Throw Your Line Over Tribe 2024-06-02 Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record. ---- Welcome to Tribe's podcast. Hey, we just wanna say thank you for making this message a part of your week. Our prayer is that these messages will inspire you to make the name of Jesus famous in your life and to the uttermost bounds of the earth. If you're ever in Jackson Hole, we'd love for you to visit our Tribe fam in person. To learn more about us, you can find us online or at Facebook by searching tribejh.com. Welcome to Tribe's podcast. Hey, we just wanna say thank you for making this message a part of your week. Our prayer is that these messages will inspire you to make the name of Jesus famous in your life and to the uttermost bounds of the earth. If you're ever in Jackson Hole, we'd love for you to visit our tribe fam in person. To learn more about us, you can find us online or at Facebook by searching tribejh.com. Can I share with you a picture that I saw in my mind's eye during worship and during the word that Lee shared? How many of you have ever been a part of, I don't know, church bizarre some sort of something where where where they have that fishing pond where you have like the little kids reel and on the end of the fishing line is like a a clothespin, right? And when it's your turn to go up to that booth, you throw the fishing reel over and there's, you know, it's kind of like behind the curtain and then, you get a little tug on your rod and you like, yank it back and then you get like a a little treat or a prize. How many of you remember being that fisherman? Alright. Alright. Okay. Well, I don't want to burst anybody's bubble, but you don't just like like grab something, like there's somebody behind that little partition and they sit there in a little stool. I'm sorry. This is the only thing I'm gonna burst your bubble on today for now. But they sit on a little stool and they've got the little like bucket of candy and they clip a piece of candy on there and then they tug on the string and then you pull it back and you're like, well, I got a piece of candy, right? You're all there in that moment with me, aren't you? Okay. So, during worship this morning, I felt like the lord just show me that same picture. We are the fishermen and perhaps there is a need that we have. Peace or joy. Though from the word that Lee gave, it was worry about nothing. Philippians four six through eight, worry about nothing, pray about everything, and then the peace of god will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus and when he quoted that verse, that picture just popped into my mind and this, I hope this is for more than one of you. We'll connect a dot or a light bulb will go on. I'm just believing that it will but there's a need in your life and you have the fishing pole and that fishing pole in the line is the measure of faith that you have been given. The Bible is super clear that every single believer has been given a measure of faith. Don't compare your faith to somebody else because your journey is not their journey but you have a sufficient measure of faith to to accomplish all that god has for you. And when we step out in faith and we throw our line over the curtain, who is sitting on the stool? It's God. He's back there, and he's waiting for your line of faith to come over. And then knowing all of your thoughts, knowing everything that you need, he goes, oh, here's what my baby girl needs. Clips this on there and it goes, going, going. Now our job is not done because what do we have to do? We got pull it up. Now very simplistic picture, but here's how many people many Christians operate. They come up to the booth and they go, lord, I'm in desperate need of. And they wait. Maybe they wait a short time. Maybe they wait a long time. And they go, they sigh and they walk away. Nothing clipped to the end of their clothespin. Is it because their prayer wasn't strong enough? Help me out. Is it because their prayer wasn't strong enough? No. Is it because they didn't need it desperately enough? No. Was it because of their lack of faith? You didn't have enough faith? No. You just don't know how it works. How many Christians have come to the booth with a need? Not knowing how it works. And then walk away disillusioned, angry, mad, need unmet, something. A a a less than desirable outcome. The Bible says, for it is by faith that you have been saved through grace. And not only just for salvation but that's the entire key principle of the kingdom. Is by grace through faith. So, you have faith, the fishing rod. And you need to flip it over and that's what enables god to do his part which he is always faithful to do. Now, how how well does it work if you're standing on this side of the curtain and you say, I want sweethearts. Like, we we don't kinda really get to say that. Or like in really if you're really fishing, I'm not much of a fisherman, so I'm gonna expose my ignorance really quick. You can kind of tweak the bait and where you fish and things like that, but you don't throw the line in saying like, I want me a marlin. Like, I mean, you can want a marlin all day long and fish every day at Jackson Lake and Right? You get what you get and you Don't throw a fish. Your mom raised y'all too? Sounds like my mom and our mom of our kids. So the lord knows exactly what you need. And he longs and is faithful. You've never you've never thrown your line over the curtain and he's like like out in the bathroom or or or distracted with something else. There can be a million bazillion lines coming over, and he's like, clip clip clip clip clip tug, tug. Now there are some folks that that step out in faith, they throw the line over, and then they wait for the fish or the answer to just be thrown over the curtain and land in their lap. That's not how fishing works either. Once you get that tug, you have to reel it in. How many people have prayed, thrown their line over and reeled and reeled and reeled, reeled five times, reeled 50 times and be like, well, guess it's not not meant to be. God never gives you a pump fake by going dank dank with nothing on the end of it. That's not how he works. Now you may have to keep reeling and reeling and reeling reeling. You may have to reel. Reel? Is that a yeah. You may have to reel for decades. They didn't like that one. Could be decades. For how many people that simple, silly, little analogy was poignant for today and helpful for you? Especially fishermen. Imagine having a need and you throw your line over the curtain to the universe. Just putting good vibes out there. Imagine living your life with a philosophy that when you have a need, you throw your fishing line over to the universe. Just putting it out there to the universe. And you do this. Now, I may actually be stepping on a few toes here. The universe, as Lisa said from over here, does not have the capacity to to meet your needs because the universe does not have personality, does not have intelligence, is not omniscient, and can't know what you need. And the universe was created by god. That's like throwing your your paper, your keep saying paper clip. Your clothespin over and being like, clothespin, clothespin, please clip on to something good. Oh, lord, I'm so thankful that you are intelligent, that you're omniscient, that you're omnipotent in the way that you've chosen to operate according to your values and principles is by grace through faith. You've explained this to us many times to the Old Testament and the New Testament. And when we play by your rules, you delight in meeting us where we are. And that you're capable of it and it's in your character, in your nature like a good shepherd or a good father to take care of your sheep, to take care of your children. Forgive us when we've tried to intimidate you or manipulate you or sweet talking or trying to sweet talk you into operating outside of your way and your character. We repent. He says, I forgive you. Now, pick up the fishing pole that I've given you. The little Barbie fishing pole, the little Spider Man fishing pole that you have. Leave the deep sea fishing and all that other fancy gear. Leave that to somebody else. Here's your little Spider Man fishing pole which is about all I feel like I'm capable of. We love you Jesus. Amen. Okay, that wasn't in my notes. My name is Brian. Happened to be the lead, my current assignment is as the founding and lead pastor of Tribe. You found us church in a bar. Last week, I was away and out of town, but Amanda sat here. Didn't she do good? We have such a we have such a deep bench of talent and and men like like Justin and Jay and women like Amanda and Joy when she's preached. Such a deep bench of being able to handle with with authority the word of god and so thank you for preaching last week. Thank you for bringing a tough message. Glad you did, not me. About like walking in the flesh and the the consequences of walking in our flesh and I love the positive spin that is true to your personality of of the way that god actually is which is the righteous man falls down seven times. We're going to mess up. We're going to blow it But God is right there to dust us off, put some little Bactine spray on our skin, knees, and say, get back up. The righteous man falls down seven times, but the difference is he gets back up. So thank you for that word. This week, we have we have just two more weeks, this week and next, that we're going to continue our conversation of walking in the spirit. And depending on the church culture and church background that you have come from, that phrase walking in the spirit, it may be very familiar and and comfortable for you. Perhaps, the church background that you've come from or if you're visiting tribe and you're traveling, the your your home your home church, maybe you don't talk about this too much. Well, you're here today, and just like Olive Garden, if you're here, you're family. And so welcome into our conversation of talking about walking in the spirit. And if you're new or visiting, we would love it to have a record of your visit here with us today. Your biscuits are warming a little card, and there's a pin in your seat as well. If you're a newer visiting, would you take a moment just to fill out that card? You can let us know that you're visiting. If you are a part of our Tribe fam and you would like to be connected with us, we do text blasts. We send out information about different events and things that are going on. You can fill that card out as well. There's also opportunity for if there's a prayer request that you have, just fill that card out and leave it in your seat when you're done or backed by Justin, who is pointing directly at a place that you can leave that connect card. Let's give Justin a round of applause for doing such a great job. Incredible. Incredible. Absolutely incredible. Let's do a quick review to catch you up where we've been, and then we'll get into today's conversation. So the first week that we started this, you can go back to YouTube, iTunes, or Spotify to listen to these podcasts and conversations. The first week, we talked about what does that phrase even mean, walking in the spirit. What are you talking about, Willis? We answered that question and and unpacked that phrase. The second week, we talked about why is it important? I've been kind of bouncing along in my Christian walk without knowing what that phrase means, and I think I've been doing just fine, like, up until now. So, like, why is this flashing with that red neon light? Why is it important to be able to to know what it is and and even how to walk in the spirit. Last week, Amanda talked about the flesh versus the spirit, and we've got two more weeks. There's this week and next week. This week, which is the title of this morning's conversation that you can put at the top of your notes, we're going to be talking about a step by step guide to walking in the spirit. So this is not exhaustive, this is not 32 steps, it's just four. It's just four points, four pointers that I'm going to share with you. Okay? And there is one slide with two verses on it, Romans and Galatians. This is kind of been our our stepping stones or our launching pad for the series that we've been talking about. You can write down that address. Romans eight five. I finally corrected it in the keynote. Hallelujah. The devil was trying to trip me up with my lisdexia and put it the wrong way but I got it fixed now. Romans eight five, those who are dominated by the sinful nature, think about sinful things. But those who are controlled, who have relinquished control of their life unto the person of the Holy Spirit. Think about, meditate, chew on about things that please the spirit. You know, you talked about this a moment ago when you said let the I believe it was the peace of Christ rule in your heart, Lee, in that word, rule in your heart. English, it says rule, but that word in the Greek sounds if we were to read the definition in Greek and assign it a new English word, a good English word to substitute for rule would be to be an umpire like at a at a baseball game. Let the peace of Christ be the umpire. Now, what's significant about the umpire? He calls and there you go. He calls balls and strikes, and I don't know what else he does. Fouls. Fouls, yeah, fouls. Alright. So so what would happen if the batter was the umpire? How well would the game of baseball work? Like, uh-uh. Because any pitch that he swung at and missed, he'd be like, wow, that was a ball. Right? I don't know, maybe I'm the only dishonest baseball player in here. But if I couldn't crack at it, I'd be like, I think that was a ball. Send me another one. Right? But but the umpire is there to arbitrate and to call what's right and what's wrong. So the things that come out our life, if we let the peace of Christ be the umpire, that's part of what it means to walk in the spirit. To be controlled by the Holy Spirit and think about those things that please him. A thought pops up in the umpire of the Holy Spirit goes, nip, foul ball, just get that out of here. Oh, okay. Delete. Galatians five sixteen. So I say, let the holy spirit guide and then throw in the word umpire there as well, your lives. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. So that's we've been we've been chewing on those verses. Today, we're going to start in one verse and we're gonna we're gonna travel to several different verses. So if you have your bible, will you click on second Corinthians for me? One verse Second Corinthians chapter 13 verse 14. Paul is speaking. This is his second letter to the church at Corinth in modern day Turkey and he says this, may the grace of the lord Jesus Christ, the love of god, and the fellowship of the holy spirit be with you all. Oh, there's so much to unpack there. Many people think that grace is only unto salvation. Meaning, god gives grace to the sinner in order to repent and they may even define grace as the unmerited favor of god. The answer is yes and his grace continues so much further and beyond just getting you saved. Why else would Paul say? May god's grace and he often either begins or ends many of his letters with may grace abound to you. He's writing to Christians. If grace is only to get you saved, why in the world is Paul saying, grace, grace, grace. Dumping it out all over the church. If we only need it for salvation. His grace is unto salvation and so much more. It is it is his supernatural enabling empower empowerment on your life to do what he's called you to do. It's his super on your natural. May the grace of the lord, Jesus, and the love of god. Imagine what kind of a dad you would be if you told your child when they were eight years old. Hey, I love you and if something changes, I'll let you know and that was the last he said it. He is not getting stars on his dad chart. So we need god's love all the time, every day. And then it says this, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. I would say the fellowship of the Holy Spirit is a great way to describe walking in the spirit. The bible says in the book of Amos chapter three verse three, how can two walk together unless they be in agreement? Selah, help me. Little Cela. I can grab a hold of the Holy Spirit's hand and say, let's walk together and he's like, great. I'll lead. Okay. And then try to go a different direction. How many of you, don't worry, you're not gonna get heathen points, but how many of you love scooting a boot at the cowboy bar or Silver Dollar or something like that? Yes. Okay. For the rest of you that didn't admit it, how well does it work if two people try to lead? Yeah. Yeah. That's a big old mess, isn't it? To walk with the Holy Spirit means he is the leader of the dance partner. May the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Not some of you, not just the good Christians, the ones that don't go to the cowboy or the I wrote your names down. With you all. It's not that some people have a gift for walking in the spirit. Well, they got it and I don't. Nope. If you look up that word all in the Greek, you will find that it means everyone. Let me just say this about walking in the spirit. Walking in the spirit, if you are a Christian, if you're not a Christian and you haven't invited Jesus into your heart, that's really step one. Right? Two can't walk together unless you're in agreement, and you come under his submissive authority and you lay down your life and invite him to be the leader of your life. Right? That's step number one. If you are not saved, your heart is being pricked right now, but your mind is dull, and you will not be able to understand the words that I'm saying beyond just a superficial intellectual level. Sorry. Just get saved and then start walking in the Holy Spirit. Amen? Amen. Okay. Let me just say this about walking in the spirit. Walking in the spirit is not like trying to learn a new language. Walking in the spirit, if you're a Christian, is your natural first language. So if any of you are feeling like performance anxiety of like, I walk in the spirit, how do I walk in the spirit, and you love Jesus, and Jesus is the leader of your life, chill. It's your first language, and you probably already walk in the spirit way more than you realize. So go ahead, shake your hands out. Relax. Walking in the spirit is a lot like breathing. You kinda been doing it your whole life. Okay. Here's what I wanna do. I want to share with you four really practical steps to walking in the spirit. And before I get into number one, this is a good opportunity to check-in with you. And you heard me say earlier that I want this to be a conversation. So that means I welcome your questions, comments, connections, questions, comments, and connections. So with all that I've said so far, is there anything that jumps into your mind about maybe a question or something that I could clarify for you. Kat has the mic, and if you just raise your hand, Kat will get you the mic. And the reason why we have the mic in the room, not only so that people can hear you, but also so our livestream families can can stay plugged in and engaged. So questions about the massive amount of ground we've already just covered. Did you have your hand or are you just itching? Just itching. Please, Gretchen, tell us. This isn't a question but I'm just glad you clarified on that grace is for even after you're saved. Well, back home at church in Tennessee, our just the atmosphere was like, oh, if you mess up, like, go to the lord about it, tell your leaders, and then you kind of be putting this, I will shame and like, it kind of just got spread around, hung over your head for a while. You had to do things to, you know, don't know, appease the people and it's taken me a long time to just not feel condemned like after I mess up because like and in the Bible it says like he is faithful even when we are not. Like, god knows that and he took that into account before he chose to send Jesus and so, like he's like, oh, I know you're going to mess up but that's why I'm here. Like, that's why you need me and so not looking at it as sending you into a place of shame and condemnation. But just realizing oh I fell again. This is all the more reason why I need him. So, I would love we haven't had too many opportunities, perhaps that's probably because of of of my leadership, but I've seen lots of church cultures where there is a lot of condemnation, and and there's there's a difference between condemnation and conviction. Condemnation is from the enemy. Conviction is from the holy spirit where he says, I don't want that in your life. That's not the best that I have for you. You've messed up. You've blown it. The wages of sin are death. But according to first John one nine, those who confess their sin, god is faithful and just to purify you from all sin and forgive you. And and instead of a culture of condemnation, I would love for tribe to be known as a culture and a community of people where we celebrate restoration. Like like, okay, you messed up. You got you got yourself, you got the devil, maybe even worldly consequences that are hammering you. You got you got all that you need. But what about celebration with restoration? You've you've repented. You've come clean. You've you've maybe there are steps of restitution that need to be taken. You've completed those. Woo hoo. Do you have some? Yeah, love that. That's so powerful. It's a hospital for sinners not a museum for saints, right? Like that and that's kind of the church culture that was brought up in. I don't want to like say that entirely, but just this general idea that like, oh, you have to do x, y, z, or you're not holy enough, you know, like we're gonna judge you. And so that's so important that constantly live in grace and walk in grace and walk in the spirit and realize, hey, it's okay. God loves us enough to to surpass any any fault fallings or falling short of our own. But the thought I wanted to bring up is how in almost all of the letters that Paul writes to the churches, he prefaces it by grace and peace to you in our Lord Jesus Christ. And I think it's interesting how that is done. First, not peace and grace, but rather grace and peace. Because of the grace, that is what gives us peace through our lord Jesus Christ. I don't know if that checks out. Everybody go, It's good. Grace and peace. His supernatural enabling ability for us to have a peace that surpasses all understanding and likewise, Paul says in the book of Romans, well, therefore, should we keep on sinning so that grace can all abound more and he's like, no, are you crazy? God's grace is not intended to be a hammock where we can be like, oh god will forgive me. God will forgive me but where it's intended to be more like a trampoline. Get us back up on our feet and get us going running hard after god. I forget those things that are in the past and I press on towards the high calling of god that Jesus has has fought and won for me, and that's now my job to grab a hold of. Four really practical steps to walking in the spirit. Number one, you need to embed his word deep in your heart. Four practical steps to walking in the spirit. Number one, embed his word deep in your heart. Whatever it takes to get it in there. If you need to write it on a note card and put it in your pocket and walk around with it for a week or so, if you need to listen to it on an audio book, if you need to spend lots of time reading it daily, if you need to be, have a friend that can hold you accountable, I'm trying to memorize this verse. Will you ask, set an alarm on your calendar and ask me in five days? Or ask me every day for five, whatever it takes. Embed his word in your heart. That's what gives him something to work with. That when you encounter a circumstance in a situation, his word can come bubbling up to the surface of your recollection. How much more of god's word could I recall if they weren't filled with useless Beastie Boys lyrics from the nineties. Lord, help me. Psalms one nineteen verse 11 through 15. I have hidden your word in my heart. One of Amanda's favorite verses, that I might not sin against you. I praise you, oh lord. Teach me your decrees. I have recited aloud all the regulations you have given us. I have rejoice in your laws as much as in riches and I will study your commandments and reflect on your ways. Oh, so good. I think I have one more verse. Let's read, let's read all of this. Psalms 16 we'll read the whole thing. Whoever has a mic near Kat, would you just read Psalm, oh, is it Psalms 116 or Psalm 16? One sixteen, thank you. Whoever has that, Rita, it's it's a few verses. One sixteen? Yes. I'll just start. I love the lord because he hears my voice and my prayers for mercy. Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath. Death wrapped its ropes around me. The terrors of the grave overtook me. I saw only trouble and sorrow. Then I called in the name of the lord. Please, Lord, save me. How kind the Lord is. How good he is. So merciful, this God of ours. The Lord protects those of of childlike faith. I was facing death and he saved me. Let my soul be at rest again. For the Lord has been good to me. He has saved me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, and I so walk in the Lord's presence as I live here on earth. So notice that within Psalms one sixteen, you can see almost two parallel tracks running. There's the reality of a situation, there's there's feelings and emotions that perhaps are contrary to god's word, but because he's meditated and he places his faith and hope in the Lord, there's something that supersedes the reality of his experiences and his feelings in the moment. In the same way that airplanes don't turn off gravity, they have a law that is higher than the law of gravity. What's that law? The law of aerodynamics supersedes the law of gravity when the law of aerodynamics is followed properly. That's your second opportunity to go, Okay. Number two, everybody can do number one. You all have a Bible, you all have access to it. You all have a brain even if it's a little Spider Man kiddie pole, you have a brain to be able to memorize god's word. Bury it, embed it deep in your heart. Number two, here's something else everybody can do. Obey the holy spirit in the small things. How many of you have fallen for the idea that in my everyday day to day life, in the small and mundane things, god doesn't really care too much about those things. I just try to like do the best I can But if something big were to come up, well then I would consult the Lord, then I would pray about it. If it were really big, if there was a suitcase of a million dollars that I just randomly found on the sidewalk, I mean, that I would turn in. But something little and small, yeah, it's The kingdom works the opposite way than the world does. The way that the kingdom works, Mike over here please. The way that the kingdom works is that when we are faithful in the little things. God's like, hey, great job. Let's do a little more. Yes, speaking of grace, I think being obedient in the little things is an act of god's grace because he lets you practice before it's the Super Bowl. You know, the day in, the day out, the practice of like hearing his voice, missing it. He knows you're going to miss it. So, he lets you practice again and it's sometimes on stuff that actually is insignificant to to the world or to your life, you know, like, I had a friend who you've heard me say this like, man, she just felt like deeply. I'm supposed to give this guy in front of me money at the grocery store and she reasoned with it. She's like, he doesn't need money and the lord was like, give him money and she did and he was like, oh, no, thank you. He was like, like, who cares? You know, but then she just heard like when she was reflecting about that with the lord, he was like, no, he didn't need that. I just wanted you to practice obedience and she walks with the lord closely and hears his voice and so, I just think it's god's grace to let us practice in little things again and again and again and again and again because then that voice when it has to do with your kids or your family or your life or something that you would deem very important, that voice is so familiar. It's unmistakable and it takes, and it does create peace, supernatural peace, because you are confident. Yeah, that's God's voice, I hear that. I've heard it again and again and again in these little things. Whoo. So good. Everybody wants to hear the voice of god when it comes to the big things but who would be willing to put in the hard work and effort of hearing and obeying the lord on little, small, seemingly trivial, and mundane things. One more verse, Isaiah chapter 30 verse 21. It takes practice to tune your ear to hearing the voice of the lord. And it will always be in concert or in symphony with his written word which is why we started with the word, embedding his word in your heart so that when you encounter a situation and you need god's specific will, not his general will which can be found in the word, You start with his general will found in his word, and you're like, there's this Bible verse that seems to be bubbling up. And then the Holy Spirit speaks to you, as it says here in Isaiah, your own ears, whether they be one of these five senses connected to your earth suit, maybe the audible voice of the Lord. But that still small voice that speaks deep down into your heart, will hear him. Right behind you, a voice will say, this is the way that you should go, whether to the right or to the left. Oh, okay, this is really good. Somebody, please make a connection for me between the geographical location of where God speaks, keyword being behind, and what we started with, what is that little booth called? The fishing pond? And the fishing pond analogy. I just made the connection, can somebody else make the connection? Yes, yes, yes, you're onto it, but say more. Why, why? Why is the voice behind, why is the clipper of the candy on the other side of the curtain? I know you're fishing, Brian. I am, I am, I made the connection. I want to see if anybody else can. Well, he's unseen, so it's by faith. Okay, yes. I think that's beautifully it. How much, she says, because key component is faith. How much faith does it require, Here, Selah, quick. Come here. You just look so cute today. Okay. Come stand right here behind me, and we're and you're gonna follow me. Okay? Okay. Now how difficult would it be for Selah to follow me? Not very, because she's got her peepers and she can just wherever I go, she goes. Okay, now come around this way. Okay. Now how is it easier or harder for her to follow me? Harder. Harder. This way, she's probably has to listen to the book. She has to listen for the sound of my voice. Thank you. In the same way, imagine if there were no, like, you know, with the little craft paper waves, but the guy was just sitting there with a bucket and you just, like whipped your clothes pin at him like, give me some candy like, god's so creative. Number one, embed his word deep in your heart. Number two, obey the voice of the Holy Spirit in the small things. Number three, put that up there. Go back one. Oh, it's just that? Okay. There we go. Number three, discipline your flesh. And everybody said, right. Let's get really practical about disciplining our flesh. Is there a slide that has fasting on it? Disciplining your flesh with fasting. Matthew chapter six verse 16, Jesus is speaking and he says, when you fast, not if, the early church had a firm grasp on the discipline of fasting as a normal, regular part of their relationship with Jesus. There's a lot that fasting can accomplish But one of the things that fasting does when we fast from food or deny ourself other things that our flesh wants, we are instead of our appetites ruling us and our flesh ruling us, when we deny ourself food for a healthy amount of time, we put our spirit man back in the position of authority and we boss ourselves around. Body, I know that you're hungry but shut up. Appetite for Instagram. I know that you gotta be scrolling reels but no. The spirit man is in charge. We one of the ways that we discipline our flesh is with fasting. Another way that we can discipline our flesh is by guarding our mouth. Brian, Being very careful about the words that come out of your mouth. Look what James chapter three verse three to five says. We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth, and a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong, even though that tourist with the little barcode in the bottom of their back window sticker cuts you off in traffic when you're just trying to get through town? What's the barcode? The rental car. There. It's a rental car. Even though the winds are strong. In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. The bible says, let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouth. So one of the ways that we can discipline our flesh is by carding our tongue. One more way to discipline our flesh through prayer. Don't worry about anything. We read this already. Instead, pray about everything. Tell god what you need. Thank him for all that he has done. Then you will experience. How will you ever pull up that little package of tasty smarties if you don't ever throw your line over an efficient pond. He says, don't worry about anything. Instead, pray about everything. Throw the line over and then you will experience god's peace which exceeds anything we can understand and his peace will guard your hearts and mind as you live in Christ Jesus. How can we discipline our flesh? Through fasting, through guarding our mouth, through prayer. Now, let's talk about the last one. This one is really important and perhaps the most unfamiliar. How can we walk in the spirit? By praying in the spirit. Now this one probably is if you don't come from see, I just guarded my mouth. I thought of several zingers to say, but I will say this, perhaps you've come from a church background and culture where this was never talked about or emphasized in any way whatsoever. The truth is, the reality is, it is it is very, it is normative, and it is very, it it was very normal and commonplace in Jesus' ministry and in the early church. Philippians chapter six verse 18. Hopefully, you're writing each one of these or taking pictures. Pray in the spirit at all times. Thank you, Ephesians. And on every occasion, stay alert and be persistent in your prayers and then he gives us something a suggestion of what we can be praying for. Praying for all believers everywhere. Pray in the spirit at all times. Another verse, first Corinthians 14 verse two, the second part of it says this, for you have the ability for if you have the ability to speak in tongues, you will be talking only to god. Since people won't be able to understand you. You'll be speaking by the power of the spirit but it will be it will all be mysterious. A person who speaks in tongues is strengthened personally. Now let's let's place this verse in its proper context in which Paul originally said these words. If you look in first Corinthians twelve, first Corinthians 13 is that the the classic chapter on love, then he jumps back into what he's been talking about in first Corinthians chapter 14. And numerous times, he says this phrase, when you gather. Those three words, when you gather. So Paul is laying out some prescriptive norms for for what a church gathering should look like and include. And he says, in regards to speaking in tongues, in done in a corporate setting, that it should always be accompanied by interpretation, not translation, but interpretation. But then he goes on to talk a little bit more about speaking in tongues, or I'll say praying in tongues or I'll soften it even more without diluting any of the potencies using your prayer language. You will be talking only to god. Who is excluded from that statement? There's one key individual excluded from when it says you will be talking only to god. The enemy. When you pray and when you practice your prayer language, the devil's like, What are they saying? In a minute. You will be speaking by the power of the spirit but will be mysterious. And then in the next part, it says, a person who speaks in tongues is strengthened personally. Now, some would read that verse as being selfish and and not of the lord. The lord wants you to be strengthened for the for where we live and the battles that we face and the this this walk that we're in in this life. We need to be strengthened. Think of this portion of the verse, a person who speaks in tongues is strict and personally like recharging your batteries. So number one, when we pray in this, just from this one verse alone, when we pray in the spirit, we're talking only to God. It is encrypted end to end communication that the devil cannot decipher, and it frustrates him to no end. Anybody ever been frustrated by the devil? Anybody wanna turn that back on him, give him a taste of his own medicine? Pray in the spirit. Number two, it says that you will be strengthened personally. And then here's the third thing it says, that you'll be speaking mysteries. It's a mystery to what part of you. Remember, if we're made of three parts, your mind. If you pray in the spirit, and all of you have the ability to, if you have the Holy Spirit living inside of you, If you pray in the spirit, you're strengthened personally, you are praying to God, the enemy is cut out of the loop, but guess who also else doesn't understand? Your mind. Your brain will always think, you crazy. But is your brain in charge? No. Your spirit is in charge. So when you fast or when you pray in the spirit, your brain, your soul is like, what are we doing? I don't understand, this sounds foolish, I don't know what's going on, or maybe I don't have the ability, and your brain goes, but your spirit says, sit down, sit, relax. The boss is in charge for a second. You're spirit man. You pray in the spirit, you pray in the spirit, and you bounce back and forth in the spirit, in English, whatever your first language is, bounce back and forth and watch what your flesh does after a while. Your flesh will never understand, although you can, why not pray for understanding? Man, I, on the drive from Wilson into town, I felt such a burden to pray, I was just praying in the spirit the whole drive. And it's not because of all the rental cars with the barcodes, I don't know what it, like I've just been really heavy and I've been praying in the spirit the whole way here. Why not have your mind, your mind can ask your spirit. Hey, what was I praying about? Could I get the interpretation? And then the Holy Spirit often times would be like, or who knows, a circumstance, maybe you're about to have a conversation at the grocery store where you just happen to say the right words, but the Lord was preparing you for circumstances. But praying in the spirit puts our spirit man in the driver's seat. Another verse, I've got just a a few verses. Yeah, this is a good one. Romans eight twenty six, and the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don't know what God wants us to pray for, but the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in, I would say, English or Spanish words. How many of you have ever been praying about something so intensely that you've run out of words to say, but you know that you're not done praying yet? That is your invitation to take the on ramp to praying in the spirit. And the father, look at this, and the father who knows all hearts, knows what the spirit is saying through your words, for the spirit pleads for us believers, look at this, in harmony with God's own will. When you pray in English, the thoughts have to come either from your brain, out your mouth, and up to heaven, or maybe from your spirit filtered through your brain, which needs to be renewed, and then out your mouth. And who knows what happens in translation between the spirit and the mouth? When you pray in the spirit, your mind is is set aside for a moment. He gets to observe. Your spirit prays and it comes right out of your mouth that you're always in control of. The Bible says, the spirit of a prophet is subject to a prophet and he's speaking about the gifts. It never jumps on you and like like grabs a hold of you, right? That that's not how the Holy Spirit works. That's not how the gift of tongues or practicing a prayer language works. You it's an act of your volitional will. I'm going to pray in English. I'm going to pray in the spirit. When you pray in the spirit, you are praying the perfect prayer. In English, we're like, oh, I gotta nail this prayer. Oh, Lord. You try a British accent. Thou taught in heaven, you know, what, I don't know, whatever you think you do to like like sound really holy. Just pray in the spirit. Do we do that? If ever. You you haven't ever. It's not on my notes. Come back next week. How do you pray in the spirit if you never have? First of all, the Bible says receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. How did you get saved? You just asked Jesus into your heart. In a similar way, you ask him to baptize you in his Holy Spirit. Holy spirit, you have taken up residence within my heart to operate. Now, I want to give you permission, like taking a cork off of that alabaster jar, I wanna give you permission to operate in my life and through my life. And I receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and then just tell him specifically, specifically, will you give me a prayer language? It is available to each and every believer because why would why would god give some the ability to be strengthened personally but not somebody else? Why would god give one the ability to pray the perfect prayer in unity and harmony with god's will but not somebody else, right? Now, in a corporate setting, might you, one of you might have the gift of tongues and then somebody else will have the interpretation of tongues. That's in a corporate setting but in a private, a private expression as a prayer language, you already have. The gift of a prayer language. Last example and then we'll wind down with this. What if I said, Selah. That the evidence or one of the gifts of receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit was the ability to jump 12 feet in the air. And and you said, I would like to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And you you prayed that best prayer in the best way that you knew how. Get me, Lord. Lay down my life to you. I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And maybe you felt something, maybe you didn't and then you said or if I prayed for you, I said, amen. What is the next thing that you might try to do? Right? Here's what a lot of people do. They they get to this point. You've been in numerous sermons and you've come to this point right here and then you walk out and you say, I want that. But you never try to jump. You just go, well, okay, I guess I've received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and you sit there like a little cute bump on a log. You gotta try it. Selah said, I'd go out and I'd jump. Now, what happens if you jump the same height, The your first jump, you jump the same height that you've always been able to do. What would you do then? Try again. What if the next time you jump, you jump like 12 inches? What would you do the third time? What would you do again? Try again. What would you do again? Try again. That's why I use the word practicing your prayer language. I want to try to remove the mysticism of like some people got it and others don't like you're cool and because I'm not. Practice. How do I practice? We'll give you a moment right here. How about? Yeah. We got time. We'll give you a moment right here. So, number one, if you're not saved, get saved. How we do that? Oh my gosh. Fall on. Thank you, Lizzie. Fall on your knees. Confess that you're a sinner and come and and commit your life to Jesus. Forgive me of my sin. Come into my heart. Give me a brand new life. The Bible says, that you become a new creation. Number two, receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and what that looks like is just in the stillness of your heart. You just say, Lord, I want all that you have for me. Baptize me in your Holy Spirit. I know that you live on the inside of me but I give you permission to operate in and through my life with the gifts of the spirit. And then number three, to give you some privacy, just barely loud enough for your own ears to hear you. This is a private expression that we happen to be in a corporate setting. It's okay. Barely loud enough for your ears to hear you. You can start in English or whatever your first language is and just tell em, I love you, Jesus. I love you. Oh, I trust you. I worship you. I praise you. Thank you, father. If you need to prime the pump with English, great And then, allow yourself through an act of your volitional will, allow yourself to make up words that don't make any sense to your brain. And your I'll tell you right now, your brain's gonna say you're making it up. You're speaking gibberish. You're faking it. Just tell your brain stop for a second. Your brain is always gonna tell you, this is silliness, but watch what happens to your spirit man. Don't raise your hand, but how many of you would be willing to even just try it? Just try it. You might only come up with one or two words. Your vocabulary, if I can use that word, will increase. Jesus, help us to walk in the spirit Help us, Lord. Us the spirit, Help us to to walk walk in the spirit by embedding your word deep in our heart. Help us to walk in the spirit by being obedient to the small little things. Maybe like this. Help us to discipline our flesh, not cast it out, but really just crucify it. And Lord, give us the courage to step out in faith to pray in the spirit. Now, you take just a moment. You talk to him in English or whatever language you would like to practice. Just just loud enough barely for your own ears to hear you. Thank you, Jesus. We love you. We praise you, Jesus. Oh, I trust Just talk to him. Stand up. Let me pray for you. I know it's a school night but come on. Lord Jesus, help us this week to walk in the spirit. I command a blessing over each and every member of our tribe fam here today. We love you so very much. We pray these things in Jesus name, the strong son of god and everybody said, amen. Amen. Amen. I want you to have a great week. Lee and Colleen are going to be in the back. They would love to pray with you. If there's anything that you need prayer for, have a great week and Lanisha is also in the back for prayer. Have a great week and remember, you got this.