WEBVTT NOTE Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver Episode: The Spirit And The People of God Publishing Date: 2024-03-17T06:00:44-07:00 Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/the-spirit-and-the-people-of-god/ 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.000 Yeah, how's Mohini doing? Anybody know? 00:00:07.000 --> 00:00:11.000 Okay, cool. 00:00:11.000 --> 00:00:18.000 Okay, guys, hopefully we'll go down this path for the next few weeks. 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:21.000 The spirit of God and the people of God. 00:00:21.000 --> 00:00:44.000 I want to start off by going to Hebrews 1, verse 3, and take us back to a space when there was no time or place. 00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:47.000 There was no time, there was no place. Nothing had been created. 00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:55.000 And that's when we see Hebrews 1, 3. 00:00:55.000 --> 00:01:03.000 Hebrews 1, 3. 00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:08.000 It says there, reading from the NIV, 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:19.000 The sun is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his power, by his powerful word. 00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:25.000 After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of majesty. 00:01:25.000 --> 00:01:29.000 Then if you go further down to verse 8, it says, 00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:34.000 Without the sun, he says, your throne, O God, will last forever and ever. 00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:38.000 A scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. 00:01:38.000 --> 00:02:01.000 Before there was time, before there was time and before there was any known creation or place, there existed the kingdom of God. 00:02:01.000 --> 00:02:18.000 In the very idea of there being a throne, if there was a throne, and on the throne sat the self-existent triune God, 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:28.000 then we need to understand that before there was time, before there was any place created, there existed the kingdom of God. 00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:33.000 We think the kingdom of God only exists if people, if churches are around or people get born again. 00:02:33.000 --> 00:02:37.000 Not true. The kingdom of God existed before anything else existed. 00:02:37.000 --> 00:02:45.000 Before there was creation, there was the kingdom of God, meaning there was God's reign. There was God's rule. 00:02:45.000 --> 00:02:51.000 The Bible says it has been from everlasting to everlasting. It has always been there. 00:02:51.000 --> 00:03:03.000 Just try and imagine that. There was no time, there was nothing that was created, and yet before there was time and before anything was created, 00:03:03.000 --> 00:03:12.000 the rule of God already existed, the reign of God already existed, the kingdom of God already existed. 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:18.000 Angels existed before the fall, before creation. Angels existed before creation. 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:27.000 Just keep that in mind. Angels weren't created as part of the creation narrative in Genesis 1. They were created before. 00:03:27.000 --> 00:03:39.000 Millions upon millions of them. I mean, uncountable, innumerable. They existed before anything was created. 00:03:39.000 --> 00:03:45.000 So there are certain things that existed in the invisible that we need to be aware of. 00:03:45.000 --> 00:03:53.000 Two or three things that we need to touch on. And in our lives, they are there, but they might be small, 00:03:53.000 --> 00:03:57.000 but if we are aware of them, they become big and they become something God can use. 00:03:57.000 --> 00:04:02.000 So one of the things that existed was the kingdom. 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:15.000 Then go to Hebrews 11, Hebrews 11 3, and Genesis 1 2. And you'll see two other things that existed in the invisible. 00:04:15.000 --> 00:04:21.000 Hebrews 11 3, here's what it says, 00:04:21.000 --> 00:04:31.000 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. 00:04:31.000 --> 00:04:45.000 So we know that, so here's what you're saying, what is seen was made out of what is invisible. 00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:54.000 What is visible is invisible. Or in other words, what is visible was made out of what is invisible. 00:04:54.000 --> 00:05:03.000 So what are we talking about? Go to Genesis 1 verse 2. Genesis 1 verse 2. Genesis 1 verse 2. 00:05:03.000 --> 00:05:12.000 And it says in Genesis 1 verse 2, the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep. 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:19.000 And there was someone who was invisible present there, and that was the Spirit of God. 00:05:19.000 --> 00:05:25.000 And then there was something else that was invisible that was spoken, and that was the Word. 00:05:25.000 --> 00:05:31.000 So we are talking about three things that existed before anything existed, 00:05:31.000 --> 00:05:41.000 before there was time, before there was anything created, before there was a thing called a place, before there was time, 00:05:41.000 --> 00:05:48.000 before all that, three things existed for sure that are critical to our present existence. 00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:54.000 One was this thing called the Kingdom of God with innumerable angels. 00:05:54.000 --> 00:06:00.000 Two, the Spirit of God was present before creation began. 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:06.000 And three, the Word of God. And we think about the Word, got to think about it in so many different ways, 00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:12.000 when you think about the Word, we are talking about the Word as in the pre-incarnate Christ, 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:19.000 as in He existed and He's called the Word. We are talking about the spoken Word, God spoke and light was created. 00:06:19.000 --> 00:06:24.000 We are talking about the written Word, which is what we have on our phones and in our Bibles. 00:06:24.000 --> 00:06:32.000 And then we are talking about the Word made flesh. 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:44.000 But let's just keep that aside for now. These three existed before there was time or before there was place. 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:50.000 From then on, everything visible begins to exist. These existed before. 00:06:50.000 --> 00:07:01.000 And from then on, everything begins to exist. 00:07:01.000 --> 00:07:06.000 Everything begins to exist that is visible, everything. 00:07:06.000 --> 00:07:14.000 And this divine process is still active today. 00:07:14.000 --> 00:07:18.000 So let's pause and think of that. 00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:23.000 So if you are a believer, these are three things you must always hold front and center. 00:07:23.000 --> 00:07:33.000 One, that the kingdom as in the God's rule and reign has existed before creation, will continue to exist and will be the only thing standing. 00:07:33.000 --> 00:07:38.000 You have to find out how it is important to you, how you fit into it. 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:43.000 What does God want you to do with it? And we don't. 00:07:43.000 --> 00:07:50.000 We don't even know how to define the kingdom. Most of the time, it's so hazy, so blurry that we can't even put it together. 00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:52.000 But it has existed before anything existed. 00:07:52.000 --> 00:08:02.000 The second thing that you have to keep in mind as believers is that the Spirit of God has always been invisible and been there throughout. 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:07.000 He'll be there. He was there before creation. He will be there at the end. 00:08:07.000 --> 00:08:13.000 Let the Spirit and the Bride say, come. That's how the Bible ends. And that's how the Bible starts. 00:08:13.000 --> 00:08:19.000 He's always there and he's constantly, he's the one who advances the kingdom that has existed. 00:08:19.000 --> 00:08:26.000 He's the one who makes Christ real. He's the one who is here right now. He's the one who gives us understanding of these things. 00:08:26.000 --> 00:08:34.000 How do you locate himself? How do you locate yourself with him? What's the role he's playing in your life on a daily basis? 00:08:34.000 --> 00:08:41.000 And then the third thing we need to realize is that there's a word, and we're not talking about the written word. 00:08:42.000 --> 00:08:48.000 The written word is just 66 books that can never tell you all about Jesus. 00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:55.000 The writers themselves said it, that if we could write down everything that Jesus did and said, there wouldn't be enough books to hold it. 00:08:55.000 --> 00:09:01.000 It was an exaggeration, a hyperbully, but the point was there's so much that was happening that you can't write it down. 00:09:01.000 --> 00:09:05.000 How do you take an infinite God and compile a library on him? 00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:18.000 So we're not talking about the word as in the written word. We're talking about the word as in Christ the word being revealed to us by the Spirit. 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:26.000 And Christ the word that, I mean, unless you be, yeah, we won't go there yet. 00:09:26.000 --> 00:09:30.000 So these are the three things that exist. Any questions on this before we go on? 00:09:31.000 --> 00:09:39.000 How do you locate yourself? The question we have to ask is, how do you locate yourself in the word, in the Spirit and in the kingdom? 00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:46.000 Do I have an understanding of it? How much of a role does it play in my life on a daily basis, on an hourly basis? 00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:51.000 That to an extent defines how I function as a Christian here on earth. 00:09:53.000 --> 00:09:55.000 Any questions? 00:10:01.000 --> 00:10:06.000 No? Anything that's not clear that you want to challenge? 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:09.000 Okay. 00:10:09.000 --> 00:10:10.000 Okay. 00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:30.000 So imagine that these three things, Spirit, word and kingdom, 00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:44.000 imagine them as stones cut from God's quarry without human hands. 00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:48.000 You can't do this. God will have to bring this to us, eh? 00:10:48.000 --> 00:11:13.000 Without human hands, placed into your life, crafted, fleshed out, given momentum and sustained by the Spirit. 00:11:19.000 --> 00:11:25.000 Imagine that God has a quarry and he cuts out three stones for you to carry. 00:11:25.000 --> 00:11:31.000 One of them is, hey, can you locate yourself and understand how the Spirit of God works with you? 00:11:31.000 --> 00:11:35.000 How critical he is to you? How you can't understand me without him? 00:11:35.000 --> 00:11:42.000 Hey, can you figure out how you understand the kingdom? How you locate yourself in the kingdom? 00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:46.000 How important is the kingdom of God to you? Does it work in your life on a daily basis? 00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:50.000 And three, can you understand how to relate to the word? 00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:53.000 How important the role the word plays in your life? 00:11:53.000 --> 00:11:58.000 How every thought must be shaped by the word? How it should wrestle you? 00:11:58.000 --> 00:12:03.000 It's like giving us three precious stones and saying, the Spirit of God will help you with this. 00:12:03.000 --> 00:12:08.000 He'll craft it into you. He'll flesh it out. As in it'll become real to you. 00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:12.000 I remember times in Davant when he got baptized, he would say, the word was alive. 00:12:12.000 --> 00:12:18.000 The question is, the Spirit of God still wants to do it. Is he doing it in our lives or is it a baptism thing? 00:12:18.000 --> 00:12:22.000 Because the Spirit of God wants to do it. 00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:27.000 All these things are given to us and the question is, do we continue to be sustained by it? 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:36.000 He'll flesh it. He'll give us momentum. Every time we stop, he'll reignite momentum. 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:41.000 His job is to make sure that believers understand this. 00:12:41.000 --> 00:12:46.000 He's never going to tire to restart things in my life. He'll do it a million times. 00:12:46.000 --> 00:12:50.000 It's just an openness and a willingness to restart. 00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:53.000 Maybe be people of a million restarts. 00:12:53.000 --> 00:12:58.000 Because after a million restarts, he'll still be as eager to restart you again. 00:13:01.000 --> 00:13:06.000 And these are stones that your hands cannot cut. You can't make this happen. 00:13:07.000 --> 00:13:11.000 You can't make the Spirit of God happen. You can't fabricate him. 00:13:11.000 --> 00:13:15.000 You can't make the word happen and fabricate it. You can't do anything of this sort. 00:13:15.000 --> 00:13:18.000 God has to do it with invisible hands. 00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:22.000 The Bible talks about this. In Daniel chapter 2, it says, 00:13:22.000 --> 00:13:28.000 And then I saw a stone, a stone that was cut not with human hands. 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:31.000 And the stone began to gather momentum. 00:13:32.000 --> 00:13:38.000 And as it began to gather momentum, it began to come and crash against every statue 00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:41.000 or every idol of Nebuchadnezzar and breaks it into pieces. 00:13:41.000 --> 00:13:44.000 There was not a single kingdom that could withstand this stone. 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:46.000 And the stone was the kingdom of God. 00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:48.000 You see that in one place. 00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:53.000 And then you go and you see again in Matthew 21, which we'll read next week. 00:13:53.000 --> 00:13:55.000 Next week is Palm Sunday. 00:13:55.000 --> 00:13:59.000 Matthew 21, Jesus turns around to the Pharisees and he says to them, 00:13:59.000 --> 00:14:05.000 The stone that the builders rejected has now become the chief cornerstone. 00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:11.000 And anyone who stumbles on it can rise up. 00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:14.000 But anyone on whom it falls will be completely crushed. 00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:18.000 The point being, hey, Pharisees, I gave you a kingdom lifestyle. 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:20.000 If you don't want it, I'm going to take it away from you. 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:23.000 And know this, that either you stumble on it and you find it, 00:14:23.000 --> 00:14:26.000 or it comes crashing down on you and you will be destroyed. 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:34.000 And then we read the same thing in Deuteronomy 9. 00:14:34.000 --> 00:14:36.000 And Moses is saying to the Israelites, 00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:39.000 I went up the mountain, I was there for 40 days and 40 nights. 00:14:39.000 --> 00:14:44.000 And then the finger of God took a stone, made it into a tablet, 00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:49.000 and on the stone tablets started writing the word of God. 00:14:49.000 --> 00:14:50.000 And I brought them back. 00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:54.000 But by the time I came down, all of Israel was rebelling. 00:14:54.000 --> 00:14:56.000 But it was the finger of God that wrote on those stones. 00:14:56.000 --> 00:14:57.000 And I saw your golden calf. 00:14:57.000 --> 00:15:00.000 And I took this stone tablet on which these words were written. 00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:01.000 And I hurled it down. 00:15:01.000 --> 00:15:02.000 And I took your calf. 00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:07.000 And I broke it, crushed it, made it into powder, and sent it down the river. 00:15:11.000 --> 00:15:15.000 For us, it's critical that these three things be things that we understand. 00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:18.000 The kingdom of God and how we deal with it on a daily basis. 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:23.000 On a daily basis, it's not a weekly thing, guys, or it's not a Sunday thing. 00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:28.000 Ask yourself this question when you're playing basketball, Mr. Vegas, 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:34.000 or when you're teaching, Ms. Betty, or when you're skiing, Ms. May. 00:15:34.000 --> 00:15:38.000 At times like that, what is the role of the kingdom? 00:15:43.000 --> 00:15:47.000 What is the role of the spirit, Chava, in your daily life when you're working? 00:15:49.000 --> 00:15:51.000 And how do we locate ourselves in the Word? 00:15:51.000 --> 00:15:52.000 I'm not talking about just reading the Word. 00:15:52.000 --> 00:15:54.000 How much of the Word influences? 00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:57.000 These three things were before the earth began. 00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:02.000 It must be a daily thing in our lives. 00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:17.000 One of the best ways to get to hang out with these three things is to love the Holy Spirit. 00:16:17.000 --> 00:16:22.000 The people of God must love the Spirit of God, because otherwise this becomes very difficult. 00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:24.000 So here's the question. 00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:26.000 Do you love the Holy Spirit? 00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:28.000 Do you love the Holy Spirit? 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:30.000 As in, yes, we love the Father. 00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:32.000 Yes, we love Jesus Christ the Son. 00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:34.000 But we hardly talk about loving the Holy Spirit. 00:16:34.000 --> 00:16:36.000 Love requires a relationship. 00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:40.000 Do we love the Holy Spirit? 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:42.000 Do we love Him with reason? 00:16:42.000 --> 00:16:47.000 As in, when you love somebody, there's reasoning behind it. 00:16:47.000 --> 00:16:49.000 Do we love Him with reason? 00:16:49.000 --> 00:16:52.000 Do we love Him with thinking and thoughts? 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:54.000 Do we love Him with feelings? 00:16:55.000 --> 00:16:57.000 Do we love Him with our spirit? 00:16:57.000 --> 00:16:59.000 Do we love Him with our soul? 00:17:01.000 --> 00:17:04.000 If we don't, then we don't love Him. 00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:06.000 We don't love Him. 00:17:06.000 --> 00:17:08.000 We love Him with our soul. 00:17:09.000 --> 00:17:23.000 If we don't, He will remain an invisible, misunderstood wisp. 00:17:25.000 --> 00:17:27.000 You know, people can understand Jesus. 00:17:27.000 --> 00:17:29.000 You talk about Jesus often. 00:17:29.000 --> 00:17:35.000 You talk about Him, you tell people about Him, and people seem to know that you actually have a relationship with someone called Jesus. 00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:39.000 But hardly anyone knows that we have a relationship with the Spirit of God. 00:17:43.000 --> 00:17:47.000 He's fully God, but we don't even know how to talk about Him. 00:17:49.000 --> 00:17:55.000 We see Him as an external power agency, someone who does things, but not someone who we have a relationship with. 00:17:55.000 --> 00:18:00.000 And because the Bible has presented Him as dove, as oil, as fire, 00:18:01.000 --> 00:18:05.000 all objects that we don't necessarily have a relationship with every day, 00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:08.000 unless you're growing up in India and use coconut hair oil. 00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:18.000 Someone once gave me a sachet of coconut hair oil, but they forgot and they told me it was shampoo. 00:18:19.000 --> 00:18:24.000 So I'm pouring it over my head and lathering it and nothing's happening, so I pour more. 00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:29.000 By the time I was done, I didn't know whether I was covered with water or with oil because I was dripping oil. 00:18:29.000 --> 00:18:30.000 But that's besides the point. 00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:37.000 The point being, because He's known as oil, fire, dove, we don't know how to relate to Him personally. 00:18:37.000 --> 00:18:39.000 We don't talk about Him personally. 00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:43.000 And yet the way Jesus talked about Him was so personal. 00:18:43.000 --> 00:18:49.000 He dedicated two chapters to the Holy Spirit, like not dedicated two chapters. 00:18:49.000 --> 00:18:54.000 In John, He talks about the Holy Spirit in John 14, John 15, John 16. 00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:56.000 He's talking about the Holy Spirit. 00:18:56.000 --> 00:18:58.000 Then He continues in John 21. 00:18:58.000 --> 00:19:01.000 Then He goes into the book of Acts and He's talking about the Holy Spirit again. 00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:10.000 So do I love Him with reason, with thinking, with feelings, with spirit, soul? 00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:14.000 He's the one who brings to me today the Father and the Son. 00:19:17.000 --> 00:19:25.000 And the better you know Him, the more you will get to know and understand His revelation of the Father and the Son. 00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:39.000 If you've met some famous guy, if I know you, I'll get to know things about the person you met better. 00:19:43.000 --> 00:19:48.000 And the Bible talks about Him that way, that the Spirit of God searches the mind of God. 00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:52.000 It talks about Him as if He's the third person and He is. 00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:55.000 And then it says the Spirit of God goes and searches the mind of God. 00:19:55.000 --> 00:19:59.000 He plumbs the depths of the Father's heart and mind. 00:19:59.000 --> 00:20:01.000 Wouldn't you want to know? 00:20:02.000 --> 00:20:08.000 One of the things we have to move away as Christians is we've got to stop seeking the Spirit of God for the will of God. 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:12.000 But what if we started seeking the Spirit of God for the mind of God? 00:20:13.000 --> 00:20:17.000 Would you rather know the will of God or would you rather know the thinking of God? 00:20:17.000 --> 00:20:22.000 Strangely enough, most of us will answer the will of God. It's easy. I need answers immediately. 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:31.000 But really, what we should desire is, can I seek after how God thinks instead of seeking after answers that God can provide? 00:20:31.000 --> 00:20:37.000 If we can think like God, eventually we will not need to know answers. 00:20:37.000 --> 00:20:42.000 We will know how to solve it because we begin to think like God. 00:20:43.000 --> 00:20:49.000 How brilliant it would be if you didn't have to seek the will of God because you know how He thinks. 00:20:53.000 --> 00:21:01.000 And the one who searches the mind of God, who brings us the mind of God, is the Spirit. 00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:06.000 On one hand, in Isaiah 55 verse 9, it says, who can know the thoughts of God? 00:21:06.000 --> 00:21:10.000 His thoughts are higher than ours, His ways are greater than ours. So that's one part of it. 00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:15.000 But the second part of it is in 2 Corinthians 2.16 or thereabouts it says, 00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:21.000 but we have the mind of Christ brought to us by the Spirit of God who searches the mind of God. 00:21:21.000 --> 00:21:29.000 It's like, let's say, Chava is a good friend of Nick's and I want to know what Nick is thinking, 00:21:29.000 --> 00:21:35.000 but Chava knows him so well that Chava comes and tells me what Nick is thinking because Chava digs out the thoughts of Nick. 00:21:38.000 --> 00:21:41.000 And I come and whisper to you, bok choy today. 00:21:52.000 --> 00:21:59.000 When we deal with the Holy Spirit, we are dealing with the personal presence of God. 00:21:59.000 --> 00:22:02.000 We are dealing with the personal presence of God. 00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:20.000 And so what are we looking at? We are looking at walking with God like Adam did in Eden 24-7. 00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:25.000 Think of that guys. That's the extent to which God wants to make it real. 00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:29.000 God has always been Spirit. God is Spirit. 00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:39.000 So I don't know whether there was an anthropomorphic form that Adam used to relate to in the garden where there was some kind of form, 00:22:39.000 --> 00:22:45.000 but we know that Adam was as Spirit being as they come because he had not fallen. 00:22:46.000 --> 00:22:51.000 And that the way he would relate, God only knows he would know the ways of God. 00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:54.000 He was supposed to expand from there on. 00:22:54.000 --> 00:23:03.000 If without God in our fallenness, we can go to the moon and create iPhones, imagine what it would be if we hadn't fallen. 00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:12.000 And so the Spirit of God wants each of us to have the Eden experience now. 00:23:13.000 --> 00:23:25.000 To dive into the well of the Spirit or to dive into the life of the Spirit is to actually begin to have a taste of what Eden was like before the fall. 00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:32.000 Imagine that. 00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:41.000 I mean, I want to get to a place where I think like God so that I don't have to figure out his will. 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:45.000 Won't that be cool? He just knows. 00:23:49.000 --> 00:23:53.000 If you dive into the well of the Spirit or if you dive into the life of the Spirit, 00:23:53.000 --> 00:24:00.000 you can get to taste what Eden is like because the Spirit of God has been given to us so that presence can be returned to us. 00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:07.000 The reason we have the permanence of the Spirit in our life is so that we can have the permanence of presence in our life. 00:24:07.000 --> 00:24:12.000 The same permanence of presence that Adam had and lost is now restored. 00:24:12.000 --> 00:24:18.000 And so it is important to love the Spirit and to love him not as in, oh, I love you, I adore you, 00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:24.000 but love the Spirit as in I reason with you, I think with you, I feel with you, I engage with you. 00:24:27.000 --> 00:24:30.000 It almost feels like we are talking about someone we don't know. 00:24:31.000 --> 00:24:33.000 Strange day after all these years. 00:24:33.000 --> 00:24:34.000 Any questions? 00:24:37.000 --> 00:24:38.000 Any questions? 00:24:47.000 --> 00:24:51.000 He is amazing, eh, the Holy Spirit? He is amazing. He is exuberant. 00:24:54.000 --> 00:24:57.000 He's like Yaya, Mia and Phoebe on steroids. 00:24:57.000 --> 00:25:01.000 Put them all together, give them flags and the Holy Spirit will beat them any day. 00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:14.000 Really, he is childlike, he is servant-like, he is exuberant, he is very enthusiastic. 00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:17.000 He pines for relational joy. 00:25:19.000 --> 00:25:23.000 Hear me, he pines, he yearns for relational joy. 00:25:23.000 --> 00:25:26.000 He does not want it all to himself. He is that way anyways. 00:25:27.000 --> 00:25:36.000 So for us to be anything else is actually us to an extent resisting who the Holy Spirit in us is. 00:25:39.000 --> 00:25:46.000 By adding, by putting Mia, Phoebe, Yaya together, I'm not saying that the Spirit of God jumps up and down. 00:25:47.000 --> 00:25:48.000 That's not what I'm saying. 00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:53.000 But they are childlike and don't have a care in the world and are joyful. 00:25:54.000 --> 00:25:55.000 That's what I'm trying to get at. 00:25:56.000 --> 00:26:05.000 But this is how he is. He is exuberant, he is highly enthusiastic, he is amazing and he pines for relational joy. 00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:12.000 As in he wants to, in relating to me, bring to me who he is because he is in me. 00:26:12.000 --> 00:26:16.000 And when I'm in him, he wants to bring to me who he is because he is in me. 00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:27.000 And when I'm not like that, it is because I'm either resisting him or cooperating with the environment around me or spirits around me. 00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:37.000 Either. Either my situation or my environment is beginning to dictate how I am or I'm falling prey to the father of lies. 00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:45.000 So when I begin to fall in love with the Holy Spirit, these things begin to change. 00:26:46.000 --> 00:26:49.000 That's why it's important that we fall in love with the Holy Spirit. 00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:59.000 It is so unreal right now that I think we need to pause and pray because none of us look very convinced. 00:27:01.000 --> 00:27:02.000 So let's pray. 00:27:03.000 --> 00:27:12.000 Spirit of God, we have relegated you to making sure that we know the right songs to pick for worship, 00:27:13.000 --> 00:27:21.000 that we speak in tongues, that you bring a revival, that you show us the word and we talk about you on Pentecost. 00:27:23.000 --> 00:27:30.000 That's about it. As we are talking right now about you, about having a loving relationship with you, it's very unreal. 00:27:31.000 --> 00:27:37.000 It's either that or it's the afternoon heat on a hot summer Sunday, hot spring Sunday. 00:27:37.000 --> 00:27:52.000 I doubt it though. So I just ask Spirit of God, could you please open up our hearts to the absolute truth that Jesus Christ and the Father asked us to engage with you in a deep, deep relationship. 00:27:54.000 --> 00:28:03.000 The reason sometimes the intimacy cry of Abba is missing from our lives is because we have not cultivated that deep relationship with you. 00:28:04.000 --> 00:28:13.000 The reason sometimes that I don't feel adopted but feel abandoned by God is because I do not have a living relationship with the Spirit of adoption. 00:28:14.000 --> 00:28:23.000 So Spirit of God, we just open our hearts for just 30 seconds to a minute and begin to say something clumsy to you so that we can initiate this reaction today. 00:28:24.000 --> 00:28:31.000 So we begin that right now. Just say something clumsy. Maybe some of you are smart, but just say something clumsy to him right now. 00:28:31.000 --> 00:28:33.000 Initiating this. 00:29:01.000 --> 00:29:13.000 Can you sing this really old song with me? 00:29:14.000 --> 00:29:19.000 The greatest thing in all my life is loving you. 00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:22.000 Sing it to the Holy Spirit, eh? Let's start again. 00:29:22.000 --> 00:29:28.000 The greatest thing in all my life is loving you. 00:29:29.000 --> 00:29:36.000 The greatest thing in all my life is loving you. 00:29:37.000 --> 00:29:41.000 I want to love you more. 00:29:42.000 --> 00:29:46.000 I want to love you more. 00:29:47.000 --> 00:29:54.000 The greatest thing in all my life is loving you. 00:29:55.000 --> 00:29:57.000 Sing it a second time for those who didn't know the song. 00:29:58.000 --> 00:30:05.000 The greatest thing in all my life is loving you, Holy Spirit. 00:30:06.000 --> 00:30:12.000 The greatest thing in all my life is loving you. 00:30:13.000 --> 00:30:18.000 I want to love you more. 00:30:19.000 --> 00:30:23.000 I want to love you more. 00:30:24.000 --> 00:30:32.000 The greatest thing in all my life is loving you. 00:30:33.000 --> 00:30:35.000 Let him respond to our prayer, eh? 00:30:36.000 --> 00:30:40.000 Because he is more than willing. He is always enthusiastic. 00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:45.000 He has emotions, and I know you know that. 00:30:46.000 --> 00:30:47.000 Otherwise we wouldn't have the fruit of the Spirit. 00:30:48.000 --> 00:30:55.000 He has love, he has compassion, he has peace, he has goodness, he has patience, he has grace, he has mercy. 00:30:56.000 --> 00:30:59.000 What do you think the fruit of the Spirit is? It's his nature. 00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:05.000 He has all these, and they are not just truths. They are truths packed in emotion. 00:31:06.000 --> 00:31:09.000 You cannot have compassion as a truth. I feel compassionate towards you. 00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:13.000 That's strange, eh? It's not real. 00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:19.000 Truth always comes with emotions. It's his nature. 00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:26.000 And so to have a relationship with the Holy Spirit is one of the sure ways of having the presence of God. 00:31:27.000 --> 00:31:34.000 To have a relationship with the Holy Spirit is one of the sure ways of having the tangible presence of God. 00:31:35.000 --> 00:31:37.000 To have a relationship with someone is to have their presence. 00:31:37.000 --> 00:31:41.000 Even when they are absent, you miss their presence. Isn't that wonderful? 00:31:42.000 --> 00:31:47.000 When you have a relationship with someone, even when they are absent, you miss their presence. 00:31:50.000 --> 00:31:52.000 This is how real it can get. 00:31:58.000 --> 00:32:03.000 So try it, guys. Awareness, eh? Of these things. 00:32:03.000 --> 00:32:06.000 Awareness of loving and try it. 00:32:11.000 --> 00:32:14.000 The intent of the Spirit, what is the intent of the Spirit? 00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:18.000 The intent of the Spirit is not to make you a better Christian. 00:32:19.000 --> 00:32:29.000 The intent of the Spirit is one, this is so important, to make you confident of how God sees you. 00:32:34.000 --> 00:32:36.000 That's the first one. 00:32:37.000 --> 00:32:41.000 One of his main intents is, can I tell you how the Father really thinks about you? 00:32:42.000 --> 00:32:44.000 Can I tell you how Jesus really thinks about you? 00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:47.000 If you listen to me, I'll tell you. 00:32:48.000 --> 00:32:53.000 I mean, you listen to the letters that are written to the churches in the book of Revelation. 00:32:54.000 --> 00:32:59.000 Yes, Christ writes those letters, but it's conveyed to John on the island by the Spirit. 00:32:59.000 --> 00:33:03.000 I was in the Spirit, he says. He conveys it to him. 00:33:04.000 --> 00:33:11.000 One of his favorite things to do is, can I tell you how the Father and the Son actually think about you? 00:33:13.000 --> 00:33:19.000 The Spirit has a voice. It doesn't matter how it comes through, he has a voice. 00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:23.000 Never doubt his ability to convey to you what he wants to say. 00:33:23.000 --> 00:33:28.000 He doesn't need special attention. He's not a dove that whisks away. 00:33:29.000 --> 00:33:35.000 He's not that sensitive. In fact, it's very hard to offend him. 00:33:36.000 --> 00:33:40.000 You have to vex him on and on and on before he says, I'm vexed. 00:33:41.000 --> 00:33:49.000 So, he has a voice, and that's why you continuously hear him in the book of Revelation in particular, 00:33:49.000 --> 00:33:55.000 saying, let him who has ears hear what the Spirit is saying. 00:33:56.000 --> 00:33:58.000 How he says it doesn't matter. 00:33:59.000 --> 00:34:03.000 Guys, awareness leads to engagement. Awareness activates engagement. 00:34:04.000 --> 00:34:08.000 When we become aware of these things, and awareness is not a passing thing. 00:34:09.000 --> 00:34:15.000 You can be aware of it now, but to continue in awareness, one must then begin to practice what you learn. 00:34:15.000 --> 00:34:18.000 To continue in awareness, one practices what one learns. 00:34:19.000 --> 00:34:22.000 But awareness always activates engagement. 00:34:23.000 --> 00:34:25.000 You begin to engage with someone when you're aware of them. 00:34:26.000 --> 00:34:28.000 You begin to participate in their lives. 00:34:29.000 --> 00:34:32.000 And so, one of the favorite things he likes doing, and boy, do we need it. 00:34:33.000 --> 00:34:37.000 Because most days, how we think of ourselves, we don't even need help beating ourselves up. 00:34:38.000 --> 00:34:40.000 And then, of course, there's always help. 00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:43.000 So, he gets to tell you how God really thinks of you. 00:34:44.000 --> 00:34:45.000 That's one of his intents. 00:34:46.000 --> 00:34:54.000 The second one is to elevate you to the same richness of relationship, to the same ditto, 00:34:55.000 --> 00:34:59.000 to the same richness of relationship that Jesus has created. 00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:03.000 And so, he's going to tell you how God really thinks of you. 00:35:04.000 --> 00:35:17.000 To the same ditto, to the same richness of relationship that Jesus had, has with the Father. 00:35:18.000 --> 00:35:20.000 That's another one of his favorite things to do. 00:35:21.000 --> 00:35:27.000 Hey, I want to show you how I helped Jesus relate to the Father when he was growing up, 00:35:28.000 --> 00:35:30.000 in wisdom and stature and favor with God and man. 00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:31.000 I was the one who helped him. 00:35:32.000 --> 00:35:33.000 Can I please help you? 00:35:34.000 --> 00:35:37.000 Because I want you to have the same relationship that Jesus has with the Father. 00:35:38.000 --> 00:35:45.000 These are daily active functions that the Spirit of God thoroughly enjoys. 00:35:46.000 --> 00:35:47.000 We've got scripture to prove it. 00:35:48.000 --> 00:35:55.000 In James, it says, can I tell you how jealously the Spirit yearns over you? 00:35:55.000 --> 00:35:56.000 So, that's one of his second things. 00:35:57.000 --> 00:36:01.000 Can I elevate you to the same richness of relationship that Jesus had with the Father? 00:36:01.000 --> 00:36:03.000 Because I helped him when he was on earth. 00:36:04.000 --> 00:36:05.000 Crazy! 00:36:05.000 --> 00:36:08.000 It's not, can I show you how it was because I know how he was? 00:36:08.000 --> 00:36:09.000 No! 00:36:09.000 --> 00:36:10.000 Can I help you because I helped him? 00:36:14.000 --> 00:36:18.000 Jesus wasn't a baby who was suddenly relating to the Father like your dad. 00:36:18.000 --> 00:36:19.000 No! 00:36:19.000 --> 00:36:20.000 It wasn't like that. 00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:21.000 He had to go to the Father. 00:36:21.000 --> 00:36:22.000 He had to grow in it. 00:36:22.000 --> 00:36:24.000 That's why he had mother and father. 00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:27.000 Jesus needed parents so that he could learn. 00:36:29.000 --> 00:36:31.000 This is what he's inviting us into. 00:36:32.000 --> 00:36:33.000 Any questions? 00:36:39.000 --> 00:36:40.000 Third, 00:36:41.000 --> 00:36:44.000 I'm not going to tell you how Jesus was invited into the world. 00:36:45.000 --> 00:36:47.000 He was invited into the world by the Spirit of God. 00:36:48.000 --> 00:36:49.000 Third, 00:36:52.000 --> 00:37:06.000 he wants to help you attain the same maturity that Christ has. 00:37:10.000 --> 00:37:11.000 Same maturity that Christ has. 00:37:12.000 --> 00:37:13.000 How does he do that? 00:37:13.000 --> 00:37:16.000 One of the simplest ways he does that is, hey, can I exchange? 00:37:18.000 --> 00:37:20.000 The Spirit of God's favorite word. 00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:21.000 Any guesses? 00:37:23.000 --> 00:37:24.000 Obviously not. 00:37:24.000 --> 00:37:27.000 Because whatever you guess, I'll say no, that's not it. 00:37:30.000 --> 00:37:35.000 The favorite word of the Spirit of God is instead. 00:37:36.000 --> 00:37:38.000 He's always exchanging. 00:37:38.000 --> 00:37:41.000 He is always exchanging. 00:37:42.000 --> 00:37:43.000 Give me this, I'll give you that. 00:37:44.000 --> 00:37:46.000 Oil of joy instead of mourning. 00:37:47.000 --> 00:37:49.000 Praise instead of heaviness. 00:37:52.000 --> 00:37:54.000 Ashes instead of beauty. 00:37:55.000 --> 00:37:57.000 Freedom instead of captivity. 00:37:58.000 --> 00:38:00.000 Eyes that see instead of blindness. 00:38:01.000 --> 00:38:02.000 He's always exchanging. 00:38:03.000 --> 00:38:04.000 The Spirit of God loves exchanging. 00:38:05.000 --> 00:38:06.000 Someone should write a song called Instead. 00:38:09.000 --> 00:38:10.000 That's what he loves doing. 00:38:11.000 --> 00:38:14.000 So how did he help me attain the same maturity that Christ has? 00:38:15.000 --> 00:38:21.000 What he does is, hey, I know you're angry and you really want to get your pound of flesh, 00:38:21.000 --> 00:38:25.000 but instead, can I help you with my nature by replacing that with mine? 00:38:26.000 --> 00:38:27.000 It's always an exchange. 00:38:28.000 --> 00:38:33.000 And there's a table across which the exchange happens, and that table happens to be the cross. 00:38:34.000 --> 00:38:37.000 Because the cross now facilitates exchange. 00:38:37.000 --> 00:38:38.000 You've been cleansed. 00:38:38.000 --> 00:38:40.000 There's no condemnation. 00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:42.000 The exchange happens across the table called the cross. 00:38:45.000 --> 00:38:47.000 So many things then quickly happen. 00:38:47.000 --> 00:38:51.000 On one hand, you're being forgiven and cleansed and separated from your guilt. 00:38:51.000 --> 00:38:53.000 On the other hand, that's not enough. 00:38:53.000 --> 00:38:54.000 Now, can I do the exchange? 00:38:56.000 --> 00:38:58.000 These are his favorite things to do. 00:38:58.000 --> 00:38:59.000 Let me give you a fourth one. 00:38:59.000 --> 00:39:03.000 And these are the four main things he loves doing. 00:39:04.000 --> 00:39:09.000 The fourth one is, he wants to help you. 00:39:11.000 --> 00:39:17.000 He wants to make you a partner agent. 00:39:23.000 --> 00:39:26.000 A partner agent of change. 00:39:26.000 --> 00:39:28.000 As in, hey, can you join me? 00:39:28.000 --> 00:39:30.000 Can you partner me so we can change things? 00:39:31.000 --> 00:39:33.000 Can you join me so that we can change things? 00:39:34.000 --> 00:39:37.000 He can do it on his own, but he wants you to be his junior partner. 00:39:37.000 --> 00:39:40.000 I'm not recommending this movie. 00:39:40.000 --> 00:39:43.000 I haven't watched all of it, but Men in Black, Will Smith. 00:39:44.000 --> 00:39:45.000 No? Okay. 00:39:45.000 --> 00:39:47.000 All righty. Moving on. 00:39:52.000 --> 00:39:54.000 I don't know. I haven't watched it. I wouldn't know. 00:39:55.000 --> 00:39:57.000 Moving on. Yeah. 00:39:58.000 --> 00:40:00.000 So it's like your junior partner. 00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:03.000 And he wants to make a partner agent. 00:40:03.000 --> 00:40:06.000 Can I make you a partner agent of change? 00:40:06.000 --> 00:40:08.000 And what does that involve? 00:40:08.000 --> 00:40:18.000 Subduing, ruling, multiplying, replenishing. 00:40:18.000 --> 00:40:21.000 It's the Genesis mandate. 00:40:23.000 --> 00:40:25.000 Like he did in Genesis 1. 00:40:25.000 --> 00:40:41.000 Always remember, guys, servants seek the will of the master, sons seek the mind of the father. 00:40:41.000 --> 00:40:47.000 Servants seek the will of the master, sons seek the mind of the father. 00:40:47.000 --> 00:40:50.000 That's the difference between sons and servants. 00:40:50.000 --> 00:40:52.000 Servants seek the will of the master. 00:40:52.000 --> 00:40:55.000 What is the will of the master? Master, what is your will? I will do it. 00:40:55.000 --> 00:40:57.000 Sons seek the mind of the father. 00:40:57.000 --> 00:41:00.000 Father, how do you think because I want to think like you. 00:41:03.000 --> 00:41:06.000 Servants seek the will of the master. 00:41:06.000 --> 00:41:10.000 Sons seek the mind and the heart of the father. 00:41:13.000 --> 00:41:16.000 By the way, the Spirit of God has never lost a fight. 00:41:18.000 --> 00:41:20.000 Is the undefeated? 00:41:22.000 --> 00:41:26.000 WBC World Boxing Federation Champion. 00:41:26.000 --> 00:41:28.000 Never lost a fight. 00:41:28.000 --> 00:41:30.000 Artemis. 00:41:30.000 --> 00:41:32.000 Pharaoh. 00:41:32.000 --> 00:41:33.000 Goliath. 00:41:33.000 --> 00:41:35.000 Head. 00:41:36.000 --> 00:41:38.000 Herod. 00:41:42.000 --> 00:41:45.000 All these things really happened. His stomach was full of maggots and he died. 00:41:45.000 --> 00:41:47.000 Goliath. 00:41:48.000 --> 00:41:50.000 Pharaoh. 00:41:53.000 --> 00:42:01.000 So, this doesn't translate well on audio. 00:42:03.000 --> 00:42:11.000 So the number of people who went up against the Holy Spirit and who lost, my God, it's a long list, man. 00:42:11.000 --> 00:42:15.000 And not even a technical knockout, it was like a complete knockout. 00:42:15.000 --> 00:42:18.000 Yeah. 00:42:18.000 --> 00:42:21.000 Never lost a fight. 00:42:22.000 --> 00:42:26.000 How does it tie in? 00:42:26.000 --> 00:42:34.000 Yeah, when you read scriptures, take Psalm 110 for example, there's not a king or a nation. 00:42:34.000 --> 00:42:37.000 Brandon, you want me to repeat the question? 00:42:37.000 --> 00:42:38.000 Okay. 00:42:38.000 --> 00:42:43.000 The question that Diana asked was how do you... 00:42:43.000 --> 00:42:49.000 How does it play in with all the horrible things that are happening in the world? 00:42:49.000 --> 00:42:57.000 Because of the Spirit of God being here on earth and because of the church being here on earth, the earth is still being preserved. 00:42:57.000 --> 00:43:03.000 If the church was removed and the Spirit of God is removed, the lawless one would do whatever he wanted to. 00:43:03.000 --> 00:43:09.000 And yet, this kind of rebellion is still accountable rebellion and will not be allowed to go on forever. 00:43:09.000 --> 00:43:11.000 In a day, tyrants are deposed. 00:43:11.000 --> 00:43:13.000 In a day, kings are executed. 00:43:13.000 --> 00:43:17.000 In a day, nations that are rebellious are brought to heel. 00:43:17.000 --> 00:43:21.000 It is just that in a day for us seems very long. 00:43:21.000 --> 00:43:28.000 But for God, like he said about Egypt, like he said about Assyria, like he said about Babylon, I will wait. 00:43:28.000 --> 00:43:34.000 The stench of their evil is reaching my nostrils, but I will still wait so that Nineveh can repent. 00:43:34.000 --> 00:43:39.000 For it is his desire that none perish, but everyone gets saved. 00:43:39.000 --> 00:43:45.000 And so in his mercy, he keeps giving time, keeps giving time, hoping someone will change. 00:43:45.000 --> 00:43:50.000 What if he didn't give some of us that time 20 years ago, 25 years ago? 00:43:56.000 --> 00:44:01.000 Most of you are nice people, but sitting amongst us are some big time crooks. 00:44:03.000 --> 00:44:08.000 Me being one of them, that God in his mercy gave more time. 00:44:09.000 --> 00:44:12.000 I mean look at Mike, who could ever doubt it? 00:44:12.000 --> 00:44:14.000 Another thing with seeking is mind, guys. 00:44:14.000 --> 00:44:19.000 If you seek the mind of the Holy Spirit, you will have conversations, arguments, reasonings. 00:44:19.000 --> 00:44:24.000 It will be like a dad or a mom walking with a maturing son or daughter. 00:44:25.000 --> 00:44:33.000 Till we seek God's mind, we don't usually end up having conversations, arguments, or arguments. 00:44:33.000 --> 00:44:37.000 We don't usually end up having conversations, arguments, or arguments. 00:44:37.000 --> 00:44:42.000 Till we seek God's mind, we don't usually end up having conversations, arguments. 00:44:42.000 --> 00:44:44.000 We don't duel with God. 00:44:47.000 --> 00:44:50.000 One of the cool things that happens in the Old Testament is when Isaiah says, 00:44:50.000 --> 00:44:52.000 Hey, come reason with me. 00:44:52.000 --> 00:44:54.000 God is inviting you to reason with him. 00:44:54.000 --> 00:44:57.000 He'll still win the argument, but he wants to hear your side. 00:44:57.000 --> 00:45:00.000 Sometimes he makes exceptions, gives concessions. 00:45:01.000 --> 00:45:07.000 But you can't do that unless you are wanting to seek his mind and not his will. 00:45:07.000 --> 00:45:09.000 When you seek his will, it's very easy. 00:45:09.000 --> 00:45:10.000 Should I go? Should I not go? 00:45:10.000 --> 00:45:11.000 Yes? No. 00:45:11.000 --> 00:45:12.000 Yes. Okay, I'll go. 00:45:12.000 --> 00:45:15.000 No. I'm upset, but I guess I don't have a choice. 00:45:15.000 --> 00:45:17.000 There ends the conversation. 00:45:23.000 --> 00:45:26.000 The Spirit of God and the people of God, that's what we are talking about. 00:45:27.000 --> 00:45:32.000 I'll end in five minutes because we've got to do the thingy. 00:45:36.000 --> 00:45:39.000 To search his mind, guys, we must know the word. 00:45:39.000 --> 00:45:41.000 We must know the word. 00:45:43.000 --> 00:45:45.000 The Spirit authored the word. 00:45:45.000 --> 00:45:47.000 The Spirit of God authored the word. 00:45:47.000 --> 00:45:52.000 He's in a good place to tell you what to read, how to read, what to see, how to see, 00:45:52.000 --> 00:45:55.000 what your slant should be at this phase in your life. 00:45:55.000 --> 00:46:00.000 Let no one say of Acts 29 that we don't know the word. 00:46:00.000 --> 00:46:02.000 Let no one say that of us. 00:46:02.000 --> 00:46:06.000 I've heard a couple of people saying it and it just agitates me 00:46:06.000 --> 00:46:10.000 because I think to myself, what if it's true? 00:46:10.000 --> 00:46:12.000 That's why it agitates me. 00:46:12.000 --> 00:46:16.000 If I was confident that we were fluent in the word, it wouldn't agitate me. 00:46:16.000 --> 00:46:17.000 I'd laugh at them. 00:46:20.000 --> 00:46:23.000 But the question needs to be asked, is there enough word in us? 00:46:23.000 --> 00:46:27.000 Let no one say of us that we don't have a good grasp of the word. 00:46:27.000 --> 00:46:34.000 Not a good grasp of how to use words like pneumatology and eschatology 00:46:34.000 --> 00:46:39.000 and progression and penetration and proclamation. 00:46:39.000 --> 00:46:40.000 That's not important. 00:46:40.000 --> 00:46:42.000 Those are not words we normally use. 00:46:42.000 --> 00:46:44.000 But the thing is we need to know the word. 00:46:44.000 --> 00:46:47.000 And that shouldn't be leveled against us that we don't know the word. 00:46:47.000 --> 00:46:51.000 I say to the different church leaders here, get a reading plan so that 00:46:51.000 --> 00:46:53.000 here's a question I want to ask. 00:46:53.000 --> 00:46:54.000 How many here? 00:46:54.000 --> 00:46:58.000 Just put up your hand if you've read the Bible more than twice. 00:46:58.000 --> 00:47:01.000 That's pretty decent, man. 00:47:01.000 --> 00:47:05.000 And so we've got to have the entire church lift up our hands and say, 00:47:05.000 --> 00:47:07.000 we've read the Bible more than twice. 00:47:07.000 --> 00:47:11.000 If you've lived as a believer for more than five years, 00:47:11.000 --> 00:47:15.000 about time you had your hand up saying, I've read the Bible more than twice. 00:47:15.000 --> 00:47:18.000 It doesn't have to be cover to cover. 00:47:18.000 --> 00:47:20.000 It doesn't have to be cover to cover. 00:47:20.000 --> 00:47:22.000 And it doesn't have to include Leviticus. 00:47:22.000 --> 00:47:27.000 No, I'm kidding. I'm kidding. 00:47:27.000 --> 00:47:28.000 I'm kidding. 00:47:28.000 --> 00:47:30.000 Read Leviticus too. 00:47:30.000 --> 00:47:37.000 But just make sure that it covers, that you read the Bible. 00:47:37.000 --> 00:47:41.000 Let no one say that of us, eh? 00:47:41.000 --> 00:47:46.000 The thing is we need the Spirit of God to show us the Word of God. 00:47:46.000 --> 00:47:48.000 There are far too many churches, 00:47:48.000 --> 00:47:50.000 and I'm not talking about churches that I'm not familiar with, 00:47:50.000 --> 00:47:53.000 too many churches that I've been to that I'm familiar with, 00:47:53.000 --> 00:47:56.000 where people know the Word, but they don't have the Spirit of God. 00:47:56.000 --> 00:48:01.000 And when you don't have the Spirit of God bringing alive the Word of God, 00:48:01.000 --> 00:48:07.000 my God, man, you end up being religious and you end up creating a golden calf. 00:48:07.000 --> 00:48:12.000 Something will take over when it is only the Word and without the Spirit of the Father. 00:48:12.000 --> 00:48:16.000 You cannot read the Word with the eyes and the lens of the Father. 00:48:16.000 --> 00:48:20.000 If the Father does not get formed in your heart while you're reading the Word, 00:48:20.000 --> 00:48:22.000 my God, it's terrible. 00:48:22.000 --> 00:48:26.000 And I've met it, I've seen it too often. 00:48:26.000 --> 00:48:34.000 The jargon is there, the terms are there, the history of every book is there. 00:48:34.000 --> 00:48:39.000 But the one person that is missing is the Father. 00:48:39.000 --> 00:48:44.000 So the advantage we have is we understand who the Father is 00:48:44.000 --> 00:48:47.000 and we do have an idea of how to follow the Spirit. 00:48:47.000 --> 00:48:49.000 Now let's take the Word and bring it together. 00:48:49.000 --> 00:48:52.000 Let it collide, let it explode. 00:48:56.000 --> 00:48:59.000 Catch me or any other person who's preaching here and say, 00:48:59.000 --> 00:49:03.000 hey, we are Berians. That didn't sound right. 00:49:05.000 --> 00:49:08.000 It's a noble thing to do. 00:49:10.000 --> 00:49:16.000 So on one hand, you must read the Book of Acts and know the ins and outs of the Book of Acts. 00:49:16.000 --> 00:49:19.000 On the other hand, let's decide that reading the Book of Acts 00:49:19.000 --> 00:49:22.000 without living the Book of Acts is unthinkable. 00:49:24.000 --> 00:49:28.000 I don't care how many panels there are, how many different places we go. 00:49:28.000 --> 00:49:32.000 If I can't live the Book of Acts, then it's pointless. 00:49:32.000 --> 00:49:36.000 One of the things about traveling to different places is you see what you have here 00:49:36.000 --> 00:49:39.000 and you see what you don't have here. 00:49:39.000 --> 00:49:45.000 And inside you, you wish you could rise to a place where you have both. 00:49:51.000 --> 00:49:56.000 Zechariah 4.6, I know it just says it's not by might nor by power. 00:49:56.000 --> 00:49:59.000 I'd say it's not by power, it's not by power. 00:49:59.000 --> 00:50:05.000 I'd say it's not by the letter either. The letter kills, the Spirit gives life. 00:50:06.000 --> 00:50:11.000 Whenever you read the Word, just, you know, you don't even have to ask the Holy Spirit 00:50:11.000 --> 00:50:14.000 to illuminate the Word if you love Him. 00:50:15.000 --> 00:50:18.000 If you love somebody and you're sitting next to them and reading the Word, 00:50:18.000 --> 00:50:21.000 it's natural for that person to explain what they wrote. 00:50:22.000 --> 00:50:27.000 We don't have to pray, open the eyes of my heart that I may behold the wondrous works of your Word. 00:50:27.000 --> 00:50:29.000 We won't have to do that. 00:50:42.000 --> 00:50:45.000 The Holy Spirit has a voice, Revelation 3.6. 00:50:45.000 --> 00:50:48.000 He who has an ear, let him hear. 00:50:49.000 --> 00:50:51.000 In Galatians 3, verse 3, it says, 00:50:51.000 --> 00:50:53.000 After having begun with the Spirit, 00:50:53.000 --> 00:50:56.000 are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? 00:50:56.000 --> 00:51:01.000 Meaning, man, in everything we need as the people of God, the Spirit of God, eh? 00:51:02.000 --> 00:51:04.000 John 6.63, one of my favorite verses. 00:51:05.000 --> 00:51:10.000 The Spirit gives life. The flesh profits nothing! 00:51:13.000 --> 00:51:17.000 I hate it when we go into any kind of a meeting. 00:51:18.000 --> 00:51:19.000 Let's deal with meetings first. 00:51:19.000 --> 00:51:23.000 I hate it with absolute hatred when you go into a meeting 00:51:23.000 --> 00:51:27.000 and you find that everything is right, 00:51:27.000 --> 00:51:30.000 but the one person that is not being followed or recognized 00:51:30.000 --> 00:51:35.000 or that you're not aware of or that you're not engaging with is the Spirit of the Father. 00:51:35.000 --> 00:51:39.000 I hate it! That's exactly what religion is. 00:51:40.000 --> 00:51:43.000 Hate it, eh? You must hate it too. 00:51:43.000 --> 00:51:46.000 Whatever you hate, you will not tolerate. 00:51:47.000 --> 00:51:50.000 My desire is to disrupt those things 00:51:50.000 --> 00:51:54.000 and bring in the Spirit of God, the Spirit of the Father. 00:51:55.000 --> 00:51:57.000 Desire it! 00:51:59.000 --> 00:52:04.000 Because otherwise, we will always end up building a golden calf. 00:52:07.000 --> 00:52:10.000 And then the tablets that were written by the finger of God. 00:52:10.000 --> 00:52:12.000 Who is the finger of God? The Holy Spirit. 00:52:12.000 --> 00:52:14.000 How do we know? Matthew 12.28. 00:52:14.000 --> 00:52:17.000 The finger of God is the Holy Spirit. 00:52:19.000 --> 00:52:22.000 Otherwise, the very things written by the finger of God will have to be thrown down 00:52:22.000 --> 00:52:24.000 because now there's a golden calf around. 00:52:29.000 --> 00:52:31.000 Hiya, Priya. 00:52:39.000 --> 00:52:41.000 But when the Spirit and the Word combine, 00:52:41.000 --> 00:52:44.000 you destroy every golden calf made with human hands. 00:52:44.000 --> 00:52:46.000 The flesh profits nothing. 00:52:46.000 --> 00:52:48.000 It is the Spirit that gives life. 00:52:48.000 --> 00:52:52.000 Church, I'm begging you, I'm daring you, I'm challenging you. 00:52:52.000 --> 00:52:58.000 Please, given what awaits us in terms of this revival that Tuneer's been talking about, 00:52:58.000 --> 00:53:01.000 that I've been talking about, we need the Word. 00:53:01.000 --> 00:53:02.000 We cannot do without the Word. 00:53:02.000 --> 00:53:07.000 May, Jillian, Don, Derek, every other leader, 00:53:07.000 --> 00:53:12.000 get a reading plan for the Church so that we do finish reading the Bible through and through. 00:53:12.000 --> 00:53:15.000 Read it with the Holy Spirit. It becomes enjoyable. 00:53:15.000 --> 00:53:17.000 Honestly, the Greek and Hebrew don't matter. 00:53:17.000 --> 00:53:24.000 Because really, you really think this God wanted us all to learn Greek and Hebrew to understand the Bible? 00:53:24.000 --> 00:53:28.000 I mean, they will never admit me into any university after that statement. 00:53:29.000 --> 00:53:31.000 But it is the truth. 00:53:31.000 --> 00:53:39.000 I'm not against academia, but I am against academia that does not have the Spirit of the Father at the center of academics. 00:53:39.000 --> 00:53:41.000 I resist that. 00:53:48.000 --> 00:53:51.000 Can we turn it off now? I just wanted to share something. 00:53:51.000 --> 00:53:54.000 We'll finish the last bit next time. 00:53:54.000 --> 00:53:56.000 Hey, so,