WEBVTT 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:02.720 You know, I was thinking about this this week. 00:00:02.879 --> 00:00:06.240 How many of you remember the very first phone that you have? 00:00:06.400 --> 00:00:08.080 How many of you remember that very first phone? 00:00:08.160 --> 00:00:08.560 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 00:00:08.720 --> 00:00:13.359 How many of you are in the building and the first phone that you ever had was an iPhone or an Android? 00:00:13.519 --> 00:00:15.759 Anyone is that yeah, y'all are young, okay? 00:00:15.919 --> 00:00:18.719 I did not get the iPhone and Android as my first phone. 00:00:18.879 --> 00:00:19.839 How many of you know this? 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:23.920 The era that I grew up in, my first phone was not an iPhone. 00:00:24.160 --> 00:00:25.519 Y'all, everything that I wanted. 00:00:25.679 --> 00:00:28.000 I grew up in the Nokia 3310 era. 00:00:28.160 --> 00:00:30.559 Where are my Nokia 3310 holders? 00:00:30.719 --> 00:00:32.159 Man, that thing was insane. 00:00:32.399 --> 00:00:34.560 Like you could use that thing as a weapon. 00:00:34.719 --> 00:00:37.280 Like you could throw it at someone, like you could throw it on the floor. 00:00:37.359 --> 00:00:39.119 It was literally indestructible. 00:00:39.200 --> 00:00:44.320 And I remember everything inside of me wanted a Nokia 3310, but I didn't get that. 00:00:44.479 --> 00:00:46.000 What I got is I got a hand-me-down. 00:00:46.079 --> 00:00:48.000 I didn't give me the Nokia 3310. 00:00:48.079 --> 00:00:50.159 I got the El Catel One Touch. 00:00:50.320 --> 00:00:51.920 How many of you remember the El Catel? 00:00:52.320 --> 00:00:54.000 Well, you all know nothing about the El Catel. 00:00:54.479 --> 00:00:58.159 Like I remember it was the first polyphonic phone. 00:00:58.320 --> 00:01:01.439 And what that meant is that it could actually do multiple notes at once. 00:01:01.600 --> 00:01:03.439 And I was like, this is crazy. 00:01:03.520 --> 00:01:06.000 And I remember buying ringtones. 00:01:06.159 --> 00:01:09.280 Don't remember when we used to do that, like buying, I'm dating myself here. 00:01:09.519 --> 00:01:10.799 Buying ringtones. 00:01:10.959 --> 00:01:13.439 And you just you just wanted someone to call you. 00:01:13.920 --> 00:01:18.319 You know, and then the phone would go off and people would be like, Someone playing the backstreet boys? 00:01:18.480 --> 00:01:19.519 You're like, it's me. 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:24.000 You know, you're just like, this is my phone, I'll get it here in a second. 00:01:24.159 --> 00:01:25.040 Y'all remember that? 00:01:25.200 --> 00:01:25.760 How about this? 00:01:25.920 --> 00:01:27.040 Ring back tones. 00:01:27.519 --> 00:01:29.359 Y'all remember those ring backtones? 00:01:29.680 --> 00:01:31.040 People, young people are like, what is that? 00:01:31.120 --> 00:01:36.000 It's when you pay that other people can listen to the backstreet boys while they call you. 00:01:36.159 --> 00:01:40.400 Like while they're waiting for you to pick up, you're like just jiving to the backstreet boys, some in sync. 00:01:40.480 --> 00:01:42.480 You're like, you're doing the thing. 00:01:45.519 --> 00:01:46.560 How many of you know? 00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:57.040 Like when we started the church, one of the things that we did is we had these coffee meetings and we would sit down with so many of you and just hear your story and tell you about what we knew that God wanted to do here in Chandler. 00:01:57.359 --> 00:02:03.280 How many of you know that if we were having coffee and we were just in deep conversation and all of a sudden my phone rang? 00:02:03.519 --> 00:02:05.200 It was the Backstreet Boys. 00:02:05.359 --> 00:02:09.199 And what I did is I pulled out my Nokia 3310. 00:02:09.360 --> 00:02:12.800 And I just acted as if that was completely normal. 00:02:12.960 --> 00:02:16.000 Like that's exactly what was going on, and I put that down. 00:02:16.240 --> 00:02:19.199 How many of you would look at me like I'm kind of crazy? 00:02:19.360 --> 00:02:21.680 You would be like, hey Brad, I don't know if you know this. 00:02:21.840 --> 00:02:25.919 Let me teach you about Phoenix, but we're technologically advanced here. 00:02:26.159 --> 00:02:31.599 I don't know if you know this, but there's been some upgrades that have been made available because now you can actually get an iPhone. 00:02:31.919 --> 00:02:36.800 Brad, why are you talking about phones at the beginning of a series on the Holy Spirit? 00:02:36.960 --> 00:02:42.000 Here's why, because I think for so many of us, we are still carrying around a Nokia 3310. 00:02:42.080 --> 00:02:42.560 What does that mean? 00:02:42.639 --> 00:02:48.240 I think for so many of us, we are carrying around an old understanding of who God is. 00:02:48.479 --> 00:02:56.080 And I'm here today to announce that there is an upgrade that is available, that you don't have to settle for something else. 00:02:56.240 --> 00:03:00.159 No, you can have the Holy Spirit in his fullness. 00:03:00.240 --> 00:03:04.400 There is more to God than just reading your Bible and checking it off the list. 00:03:04.560 --> 00:03:09.120 There is more to God than just coming to church and just hoping that that's gonna be enough. 00:03:09.280 --> 00:03:11.680 There is more to God than just saying a prayer. 00:03:11.840 --> 00:03:18.960 No, the Holy Spirit wants to come and he wants to be within us and he wants to lead us and he wants to guide us. 00:03:19.039 --> 00:03:26.000 And I think for so many of us, we're rejecting the Holy Spirit because we don't really understand who he is. 00:03:27.120 --> 00:03:32.319 So, what I want to do today, more than anything, is I want to talk to you about who the Holy Spirit is. 00:03:32.400 --> 00:03:40.479 As we're starting this series, I want to let you know that there is an upgrade available because I think for a lot of the American church, sometimes we're afraid of the Holy Spirit. 00:03:40.719 --> 00:03:46.400 Like when you think of the American Trinity, I mentioned this before, sometimes it's God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Scripture. 00:03:47.039 --> 00:03:50.479 And like the Holy Spirit is in the corner because we're like, don't be weird. 00:03:50.719 --> 00:03:52.879 Like, you know, don't do all those weird things. 00:03:53.120 --> 00:03:58.159 No, the Holy Spirit is our enabler, he is our helper, and sometimes we can neglect who the Holy Spirit is. 00:03:58.240 --> 00:04:00.319 And you need to know that this isn't a modern problem. 00:04:00.479 --> 00:04:05.919 In fact, all the way in the beginning, in Acts, you see that there are people that were gaining understanding of who the Holy Spirit is. 00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:08.800 If you have your Bible, I want you to go to Acts chapter 19. 00:04:08.879 --> 00:04:09.759 I want to show this to you. 00:04:09.919 --> 00:04:15.199 And while you turn there, Acts chapter 1, verse 8, is kind of a key verse for what Acts is. 00:04:15.280 --> 00:04:16.240 Let me give you some context. 00:04:16.399 --> 00:04:20.879 Jesus is talking, and he says this at the beginning of the book, that you will receive power. 00:04:21.040 --> 00:04:21.920 Say power. 00:04:22.160 --> 00:04:25.360 You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. 00:04:25.519 --> 00:04:28.639 That word is dunymus, it's where we get the word dynamite. 00:04:28.720 --> 00:04:32.000 You will receive that kind of power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. 00:04:32.160 --> 00:04:32.560 Why? 00:04:32.720 --> 00:04:38.639 He says, Because you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. 00:04:38.800 --> 00:04:42.879 The power isn't just for us, it's that we can be enabled to be witnesses. 00:04:43.040 --> 00:04:45.439 And the entire book of Acts follows that pattern. 00:04:45.600 --> 00:04:48.879 The first chapters, chapters 1 through 7, is them reaching Jerusalem. 00:04:49.040 --> 00:04:52.319 8 through 12 is them reading, reaching Judea and Samaria. 00:04:52.560 --> 00:04:55.199 13 through 28 is them reaching the ends of the earth. 00:04:55.519 --> 00:05:02.399 So when we're coming into the story in Acts chapter 19, you are seeing the ends of the earth section of Acts, and it says this. 00:05:09.279 --> 00:05:13.120 And there he found some disciples or some believers. 00:05:13.279 --> 00:05:18.800 And he asked them, Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? 00:05:19.839 --> 00:05:21.680 And they said to him, No. 00:05:22.720 --> 00:05:26.720 We haven't even heard that there is a Holy Spirit. 00:05:26.959 --> 00:05:34.319 And I think that describes so many people in the church today that you can be saved, that you can be coming to church, you can be doing all of those things. 00:05:34.399 --> 00:05:36.399 But if someone says, Man, have you received the Holy Spirit? 00:05:36.480 --> 00:05:39.920 You're like, Man, I don't even know who the Holy Spirit really is. 00:05:40.079 --> 00:05:49.680 He's kind of like that, you know, that that that weird guy that comes to the family reunion that you don't want to talk to, but he's there, you know, because he's family, and we're like, okay, you can just sit in the corner, but don't do anything weird. 00:05:49.759 --> 00:05:53.680 Like sometimes we can have that understanding of who the Holy Spirit is. 00:05:53.759 --> 00:05:56.959 And today the question I want to ask you is this have you received him? 00:05:57.600 --> 00:06:06.959 And my prayer is that by the end of the series, the Holy Spirit won't only be someone that you talk about, but it's someone that you will talk to, that you will know him, that you will develop a relationship with him. 00:06:07.600 --> 00:06:11.920 And I think it's incredibly challenging sometimes, if I'm honest with you, to talk about the Holy Spirit. 00:06:12.160 --> 00:06:14.560 Because it's hard for us to get a picture of who he is. 00:06:14.800 --> 00:06:17.680 Like when I say God the Father, do you have a picture of who the Father is? 00:06:17.839 --> 00:06:22.720 Like, you know, you can picture someone sitting on the throne, you're like, okay, I don't know what he looks like, but I can picture it. 00:06:22.959 --> 00:06:25.519 Like when you hear about Jesus, like you can picture Jesus. 00:06:25.680 --> 00:06:28.240 You've seen the paintings or you've watched the chosen. 00:06:28.319 --> 00:06:29.519 How many people have watched The Chosen? 00:06:29.680 --> 00:06:31.519 Oh, yeah, I love, man, I love the chosen. 00:06:31.600 --> 00:06:33.680 I remember the first time I went to go watch The Chosen. 00:06:33.839 --> 00:06:35.360 Y'all, I was like, I ain't gonna do it. 00:06:35.519 --> 00:06:36.879 Okay, because I don't know if y'all know this. 00:06:36.959 --> 00:06:39.199 A lot of times Christian media is like weird. 00:06:39.439 --> 00:06:43.680 Like, you know, the movies are like not that good, and I was like, no, I don't want to I don't want to ruin it, I'm not gonna watch The Chosen. 00:06:43.759 --> 00:06:45.519 But eventually people were like, no, you have to watch it. 00:06:45.600 --> 00:06:50.399 So I sat down, I put on the first episode, and there was a moment towards the end of that first episode. 00:06:50.639 --> 00:06:52.240 I'm like, I'm about to lose my mind. 00:06:52.480 --> 00:06:53.199 I'm about to cry. 00:06:53.279 --> 00:06:54.480 And and y'all need to know this about me. 00:06:54.560 --> 00:06:55.040 I'm a crier. 00:06:55.120 --> 00:06:58.000 If you don't know this, like I I I cry at Super Bowl commercials. 00:06:58.079 --> 00:06:58.959 I'm like, that's so sweet. 00:06:59.040 --> 00:07:00.240 Did you see the dog little thing? 00:07:00.319 --> 00:07:02.079 I'm like, like, I'm just a wreck, okay? 00:07:02.240 --> 00:07:05.439 My wife, up until this point, she had cried like twice in our marriage. 00:07:05.519 --> 00:07:06.879 Like, she is not a crier, okay? 00:07:06.959 --> 00:07:09.680 I'm the crier, I hold all the emotions for all of us. 00:07:09.920 --> 00:07:16.639 And in that moment, I'm watching the chosen, and and and I start looking to see, you know, is this doing anything to my wife? 00:07:16.720 --> 00:07:19.920 And y'all, she's a puddle, and that just gave me permission. 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:23.279 And I'm like, it's Jesus, and he's a man. 00:07:23.519 --> 00:07:32.879 Like, I was so taken back by who Jesus was, and we were talking, and we had this moment where we said, Man, can you believe what it would be like to be the disciples? 00:07:34.240 --> 00:07:42.000 To have Jesus with you, to walk with Jesus, for him to say, I wouldn't do that, and you're like, Okay, thank you, Jesus. 00:07:42.240 --> 00:07:43.199 Hey, I wouldn't go there. 00:07:43.279 --> 00:07:44.319 You're like, Oh, thank you, Jesus. 00:07:44.399 --> 00:07:45.279 I'm gonna, I'm gonna listen. 00:07:45.360 --> 00:07:46.639 You're like, it would be so amazing. 00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:51.600 We're talking, we're like, it would be so amazing if Jesus was right here with us. 00:07:51.759 --> 00:07:56.560 The crazy thing is towards the end of Jesus' life, you can see this in um the last couple chapters of John. 00:07:57.120 --> 00:08:03.439 The last three chapters that describe his life, Jesus is talking about someone who is to come, and he's talking about the Holy Spirit. 00:08:03.759 --> 00:08:06.800 Throughout that entire passage, you see it at the Last Supper. 00:08:07.040 --> 00:08:09.439 He says this in John 14, verse 15. 00:08:09.600 --> 00:08:13.199 He says to his disciples, he says, If you love me, keep my commands. 00:08:13.439 --> 00:08:15.199 And we have a teaching on that here at our church. 00:08:15.279 --> 00:08:16.319 There's two ways that you can read that. 00:08:16.399 --> 00:08:19.120 One of the ways you can read it is, if you love me, prove it. 00:08:20.720 --> 00:08:23.040 If you love me, show me that you love me. 00:08:23.920 --> 00:08:27.920 Or you can read it from a tree of life perspective, which says this, just love me. 00:08:28.639 --> 00:08:31.279 And if you love me, and like you'll do what I want you to do. 00:08:31.439 --> 00:08:34.320 If you just love me, just love me, you'll do what I command. 00:08:34.639 --> 00:08:38.399 Some of you are in this place and you've been trying to follow the ways of God and you are struggling. 00:08:39.200 --> 00:08:40.559 Man, that addiction has got you. 00:08:40.720 --> 00:08:43.679 Like that financial trouble has got you, that struggle has got you. 00:08:43.840 --> 00:08:45.679 Your marriage is falling apart, and that's got you. 00:08:45.759 --> 00:08:49.919 You're trying to trust God, and that's got you, and you're trying to will your way to do it. 00:08:50.399 --> 00:08:51.200 I want to show you something. 00:08:51.279 --> 00:08:53.440 He says this, if you love me, keep my commands. 00:08:53.519 --> 00:08:56.960 And then he says this beautiful word, and say and. 00:08:57.519 --> 00:09:00.639 In other words, what I'm about to say is connected to what I just said. 00:09:00.720 --> 00:09:10.399 He said this love me and you will keep my commands, and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate who will never leave you, and he is the Holy Spirit. 00:09:10.559 --> 00:09:16.559 That word advocate means it's a legal term for someone that is gonna help you when you are in trouble with the law. 00:09:16.799 --> 00:09:17.840 And I don't know if you know this. 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:21.039 If you read the Old Testament, we were all in trouble with the law. 00:09:21.279 --> 00:09:22.720 Like we needed an advocate. 00:09:22.799 --> 00:09:24.879 He says, No, I'm gonna send an advocate. 00:09:24.960 --> 00:09:31.120 But what I love about this is he doesn't only say, I'm gonna send you an advocate, he says, I'm gonna send you another advocate. 00:09:31.279 --> 00:09:34.960 Like if you read the Greek, it means of the same kind as the first. 00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:40.799 So what he was saying is, I have been your advocate, but I'm gonna send you another advocate. 00:09:40.960 --> 00:09:42.799 There's many ways that you can translate this word. 00:09:42.879 --> 00:09:44.639 Sometimes they translate it comforter. 00:09:44.799 --> 00:09:47.840 I am a comforter, but I'm gonna send you another comforter. 00:09:47.919 --> 00:09:50.639 I'm a mediator, but I'm gonna send you another mediator. 00:09:50.720 --> 00:09:51.679 There's many ways you can do it. 00:09:51.759 --> 00:09:55.360 The the Greek word for advocate over there is paraklatos. 00:09:55.519 --> 00:09:57.200 Okay, para kletos. 00:09:57.440 --> 00:10:01.200 Para means alongside, and kletos means to come. 00:10:01.679 --> 00:10:05.679 In other words, the Holy Spirit is someone who's gonna come alongside you. 00:10:05.919 --> 00:10:07.519 That's who the Holy Spirit is. 00:10:07.759 --> 00:10:09.120 You've heard those words before. 00:10:09.200 --> 00:10:13.279 Like if I say para bill, para belay, what is that? 00:10:13.440 --> 00:10:16.240 Belay means to throw, para means alongside. 00:10:16.399 --> 00:10:21.279 So Jesus would tell a story, he would throw a story alongside a truth that you can understand it. 00:10:21.759 --> 00:10:24.320 That's what preachers do now when we tell stories or illustrations. 00:10:24.399 --> 00:10:26.960 We're trying to illustrate something that you can understand a truth. 00:10:27.039 --> 00:10:33.679 He says, I am sending someone who's gonna come alongside you, who is the same kind as the first. 00:10:34.799 --> 00:10:40.399 So, in other words, I'm in this place, and I'm like, man, I just wish I could have Jesus right next to me. 00:10:41.600 --> 00:10:50.799 And Jesus is saying, No, I'm sending you another who is just like me, and he's gonna be with you, and he's gonna lead you, and he's gonna guide you. 00:10:51.039 --> 00:10:55.039 The funny thing is, we say, if Jesus was with us, I would listen to him. 00:10:55.360 --> 00:10:58.000 But when the Holy Spirit speaks, oh, we don't want to listen. 00:10:58.240 --> 00:11:01.200 We're like, man, those disciples are so hard hard-headed. 00:11:01.360 --> 00:11:04.080 Like Jesus is like, don't do that, and they're like, Oh, we're gonna do it. 00:11:04.159 --> 00:11:06.799 And we're like, I would never do that if Jesus was standing right next to me. 00:11:06.879 --> 00:11:10.480 But the Holy Spirit is like, I wouldn't send you that text, and you're like, watch me. 00:11:13.840 --> 00:11:15.360 Oh, I wouldn't watch that show. 00:11:15.440 --> 00:11:17.679 Oh, I'm not like the disciples, I'm not hard-headed. 00:11:17.840 --> 00:11:18.639 Watch me. 00:11:18.879 --> 00:11:21.440 Like, we do that all the time. 00:11:21.600 --> 00:11:27.519 The Holy Spirit wants to speak to us in everything that we do, and Jesus says this, he says it's gonna be better. 00:11:27.679 --> 00:11:35.679 John 16 7, he says, but in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don't, the advocate won't come. 00:11:35.840 --> 00:11:38.559 If I do go away, then I will send him to you. 00:11:38.720 --> 00:11:40.080 What is Jesus trying to say? 00:11:40.240 --> 00:11:49.039 He's saying, I'm going and I'm not sending you a downgrade, I'm not sending you a Nokia 3310. 00:11:49.600 --> 00:11:53.200 He's like, No, the one who's coming, he says it is better for you. 00:11:53.360 --> 00:11:53.840 Why? 00:11:54.000 --> 00:11:58.960 Because Jesus was with them in one place, the Holy Spirit is with us in every place. 00:11:59.200 --> 00:12:05.120 Come on, Jesus was with them for a season, the Holy Spirit is with us forever. 00:12:05.360 --> 00:12:10.080 Jesus was there beside them, but the Holy Spirit is coming inside of us. 00:12:10.240 --> 00:12:16.080 Jesus showed them how to live, but the Holy Spirit empowers us to live the way that Jesus wants us to live. 00:12:16.240 --> 00:12:19.600 The Holy Spirit is not an accessory in my life. 00:12:19.840 --> 00:12:27.759 He is the very air that I breathe, he is the fuel that I need to do the things that God has called me to do. 00:12:29.279 --> 00:12:34.080 But so often we want to reject him because of bad experiences or things that have happened in our lives. 00:12:34.159 --> 00:12:38.240 And there is so much more of God, you just have to say yes. 00:12:40.080 --> 00:12:43.279 But we reject him because we don't understand who he is. 00:12:43.360 --> 00:12:46.799 And I want to help you understand who the Holy Spirit is. 00:12:46.960 --> 00:12:48.080 If you're like, who is he? 00:12:48.159 --> 00:12:48.879 Here's what I want you to know. 00:12:49.039 --> 00:12:52.639 First thing is he is a person, not a force. 00:12:54.159 --> 00:12:58.320 The Holy Spirit is a person, and he is not a force. 00:13:01.919 --> 00:13:05.679 Well, y'all, I grew up with charismatic, so they were saying you be careful of Brad. 00:13:05.759 --> 00:13:09.440 Like you can't be around Brad, like those people are weird, like those Holy Spirit people are weird. 00:13:09.600 --> 00:13:10.480 No, no, no, no, no. 00:13:10.559 --> 00:13:16.799 When you say that, you're not rejecting an idea, you're not rejecting a concept. 00:13:17.039 --> 00:13:19.360 The Holy Spirit is not a force. 00:13:19.519 --> 00:13:21.360 This isn't Star Wars, Luke. 00:13:21.600 --> 00:13:22.399 Use the force. 00:13:22.559 --> 00:13:26.720 Like, like the Holy Spirit is not a force, he is a person. 00:13:27.279 --> 00:13:28.000 He is a person. 00:13:28.080 --> 00:13:28.559 Let me show you this. 00:13:28.720 --> 00:13:32.879 John 14, he says, I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate who will never leave you. 00:13:32.960 --> 00:13:34.320 And I want you to underline this in your scripture. 00:13:34.399 --> 00:13:38.000 It says this He is the Holy Spirit who leads you into all truth. 00:13:38.080 --> 00:13:48.960 The world cannot receive him because it isn't looking for him and doesn't recognize him, but you know him because he lives with you now and later will be in you. 00:13:49.120 --> 00:13:55.840 I want you to notice scripture never calls the Holy Spirit an it because he is not an it, he is a he. 00:13:57.039 --> 00:13:58.320 He is a person. 00:13:58.480 --> 00:13:59.919 Why is that so important? 00:14:00.159 --> 00:14:05.120 Because you will never develop a personal relationship with someone that you do not see as a person. 00:14:05.919 --> 00:14:10.879 It is important that you see the Holy Spirit as a person, that you can develop this relationship with him. 00:14:11.039 --> 00:14:20.240 And I think one of the challenges with that, and the reason it's so hard for us, is because you never actually see the personal proper name of the Holy Spirit. 00:14:20.480 --> 00:14:29.360 Like when you meet God in the Old Testament, at first his name is God, and then eventually he reveals his personal proper name, and he says, My name is Yahweh. 00:14:30.480 --> 00:14:36.480 And then you start reading about the Lord, and you're like, okay, who, and then eventually you get introduced to this man by the name of Jesus. 00:14:37.440 --> 00:14:41.840 The Holy Spirit, throughout Scripture, he is the Holy Spirit. 00:14:41.919 --> 00:14:47.440 In Hebrew, he is Ruach Hakudesh, which is the Spirit of Holiness or the Holy Spirit. 00:14:47.519 --> 00:14:52.320 In the Greek, he is Numa Hagion, the Holy Spirit, which means that it's appropriate. 00:14:52.639 --> 00:14:55.840 When you're talking about the Holy Spirit, you can say, the Holy Spirit. 00:14:56.559 --> 00:15:00.000 But when you're talking to the Holy Spirit, you can actually just say, Holy Spirit. 00:15:00.240 --> 00:15:01.759 Holy Spirit, I need your help. 00:15:02.480 --> 00:15:04.159 Holy Spirit, I need your comfort. 00:15:04.799 --> 00:15:06.639 Holy Spirit, can you do what only you can do? 00:15:06.799 --> 00:15:10.080 Holy Spirit, I'm going into this meeting right now, and I need your help. 00:15:10.799 --> 00:15:12.480 The Holy Spirit is a person. 00:15:12.639 --> 00:15:13.440 How do we know that? 00:15:13.679 --> 00:15:16.960 Because people think, they choose, and they feel. 00:15:17.120 --> 00:15:18.799 They have mind, will, and emotions. 00:15:19.039 --> 00:15:20.559 Trees can't do that. 00:15:21.039 --> 00:15:23.039 The force can't do that. 00:15:23.679 --> 00:15:24.639 A person can. 00:15:24.799 --> 00:15:26.159 The Holy Spirit has all three of those things. 00:15:26.320 --> 00:15:28.080 First thing is this the Holy Spirit has a mind. 00:15:28.559 --> 00:15:29.759 Romans 8 27. 00:15:29.919 --> 00:15:37.919 And he who searches our hearts, that's the Father, knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God's people in accordance to the will of God. 00:15:38.080 --> 00:15:39.200 John 16, 13. 00:15:39.279 --> 00:15:44.639 When the Spirit comes of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. 00:15:45.919 --> 00:15:47.519 He will guide you into all truth. 00:15:47.759 --> 00:15:52.799 He will not speak on his own, but he will tell you what he has heard, and he will tell you about the future. 00:15:52.960 --> 00:15:57.600 In order for the Holy Spirit to guide you into all truth, he has to know all truth, which means he has to have a mind. 00:15:58.240 --> 00:15:59.919 And he wants to do that for you. 00:16:00.240 --> 00:16:05.279 Man, I continue the amount of times I'm reading my Bible and I get on a scripture and I'm like, I just don't know what that means. 00:16:05.519 --> 00:16:08.320 And I'm like reading commentaries for hours. 00:16:09.679 --> 00:16:12.960 And I just feel the Spirit of God being like, hey, what are you doing? 00:16:14.240 --> 00:16:15.039 Read my Bible. 00:16:15.360 --> 00:16:16.480 He's like, do you know what it means? 00:16:16.639 --> 00:16:18.639 I'm like, oh I'm trying to read your word. 00:16:20.320 --> 00:16:22.080 Do you want to ask me what it means? 00:16:22.399 --> 00:16:23.919 I'm like, oh wait, I can do that. 00:16:24.320 --> 00:16:26.080 Like, Holy Spirit, what does this mean? 00:16:26.320 --> 00:16:31.120 And it's crazy how I'll get all of these other scriptures and all of a sudden I start understanding exactly what that scripture is. 00:16:31.279 --> 00:16:33.440 He wants to lead you into all truth. 00:16:33.679 --> 00:16:34.000 Okay? 00:16:34.480 --> 00:16:35.679 That's it, that's one of his roles. 00:16:35.759 --> 00:16:38.320 Now, what we need to know is don't get weird about that. 00:16:38.720 --> 00:16:38.960 Okay? 00:16:39.360 --> 00:16:42.320 If you're in this place, the Holy Spirit will never contradict scripture. 00:16:42.480 --> 00:16:46.159 So if you're like, man, the Spirit of God told me to divorce my husband, that ain't the Spirit of God. 00:16:46.240 --> 00:16:47.360 That's another kind of spirit. 00:16:47.519 --> 00:16:49.360 Like, you need to not listen to that spirit. 00:16:49.440 --> 00:16:50.639 Like, that ain't the Spirit of God. 00:16:50.879 --> 00:16:56.480 The Holy Spirit wants to teach you, and I think that encourages me so much that we have God inside of us who is trying to reveal truth to us. 00:16:56.639 --> 00:16:57.440 Isn't that beautiful? 00:16:57.600 --> 00:17:00.480 The Holy Spirit has a mind, not only that, he also has a will. 00:17:00.639 --> 00:17:05.119 1 Corinthians 12, verse 11 says the Holy Spirit distributes gifts as he determines. 00:17:05.359 --> 00:17:06.000 He has a will. 00:17:06.160 --> 00:17:09.759 Acts 16, 6, the second missionary journey of Paul, it says us. 00:17:09.920 --> 00:17:20.319 And they went through the region of Freya and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 00:17:20.480 --> 00:17:24.480 I just need to know, has anyone ever been forbidden to do something by the Holy Spirit? 00:17:24.720 --> 00:17:30.640 Like you're driving home and you take that same way every single night, but for some reason, one night you're like, I don't know what it is. 00:17:30.799 --> 00:17:32.960 I just feel forbidden to take that route. 00:17:33.119 --> 00:17:34.160 Has anyone ever felt that before? 00:17:34.319 --> 00:17:38.559 Or you're walking or you're talking to your kids and you're like, man, I don't know what it is. 00:17:38.799 --> 00:17:40.799 I just need you to not go to that sleepover. 00:17:40.880 --> 00:17:41.680 And they're like, why? 00:17:41.759 --> 00:17:43.279 And you're like, I don't know. 00:17:43.519 --> 00:17:44.640 Like, I don't have a reason. 00:17:44.720 --> 00:17:48.480 There's just something in my spirit that is telling me that that's not okay. 00:17:48.640 --> 00:17:56.559 Or you're a business guy, and all of a sudden that deal looks really good, but just in your spirit, you're like, man, I don't know what it is, but I just feel like I'm not supposed to do that. 00:17:56.720 --> 00:17:59.759 If you're a student and you're with that friend group, you're like, I don't know what it is. 00:17:59.920 --> 00:18:02.319 I just feel like I'm not supposed to be friends with him. 00:18:02.480 --> 00:18:04.720 I feel like I'm not supposed to go to that party. 00:18:04.880 --> 00:18:08.880 The Holy Spirit can forbid us, he can speak to us, he can lead us, he can guide us. 00:18:08.960 --> 00:18:11.759 But if we don't know he's a person, we're never gonna listen. 00:18:13.119 --> 00:18:19.039 We're gonna call it a coincidence or a feeling, but the Spirit of God is trying to get something inside of you. 00:18:19.759 --> 00:18:26.240 Like I remember having so much doubt as to whether or not I could hear from the Holy Spirit when I was in South Africa, when I was deported for those two years. 00:18:26.319 --> 00:18:28.559 I was like, God, why didn't you tell me this was coming? 00:18:28.880 --> 00:18:35.839 And I got to a place where I was like, maybe, maybe God only speaks through his word, and the Holy Spirit can't direct me, he can't be specific with me. 00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:40.720 And I remember just praying this prayer and saying, Holy Spirit, can you teach me to hear your voice? 00:18:41.359 --> 00:18:43.279 And I remember my visa finally came through. 00:18:43.359 --> 00:18:50.640 I was going to the embassy the next day, like it was high stakes, and I had to go get passport photos taken, and they were very specific about the way they needed to be taken. 00:18:50.880 --> 00:18:52.160 So I'm like, okay, I'm gonna go do this. 00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:56.559 I go to my nightstand and I grab 200 Rand, which is the currency in South Africa. 00:18:56.799 --> 00:19:00.960 And the Holy Spirit says to me, You don't need 200, you just need 100. 00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:05.759 And I'm like, but I kind of want to take 200 just in case, you know what I mean? 00:19:06.079 --> 00:19:07.599 I'm like, oh, kind of be easy, you know. 00:19:07.680 --> 00:19:09.440 He's like, no, you only you only need 100. 00:19:09.680 --> 00:19:13.119 And have you have you ever just had God like, you feel like he's telling you to do something? 00:19:13.279 --> 00:19:14.400 He's like, I don't want to do it. 00:19:14.640 --> 00:19:15.920 And I was like, this is so silly. 00:19:16.000 --> 00:19:19.359 But I left the 100 Rand and I took 100 Rand with me. 00:19:19.440 --> 00:19:22.640 And I went to the first passport place and I was like, Can you do this photo? 00:19:22.720 --> 00:19:24.319 They're like, absolutely, how much is it? 00:19:24.480 --> 00:19:25.200 60 Rand. 00:19:25.279 --> 00:19:27.519 And I was like, Oh, good, 60 Rand, I'm good. 00:19:27.759 --> 00:19:32.480 I pay, and then they're like, by the way, we can't meet one of the requirements. 00:19:33.279 --> 00:19:35.519 And I'm like, man, I'm going tomorrow. 00:19:35.599 --> 00:19:39.200 Like, this is about a close, like businesses are about to close, like, I don't have any time. 00:19:39.440 --> 00:19:42.640 And I was like, Is there any other place that can do it? 00:19:42.720 --> 00:19:44.559 And they're like, Yeah, there's a place down the road. 00:19:44.799 --> 00:19:45.839 They can do everything you need. 00:19:45.920 --> 00:19:47.680 And I'm like, why didn't you tell me that? 00:19:48.960 --> 00:19:53.599 So I'm driving down the road and I'm like, man, this place costs 60 bucks, like I've got 40 bucks left, like, isn't gonna work. 00:19:53.680 --> 00:19:58.640 I walk into this place, it's beautiful, like it has everything that I need, like it's one of those bougie places. 00:19:58.799 --> 00:20:00.000 And I'm like, hey, can you do this? 00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:01.440 And they're like, we can absolutely do it. 00:20:01.519 --> 00:20:05.200 I'm like, but it needs to be specific, it needs to be glossed and laminated, and it's like, no, no, no, we got you. 00:20:05.279 --> 00:20:08.000 And I was like, great! How much does it cost? 00:20:08.559 --> 00:20:09.839 $39.95. 00:20:13.839 --> 00:20:17.920 And y'all, it was just this moment of the Holy Spirit saying, No, I can still speak. 00:20:18.480 --> 00:20:21.039 Like I can still lead, like I can still guide. 00:20:21.200 --> 00:20:22.400 You just have to listen to my voice. 00:20:22.480 --> 00:20:27.599 And I needed those moments so much because we wouldn't be in Phoenix if I did not listen to the Spirit of God. 00:20:28.319 --> 00:20:30.240 What is it that He's trying to say in your life? 00:20:30.319 --> 00:20:31.119 How's He trying to lead you? 00:20:31.200 --> 00:20:32.000 How's he trying to guide you? 00:20:32.079 --> 00:20:36.480 Again, if you do not believe He is a person, you will never develop that relationship with Him. 00:20:36.559 --> 00:20:37.680 The Holy Spirit has emotions. 00:20:37.839 --> 00:20:40.400 Ephesians 4 verse 30, it says, Do not grieve the Holy Spirit. 00:20:40.559 --> 00:20:41.759 The Holy Spirit can be grieved. 00:20:41.839 --> 00:20:42.720 How is he grieved? 00:20:42.880 --> 00:20:46.880 He grieves when we have sin in our lives that he's been convicting us of, and we choose not to listen. 00:20:47.359 --> 00:20:53.039 And you need to know this that when you do that long enough, what happens is the Bible talks about cauterizing or searing your conscience. 00:20:53.359 --> 00:21:00.160 And what that is, is you burn your conscience in such a way, if you've ever known a burn victim, when you burn, there is no feeling there. 00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:02.400 Some of you are like, man, it's so weird. 00:21:02.480 --> 00:21:03.920 The Holy Spirit doesn't speak to me about that thing. 00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:06.160 He used to speak to me about that thing, but he doesn't speak to me about that thing. 00:21:06.240 --> 00:21:08.160 Yeah, our consciences have been seared. 00:21:09.519 --> 00:21:15.119 And if that's ever happened to you like it's happened to me, we have these moments where we say, Holy Spirit, forgive me. 00:21:15.279 --> 00:21:16.160 Jesus, forgive me. 00:21:17.039 --> 00:21:18.720 Can you restore that sensitivity? 00:21:18.799 --> 00:21:20.960 And you'll hear that still small voice. 00:21:21.279 --> 00:21:23.279 And my encouragement to you is pay attention. 00:21:23.680 --> 00:21:28.559 When the Holy Spirit says don't pay attention, when you feel forbidden to do something, pay attention. 00:21:28.640 --> 00:21:30.240 The Holy Spirit is a person. 00:21:30.319 --> 00:21:32.319 And you might be like, Okay, Brad, that is awesome. 00:21:32.400 --> 00:21:34.799 But there are many people in my life that I don't trust. 00:21:34.880 --> 00:21:37.440 So just because he's a person, that doesn't mean I ain't gonna trust him. 00:21:37.599 --> 00:21:40.880 So I know what he is, he is a person, but who is the Holy Spirit? 00:21:41.200 --> 00:21:41.920 Glad you asked. 00:21:42.079 --> 00:21:45.599 Here's my second point He is God, not a junior partner. 00:21:47.599 --> 00:21:50.079 He is God, not a junior partner. 00:21:50.240 --> 00:21:59.759 When someone will say stay away from the Holy Spirit, as I've heard throughout my upbringing, you need to know this when they're saying stay away from the Holy Spirit, they're not saying stay away from an idea, a force, a concept. 00:22:00.480 --> 00:22:01.680 Let me translate what they're saying. 00:22:01.920 --> 00:22:03.279 Stay away from God. 00:22:06.160 --> 00:22:08.559 The Holy Spirit is God. 00:22:09.440 --> 00:22:11.200 I'll show it to you in Scripture. 00:22:11.279 --> 00:22:11.680 He is God. 00:22:11.839 --> 00:22:13.039 Acts 5, verse 3. 00:22:13.359 --> 00:22:19.839 Ananiah and Sapphira, they sell this property, the early church, they're selling their properties, they're giving it to the church that they can help care for the poor. 00:22:19.920 --> 00:22:25.839 And in that moment, you have these two people that sell their property and they give some of the money to the church, but not all of the money to the church. 00:22:25.920 --> 00:22:27.440 And Peter knows this, and it says this. 00:22:27.599 --> 00:22:36.880 Peter said, Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money that you received from the land? 00:22:37.200 --> 00:22:40.720 And he says this, didn't it belong to you before it was sold? 00:22:41.039 --> 00:22:44.400 And after it was sold, was it the money at your disposal? 00:22:44.640 --> 00:22:46.880 You could have given half and just called it half. 00:22:46.960 --> 00:22:50.480 Like you don't have to lie and say, I'm giving all of it, but you're keeping some for yourself. 00:22:50.640 --> 00:22:53.119 He says, What made you do such a thing? 00:22:53.279 --> 00:22:56.559 You have not just lied to humans, but to God. 00:22:58.000 --> 00:22:59.680 He says, You have lied to the Holy Spirit. 00:22:59.759 --> 00:23:01.839 And then later he says, You have lied to God. 00:23:01.920 --> 00:23:06.160 And when Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. 00:23:07.359 --> 00:23:10.240 He is not just an angel, he is God. 00:23:11.519 --> 00:23:18.079 And it's weird how sometimes we can have these uncomfortabilities because I can stand here and I can say, God the Father is my God. 00:23:18.880 --> 00:23:20.640 And you all are like, great. 00:23:21.359 --> 00:23:23.440 I'm like, Jesus is my God. 00:23:24.240 --> 00:23:25.519 Like tracking, tracking. 00:23:25.920 --> 00:23:28.799 And then I say, the Holy Spirit is my God. 00:23:30.079 --> 00:23:46.480 And sometimes I've talked to people and they're like, and if there's a in you, when I say the Holy Spirit is my God, there is some kind of lie that the enemy is trying to place in your life to keep you away from the empowerer that Jesus has sent to enable us to live the life that he has called us to live. 00:23:47.039 --> 00:23:48.480