Well, Church family, we are in week two of our new series. We just kicked it off last week. How many of you were here when Pastor Miles was here? As we began the series called The Forgotten God, yes.
The Forgotten God, who is the Holy Spirit? Over the course of these six weeks, week two here today, we are here to talk about the person of the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit, he is a person. Amen? He is.
He is a person. And we are looking at who he is. We are looking at what the person of the Holy Spirit, who he is and what his ministry is to you and I, as his children, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. So many people, as you heard Pastor Miles talking about last week, so many people know who Jesus is.
Jesus is very well known, right? We know that name. We know a lot about him through experience, living life in Jesus. Amen?
Reading the word. A lot of people know who Jesus is. A lot of people know who Father God is. All right.
Maybe a little bit less so than Jesus. The idea of God is my father. That starts to be a little drop off there. Okay.
And then there is certainly a lot of drop off when it comes to the person of the Holy Spirit. Who is he? He is so often the forgotten God, the part of the Trinity, the part of the Godhead that you don't hear talked about a lot. You don't hear, we don't understand who he is, what he does and what he desires to do for you and I am in.
The person of the Holy Spirit. So that's what we're uncovering. And today in week two, we are going to talk about the Holy Spirit as our comforter. The Holy Spirit, yes he is.
Church, yes he is, he is our comforter. Amen? Come with me to John 14, 25 through 26. It's way too early for crickets in the room.
All right. Don't shut down on me yet. Okay. John 14, 25 through 26.
It says, I have told you these things while I am still with you. Whoa, stop right there. Who is this? This is Jesus.
He's speaking to his disciples, right? He's saying, boys, I've told you these things while I am still with you, but the comforter. Everybody say the comforterter. The comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my place.
The comforter, what does that mean? What does that mean here when Jesus says the comforter, he's coming and the comforter is going to be with you. What does that mean? Well, there are three main things here.
Three simple things. This to me is a very simple, straightforward teaching, a very simple, straightforward idea and principle about who the Holy Spirit is as you're in my comforter. Three things that we want to pull from this this morning. And I'm going to give them all two and we're going to start working through them.
Okay. As the comforter, the Holy Spirit is number one, a friend to us. Yes. The Holy Spirit, as a comforter, he is a friend to you.
He is a friend to me. That's the first thing. And number two, he makes us brave. That's what the comforter does in your, in my life.
He makes us brave and then number three, he leads us. The Holy Spirit, as a comforter leads us. He's a friend to us. He makes us brave and he leads us.
Let's begin to work through these. Okay. Here's the first thing. Number one, he is a friend to us.
Come with me to Proverbs 1824. Proverbs 1824. Here's where we're going to pick up on this, this powerful, wonderful idea that the Holy Spirit, as our comforter, he's a friend to you and I. Proverbs 1824 says, there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.
How many have read that verse before? There's a friend that sticks closer than a brother. Now, I want to tell you that if anybody is going to be the personification of that verse, okay, who is going to embody that, who is going to live that truth out, it's going to be Jesus, right? There's a friend that sticks closer than a brother.
Jesus, he was most certainly that way to the disciples, right? He lived with them, he walked with them, laughed with them, talked with them, joked that Jesus was, he was that friend that was closer than a brother. Jesus is the friend that is sometimes closer than the physical, biological family that we're given here on earth, right? Come on, how many know that to be true, right?
It's okay to say yes, it's okay to say amen. I mean, I heard a little bit, but you know what? That's true. I didn't have this with my dad and I didn't have that with my mom and I never had brothers and sisters and I didn't have that in my grandparents.
There's so many people that walk through life and they say my best friend is Jesus Christ. He has been there with me through thick and thin. He has never failed me where man has failed me. There is a friend that sticks closer than a brother, right?
As this verse says, Jesus embodies this, he personifies that, he was certainly that way with the disciples, right? And the Holy Spirit is just like Jesus. Let me say that again, the Holy Spirit, he's just like Jesus, right? So he's the same.
Now, there's a couple of words there when Jesus says, we're going to, my father's going to send another to you. That's that word, allos, that means another. Another that is of the same kind. There's two words that can be used there.
The first one is heteros, that means another of a different kind, okay? But when speaking about the Holy Spirit, he's using the word allos, that means another of the same kind. Jesus is saying the Holy Spirit is just like me. I'm the friend that sticks closer than a brother and guess what?
The Holy Spirit, he's the same. He's a friend that sticks closer than a brother. He's a friend of you and I. Jesus said this, he tells the disciples, remember?
He says, I'm going to send you another one like me, right? And he's going up to heaven and the disciples and they're like, hey, whoa, whoa, wait, Jesus, why do you got to go back? I mean, can you stay with us? Stay, do you don't go?
And what does Jesus say? He says, it's better for you that I go. Now, can you imagine the visible confusion with the disciples and those that were there with them after his resurrection? How in the world, what are you talking about, Jesus?
How can it be better for us that you leave? How is that better? Well, there's a lot of different reasons why the, he says I'm going to send you another one like me, the Holy Spirit, the comfort, right? There's a lot of reasons why the Holy Spirit, why Jesus would say such a thing, you know?
It's better because another one's coming. There's a lot of things we could look at, but perhaps the single biggest one that we all can agree on, we know is true, is that Jesus, again, perfectly man, perfectly God, in the flesh, right? Jesus could only physically be in one place at one time, right? And that's why the crowds were thronging, that's why they're always coming, they're always seeking him wherever he went, they followed, right?
Jesus could only be in one place at one time. The Holy Spirit can be everywhere, all the time, at any moment with all of us, right? And so what the disciples and others didn't get, how's that better? He said, oh, just wait, another who's coming, and he's just like me, it's better for you that I go, right?
You get this, it's really, really important. This next part's really important, okay? Some of us may have never really caught this in God's word, as you're reading through and looking at this. From Acts forward, from the Book of Acts, Acts 1, chapter one, verse one, from Acts one forward, what we get is it's no longer about fellowship and communion with Jesus, it's now about fellowship and communion with the Holy Spirit.
And I wonder how many of us have ever, you say, man, I mean, yeah, now that you say that, I think, yeah, right? There's a shift there, there's a shift that happens for a reason, it's no longer about fellowship with Jesus, now it's that same communion, that same relationship, that friendship, but with the person of the Holy Spirit. There's a lot of verses I could show you on this, but let's look at just a couple of them. Second Corinthians 13, 14, Second Corinthians 13, 14 says this, May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Well, what is that pointing to? What is that highlighting fellowship with the Spirit, right? Philippians two, one, Philippians two, one says, if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, what's anybody in this room today? Come on, do you know what you just read?
Do you have any encouragement from being united with Christ? Come on, there should be a lot of hands up in this room right now. Any encouragement from walking with Jesus Christ, yes? All right, then look, if any fellowship with the Spirit, oh yeah, there he is, the Holy Spirit again, right?
So the Bible says that we have fellowship with the Holy Spirit, the problem today is that the average Christian man or woman just doesn't get it. They just don't get it. They think that I've got to have a friendship, I've got to have a relationship with Jesus and I don't know who the person of the Holy Spirit is. And there's a real simple way for me to illustrate to see this morning.
Let me have, if I can have Mark, Mike, and Chris come up here, these guys don't even know I'm gonna use them today. But here's what we're gonna do, okay? I want you to see this because it's really important. Mark, I wanna have you come up here.
We're gonna let Mark play Jesus this morning. Is that okay? It's a little bit of a stretch, but work with me, okay? Mark's gonna be Jesus, okay?
Mike is gonna be the Holy Spirit. That's an even bigger stretch, but work with him, okay? So we got Jesus, we got the Holy Spirit, and then this is gonna be very fitting, the average Christian, Pastor Chris, okay? All right, so now, now watch as we do, okay?
Here's what happens is so many times the average Christian man, the average Christian woman, Pastor Chris here, all right? What we're doing is we're coming through life, okay, and Chris just walking me here. We're just pacing back and forth, okay? We're walking back and forth.
We're not finding fulfillment. We're not finding satisfaction. We're going through life, bumping up against this, bumping up against that, we're pacing back and forth. And the average Christian man or woman is saying, I just wanna have a relationship with Jesus.
I just wanna get closer to the person of Jesus. And I just feel this gap, and I feel separation, and I feel like I can't get close to him. And so pacing back and forth, Chris, going past back and forth, right? We're going through life, there we go.
He's got pretty good pace, right? And so, and he just frustrated. I can't seem to get closer to you, Jesus. I don't, and what's the problem?
And the whole time, the Holy Spirit is over here saying, hello, hello, come on, look at me, you know, right? Our eyes get fixed so many times on Jesus, yes, he's the author and perfecter of our faith. But the Holy Spirit is saying, hey, God gave me to you. And it's through him that we get to Jesus.
Can you see that this morning? Thank you guys. So many times we just missed that. It's not we're not doing it maliciously, you're doing it with the wrong heart.
It's just a lack of understanding. The Holy Spirit was given to you and I. He was designed by Father God to be a friend to you and I, to walk with you, come on, sir, should you get that? You see that?
And sometimes we have our eyes so firmly fixed on Jesus. And please don't hear what I'm not saying. I'm not saying that's not wrong. I'm not saying that that's not right.
Okay, yes, Jesus is all those things you and I, but understand that God gave you the Holy Spirit to walk with you, to talk with you, to do life together with and we overlook him. This is how we forget him. Amen? We don't want to see that.
We don't want to see that happen in our life. Consider this one ad, okay? Look at this. It's wanted.
A friend who is extremely loving, kind and gentle, must be patient to a fault and possess a high degree of faithfulness. Self-control is required and quick to forgive is essential. Also needs to be easy to get along with and have a consistently upbeat and joyful attitude. If you do not have 100% of these qualities, 100% of the time, there's no need to apply.
Can I tell you, there's no one that's going to be applying to that, okay? The only one that is 100% qualified to apply for a role like that, a position such as that is the Holy Spirit. Amen? Come on, sir, do you see that this morning?
Holy Spirit is the only one qualified to do. He is that and he is more. And then, and he is there as a friend to you and I, created by God himself, given to you and I by God himself to walk with you, talk with you, relate with you. Amen?
Can I say that the Holy Spirit is a very likable person? And you need to think about him that way, not some strength, you know, again, the ghost, you know, just some ethereal being that, ooh, you know, the Holy Spirit, he's a person and he's a very likable person. And just like when you have a friend, when you have a relationship, somebody that you love, somebody that you love to hang out with, you want to spend time with them, right? You want to talk with them, you want to get to know them better, you want to be vulnerable and real with them and say, hey, this is who I am and hey, tell me about you.
Just like that works in the natural, just like that works in the physical. So it is true with the Holy Spirit in the spiritual. That means that every day, simply, practically, you and I should wake up and say, good morning, Holy Spirit. I'm here to start my day with you.
Good morning, Holy Spirit. I can't wait to do this day with you. So thankful that you're my friend. I'm so thankful that you walk with me, that you talk with me, that you care about me, that you're God's gift to me.
Help me live this day with you. It's really not simple. He is a friend to you and I. Spend time with him, talk with him, commune with him, have fellowship with him.
He is your friend, amen? Get to know this, we're God and God, yeah? So that's the first thing, the Holy Spirit, he is a friend to us. Here's the second thing, that the Holy Spirit does as our comforter, he makes us brave.
He makes us brave. You know that probably the biggest tourist destination in Normandy when you go to that kind of northwest side of the French coastline there, not only is that infamous, of course, for like back on D-Day and all that happened there, you know, in the World War, you got all this infamous beaches, right? Normandy, Omaha Beach, all the things that happened. Yes, those are big, it's all the memorial set up.
I've never been there personally, but talk to people that have the same photos of that. One day I'd love to go there and see that. But people, you know that actually the biggest destination, tourist destination, probably the largest, they say, why people go there to that Normandy coastline, is to see this place called the Bayou Museum, and they're in Bayou France, okay? And they're coming there to see specifically the Bayou Tapestry.
Has anybody ever heard of this before? The Bayou Tapestry, this is an incredible piece of art that has survived for hundreds of years. People come from all over the world to see it. This is a tapestry, so that means it's literally like a rug.
It's like all these sections of this rug that have been woven together into this one long, huge piece, it is over 900 years old, okay? If you look at this picture of it, you're gonna get an idea of it here. People on a conveyor belt, they're looking at it. Over 900 years old, it's over 70 meters wide.
That's about, okay, in standard measurements, that's like 76 yards, okay? To put that in perspective, the width of this sanctuary is about 82 feet, okay? Give or take, so we're talking. This thing is almost the size of a football field.
It's just, and you see these people in the conveyor belt, they're listening and they're a little tourist, listening to talking about the different parts of it, right? It's just, and people come from all over the world to see this thing. What this is depicting, it's depicting the battle of Hastings, which if you know your history, this is where William the Conqueror came in, and he defeated King Harold, right? And William the Conqueror became the new king of France, of Great Britain, okay?
And a lot of what has been studied over this thing, the Bayou Tapestry is one of the most original surviving art there that shows what those battles were like, and what happened, and historians have studied this, and a lot of what we have learned from this thing, they're still using those today. Pretty incredible, fascinating to look at. And one of the main guys that is depicted here on the Bayou Tapestry is this guy by the name of Bishop Odo. O-D-O, Bishop Odo of Bayou.
And he is depicted here, you're actually seeing, you can see it on the tapestry, I know it's kind of a, probably easier to see it on the center screen. This couple is actually looking right at him, he's on this blue horse. If we go to the next picture, you'll see it up closer. This is Bishop Odo of Bayou, and he's depicted here on a horse, he is behind William's soldiers, and he is urging them to get into the fight.
He's saying, come on boys, turn around, and as the accounts of this battle, a hail of arrows coming in, and William's soldiers, they are tucking tail, they are turning, they are running, and Odo comes up, he's a cleric, he's a bishop, and he's got his club there, he's seen that, a cudgel, a mace, that's what they call it, these things have spikes on them at the end, they're a pretty ugly weapon, okay? And he is there, and he's saying, guys, turn around, get back into the fight. And the caption to this here, in a mixture of Latin and in Norman French, it reads this way, it says here, Bishop Odo, wielding the mace, comforts the soldiers. Doesn't that sound confusing?
Can you imagine somebody on a war horse coming up to you with a mace, and do you feel comforted? Turn around, get back into fight. Now, Bishop Odo, he is not here in this moment, providing comfort in the way that we know it. When we say comfort, we think it's totally different.
We think comfort, like emotional support animals, or something, an emotional support burrito, for those of us that love Taco Bell, okay? Something that gives me comfort, soul foods, right? We think of comfort as being warm, Bishop Odo is comforting the soldiers, he's not there to provide emotional support, he is here driving, encouraging, pushing those men on to victory. That is the meaning of comforter, that word comforter.
It is comforter, is a compound word, if you go back and you look at the etymology of the word and break it down, you're gonna see the word comforter, it's made up of two words. The first one is com, that means with, and the second part of that word is fordice, comfordice. That's the original word there, and so that means with strength, fordice meaning strength. And so literally what this word means is to make strong, to make brave.
Oh man, does anybody's understanding of who the Holy Spirit is as their comforter? Did you just shift a little bit? That is exactly what the Holy Spirit does for you and I. He comes in and he fills us with bravery.
You've got this thing. You're gonna do this, get back into fight, don't give up now. Don't back up now, there is no time for retreat. Come on, move forward, move forward, move forward.
And he fills us with bravery. He fills us with courage. You know that in the writings about this battle, later after the battle of Hastings, one of the descriptions that's there is this saying, says, then Odo, Bishop Odo said to them, to William soldiers, sand fast, sand fast, be quiet and move not, fear nothing, we shall conquer yet. And so they were comforted by his words and his actions.
Oh, can you see that? It's not that they were comforted. Oh, you just made me feel so warm and fuzzy inside Bishop. Thank you for wielding this giant ugly mace over my head.
I just feel so good. But they were comforted, they were filled with bravery. Yeah, we're gonna win. Yeah, we've got this thing, time to stand fast boys.
Lock shields, we're gonna win today. They were filled with bravery. Can you see that? Now the Holy Spirit, as our comforter, he does the same thing.
He provokes us, he pushes us, he prods us, he pushes it. Whatever word you wanna use. It is a loving, gentle push, but it's a push nonetheless. He comes up and he, so you and I, we run into some situation in life.
We're standing on the precipice. You know it's like, I don't know about this. I don't know if I can do this. Anybody been there?
I don't know if I'm able, I don't know if I can't. I don't know if I've got what it takes. I don't know if this is what God has for me, Lord. Is that really you or you know what?
And we're standing there and the Holy Spirit just comes up and he gives us a gentle push, right? It's a gentle, but it's a firm push. And I wanna tell you that sometimes, admittedly, that push doesn't feel very good, does it? Has anybody ever seen the video that's been circulating on the internet for years now about the cat that's there with other cat at the top of the stairs?
Anybody ever seen that before? We're gonna watch that this morning. If you can put that up here, look at this. And there was some sound to that.
You'll hear a giant racket as that cat falls down. Isn't that just the way the Holy Spirit is sometimes? Feel like that? The Holy Spirit says, go for it, buddy.
You know, boom. Sometimes it feels like that, doesn't it? Come on, have you ever felt that way? Holy Spirit, that didn't feel like a very nice push, but it was.
What the Holy Spirit does for you and I, when he pushes us, when he prods us, understand, what the Holy Spirit does, he does for a good. You've got what it takes. You are who I say that you are. You're not who you think you are.
You can and you will. Come on, stand fast. Today's the day of victory, man. This is who the Holy Spirit is.
You see, I think far too many of us today, we've got a wrong concept of the Holy Spirit as our comforter. We see, instead of seeing him as Bishop Odo, who fills us with courage and fills us with bravery, we see the Holy Spirit as our comforter, as like an English nanny. Oh, there there, little one. Come here, draw your tears, blow your nose on my apron.
But let's get you a cookie from the jar and a glass of warm milk. Come here and we're gonna cut. We're just gonna, there, there. It's gonna be okay.
So many Christians, when we think about those that have been taught this, those that have ever heard this, the comforter, he's like this English nanny that just takes care of me and loves on me. Well, nothing could be further than the truth. Yes, he does love you. Yes, God does love you.
Yes, Jesus loves you and I so much that he sent his son to die. Yes, he loves, but he, the comforter means he fills you now with bravery when we need it the most, right? Most of the time he comforts us, not in the way that we know it to be. He comforts us by feeling us with strength, pushing us forward and getting us to believe the truth, that we are who God says that we are.
That's a whole big thought right there that we can't even begin to unpack this morning. But can I just tell it to you simply? You have got to reach a point where you believe that you are who God says that you are. There are so many Christian men and women that struggle with that today.
I'm not that, I can't do that. I never will be able to. And yeah, I know what God's word says and I know what you told me and I know what someone said. And somebody said it 20 years ago and they had never stepped into that place with full conviction from the heart that God I am who you said that I am.
And when you reach that place, at that point you begin debunking the lies of the enemy because that's the way he works. He loves to do that. You're just never gonna be a good parent. You're never gonna have a godly family.
You can't do it. Those are lies, right? And you say, no, no, no, no, no, no. I'm gonna come back to God who you say that I am and these lies, I'm gonna blow them out of the water.
And when, listen, when we get those truths in our mind and our heart, then our actions and our words and everything else begin to get in line from there. So we're just trying so hard to do the right thing and say the right thing. You gotta go back and get the belief right first because your actions and your words flow out of what you believe in your heart. Who God says that you and I are, that will always be more important than what we think or what somebody, what man has told us.
And then, we gotta get that. So that's the second part, right? He fills us with bravery. Don't you love that about the Holy Spirit as your comforter?
Come on, here's the last one. Number three, he leads this. He leads this. Galatians 518 says this, if you are led by the Spirit, everybody say led by.
If you are led by the Spirit, then you are not under the law. Whoa, and so we got a lot of people today, a lot of Christians today in the Church of Jesus Christ that say, man, great news right there, bud. I'm not under the law. Praise God, I'm not under the law.
I don't know rules and regulations. And this says right there in Galatians 518, not under the law. Whoa, now, listen, that verse is only true if that's a big condition, if you are being led by the Spirit. Because if you're not being led by the Spirit, then I tell you, you need those rules.
You need those regulations. You need the law because that's all you got, okay? I should not, I will not do that. You need those things.
But what this verse is teaching is that if the man or woman that is led by the Spirit, well, they don't have to fall back on a rule book and on a policy book and on a, I don't mean I need to go back and check. What are the 1800 things I can't? No, no, no, when you're led by the Spirit, you just don't ever even venture into those places. I'm led by the Spirit of God.
I'm led by the Holy Spirit as my comforter. So all these things, I don't have to have a guidebook. You see what I'm saying? Come on, it's a really powerful thought here.
Romans 814 says that those who are led by, say it again, led by. Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. Oh man, when you're led by the Spirit, you were led by that feeling, by that sense of his, it's again, it's that gentle nudge, right? It's that prompting that he comes in and he speaks to us.
What that means is that you can hear the still, small sound of his voice, you know? You've got, as a Christian man or woman, you've got to be able to discern his voice. If I ask you right now, I'm not looking for show of hands this morning, okay, but if I ask you, how many of you believe that you can hear the voice of the Holy Spirit? I wonder how many hands in this room would go up?
It's an intimidating question to ask. I'm not looking for hands this morning, because I don't know, I mean, a lot of people that I feel like I've talked to over the years, I say, I don't have a clue what his voice sounds like, you know? I mean, I love the Lord and I go to church and I read my Bible and I pray and I do, and I have no clue what his voice sounds like. You've got to learn how to discern his voice.
So many times he doesn't come to us and it's not, you know, words spray painted on the wall, do this today, you know? When I'm praying through a decision, something, you know, we're just looking for an audible thunder clap, you know, something from the heavens that just shakes us. God, the Holy Spirit, God speaks to us through the person of the Holy Spirit so many times in that still, small voice. You've got to be able, you've got to learn to hear that.
You've got to learn to know that that, yeah, Holy Spirit, that's you, I got it, I got it, that's you. And so many times people will say, why does it have to be a still, small voice? Why can't he just speak up louder, you know? Come on, can he just speak up?
Oh, he could, but you know what? Here's the truth, those that desire to be led by the Spirit, they will listen to him. So instead of complaining that, or can you just write this on the wall, can you, you know, like getting, I'm gonna put the fleece out and make it dry and make the ground wet, and then tomorrow, you know, can you do the, we want to just see things, and we need such extreme confirmation. Train your ears to hear his voice, you'll do it.
That's a responsibility that every single one of us have. I can't hear God for you. Your spouse cannot hear God for you. Oh, now God can speak to me, God can speak to your spouse.
Something about you, something to encourage you. You know, hey, this is, I feel like this, but I can't hear God for you, your children can't hear God. You can't, I mean, there's a personal responsibility before every one of us is a Christian to develop our own ability to hear that still small voice. The friend, the comforter, the Holy Spirit, right?
And I'm gonna tell you that to me, if there was no other reason that existed, to create that desire in you, to have that relationship with the Holy Spirit, and there's a lot of them, okay? There's a lot of reasons why you and I can, and should have that relationship with him. But this is it. You have got to be able to learn to hear, to discern that voice.
Why? Because the voice of the Holy Spirit is not the only voice speaking today. There's a lot of radio chatter, you know? There's a lot of signals, there's a lot of talking, there's a lot of voices, there's a lot of read, there's a lot of stuff going on, not just in our world and culture and society day.
Yeah, we're being bombarded from every angle with messaging and everything. But in the spiritual sense, the voice of the Holy Spirit is not the only one that speaks. The enemy speaks as well. Hello.
Come on, Satan, his voice is there too. And he's seeking to plant those lies and pull you and I, get you and I off the path. That's his design. That's his desire for you and I.
You've got to learn to discern the voice of the Spirit. So why? So that you can avoid all those pitfalls, avoid all those traps in life. Walking through life, it's not like, you know, prancing through the lilies, you know this.
If somebody told you when you gave your life to the Lord that walk with God is going to be a walk in the park and it's just sunshine and roses, you got told wrong. Okay, that is actually not the case. The Christian walk is more like the Christian fight. That's a much, okay, it's a fight.
It's a battle and we're taking back ground from the enemy. We are pushed back, but we are not destroyed. And we are more than able through him that has already conquered. That is true, right?
So if somebody told you a bill of goods, it's just going to be easy. No, no, no, there's a fight. But you have the Holy Spirit to walk with you and help you avoid the mine fields of life, right? So that you don't step on those and blow yourself up and get out of commission.
Go to the side, the Holy Spirit. You hear his voice, step to the left. Step a little more to the right. No, no, no, no, forward forward.
Okay, let's just learn to listen to his voice. He leads you and I. Notice this about Romans 814. And it's still here on the screen.
So those who are led by the Spirit of God are his children, right? Led. That doesn't say that those who are dragged, kicking and screaming. Okay, are the children of God?
That's not what that verse says. It says led by. And that's really important because sometimes again, we think that the Holy Spirit is there to drag us along by the ear. You ever seen a parent in the mall, the kids, they got those backpacks now with the dog leashes on them.
I have been up at post-op mall and college station and watch a parent that leish was stretched to the max, get out this little door that explored back on and about an eight foot leash and the parent was dragging them behind on that leash. They were sitting on the ground, they were defined, like no, had their arms crossed and they were just getting pulled on, it's like I were going to the car. I just watched them and thought, wow, I used to get a lot of beatings for that kind of stuff. When I was little, I felt came off quick.
But we think that Holy Spirit does that. That we're just sitting there and just dragging us along. He doesn't do that to you and I. He does not do that to you.
He doesn't drag you along, he doesn't twist your arm. Well, hang on, then you just play that video with the cat. Then you say that he fills us with bravery and you put yes, there are times when the Holy Spirit does that. This is who you are.
Right now, I know you don't have it in yourself, but I'm telling you that you do it and I'm gonna push you forward into more. He does that, but the Holy Spirit, I've heard the Holy Spirit described of as the perfect gentleman before. I've ever heard that reference, the Holy Spirit, the perfect gentleman. I think that's actually really accurate.
It's a really good context, especially with what we're talking about here. Two he is. He didn't sit there and twist your arm. Okay, okay, okay, okay, he didn't do that.
He says, this is what I want you to do. He speaks to us and then it's up to you and I, what we're gonna do. You still have free will, you still got a choice. And I would tell you that is especially true in times where what the Holy Spirit tells you and I doesn't seem to make any sense.
Aren't you glad that he doesn't twist your arm and don't force you, coerce you, beat you, for that didn't make any sense to me. Aren't you glad he didn't treat you that way? How would we respond to our parents if they go do this? I don't understand it.
Okay, I'm just gonna beat you then. Wait, what? Go get the belt. What's why?
That I'm making, our parents slow down. Hopefully, and thought you said this is why I want you. They explain. It becomes clear after a time.
This is critical understanding to the Holy Spirit as our comforter when he doesn't seem to make any sense. Holy Spirit, I don't get it. That's not what I wanna do. I wanna do that.
I wanna spend my, I feel like this is, and you want me to do that? Why? Has anybody ever seen the old, it's like 1981, 1984, early 80s, Karate Kid, I'm missing the movie. Remember that?
Ralph Machia, the little guy. It's a great movie. If you've never seen it, I'm gonna go rent it. I'm not gonna stand up here and tell you that it's a great family movie.
Okay, the boy, he's got pretty foul mouth, okay? It's early 80s. The movie gets kinda campy at times, but really, it's a good movie with good truths. Don't throw the baby out with the bath water.
Okay, and there's a scene in there that's really powerful. I want us to watch this today. It's gonna really illustrate what we're talking about here. Let's roll that clip.
Daniel, Daniel, Daniel, Daniel! What? Come here. Show me, Santa floor.
I can't move my arm, right? What are you doing? What are you doing? Oh, show me, Santa floor.
How did you do that? Show me, Santa floor. Show me, Santa floor. Santa, Santa floor.
Santa floor. Big sucker, Santa floor. Santa floor. Show me, wax on, wax off.
Hey. Wax on, wax off. Het on, wax on, hey, wax on. Wax off, het.
Concentrate. Look at my eye. Rock on. Show me, it means I, wax on, het.
Wax off, het. Wax on, het. Wax off, het. Wax on, wax off.
Wash. Show me, penta fence. Up, down. Up, down.
Up, down. Other side. Look, I always look. I show me penta house.
I say, not glist. I say, I say, I say. This show me wax on, wax off. Show me, penta fence.
Het, het. Show me, side of the face. Het, het. Show me, Santa floor.
Het, het. Het, het. He's okay. Yeah.
And that, and that, and that, how it goes. He's there, and he comes from saying, all I want to do is, I want to learn karate, you know? And Mr. Miyagi comes and says, I'll teach you karate.
I'll teach you how to defend yourself against the bullies, right? He shows up, I'm ready to learn karate. Paint the fence, you know? Wash, wax on, wax off, wash the car, wax the car.
Sand the floor. And he keeps coming back day after day. Week, you know, I'm here to learn karate. Sand the floor.
Paint the house, right? And right before this scene, he just told, that's it. Man, I quit. You're just using me for slave labor.
I don't understand what you're doing. I came here to learn karate. I want to, you know, and then he, that's a powerful scene. All of a sudden, all those lessons, they make sense.
Mr. Miyagi was right, right? And you can see that the light bulb come on in his eyes, I think, right? So many times, it's the same thing with the Holy Spirit.
Church, as, church, listen, as he leads you and I, you got to trust him. Trust him that his lessons, they're good. Even when it's, I don't, I don't get this. Why I got, oh, there's a reason.
There's a purpose. I'm Miyagi, the Holy Spirit is a lot like Mr. Miyagi. He's teaching us, he's training us.
He's developing us just submit to him, just follow him. It will make sense. Amen. When the comforter leads, you've got to trust him.
Last verse here, Exodus 33, 1 through 3. Exodus 33, 1 through 3, read this with me. So as the Lord said to Moses, leave this place, you and the people you have brought up out of Egypt, and go to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, I will give it to your descendants. I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the parasites, the termites, the Hittites, the dead, all theites.
OK, we're going to get rid of them. Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you because you are a stiff-necked people, and I might destroy you on the way. Now, did you catch what God offered in Moses right there?
I mean, he gave him a free ride, didn't he? He said, Moses, come here. I'm going to give you an angel. OK, I'm going to dispatch an angel.
The angel's going to lead you, guide you into all the promises that I have for you. That's a pretty slick deal, isn't it? And I think that a lot of Christians today, if we were made that same offer that God made Moses, right, if God came to me and said, hey, Johnny, I'm going to dispatch an angel to your side, and the angel's going to take you in all the promises that I have for you that are yes and amen. I think a lot of Christians today, Johnny, just say, that sounds pretty good.
Sign me up. Where do I sign? I'm good. Yeah.
All right? But here's, look at what Moses says in return. He doesn't say, great. Thank you.
Look at what he says. Just a few verses later. Exodus 33, 15. Here's Moses's response to Father God.
Then Moses said to him, if your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. Well, that's powerful, Church. What's Moses saying there? He's saying, if you aren't personally going to go with us, then I don't want to go.
If your presence, if your spirit, your holy spirit, doesn't go with us, then I'd rather stay. In other words, I'm not going anywhere without you. That's powerful, isn't it? I think some of us, if we were in Moses' shoes, you say again, I may not do the same thing.
If God just put that before me, and I have, if my situation looked just like Moses, I hope I find myself doing the same thing. If I were in his shoes, can I tell you something? You are in Moses' shoes. I am in Moses' shoes.
Each and every day you and I have an opportunity to go out and go into the world and go into all the places and areas, the arena, the battlefields that God has given to you, that he's given to me, you have an opportunity every day to step out and move forward into those ways and places with God to use your talents, your abilities, your giftings, all those things. And you've got a choice to make. Do I want his presence to build with me? Do I desire the comforter?
Do I desire the Holy Spirit? Or am I just going to figure this thing out on my own? Am I going to somehow get ahead of God and his will and his plan for me? Come on, how would you rather travel?
I know which one I would pick all day long, right? I'm not going anywhere, Holy Spirit, unless you go with me. Can I tell you very simply what this looks like, Church? This is a, I think this is a good pattern.
It's a good habit for you and I to develop as Christians. Years ago, I heard my dad, we read a leadership retreat and he was sharing from his life. And he said, this is just a place that God got me to after decades of walking with the Lord. And it struck me, not just as a son, but as a young man, as a young Christian at that time, saying, man, that's it.
And my dad was talking about, with this group, the question had come up and said, how do you start your day? How do you begin your day? How do you walk? And he just said, every day it's the same pattern for me.
And he says, I just literally stand there and I pray, I spend time with the Lord. I spend time with the Lord, I spend time with the Lord. And he said, what I do is I just, in the spiritual, I just draw a circle around me. And I say, I'm not gonna leave here, holy spirit, until I know that your presence is going with me.
I'm not gonna step forward into my day. I'm not gonna step forward into the first phone call, the first email, the first task, the first whatever, I gotta do, you know, you're a college student before I go to my first eight AM. Whatever it is you do, whoever you are, wherever you go, I'm not leaving this circle until Lord, I know that your presence is going with me. And that's how we begin our day.
And I wanna tell you that as you develop that habit in your life, boy, if your presence doesn't go with me, I don't wanna go, you know? And can I be real with you that there are times that for me, I'm in that circle for a while. I don't know about you, but there's, you know, some days, it's like, God, Lord, you're with me, I feel you. I know, I've heard you, let's move.
I'm holy spirit, we're in lock set today. And then there's days that I'm there for a while, you know? It's like, I'm not feeling it, holy spirit, where are you? But I'm gonna stay there until it's, I've got that assurance, now we can move.
Now you're always there, holy spirit, I've gotta get in step with you. Let's go forward and let's conquer, man. The holy spirit, he is our comforter, amen? He is a friend to you and I, he, come on, yeah, he believe that, it's the best friend that you have.
He fills us with bravery and he leads us. Let's be led by him, amen? What'd you say to him with me this morning, church? Let's say it on.
And let me tell you this morning, we're just gonna have an ultra cold right where you're standing today, how's that sound, right? Just right where you're at, if you bow your heads, close your eyes with me, just focus in here. Thank you, holy spirit, thank you, Father God. Holy spirit, we know that you're here in this room with us today, we recognize you, we know your touch, we know your presence, we know the sound of your voice.
Thank you that you walk with us, that you talk with us, that you have communion, Father God, we thank you for the gift of your Holy Spirit. This wonderful gift, the personal Holy Spirit that you've given to us. And right now, what I wanna ask all of us to do, just where you're standing, okay? Every head bowed, every eye closed.
I wanna invite you to make a decision to welcome the Holy Spirit in. And for some of us, this is gonna be the first time, okay? You have, you've never thought of the Holy Spirit as your comforter, as the one who fills you with bravery, someone that can be a friend to you, somebody that you should be led by. So this is gonna be new for you in that sense, to say, Holy Spirit, would you leave me?
Holy Spirit, I wanna have a friendship, but you wanna begin that friend, that's gonna be new. There's gonna be some of us in this room that might be where you're at. I do think that for probably the vast majority of us, for you, it's gonna look more like Holy Spirit, I just wanna know you more and more. You are a friend to me, and I'm led by you.
I seek to be led, but I don't do it perfectly. Holy Spirit, but I seek that, and your prayer is gonna look a lot more like Holy Spirit, just I need more of you, I need more of you. I need to hear you better. I wanna be led better by you.
I need more strength and courage, and bravery from your Holy Spirit, for this going on in my life, for that going on, for this conversation, for that problem. I'm just have a feeling that's probably more of us in that room today. I'm gonna ask you, again, where you're standing? Would you just make that decision?
Would you make that commitment? Would you express that this morning? Let's take a minute and do that. Father, we thank you for the great truth from your word today.
Thank you for revealing to us more and more that the person is Holy Spirit. And today is as we walk out of this place, God, we do it. We ask that your Spirit go with us, then He goes before us, Lord, teach us how to be more in touch with you. Holy Spirit, teach us how to be more in communion with you and with you, and with you, right?
That's the cry of our heart, Lord, to hear your voice, to be led by you, that's our hearts desire, Lord. Fill us with that strength, fill us with that bravery with that courage. God, we look forward to what you're gonna work out of us in this in these coming days, in this coming week. And it's in the name of Jesus that we all sing.
Amen. And amen. Thank you for being here at church today. Have a great rest of your Sunday.
Amen.