hasn't shown up to church yet, but something's changing.
Speaker 1:Amen, that's our responsibility. It's our responsibility to preach. We get that ability, that power, that strength through the Holy Spirit, through our relationship with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit isn't just someone we read about, it's not just about theology. It's someone that we walk with every single day. Amen. We talk about our relationship with Jesus. We get that relationship with Jesus through the presence of the Holy Spirit Every single day. The Holy Spirit is moving all around us. We have to be willing to take a hold of that move and say I'm going to use this move for good and not for bad. I'm going to tell you and say I'm going to use this move for good and not for bad.
Speaker 1:I'm going to tell you I have a lady that works at the bank and she's in an office that I'm in and she came in the other day and she was laughing and she talks real loud, and so you can't help but hear the story. She's telling me that she walked into Mako's the other day and she bought a bunch of groceries. She rang them up in the self-checkout grocery. She rang them up in the self-checkout and her daughter called. She picks up the phone, she does her thing and out of the store she goes, and the lady from Makos, they bank there and they came in and they said hey, we got a little problem. You came in and you scanned all your groceries and you walked out without paying for them Because her daughter called and whatever she needed was semi-emergent. So she's talking on the phone and just grabs her stuff and walks out. Well, I mean, obviously she made it right, she wrote a check, everything was fine.
Speaker 1:But that's us every day, right? See, we go to do one thing with the Holy Spirit. We go into prayer, we go into the Word. Whatever it is that God has called us in that moment, we go to it, and then, all of a sudden, we're distracted by something that the world has called us to right. Chances are it doesn't mean anything. Chances are the world is trying to stop you from being in relationship with Jesus.
Speaker 1:Listen, adhd is a real thing. I'll start washing, loading the dishwasher. Next thing I know I'm doing a load of laundry. I'll start washing, loading the dishwasher. Next thing I know I'm doing a load of laundry. So somehow I'm like pressure, washing the house. 10 minutes later I don't know how it happens, but it's the same thing whenever I wanna go into prayer, right, I sit down and I say you know, lord, I wanna just spend this moment with you. I wanna give you everything I've got, father, I want you to see my heart, I want you to hear me, I want you to know that I am here to be in relationship with you. And the next thing I know my phone rings. Next thing, I know one of the kids wanting something. Right, that's not true. They always go to mom first unless she's not there. But I know that I have to carve out that time for that relationship. See, the Holy Spirit is always with me and I can always be in relationship with the Holy Spirit. The problem is, it's a choice, right? We have to choose to be in relationship with the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1:Galatians 5.16,. It says so I say let the Holy Spirit guide your lives, then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. So I say let the Holy Spirit guide your life. What does that mean? That means stop making boneheaded decisions without going to the Father first, without saying to the Holy Spirit I am here so that your will will be done, not that my will will be done. Amen. Have you guys ever? I've probably made three boneheaded mistakes today? Right, yeah, yeah, that was a boneheaded mistake from yesterday that I'm paying for today and that's yeah. Roger knows exactly why he's like yep, god got you. All I know is that we make choices every day to put ourselves in relationship with the Holy Spirit or to remove ourselves from the Holy Spirit? Amen.
Speaker 1:And the question is is how do we live our lives more in tune with the Holy Spirit and better relationship with Christ, so that, when we're praying to the Father, that those prayers are on a solid foundation? Amen, I'm not saying so. Those prayers are answered because you can't pray what you want. You have to pray that God's perfect will be done in your life. Amen. Lord, whatever it is, I want you to lead me, guide me, direct me. Lord, let your perfect will be done. There's a lot of things that happen in my life that are not my perfect will. It is not my desire, but it is his design, amen.
Speaker 1:So who is the Holy Spirit? He is God, he is personal. He is the one who applies the work of the salvation in our lives, amen. So when he starts to apply that work of salvation, that's when you start to see the good works, that's when you start to see kind people. When do we start seeing that Go out into the world? When do you see kind people? We are all so far from that that it is hard for us to believe that that is what's supposed to be happening. He convicts, he renews, he empowers and he guides. This is not just a doctrine to study, it is a person to know. Amen, Second Corinthians 13, 14. It said if the good news, oh, she's got the wrong one. 2 Corinthians 13, 14. Yeah, may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. That should be our prayer for the world every single day. That should be our prayer for ourselves every single day, that every day when we wake up, that the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ surrounds us, that we have a love for God and that the fellowship of the Holy Spirit is with us in all things. Amen.
Speaker 1:Church, my challenge to you for this week is to do a little digging. I want you to grab your Bibles this week. I want you to open them up and I want you to explore who, in fact, the Holy Spirit really is in your life. I want you to be in relationship with him and I want you to have a meaningful conversation with God. What is it, lord, that you are calling me to do? I'm not asking you to volunteer in the church this message isn't about that but for so long we have come to just sit. We've come to just observe and to just hear, and not to walk out what God has called us to do. Can I tell you that that $2,800 check that was written last week was not written by a regular member of this church, it was a gift from a visitor. Because they believe in what God is doing in this place. Right, that is exciting, because that means that something good is happening.
Speaker 1:The problem is this those of us who are here week in and week out, we don't see the same thing, because we have become so complacent to that move of the spirit. Right, we have become so complacent that when, when wake up oh sleeper. Right, we shout it at one another all the time because we know that, as a body that gets comfortable, it's easy to fall asleep. Listen, you guys wanted these new chairs. We got you these fancy new chairs. Apparently, they're too comfortable because I can't get you out of them. Right, I can't get you up on a Sunday morning to serve.
Speaker 1:The thing is, we can't continue to exist if we don't continue to grow. It's not about numbers, it's about spiritual growth. It's about being able to move in something new that the Holy Spirit is doing in this place. So I want you this week, to spend time with the Holy Spirit. Amen. I want you to just ask him, lord, what is it that you would call me to do? I want you to just ask him, lord, what is it that you would call me to do, lord? How do you want me to serve you better? Amen, cool, or don't. Whichever, that's fine.
Speaker 1:Anyhow, I guess, since the anointing is beginning to lift and you guys are thinking about your subway lunch, I should probably start to pray. But I think, before I do that, what I'd like to do, pastor Holly, are you willing to do some ministry time with us this morning? So what I'm gonna do is I'm going to dismiss. I'm gonna do a prayer of dismissal, tech team, if you can prep some ministry music. What we're gonna do is if you don't wanna stay for ministry time, that's fine, but I'm gonna ask that you leave quickly. That way we can continue to be reverent here in the sanctuary. So if you just bow your heads with me.
Speaker 1:Heavenly Father, I thank you for our time in this place together. Father, I thank you for the reverence of this congregation and, lord, I pray that this body would continue to move into new places this week. Father, that they would set aside childish things and that they would pick up the things of their lives, that they know that you have called them to, father. Lord, that they would be willing to step out in faith because of their steady relationship with the Holy Spirit. Lord, I thank you and I praise you. I give you honor and glory this day. Lord, I thank you and I praise you. I give you honor and glory this day. Lord, bless these people as they move from this place, lift them up and guide their footsteps. We give you praise, honor and glory in the mighty name of Jesus, amen.