Scripture referenced
The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
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Luke 11:11-13 used as the main launching text to introduce the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a good gift from a good Father
11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he won’t give him a snake instead of a fish, will he?
12 Or if he asks for an egg, he won’t give him a scorpion, will he?
13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”
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Keep this verse
Luke 24:49
Jesus tells the disciples to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit comes and fills them with power from heaven
49 Behold, I send out the promise of my Father on you. But wait in the city of Jerusalem until you are clothed with power from on high.”
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2 Corinthians 1:21-22
God places the Holy Spirit in our hearts as a first installment guaranteeing everything he has promised
21 Now he who establishes us with you in Christ, and anointed us, is God;
22 who also sealed us, and gave us the down payment of the Spirit in our hearts.
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Romans 5:3-5
read by a congregation member connecting suffering to endurance, character, hope, and the Holy Spirit filling our hearts with love
3 Not only this, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance;
4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope:
5 and hope doesn’t disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
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Romans 7:7-25
read at length to illustrate the two competing operating systems, the flesh and the spirit, and Paul's struggle to do good
7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? May it never be! However, I wouldn’t have known sin, except through the law. For I wouldn’t have known coveting, unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.”
8 But sin, finding occasion through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of coveting. For apart from the law, sin is dead.
9 I was alive apart from the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
10 The commandment, which was for life, this I found to be for death;
11 for sin, finding occasion through the commandment, deceived me, and through it killed me.
12 Therefore the law indeed is holy, and the commandment holy, and righteous, and good.
13 Did then that which is good become death to me? May it never be! But sin, that it might be shown to be sin, was producing death in me through that which is good; that through the commandment sin might become exceedingly sinful.
14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold under sin.
15 For I don’t know what I am doing. For I don’t practice what I desire to do; but what I hate, that I do.
16 But if what I don’t desire, that I do, I consent to the law that it is good.
17 So now it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwells in me.
18 For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing. For desire is present with me, but I don’t find it doing that which is good.
19 For the good which I desire, I don’t do; but the evil which I don’t desire, that I practice.
20 But if what I don’t desire, that I do, it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwells in me.
21 I find then the law, that, to me, while I desire to do good, evil is present.
22 For I delight in God’s law after the inward man,
23 but I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity under the law of sin which is in my members.
24 What a wretched man I am! Who will deliver me out of the body of this death?
25 I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! So then with the mind, I myself serve God’s law, but with the flesh, the sin’s law.
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Ephesians 1:17
Paul's apostolic prayer that God give the spirit of wisdom and revelation so believers might grow in knowledge of him
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him;
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Revelation 22:17
the Spirit and the bride say come, used to illustrate the need for synchronization between Christians and the Holy Spirit
17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” He who hears, let him say, “Come!” He who is thirsty, let him come. He who desires, let him take the water of life freely.
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Ephesians 3:20
briefly referenced as the verse calling believers God's workmanship, his masterpiece, using the Greek word poema
20 Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
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1 Corinthians 12
mentioned as the source for the gifts of the Holy Spirit that believers can begin to practice
1 Now concerning spiritual things, brothers, I don’t want you to be ignorant.
2 You know that when you were heathen, you were led away to those mute idols, however you might be led.
3 Therefore I make known to you that no man speaking by God’s Spirit says, “Jesus is accursed.” No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” but by the Holy Spirit.
4 Now there are various kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.
5 There are various kinds of service, and the same Lord.
6 There are various kinds of workings, but the same God, who works all things in all.
7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the profit of all.
8 For to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom, and to another the word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit;
9 to another faith, by the same Spirit; and to another gifts of healings, by the same Spirit;
10 and to another workings of miracles; and to another prophecy; and to another discerning of spirits; to another different kinds of languages; and to another the interpretation of languages.
11 But the one and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing to each one separately as he desires.
12 For as the body is one, and has many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ.
13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free; and were all given to drink into one Spirit.
14 For the body is not one member, but many.
15 If the foot would say, “Because I’m not the hand, I’m not part of the body,” it is not therefore not part of the body.
16 If the ear would say, “Because I’m not the eye, I’m not part of the body,” it’s not therefore not part of the body.
17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the smelling be?
18 But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body, just as he desired.
19 If they were all one member, where would the body be?
20 But now they are many members, but one body.
21 The eye can’t tell the hand, “I have no need for you,” or again the head to the feet, “I have no need for you.”
22 No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary.
23 Those parts of the body which we think to be less honorable, on those we bestow more abundant honor; and our unpresentable parts have more abundant propriety;
24 whereas our presentable parts have no such need. But God composed the body together, giving more abundant honor to the inferior part,
25 that there should be no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another.
26 When one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. Or when one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.
28 God has set some in the assembly: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracle workers, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, and various kinds of languages.
29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all miracle workers?
30 Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with various languages? Do all interpret?
31 But earnestly desire the best gifts. Moreover, I show a most excellent way to you.
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Recap
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
This message from Pastor Brian walked through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, covering what it is, why it matters, and how a person receives it. It came on the heels of a water baptism the congregation had done at Flat Creek the week before, so the timing felt natural. The conversation-style format meant questions and comments from the room were woven in throughout.
What was said
Pastor Brian opened by reading Luke 11:11-13, where Jesus describes the Holy Spirit as a good gift a good father gives to his children. He used that passage to clear away any fear or suspicion people might carry toward the Holy Spirit, and to make a firm point: God does not inflict harm on his children. He does allow things in his wisdom that he could prevent in his power, and that distinction matters, but a good God does not give cancer or take lives as punishment.
The first question was what the baptism of the Holy Spirit actually is. When a person gets saved, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in them fully, not a fragment or a portion. Pastor Brian pushed back gently on the phrase "spirit-filled church," pointing out that if you are a Christian, the Holy Spirit already lives in you according to scripture. The key point was this: the Holy Spirit lives in a believer, but he waits for that believer to give him permission to operate through them.
To explain how the old and new natures coexist, Pastor Brian used a computer analogy. Before salvation, a person runs a corrupted default operating system bent toward selfishness and sin. When someone gets saved, a new and superior operating system is installed alongside the old one, not replacing it. The old one stays, and a person still has to choose daily which one they live out of. This led into a reading of Romans 7, where Paul describes the exact same tension: wanting to do good and finding himself doing what he hates instead.
Why does the baptism of the Holy Spirit matter? Pastor Brian gave several reasons. First, it is the Holy Spirit living through a believer that helps them stand firm, and that capacity will matter more as pressure on Christians increases globally. Second, the Spirit gives wisdom and insight, drawing from Ephesians 1:17, so that a person grows in the knowledge of God rather than constantly stepping on the same rakes. Third, he returned to the point from Revelation 22:17, that the Spirit and the bride are meant to be synchronized, saying the same thing, moving together.
The Lionel Messi analogy carried the fourth reason. You can watch a great player's footage, read his book, have him coach you, and even have him speak into your ear on the sideline, and you would improve. But the ultimate thing would be if Messi himself could live inside you and play through you. That is the picture of the Holy Spirit. Many Christians receive salvation, then try to live like Jesus in their own strength, which is the wrong approach entirely. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the moment a believer stops pushing the car and turns on the engine.
On how to receive it, Pastor Brian kept it simple and personal. You ask. He shared his own story of being prayed over in a youth group setting, feeling pressure to speak in tongues, faking it, going home, admitting to God that he had faked it, and then actually receiving it quietly on his own when he ran out of English words. His point was that it does not have to look dramatic or happen in a group setting. It is as personal as the moment of salvation, and the prayer is honest and straightforward: acknowledge that the Holy Spirit already lives in you, and give him permission to operate through you.
Pastor Brian closed by naming some of what he called the side effects he noticed after receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit, including a new hunger for scripture that felt personal rather than academic, increased desire for worship, a prayer language, and greater awareness of the gifts described in 1 Corinthians 12. He recommended John Bevere's book "The Holy Spirit: An Introduction" and Robert Morris's "Holy Spirit, My Best Friend" for anyone who wanted to keep exploring. He also invited anyone who wanted prayer after the service to find Lee and Colleen, who stayed up front for that purpose.
Touch points
Things you could actually do this week.
- Ask the Holy Spirit to operate through you, not just live in you, by praying simply and honestly the way Brian described: tell him you want him to fill you and give him permission to work in and through you.
- Pick up John Bevere's book 'The Holy Spirit: An Introduction' or Robert Morris's 'Holy Spirit, My Best Friend' if you want to keep exploring what was talked about this morning.
- If you felt something stir during the message but are not sure what to do with it, find Lee or Colleen after a service and ask them to pray with you.
- Sign up for the Tribe Mountain Adventures top rope climbing day in Wilson Canyon on August 18, even if you just want to hike up and watch.
- Sign up to bring a meal for Tuesday night service at the TMC, where the church gathers at 6pm around food and the Word.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
- Brian described God as a good Father who gives good gifts, but also said he allows things in his wisdom that he could easily prevent in his power. How do you hold those two things together, especially when life gets hard?
- Brian used the image of two operating systems running side by side after salvation, and Paul in Romans 7 described the same tension. Where do you feel that tension most in your own life right now?
and 3 more questions in the guide
Resumen en español
El mensaje resumido, en español.
El pastor Brian partió de una pregunta sencilla: ¿qué es el bautismo del Espíritu Santo, por qué importa y cómo se recibe? Usando Lucas 11:11-13, recordó que Dios es un buen Padre que no da cosas dañinas a sus hijos, sino que ofrece al Espíritu Santo como un regalo extraordinario. Aclaró que cuando una persona se salva, el Espíritu ya viene a vivir adentro, pero que él espera que le demos permiso de obrar a través de nosotros. La diferencia entre tenerlo y dejar que obre libremente es una decisión de la voluntad.
Para explicar por qué esto importa, Brian habló de tres razones principales: el Espíritu nos ayuda a mantenernos firmes, nos da sabiduría y entendimiento de Dios, y nos sincroniza con lo que Dios está haciendo. Usó la imagen de Lionel Messi para ilustrar el punto central: nadie puede vivir la vida de Jesús mejor que Jesús mismo. Por eso el bautismo del Espíritu no es solo que él habite en nosotros, sino que nos rindamos para que él viva a través de nosotros, igual que Messi "dentro" del jugador lo haría jugar de una manera completamente diferente.
En cuanto a cómo recibirlo, la respuesta fue directa: se pide. De la misma manera en que uno se salva por fe, simplemente se le pide al Padre que llene y opere por medio del Espíritu que ya vive adentro. Brian compartió su propio testimonio, honesto y sin adornos, de cuando recibió ese bautismo. Terminó invitando a quienes quisieran ayuda a quedarse a orar con miembros del equipo, y recomendó el libro de John Bevere, "El Espíritu Santo: una introducción", como recurso adicional.
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Pasajes biblicos usados
- Lucas 11:11-13
- Lucas 24:49
- 2 Corintios 1:21-22
- Romanos 5:3-5
- Romanos 7 (versiculos 7 al final del capitulo)
- Efesios 1:17
- Apocalipsis 22:17
Read the full transcript 12,831 words
Good morning. Let's stand up together. Connor, can you take my guitar down just a little in the monitor room? Sort of. How is everyone today you.
We We to what you're doing in this place. We just tell you yes and amen to your plan today. Amen. As we sing these words, just give the holy spirit permission today to come and speak to you. Just have an open heart to wake up arise come fill us up.
Oh, we need you today. Full to overflowing so that I'm not giving out of the emptiness. Lord, we just take a minute right now before we continue to sing and we just say, we need you. We're desperate for you. We're dry without you.
Oh, we need you. Just take a minute. Just ask him to remove the distractions of your mind this morning. What only you can do today. It's our prayer.
Come and do what only you can do today. Come and do what only you can winning. The
fragrance of heaven. Pour your spirit out. Pour your spirit out. With hearts
Lord, we invite you to come and speak to us and we just tell you we give you permission to use your body, to use your bride, to speak today, to encourage, to repent, to do what you want your church to look like. That's not about just a person on a stage, but it's about the church is us. The church is your bride. We give you permission today, Jesus. By your holy spirit, come speak to us.
If you're new to Tribe or you're visiting today, we like this to be more of a conversation than one person speaking. And so if there's something that the Lord puts on your heart as we continue to worship, Gretchen up here has a microphone and that's so that we can all hear what you have to say and also for our livestream family that watches every week. And so just be encouraged today that you can hear from the hear from the Lord. And step out encourage and if if there's something the lord's putting on your heart, just stick your hand up, get Gretchen's attention. She's looking.
She's looking. So, we'll sing. We'll sing just a little bit more. Lee, you have something? You have something?
What I'm hearing is our father god saying, indeed, you are my sons and my daughters. And I'm also hearing the words taste and see. And as I've been hearing that taste and see, it's a bit of a challenge because he is drawing us to himself and our father is saying, my son, Jesus, is reaching out to you right now. He's reaching out to all of us. But there's some here that he is specifically drawing to himself and he says, my son, my daughter, you know who you are.
You feel my presence. You feel my draw. Reach your hand to me. Yes. It's a challenge.
Yes. You may feel intimidated. You may feel fearful, you may feel like I can't let go. But the challenge is just release yourself. He says, I won't ask you to do anything that is not safe.
Any place that you go as you reach out to me, it is in safety. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you for that. Thank you. We bless your name.
We worship you. Apart from you, we are nothing. Apart from you, we have nothing. So, all of us in unity today, we reach out to you in the spirit. We reach out to you and we say thank you lord.
Thank you, Jesus. Amen.
Anybody else? Just sing this together and just invite the lord to come and speak to you today. Just declare that over yourself. I am. I am a child of god.
Yes, I am. I am a child of god. I'm no longer. I'm no
longer slave to fear
and I am a child of god no longer Yes, Lord. Is the Lord putting anything on anybody's heart? A picture of it's a word, a scripture, praise a testimony. Gretchen's looking, looking. Well, at Tribe, when Brian comes up in just a minute to do the message and he'll he'll explain this to you, but we want you to share connections and questions and things that you're getting out of the word that we can learn also from what the Lord is speaking to you.
So be listening. Be listening today to what the Lord might be saying to you. Hi, Pat. Lord Jesus, we give you permission today to come and speak to us. Thank you for every single heart in this room.
Meet us right where we're at today as we talk about your holy spirit and the baptism of the holy spirit and just what that looks like to just be filled with the spirit and then overflowing. Tell you we love you Jesus. Come have your way in this place and everybody said, amen. Alright. Turn around and greet somebody.
Say you're a child of God. Old
Tom Delts found us at the saloon. That's all we needed to get you back to church? Does it have church in a bar? I've been hunting with you. I know what you have in your coffee in the morning.
Slide it on up here, brother. Good morning. I know he hasn't been, and I haven't seen him, like, a couple years, and he gets a shout out. Well, welcome to Tribe. So great to see all of you, whether I get to your beautiful faces all the time or if it's a if it's a new face to me.
Welcome to Church in a Bar here in Jackson Hole. I don't know if you're passing through or if you live here, but, I understand that it is no easy thing. It is a sacrifice to come to this place with all that it has to offer, all that it took you just to get to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. And instead of riding the Ginny Lake shuttle or riding the tram or sitting outside enjoying a view of the mountains here and here with us and the spirit of the lord this morning. And so, thank you.
And I just know that that if you make this sacrifice here this morning, the Lord will bless you with, like, a bald eagle to land on your shoulder or something to really make your trip here worthwhile. If you live here, I mean, you have bald eagles landing on you all the time, so you know what I'm talking about. Last week, Jackson style, we did a a water baptism. And I know that, some of you are here got baptized, but not all of you could be there to witness the baptism. So I thought I'd show you a few pictures.
We did this Jackson Hole style. We just went down to Flat Creek. Right, we thought maybe we would see Mark, floating by in his afternoon little, post work soak and float, but it was great to do some water baptisms here. And, a lot of our young adults, if you don't know this, we do service here at 10AM on Sundays, and we also do a service at our TMC Tribe Ministry Center at 6PM on a Tuesday. We do a meal.
And, one of the baptisms, we got to baptize, my friend, and then he got to baptize his son right there. And it was a really it was a really great time. So let's celebrate water baptisms. And with that with that in mind, I thought we would roll right into a very germane topic of right on the heels of water baptism. Did you know that there are actually three baptisms in the Bible that are described throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament?
And depending on what church flavor or denomination or church background you've come from, maybe you would say, oh, yeah. Duh. There's three baptisms. Maybe you're like, I don't even know what you're talking about, or maybe you've come from a flavor of church that talks about only one baptism. Well, we're going to get into a a couple of those topics and and answer some questions today.
And, without, like, getting into a really clever title, we're just titled this morning's message, baptism of the holy spirit. What, how, and why? We're just gonna get right to it. With that in mind, if you have your bible this morning, would you turn to Luke chapter 11? Luke chapter 11.
And I know that Lissa mentioned this, but if you are new to tribe, we roll a little bit differently if you haven't been able to tell already. But one of the things that we do that's different here is I really want this to be less of a monologue, and I want it to be more of a dialogue. I don't wanna just spoon feed you, baby bird feed you, and have you not interact and engage not only with the text, but also, like, with me and with us in the conversation? As Lisa mentioned earlier, there are mics that are around the room. And if you have a question or a comment or a connection, and by connection, I mean, oh, what you just said reminds me of this verse over here or something that I heard another time.
I want to I want to hear it. I know that even though we're in a saloon, I'm up here. There's some, like, lights on me. I've got a mic. There's, like, a center aisle.
I know we're kinda throwing off some, like, church vibes that you've come from, and the church that you've come from, there probably was no room or even permission for you to interrupt the pastor. Well, this is different. Interrupt me by raising your hand. And for those of you who are like, oh, that makes me nervous, like, you're just gonna let anybody say anything, I'll I'll let anybody say anything. And if it's weird, I'll just cut you off.
And if it needs addressing and correcting, go ahead and say your weird thing, and then you can trust me. I'm very safe, and I'll just correct or adjust anything weird that is said, and then we just get right back on track. Does that sound alright to everybody? And for how many of you have been with us long enough, like, we've gotten some odd comments and some things, and we just bring it right back on track. Right?
So everybody calm down. You're in good hands. Luke chapter 11. I'm gonna invite somebody to please read a short passage from Luke chapter 11 verses 11 through 13. You can read it from your bible, or you can read it off the screen here.
But, Gretchen has the mic, and if you would somebody would read that short passage, that's going to jump start and kick off our conversation today.
You fathers, if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not. So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly father give the holy spirit to those who ask him?
Oh, that's great. What a great passage to read as a dad whose son I saw walking around in the nursery today. There was, like, whispers and rumors spreading like wildfire before church started. Micah's walking. Micah's walking.
And at first, I was thinking about some sort of adult Micah, and I was like, well, I hope. But then I was like, oh, Micah, Micah? So I had to sneak back there, and he's got his little, like, denim jumper on, and he's, like, marching around. And so we'll try to we'll try to end with enough time for all of us to go and view all of them. Yeah.
No pressure, Micah. So that was really precious. Luke chapter 11 verse 11 through 13. You can see it right here on the screen. And as we get into unpacking this, this is really we're not gonna unpack this so much as use this as a springboard or a diving a diving board to dive into the content of what we're gonna talk about tonight.
I love how Jesus uses this verse. These are red letters in your bible, and it's a beautiful verse to dispel any uncomfortability, any uncertainty, any apprehension, any fear, or any, like like, tightening or tensing up that you may feel that has been honestly put on you either by a come from that has kind of, like, like, shied away from the person and the ministry of of the holy spirit. This is a beautiful verse that Jesus is talking, and he describes Jesus describes the Holy Spirit as a amazing, incredible, wonderful gift. A good gift that a good father gives to a child. Would god the father ever give you something hurtful, harmful, or detrimentative detriment to your life?
The answer is absolutely not. And if you have come from I don't mean to be ripping on your church. But if you've come from a church tradition that says that God does things like give people cancer. Like, get out of that church. Walk like run.
Don't walk. Because that is nowhere, nowhere in scripture. Why would why would a good god do something like that to one of his children? Number one, it doesn't make sense. Number two, it's not scriptural.
Number three, it might be a convenient way for you to explain difficulty and hardship, but god does not do hurtful, harmful, or detrimental things to his children. Comma. However, he allows things in his wisdom that he could easily prevent in his power. We have to remember that god is sovereign. Isaiah describes him as his ways being so much higher than our ways and his understanding so much deeper and greater than we could ever comprehend in our feeble attempt to try to make sense of the world around us.
I can understand why it could be said, well, well, god gave you that or god gave him that or god yanked that life out from your family. It's just not true. God is a good god who gives good gifts to his children, which includes the noise of the ice machine, at least for me upfront, that I can hear over there on the side. We're gonna tackle three questions today. Number one, what is the baptism of the Holy Spirit?
Number two, why is it important? And then number three, how I get it? And if you're taking notes this morning, at the top of your notes, you can write the title of this morning's message, baptism of the holy spirit. What? How?
Why? This would be a good spot to take a breath and to check-in with you. What are you thinking? Questions? Thoughts?
Comments? Anything right now? Oh.
Quick. Can you just repeat? He allows things in his wisdom that something in his power.
Could easily prevent in his power. Thank you, Joy.
Your explanation about suffering there made me think of the verses that I got to look up in Romans five, starting in three where it says, we can we can rejoice too when we run into problems and trials for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops the strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope does not lead to disappointment, For we know how dearly God loves us because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
Oh, that's so good. Would you repeat that address?
Romans five verses three to five.
He does not inflict suffering. Here's what's challenging for us, and I don't wanna get draw it off on a side trail. But here's what's challenging for us. The reconciliation between god's sovereignty and his and his predestination. I'm not talking about salvation right now, but he orders all things ultimately according to his good pleasure.
Nothing happens that is a surprise to him. How we reconcile that with his foreknowledge? His foreknowledge is is hard for us to com comprehend. But a good way that we can think of it is for us, time unfolds one minute at a time. We've got really good we've got a really good rearview mirror.
We have, understanding and recollection and remembering of events that happened in the past, but we cannot know with certainty what's going to unfold in the future. But God is different. He's outside of space and time. He is the word is transcendent. He's bigger and above and outside space and time.
So he looks at all of space and time simultaneously. And the only way that I can describe it the best way that I can describe it, and you might have a a better way, and I'd love to hear it sometime, is on old movies, they were on film strips, and it was rolled up like a roll, like, you know, like a roll of toilet paper or something, but there was a movie on it unfolding one frame at a time with an audio soundtrack to it. Imagine if an entire film were just this long and you unrolled the whole thing and held the beginning opening credits in your left hand and the ending credits in your right hand. You could see the entire movie unfolding one frame at a time. You could zoom in on any one chapter, or you could look at all of it altogether that that's, in a way what god views of as eternity.
So in his foreknowledge, he knows events and things that are going to unfold. And because he is a good god as clearly, abundantly stated throughout scripture. He does not cause. He is not the author, and he does not inflict evil, harm, loss onto his children. However, in his foreknowledge, he knows some things that we don't know.
I don't wanna get too drawn off. Just if you're with me, say I'm with you. And I heard a few, I'm with you. It's alright. That's okay.
Let's answer this first question. What is the baptism of the Holy Spirit? Let's turn to Luke chapter 24. We're gonna look at one verse. What is the baptism of the Holy Spirit?
Luke 24 verse 49. Jesus is speaking again, and he says, and I will send the holy spirit just as my father promised. But stay here in the city, he's speaking of Jerusalem, until the Holy Spirit comes, and he fills you with power from heaven. Let me read it one more time. Jesus is speaking to the disciples, and he says, and I will send the Holy Spirit just as my father promised, but stay here in the city until the holy spirit comes.
Almost like there's two different things here, and I want you to see that. He's going to come into the hearts of those who've been saved and then fills you with power from on heaven. Now I understand you might be thinking, wait. Wait. Wait.
Wait. Wait. I got saved, didn't I get the Holy Spirit? The answer is emphatically yes. Let me read another verse to you.
Second Corinthians Brian. Yes, ma'am. Hold on.
What version are you reading from?
NLT.
Okay. Can I just say that in my version, NASB, and I like this? But it says, and behold, I am sending forth the promise of my father. So the Holy Spirit is his promise.
It's his promise. A Guaranteed. It's guaranteed. It's a down payment. It's a it's a seal.
It's a deposit. It's oh. And if you've been with us for any length of time, there should be a hyperlink that that's going off in your brain that is a beautiful picture of when a young man would ask he would propose to a young woman. And when she said yes, he would like, in our modern culture, we call it an engagement ring. He would give her an engagement ring, and then you'd like you know, the engaged couple, they, like, stay together, and they start planning their wedding and things like that.
But in Jewish culture, in Jesus' day, when a young man would propose to a young woman and she would receive the cup and drink from the cup by way of saying, yes, he would leave her a deposit or seal. Maybe it was, it was something very valuable. But then the young man would go away, and they would hardly, if not at all, see each other until their wedding day. And so imagine that young woman sitting there day after day thinking, like, I haven't seen him in, like, nine months, ten months. Is he coming back?
Then you hold on to that deposit. That's, you know, guaranteeing our inheritance. Second Corinthians chapter one verse chapter one verses twenty one and twenty two. Here we go. It is God who enables us along with you to stand firm for Christ.
He has commissioned us, and he has identified us as his own by placing the holy spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us. So what is the baptism of the Holy Spirit? When a person gets saved, according to scripture, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in our heart. There is a popular term used in Pentecostal charismatic circles that says, like, are you spirit filled? Like, they're oh, I went to this church.
Oh, was it a spirit filled church? Oh, are they spirit filled Christians? Yeah. I have a little bit of rub with that. I understand what you're picking up, and it sounds a whole lot better than the old Pentecostal term.
Are they full gospel, brother? Anybody ever heard that term? Are they full gospel? Oh, it's a full gospel church. Alright.
We're growing. We're moving. Okay. Alright. I still I still remember those those terms and those phrases.
Now we say spirit fills us. Spirit filled church, or are they a spirit filled Christian? Like, if you are a Christian, you are filled with god's holy spirit according to his word right here. What is the gift? The gift is the holy spirit, not like he breaks off a little chunk with, like, some sort of little parlor tricks and puts it in you, and he breaks off another part of himself with some other parlor tricks that you only ever see used in church and puts it over there in you.
The gift is the person of the holy spirit, And his pronouns are he, him, as stated in God's word clearly. He is given in his fullness to each and every single believer. But he awaits for me to give him permission to operate through me. Let me say it again. When I get saved, the Holy Spirit lives in me.
But he awaits for me to give him permission to operate through me. Did I have that in my notes? I might not have. Because you're so sharp, you would have thrown it up there. Yes.
When I get saved, the holy spirit lives in me, but he awaits for me to give him permission to operate through me. How about questions or thoughts about that, what I just said? You're just thinking. Right? Oh, okay.
Okay.
He comes alive when we ask him. Make a decision. He's you have a personal decision that you have to make. And when you say, Jesus, help me with this decision, is when he comes alive within you. Right.
Right. So let's talk about the difference between the good guys and the bad guys. The bad guys want to put your personality and your chooser into a state of latency or dormancy so that they can run their game through you. Demonic possession. Right?
Look at all biblical accounts of demonic possession. The whole goal is to to turn down the volume on your chooser so that they can turn up their own will to operate and be expressed through you. Right? Those are the bad guys. The good guys guy they I was just thinking that the good guy, father, son, and holy spirit, when we get saved, the holy spirit takes up residence within us, but he's always a gentleman.
He will never jump on you or grab a hold of your tongue or make you say something that you're like, oh, what am I saying? But he waits for you to yield to him and to partner with him. He wants to amplify those god given traits in you, in your personality, and your creativity, not turn down the volume, not mute them, but to amplify them and to partner with him because he made you. In Ephesians, it says that we are God's workmanship, his masterpiece. The Greek word is poema, where we get the English word poem.
You are God's one of a kind poem. Oh. Yep. And then we're gonna go to, another verse.
So my my thought is this. The scripture says that, yes, there are demonic influences, but there's also the influences of the world and and my own flesh. And so I'm kinda thinking those could be bad guys too, the influences of the world and my own flesh that tries to control the way that I think or the the things that that I say.
Oh, that's great. So what? Okay, class. What do we do with our flesh? We Crucify it.
Crucify it. It's like you've heard that expression putting lipstick on a pig. How many Christians, when they get saved, think that they need to dress up their flesh or try to beat their flesh into submission? That's why Jesus like, the very best thing that you can do with your flesh is die? What was that, that that little guy on the animated cartoon of the Lorax where he's like, let it die.
Let it die. Let it shrivel up and die. Alright. That's the best thing that you can do with your flesh. But that's the trick.
Right? When we get when before we get saved, to use a computer analogy, we have we have our default operating system. Think of it like a floor that all of the other programs that run either, on the front or in the back room. Think of it like a floor. All those programs sit on the floor.
And remember the old, like, days of, like, Windows when you, like, had to install a new operating system because an update came out, and you were, like, crossing your fingers, like, I hope, like, this all works. And you're like, but the idea when you install a new operating system is that all of the think of the programs on your computer like pieces of furniture. When you install a new operating system, the computer lifts up all the furniture, rips out the old floor, installs a new floor. And if everything is done perfectly, all of your furniture comes back to rest right on the floor, and there you are with a new operating system. In a similar way, but different, when a person gets saved, you are born with a corrupted, bent towards evil operating system.
And it's built it's bent towards evil because, Zach, did you have to teach Micah how to be selfish? No. And as they get older and more verbal, do you have to teach a child how to lie? No. The the idea of the the the the modern philosophy of relativism first brought to the forefront of our minds through the French philosopher Rousseau and created that phrase of tabula rasa, the like, we're just a blank slate, and we get to choose whether we're good or evil.
Whoever came up with that never had kids. Because you don't have to try teach a child to be selfish. You don't have to teach a child to be rude. You don't have to teach a child to lie. You don't have to teach a child to take something that doesn't belong to them.
That's built into their operating system. But I love how, an author's name is John Mark Comer. He he doesn't talk about raising children. He talks talks about unfolding them. Like, that's some cool imagery.
Unfolding a child. Raising a child in a way that they should go. But when a person invites Jesus into their heart, whether it is at a young age or as an older person, when you get saved, it's not like the operating the furniture gets lifted up, your personality, your chooser, your your hair color, your eye color. It gets yanked out. You get a brand new Jesus operating system.
It comes it comes back down, and somebody says a cuss word, you're like, I don't even know what that word means. What? Right? That's not how it works. The way that God chose for it to work is your old operating system still stays there, but you get a vastly new superior operating system that comes in and sits side by side.
And then we still have to choose whether or not we're going to live out of that old operating system or by putting to death the deeds of the flesh. And by walking in the spirit, the scripture says, we get to live out of this new superior operating system called life in the spirit. You got something? Come on, Chris. I love it.
And then now we're gonna get to the second question. Why is
the baptism of the Holy Spirit important? So per se, we get to choose to remodel the furniture arrangement on our operating system back and forth as we make decisions with our chooser.
Mhmm.
Interesting.
It's, Say it again.
With with the the computer programming and furniture floor plan analogy Mhmm. We have the decision to move our programs over to the new operating system so that there's a new configuration of our floor plan with the furniture. Yeah. Of the programs of our life that that we get to make through our chooser.
Why would so there's so there's some backward compatibility, meaning we can run old broke programs on the new operating system. Why would we do that? Why would we do that? The best thing you can do in, like, old computer terminology is control alt delete that. The problem is, Paul talks about this.
Oh, wretched man that I am. The good that I wanna do, I don't do, and the evil that I don't wanna do, I seem to end up doing. Where is that? Would somebody look that up? That's worth reading.
Romans eight, let's queue it up, and, we'll we'll hand the mic to him. Let's read it because Paul is wrestling. He's like, oh, wouldn't it just be great if we deleted the old operating system? But no. He'll find it.
He'll find it. But we've got these two operating systems operating parallel.
Okay. There's a long section. Come on. Let's go. Okay.
It's Romans seven seven. What shall we say? What then shall we say? Oops. I better read an NLT.
Hang on. Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not. In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said you must not covet.
But sin used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within me. If there were no law, then sin would have not have the power. At one time, I lived without understanding the law, but when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life and I died. So I discovered that the law's commands which were supposed to bring life brought spiritual death instead. So sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me.
It used the commands to kill me, but still the law itself is holy and its commands are holy and right and good. But how can that be? Did the law which is good cause my death? Of course not. Sin used what was good to bring about my condemnation to death.
So we can see how terrible sin really is. It uses God's commands for its own evil purposes. So the trouble is not with the law for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me for I am all too human a slave to sin. I don't really understand myself.
For I want to do what is right,
but I don't do it. Hear that? Hear that?
Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong. It is sin living in me that does it. And I have nothing good lives in me.
That is in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can't. I want to do what is wrong, what is good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong.
It is sin living in me that does it. It's almost done.
Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Who will rescue me from this body of death?
I have discovered this principle of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God's love with law with all my heart, but there's another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable man I am. Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?
Thank God. The answer is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. You see how it is. In my mind, I really want to obey God's law, but because of my sinful nature, I am also a slave to sin.
That's those competing operating systems. Someday, when Jesus returns at the last trumpet sound and we we will be Christians will be so excited. Those who have steeped themselves in the Maranatha message that he has come and that he will come again and have an eager expectation for his second coming, his second advent, will literally be so excited to see him coming on the clouds. We just go and, like, leap out of our bodies. The bible says that we'll be transformed in the twinkling of an eye faster than two shakes of a lamb's tail or a goat's tail.
Inside joke. We will be transformed. That old operating system will finally be control alt delete gone. I can't wait. The good that I wanted, ugh.
Until then, that's why we have to submit to and surrender to life by the spirit. We'll we'll talk more and more and more about it. Okay.
So my process for that to know between the two, good and evil. My first question is, Jesus, is that you? And that silences the enemy.
That's a great thing to ask. Am I operating out of my old operating system? Am I try and oh, here's something else. You ever heard that churchy phrase? And you probably haven't heard it too much.
How many of you familiar with the expression dead works? Dead works? Like, what does that even mean? That's trying to do god's stuff out of our old operating system. Yeah.
But I gave millions of dollars to build an orphanage. God's like, I didn't tell you to do that. But it was a good idea. Whose idea? Well, I thought it was a good, yeah, you thought it was a good idea.
I never asked you to do that. But lord, you said to care for the orphans. Yeah, but anything not done in faith is sin. Oh, that's why we need to any the Bible says, anything not done in faith is sin. There's a author called Watchman Knee and he says, many a work started in the spirit ended in the flesh.
He may have said, I want you to fundraise for the orphanage and then give it all to this organization and let them do it. Ah, but Brian, come on. How about question number baptism of the Holy Spirit important? We've we've kind of been talking about this as we're trying to, like like, carefully divide between flesh and spirit, our old operating system and our new operating system. Why is the baptism of the Holy Spirit important?
Stay, would you I'm we're going to answer that question, but would you go back to the previous verse just really quick? The holy why is the baptism of the Holy Spirit important? It says right there, he will help us stand firm. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is important because it is the person and ministry of the Holy Spirit living in us and operating through us that helps us stand firm. If you can't stand firm for Jesus right now in this amazing, super easy to stand for Jesus country and climate, y'all, you know it's only gonna get hard.
Have you read anything past, like like, Paul's letters? It's gonna get harder. But here's what this I love this quote. Calm seas do not make for skillful sailors. Right?
We get the basics in here, and then we go out there and and and practice and learn. And the Holy Spirit is like our coach helping us to debrief and improve and run skills and drills and and then go out and run the game and then, like, coach us up before the game. And then at halftime, be like, hey. You did really good at that. And then that was totally in your flesh.
Like, let's not do that again. Okay. Give me another chance. Alright. Second half.
Let's go. But the Holy Spirit helps us to stand firm. He is right now helping millions of Christians around the world in the underground and persecuted church stand firm. We get to look at and celebrate and clap about water baptisms thinking, woo hoo. That's cool in a public park.
Do you know that many places around the world, you couldn't show that? And for a person to receive the sacrament of water baptism, it really is like signing a death warrant. Their house will be burned and or bulldozed. They could have acid splashed on their face by their dad for rejecting the religion of their fathers and ancestors. Why is the baptism of the Holy Spirit important?
Because he helps us to stand firm. Number one. Okay. Now you can go to the next slide. And this is number two.
If you look at Revelation twenty two seventeen, the spirit and the bride say come. As events of human history move, I would say, are barreling towards the climax of this present age, there must be a synchronization between Christians and the spirit of God. And we see in Revelation 22 that as pressure increases, there is an increasing synchronization so that God's holy spirit and the bride of Christ, which is the church and composes of you as individuals, are saying the same thing. Why is the baptism of the holy spirit important? So that the two of you can get synced up.
The Bible says in the Old Testament that you will hear a voice behind you saying, this is the way, walk ye in it. He will lead and guide so that we can get synced up. Why is the baptism of the Holy Spirit important? Let's look at Ephesians chapter one. This is a good verse to turn to.
Ephesians chapter one. This is one of the great apostolic prayers prayed by Paul the apostle over the church and for us to echo and pray today. Would somebody please read Ephesians one seventeen out loud? You can read it from the screen or from your bible. And while that verse is being read, if you have a question, a connection, or comment, let me hear you, Kim Paulson.
I don't know. I just I saw Joe. I see you. I just haven't seen you there. Hi.
Ephesians. Awesome. So as soon as you're done reading, Corey's got one.
Sweet. Ephesians one verse 17. That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation and the knowledge of him.
Oh, that's so good. Let me say this point as the mic comes back for you to answer your question ask your question, Corey. Asking God, the glorious father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom. The spirit of wisdom. What or who is the spirit of wisdom?
It's God's holy spirit. And what does he do? One of the things that he does is he imparts insight and wisdom so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. Have you ever been maybe stepping on rakes? You know, you step on one and it snaps up and smacks you in the face, and you step on another one, and you're like, what am I doing?
And you're like, I just need some wisdom and insight. Anybody ever, like, maybe you've said it that profoundly. Maybe you've just been like, what is going on? Anybody? Come on, raise your hands.
Yeah, that's all of us. Cultivating a relationship with the Holy Spirit gives us wisdom and insight into what is going on in our heart, what he could be up to, although he's not obligated to ever answer a why question. You can ask him why questions, but he has no obligation whatsoever to answer your why questions. Do you answer every single time when you tell your children to brush their teeth or wash their hands? Do you go through a lengthy explanation every time that's like, what do you say?
What's your question?
I was just hoping that you could speak into this may be a rudimentary question, but, the difference between being take taken over by the Holy Spirit, receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and the spirit of God coming upon you.
Okay. Ask it again. I feel an object lesson trying to emerge.
The difference between being taken over by the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, I think in Exodus somewhere
Mhmm. Talks about it. Mhmm.
And then receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit, upper room Jesus walks in and they all just receive the Holy Spirit.
Mhmm. Mhmm.
And then God coming upon the spirit of God coming upon you, Jesus being baptized, the spirit of God comes down upon him. Okay.
I tried to think of an object lesson really quick, but it it falls apart too quickly. So I'll try to use my words. Somebody else might have an object lesson or a demonstration. So the Holy Spirit had not been shed abroad in the hearts of people that were looking towards salvation through Messiah in the Old Testament and they didn't know that it was Jesus. He had not been shed abroad in the hearts of man.
God says, no longer will I write my laws on tablets of stone, and people will have to say, know the Lord. We were already talking about the law. Instead, I will take out their stony heart, give them a heart of flesh, and I will write their laws on their heart. Meaning, every single human has a compass in their heart, a moral compass that if you follow that compass, it will point you towards the foot of the cross. Before that compass was put on the heart, there was an external law.
And God's holy spirit couldn't take up residence within the heart of man, but what he would do is hover over and rest on prophets of the Old Testament, Bezaliel, was a gifted craftsman and artisan in the Old Testament. So in the Old Testament, we see the spirit of God coming on a person. In the New Testament, he gets to go and take up residence within. So that was the first part of your question. The second part of your question was receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
We're gonna address that more in just a moment, how I get it. And then the third part of your question, spirit of God coming upon people. Did did I answer kind of question one and three? Rested on Jesus? Alright.
So, yeah, let's give you the mic. So that our all of our livestream families are not trying to squint and squint and listen.
It was an intentional hardball. It was the just the difference between the spirit of God
That's good.
And the spirit or the holy spirit. Is there a difference between the two?
Oh. Well, the Bible talks about the manifold or the manifold or the sevenfold spirits of God. And then later in the Bible, it talks about the spirit of might, the spirit of counsel, the spirit of and but like like, I think all of those are are different facets of God's holy spirit. And in the New Testament, we see that John the Baptist was the greatest Old Testament prophet. Of all the prophets, none are greater than John the Baptist.
And he had God's holy spirit hovering on him from the womb. Alright. Super cool. But Jesus is the first person to whom the holy spirit indwelt. Even though at Jesus' water baptism, John, the author of the gospel John, not John the Baptist, stay with me, Joy.
I know you're with me. You're just like, oh, I'm concentrating. My eyebrows are concentrating. Says that the the holy spirit descended on. So you might think, oh, did the holy spirit just rest on Jesus?
But if you keep reading, it says that he went into the wilderness full of the Holy Spirit. He came out of the wilderness full of the come on, charismatics, power of the Holy Spirit. He came into the wilderness filled with the Holy Spirit. He came out filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. I don't know that I really did a good job addressing or answering your questions.
No. Thank you, Corey. Alyssa, If you need to if you need to chew on your on what I just said and reframe the question and ask again, please do so. So according to to what we just read in second Corinthians, why is the baptism of the Holy Spirit important? Number one, he helps us to stand firm.
Number two, the Holy Spirit gives insights into the mystery of God. And I'm gonna add a a a third that is not there. Fourth, c is a team effort. I need your help. Fourth, fourth, why is the baptism of the Holy Spirit important?
Who is better at living life like Jesus? Multiple choice question, kids. You you filled with the Holy Spirit or Jesus or option c and d or b and c. Who can live Jesus's life better than Jesus? Nobody can.
So I've I've used this analogy before. I'm gonna try to update my reference so that it's a little more culturally and age appropriate. I used to say Michael Jordan. But imagine imagine if you loved basketball and you okay. Wait.
I'm not gonna use that one. I'm gonna use it. Imagine you loved football or soccer for you Americans. You loved soccer. And and in soccer, there is no greater legend in the entire sport of soccer than Lionel Messi.
And if you don't know who Lionel Messi is, you're so American. Did you bite just a little factoid. Did you know that when he came to Miami, he's now playing in the MLS, with his salary and all of his various contracts and endorsements, when you add it all up, one man makes more money than all of the salaries combined of the NFL and NBA. If you take his salary plus all of his endorsements in in advertising and promotions? Okay.
Thank you, Christian. I mean, we're just lucky. I mean, like, if you could be alive when Jesus walked the earth, that would be really cool. If you could be alive when Jesus returns, which I hope all of us in this room are, that would be amazing. But, like, like, a close third would we get to be alive in the days of Lionel Messi?
Alright. Holy Spirit. He's just a man. Back to Holy Spirit. See these see, it's a team effort.
Imagine you love soccer so much, and your hero is Lionel Messi. And and you, like, like, try to study his moves. You watch every single one of his YouTube videos. And and you're like trying to play like him, and you practice like him, and like, you know, you're you're you're trying to play soccer like Lionel Messi. Well, what if Lionel Messi wrote a book, How to Play Soccer Like Me?
If you love Lionel Messi, you wanna play, you'd get the book, and you'd pay extra to get an autographed copy. Look. Now I've got the book. This is the manual for how to play soccer like Lionel Messi with the title, play soccer like me, Lionel Messi. You'd study the book.
You would memorize it. Would that make you a better soccer player, not just practicing like him, but reading the book he wrote? All of his best tips and tricks? Absolutely. It would help you become a better soccer player.
What if Lionel Messi was like, hey, I've heard that you're my biggest fan. I personally want to coach you. You would love that. Do you think your soccer game would improve? Absolutely.
If Lionel Messi is your personal coach running skills and drills and they're at every single game coaching you. Now, what if your brain was like really smart and Lionel Messi is like, alright, We're gonna take it to the next level. I got an earpiece for you. And I got a little microphone that I'll sit on the sidelines, and I'll tell you, look left, look right, right foot I mean, that could be really confusing, but don't you think, like, that could potentially help? Alright.
Alright. Next and final level. What if Lionel Messi came up to you after a game and he's like, okay. I have a one one in a lifetime opportunity. You're you're okay in re watching all my YouTube videos, reading my book, listening to my voice coach you on the field, like, I mean, that's all helped your game, but, like, you're still just you trying to play like me.
I got a deal for you. What if I could take all of my Lionel Messiness, me, and put it in you so that it is not you playing soccer, but it's me playing soccer through you. Now, how do you think that would improve that person's game? What would they how would they who would they play like and what would they look like? Messy.
Messy. Messy. Messy. Messy. Messy.
Messy. Messy. With his mind bending foot skills and incredible control. Okay. Are you connecting the dots to Jesus?
Here's what a lot of Christians do. A lot of Christians say, Jesus, I understand that I need a savior and I cannot save myself. Jesus, save me. Holy Spirit, like, come live outside of me. And they go, woo hoo.
Great. Wonderful. Awesome. And then they try to live like Jesus in their own strength, in their flesh. How many of you are really good at being Christians in your own flesh?
Now I could point at some of you because you're really good at being acting like a Christian in your own flesh, and that's a temptation for all of us. But why is the baptism of the Holy Spirit important? Nobody can live Jesus's life like Jesus. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are the same. He says, better for you that I go because when I send him, when I go, I'll send him, and he's just like me.
And the idea is that our flesh dies, and the holy spirit takes up residence in us so that Messi, the Holy Spirit, lives his life through us. Though he takes up residence. He's there. But it's the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the surrender of our volitional will that gives him permission to begin to live his life through us. Last question.
So how I get it? How I get it? Let's come right back to where we started. Luke 11 verses 11 through 13. You fathers, if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead?
Let's answer that question. Your you fathers, if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Oh. Uh-oh. Come on.
Wake up. Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? No. Of course not. So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly father give the holy spirit to those who do what?
Ask him, how does a person receive the baptism of the holy spirit in the same way that you got saved by faith? You just ask him. Well, why do I have to ask him if he already lives inside of me? He is already living on the inside of you. But just like the the passage that I love to use in the gospel of John when the woman with the expensive alabaster jar of perfume comes and anoints Jesus' feet, she breaks open the jar.
All of the juice was in the jar the whole time. But the fragrance was also in the juice, but it couldn't be experienced or encountered until the jar was broken open. In the same way, when we yield and ask and give him permission. Holy Spirit, I know that you live on the inside of me. But, Holy Spirit, today, right now, in a in a in a demarked moment, in the same way that when you got saved, it was a moment marked in time.
Right? In a similar way, when you got married, there was a wedding, and you remember that moment in time. And you even have a symbol to remind you of that moment marked in time. And I was there for I was there for many of yours, but that was an interesting one. Right, guys?
Right? It's like was it the was it October? COVID was really weird and the yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Okay. Yes. Yes. Yeah. They have COVID like, we're all like crazy.
Well, I was gonna get married, I love it. Man. But in a similar way that there is a moment in time marked when you got saved, there is a moment that's marked in time where you give the Holy Spirit permission. Not just to live in you because he already does, but you give him permission to operate through you. You ask him.
Oh, there's so much more to say, but I just want to land the plane here with with putting the ball in your court. How are you doing living like Jesus from your own strength, energy, effort, resources? Are you frustrated with yourself at continually falling short and being frustrated? The good that you want to do, you can't seem to do. And those thought patterns, the stronghold, that stuff that you try to break off, you seem to end up wandering right back to it like a fool returning to his folly or a dog returning to their vomit.
Who will rescue me from this body of death? Paul says. It's Jesus to baptize us into salvation. The Holy Spirit baptizes us into Jesus. Jesus then baptizes us into the Holy Spirit.
Three baptisms, the baptism of salvation, it's all throughout the Bible. Baptism of water and then the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Getting saved gives me a brand new life, getting baptized in water is a symbol of dying to my old life, and then receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit is receiving the power, the dunamis to walk out the new life that I've been given. Okay. I want it.
What do I do? So this is where at our pre service huddle I was talking about like how we gonna do it and here's my quick testimony on the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I was a young adult serving in youth ministry and the youth pastor was like, who wants it? And a few students raise their hand and I was like, yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Like let Jesus live through me, inaugurated through the baptism. Yeah. Sign me up. Great.
And they all circled around me and the youth pastor goes, alright. We're gonna like lay hands on you in this circle and we're gonna pray for you until you start speaking in tongues. And I was like, that doesn't sound like a lot of pressure. And they did, and they did, and they did, and I was like, I am just kind of tired I wanna go home. So I faked it and they're like, woo hoo, you got it.
And they all like clapped me on the back and then I went home. Sorry, is this too real and honest for you? Come on. Then I went home and I was like, okay. Yeah.
Lord, I totally faked it. And he's like, yeah, know. But I do I do want it. And he's like, alright, you and me. And and I started praying in English and then and then words came up once I reached the end of my English words, sounded just like when I was faking it.
But oh, there was a huge difference. And in the and I had seen it done, you know, a lot like that. Like, everybody raise your hand, you know, and you stand up, we're gonna pray, and you're gonna do your thing. Great. Fine.
And if that's how you receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, great. Fine. I think it's a little bit different day and age. And I would like to invite you to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the same way that I did, but a little bit different. You go get with the Lord.
And if that's right now in this moment because we're gonna make some time to, or after church today you need to go on a walk, or this evening when you're in your bedroom or laying your head on the pillow, it's the same way that you got saved. It's very personal and private decision. Right? But all you guys, the the the the power to stand firm wisdom and insight, the power to live out what he's called you to do, to get synced up with the Holy Spirit, and and to have knowledge and wisdom about like what's unfolding in your life and in the days to come, cultivating a relationship with the Holy Spirit is so vitally important. And it is begun or inaugurated when you pray simply, humbly, and honestly.
Jesus, thank you for saving me. You are the boss and the leader of my life. Thank you that the Holy Spirit takes up residence within me. I got him. I got all of him when I got saved, but I'm lacking power in my life.
Jesus, I give permission to the Holy Spirit to fill me. Fill me with your Holy Spirit. Operate in me and through me. I receive the power and all of you Holy Spirit, and even though I might not understand all of your methods and ways of operating including your gifts, I just want you Holy Spirit. Operate in and through me, and then you just worship him.
Let's give you some privacy right now to take care of some business with the Lord. We're not gonna go too long. I don't have any expectation of anything happening demonstratively. And if nothing happens demonstratively, it doesn't mean that you didn't receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. You just ask him.
Did anything demonstratively happen when you got saved? Did angel wings sprout out your back?
Well, mostly because we don't turn into angels. I'm sure that didn't happen.
Thank you, Lisa.
So now, are you asking if we are going to express ourselves through our heavenly language?
Yeah. Let's make it personal and and private. There's a private expression, a corporate expression. That's like four more sermons from now, but we're only doing this one week. Next week, we're gonna start something really cool.
If you have a prayer language, loud enough for your own ears to hear, let it rip. Let's just make some room for the Holy Spirit to just minister to us. Remember, we have a good father and he's a good gift of promise. Jesus, we love you. Will you just minister to our hearts right now?
Fill me with your Holy Spirit. Thank you, Jesus. You know those drug commercials that have the FDA warning? Side effects will include increased love and and understanding of God's word. When I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I was like, what?
It's it says this, it's been in there the whole. Oh, but it was like raw like like it's like it was instead of written about me, was like written to me. Oh, increased desire for like worship and worship music, praying in a prayer language, power in in in increased victory over sin, gifts of the Holy Spirit like like they're mentioned in first Corinthians 12. We, you know, we give you opportunities to like practice, shoot your shot. It doesn't have to be three pointer, like get up closer than the free throw line and huck that granny ball, Airball it.
This is a safe place to air ball prophetic ministry. Yes. It is.
There's a really great book if you like, okay, I hear what you're saying. And I mean, we could talk about this for now until Jesus returns the Holy Spirit. But if there's a really great book that changed my walk with the Lord so much, And it's the John Befeer book. It's just called The Holy Spirit, an introduction. And he takes like the first, I don't know, maybe four chapters and he just shows you in God's word that there is another baptism.
Can it happen at the same time as salvation? Absolutely.
Yeah. Yeah.
So if like you're like, I think I like got all that when I got saved. You might have. You totally might have, but you just haven't maybe fully released it or stepped into specific gifts. But he goes on and it just changed life like, woah, that was in there? Like, you know, he's talking to brothers in the Lord and they're stalled out.
And anyway, he explains that, then he talks about the different gifts of the Holy Spirit. It's just very you can just look right in God's word how he describes it. So if you're interested in that, just write it down. John Bevere, the Holy Spirit, an introduction. It's so good and so solid and amazing.
And I'll say this, I'll I'll say it again just before we leave as we land the plane here, but when we dismiss from service and you're doing all of your glad handing, I'll ask Lee and Colleen to stick around maybe over here or over here. And if you're like, oh, yep. I'm I'm all for it. May I may I need a little help or it feels like a little cork, a little stopper. Will you help me through prayer and stop the cork.
They're good at that. So they would love to pray with you and for you.
The Holy Spirit is the manifestation of Christ in us.
Jesus in you, the hope of glory. That's what Paul says. Jesus, we love you, we trust you. Some of us may be just getting to know you and exploring your claims. I pray that for anybody in here that doesn't know you as savior, that they would surrender their life to you, invite you into their heart, ask you to forgive their sin, commit their whole life to following you.
Father, I pray that those who follow you would realize by the power of your holy spirit, not even so much by our conversation, but the power of your holy spirit like, oh yeah, I'm missing that. I've been pushing my car around instead of getting in it and like turning that thing called the ignition. There's an internal combustion engine of power that is that that is ready and available through the person of the Holy Spirit, that is the spirit of Jesus ready to believe be released in and through us. And that for people that have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but have like trying to like live their life according to their old operating system, would you just fill them up fresh with your Holy Spirit? Oh, you're so good and you're so wonderful, and you're so gentle, you're so smart, and you're so kind, you're such a good physician, you're such a good counselor, you're such a good bible teacher, and you are way way way way better than Lionel Messi.
In Jesus name, amen.
One more resource that Brian and I both read, and I think we also watch the teachings is Robert Morris, the pastor of Gateway, has an amazing book tonight. It's called either my best friend, the holy spirit, or holy spirit, my best friend. And he shares his testimony of, like, resisting the gifts of the spirit and then how he surrendered and it's just a really biblically sound awesome book too. So you can write that one down too if you're interested. Holy Spirit, My Best Friend by Robert Morris.
What an honor it is to express worship to Jesus in every way that we can possibly think of. There's endless ways we can worship him. And it's so wonderful when we get together on Sunday mornings or Tuesdays whenever you gather for church, that we get to express worship to him by bringing our tithe and our offering to him. And so we're gonna do one more expression of worship as we do that as a tribe family today. But I just I see it as such an honor.
I hope you see that too, not just like, oh, let's check the box. For so long, people are like, okay. We go to church on Sunday. Check the box. If it's not at 10AM, right, like old schooler, between nine and eleven, it's not really church.
Check the box. Who went to church? Pass the buckets? Throw a little something in there. You know, you could even have a nice heart about it.
Check the box. Ugh. Let's not see it as checking the box, but as expressions of worship that we get to express. Man, what a privilege it is. So that's just where my my heart is at right now.
Well, practically speaking, we don't pass buckets, but, ways to give here at Tribe, if that's, something you do now, whatever your rhythm is, it doesn't have to be on Sunday morning. You can see on the screen, you just easiest ways to get out your smartphone and type a number to 84321. Just type in the amount you want to give. It gives you some instructions. You could also, give online at tribejh.com, and there's also a physical box as you head out the saloon doors there in the back.
If you have cash or check, you can give that way today. But let's just close our eyes, and I'll just say a quick prayer over this. But I just if your heart is wrestling, really, well, I just wrotely put stuff in the bucket or I don't give it all, I just challenge you to just think of it as, like, an expression to God of worship. And his heart is not moved by extra zeros at the end of your check. Right?
The amount isn't is not what we're talking about. It's the posture of your heart when you say, Lord, you know how hard I work for a paycheck or where this money comes from. I it's my blood, sweat, and tears that this comes by. But I'm freely giving a portion of it to you because I trust you, because I love you, and because I wanna express worship to you in this way. It's what we see in the bible.
So let's close our eyes. Heavenly father, thank you for that honor and that privilege that you give us to practice obedience, to practice discipline, to obey your word in this way. We love you, heavenly father. Thank you for the tithe and above and beyond that, the offering. Help us to use that as this local church called tribe to your glory, to bring more people into your kingdom.
Holy Spirit, show us exactly how you want that to be used to further your kingdom. It's the whole point. We love and thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. Just a couple quick things before we get out of here today.
If you have not been part of Tribe Mountain Adventures yet, I encourage you to do that. We have all kinds of activities, and more and more will be unfolding as time goes on. But we live in Jack Sin Hole. Get out. It's fun to get out on your own, but it's so much fun to get out with your tribe family.
It's a great way to get to know people here and here that you see every Sunday or every Tuesday. You get fresh air and exercise. It's a win. There's no loss to it. It's a triple win.
So sign up for a tribe mountain adventure. The one that we have on the calendar right now is some top rope climbing in Wilson Canyon on Friday. I believe it's a Friday, August 18. So right here across from the coffee, go sign up for that. If you've never climbed and you just wanna hike it and watch, that's okay too.
They have a tiny little landing you could watch. And we have the harnesses and the ropes and everything that you need. So if you're interested in that, either just the hike or the hike and the rock climbing, it's a really fun way and an introduction to do that no matter what level you're at. That'll be fun. Pastor Brian will be there doing that with you, August 18.
And then the other thing is this, before you leave, Tuesday nights, Brian said we have service 06:00, not here, but at the TMC. We always have a meal. There's something really natural and supernatural about sharing a meal together as you open the word. So the meal, it seems so surface y, like order some pizzas or spend all day cooking, whatever it is, like, it's food. It is, but it also isn't.
It's like, I don't know, it's just really special to share a meal when you open the Word. So, it is it is not mundane, it is not a throwaway when you cook a meal on Tuesday night. You don't even have to attend the Tuesday night service. You can just go and drop it off. So there's a sign up sheet there for Tuesday meals.
But can I ask one or two of you to be bold and raise your hand now and and tell me you're signing up for a meal?
Thank you. Yeah.
And Awesome. That might be weird. I don't know. I just feel like it's an it's it's just important, and it's it's another way we can express worship to him. And, I don't know, just, like, help build the body one meal at a time.
So thank you for that, Anna. And whoever else who doesn't wanna feel pressured now, you can sign up on your own. I won't watch. Alright. Pastor Brian, will you pray us
out of here today? And we're gonna do one more thing. Is Joy, would you come up and stand right here? Will you grab the microphone from Gretchen? And let's have Kyra come up and Carla and you two ladies who she has served so faithfully.
And she's not, like, moving forever. She's going to college. On Thursday, she leaves, but, oh my goodness, she has served tribes so faithfully. Would you guys just pray a blessing over her as she goes into this next season?
Lord Jesus, we just come before you and we thank you for Kyra. Thank you for her heart, for children, for your creation, her love for even for the animals here in your creation. I've learned so much from her, and I thank you, father, for the gifts that you have placed in her, her servant's heart, her faithfulness. And I just thank you, Lord, that as she goes and launches into this next season of school, I thank you, Lord, that your hedge of protection is around her. And I thank you, Lord, that as your Holy Spirit empowers her, that when she walks into a room that people can sense that she is a daughter of God and know that she's a safe place.
And I thank you for the boldness to share your love with the people all around her in Jesus' name.
Lord God, we love you so much, and we love Kyra so much. And we just thank you and praise you that she is one of your daughters, one of your treasured daughters. Yeah. Lord, I just wanna pray pray for her as a healer as she steps into a degree of nursing. Lord, I pray that you would teach her what it means to be a nurse who walks in your strength and walks in your spirit.
Lord, give her the power and the words to pray over people, to pray with her classmates, and to see this degree, to see college not just as a pursuit in her own strength or something that a lot of people do in this world, but as an act of obedience and love for you. And, Lord, would you just guide her in her steps? Each day, bring more and more people who love you into her life at university. Yes. Lord, surround her with your love.
We know you will. We trust you. We love you.
Amen. Amen.
That's good. Stand up. Let me pray for the rest of y'all. Lord Jesus, I command a blessing over each and every member of our tribe fam that's here today and all of our livestream families that command a blessing over their life. Lord, fill them with your holy spirit.
Guide them, whisper deep into their hearts how much you love them. God, I ask that through the power of the Holy Spirit, you would release and unlock creativity. Creativity in art, creativity in music, creativity in parenting, creativity in business. Because we are created in your image and you are the most magnificent creator. Help us to enjoy your creation this week.
We pray all of these things in Jesus name, the strong son of God, and everybody said Amen. Amen. I love you guys so very much. Lee and Colleen will be posted up here. I don't say this too often, but because I mostly forget.
But if you're brand new, if you're just traveling through, I'd love to say hi and give you a high five. I'll be up here hanging around. You don't have to, but I'd love to just say hi. Have a great week and remember, you got this.
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