We want everyone to be in a relationship with Jesus. To help people, we are asking and answering questions everyone has about God, faith, and life. If you have been walking with us you know we have answered key questions like, Is there more to life than this? How can I make the most of my life? How can I have faith? How do I pray? How do I read the Bible?
And over the past few weeks, Sam has spent a lot of time helping us understand the Holy Spirit. Questions like Who is the Holy Spirit and What does the Holy Spirit do? The first thing Sam helped us understand was, the Holy Spirit is God in us.
Romans 8:11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. NLT
Just give yourself a moment to absorb that. When you become a Christian, God lives inside you. That’s why Sam said, the Holy Spirit [God] is the power, the life, the energy, the juice that empowers us to live out being Christian. To give you an analogy, the Holy Spirit is to us what electricity is to a light bulb. The light bulb by itself is dead and useless. However, when you connect electricity to the light bulb, it’s empowered to shine.
Sam taught that the Holy Spirit activates our faith, empowers our actions, and transforms our behaviors. And for those who walk with the Holy Spirit, following Jesus is easier because God is empowering them to live it out. And for those who don’t, following Jesus can feel hard, almost like a religious duty where you must grit your teeth to do what is right.
After explaining who the Holy Spirit is, God in us, Sam explained what the Holy Spirit does. He gives us peace in the chaos of life.
John 16:33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world. NLT
This is something so few people understand. Jesus tells us that life will have trials and sorrows, so He gives us the Holy Spirit to walk through the chaos. Jesus didn’t say the Holy Spirit will remove your trials and sorrows. He said the Holy Spirit will give you peace as you walk through the chaos. If you didn’t see Sam’s talks on the Holy Spirit, please watch them, because my talk today is built on his talks.
Today I want to slow down and make this real. I want you to make the connection that God empowers action. The problem many people have is we don’t fully understand God’s grace. Let me ask you to think about this. When I say God’s grace, what is the first thing that pops up in your mind? Chances are, we connect God’s grace with God forgiving us of our sins, and that’s true. But that’s not all of it. God’s grace also means God makes us righteous. But that’s not all. God’s grace also means that He places the Holy Spirit inside us, which is God, to empower us to live with faith, courage, and hope every day. So to be clear, God’s grace means forgiveness of sins, righteousness, and God in us to live with courage. If we believed that, it would transform our lives – wouldn’t it? To fully accept and embrace God’s grace means, from this day forward I know my sins are forgiven so I have freedom from sin. I know God has placed His righteousness in me so I never have to feel ashamed. And God is in me to empower me to live out what He asked of me so I can have courage.
The problem many people have is, we don’t fully embrace all of God’s grace. We are waiting for God to do something before we act. And that’s not always how God works. We misunderstand how God works. And because we misunderstand how God works, we can fail to experience the Holy Spirit.
God blessed Noah when he acted and built the ark. God blessed Samson when he acted and tore down the temple. God blessed Gideon when he acted and tore down his family’s idols. God blessed David when David ran into the battle against Goliath. Peter walked on water when he got out of the boat. God blessed the early church when they acted and did what He told them to do.
I want to give you four examples of how we wait for God to act and fail to experience the Holy Spirit.
Misunderstanding 1: God is supposed to make my life easier, and then I will do what He asked.
That’s not true. Truth is, like Sam brought out last week, the Holy Spirit gives you peace as you walk through the chaos. Questions for you. Do you look at the challenges of your life and conclude that God isn’t with me because my life is hard? Do you think, my life is hard so I can’t live out what God said? If your answer is yes, you don’t fully understand all of God’s grace. Forgiveness. Righteousness. Holy Spirit to empower us.
1 Peter 4:12-13 Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner. MSG
Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit to live an empowered life today, right now. But if I am waiting for God to make my life easier before I do what He asked me to do, I will feel stuck and I won’t experience the Holy Spirit. Why? Because God empowers action.
Misunderstanding 2: I feel like a failure, I have too many regrets, so God isn’t with me or in me. God only puts up with me because I have been such a disappointment. I have to wait till God moves supernaturally before I can do anything.
That’s not true. Truth is, God is with you.
Matthew 28:20 And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age. NLT – Jesus
Questions for you. Do you look at yourself and see that you don’t add up? Do you see that you aren’t who you want to be? And because of that, do you assume God isn’t with you or in you? If your answer is yes, you don’t fully understand all of God’s grace. Forgiveness. Righteousness. Holy Spirit to empower us.
Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit to live an empowered life today, right now. But if I conclude God isn’t with me or in me so I can’t do what God asked me to do, I will feel stuck and I won’t experience the Holy Spirit. Why? Because God empowers action.
Misunderstanding 3: I’m not qualified, I need more information, more knowledge, more training, or something deeper.
That’s not true. Truth is, you don’t need more knowledge, you need more obedience.
John 14:15 If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you. MSG – Jesus
Questions for you. Do you assume that because you don’t know everything about God you are not qualified to do what God asked? Do you think that you have to wait for years until you can do what God asked? If your answer is yes, you don’t fully understand all of God’s grace. Forgiveness. Righteousness. Holy Spirit to empower us.
Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit to live an empowered life today, right now. But if I conclude I am not qualified so I can’t do what God asked me to do, I will feel stuck and I won’t experience the Holy Spirit. Why? Because God empowers action.
Misunderstanding 4: The Holy Spirit isn’t in me because I don’t have any exciting gifts like healing or speaking in tongues.
That’s not true. Truth is, everyone has a gift given by God to build His body we call the local church.
1 Corinthians 12:27-31, 13:3 You are Christ’s body – that’s who you are! You must never forget this. Only as you accept your part of that body does your “part” mean anything. You’re familiar with some of the parts that God has formed in his church, which is his “body”: apostles, prophets, teachers, miracle workers, healers, helpers, organizers, those who pray in tongues. But it’s obvious by now, isn’t it, that Christ’s church is a complete Body and not a gigantic, unidimensional Part? It’s not all Apostle, not all Prophet, not all Miracle Worker, not all Healer, not all Prayer in Tongues, not all Interpreter of Tongues. And yet some of you keep competing for so-called “important” parts. But now I want to lay out a far better way for you…
…If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love. MSG
One of the things some Christians tend to do is compete for what they think are the important parts of the church just like the people did in the Corinthian church. We just have this way of wanting to be noticed by others. So, what do people do? They self-label themselves, not everyone but a few, as a great something. I am an apostle, or I am a prophet, and on and on. And while they build themselves up, it can push others down. It has been very damaging because some people wrongly conclude, ‘I don’t have an exciting gift so I am a nobody, God must have passed over me.’ And that couldn’t be further from the truth. The truth is that the greatest thing you can do is just live a life of love. That’s why Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 13. It’s a great scripture to read at weddings but Paul originally wrote it to the church in Corinth to help them understand how they should get along as they use their gifts or talents to serve each other.
Questions for you. What have you concluded about yourself? Have you decided that God hasn’t given you a gift or talent to build His body – the church? Have you decided that you are lesser than others in the church? If your answer is yes, you don’t fully understand all of God’s grace. Forgiveness. Righteousness. Holy Spirit to empower us.
Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit to live an empowered life today, right now. But if I conclude that God isn’t in me because I don’t have an exciting gift, then I will feel stuck and I won’t experience the Holy Spirit. Why? Because God empowers action.
I want you to see this.
Colossians 3:1-4 3 If you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ – that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective. Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life – even though invisible to spectators – is with Christ in God. He is your life. MSG
We are invited into a new life. A God-empowered life. God’s gift of grace – all of it. Forgiveness. Righteousness. The Holy Spirit empowering us. But it can be common for people to push that life away. It’s like we make excuses as to why what God offers us isn’t for us or we can’t live it out. Excuses like, I am waiting for God to make my life easier, then I will do what He says. It doesn’t work that way. Excuses like, I feel like a failure, I have too many regrets, so God isn’t with me or in me. That’s not true. Excuses like, I’m not qualified, I need more information, more knowledge, more training, or something deeper. It doesn’t work that way. That’s not true. Excuses like, If the Holy Spirit was in me, then I would have an exciting gift for others to notice. That’s not true at all.
Do you see it? We are offered a God-empowered life, but we push it away. Colossians says that way of living is like ‘shuffling along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with things right in front of you.’ What happens when we push a God-empowered life away? We go to church while at the same time we feel stuck, and struggle to experience the Holy Spirit. Why? God empowers action. That’s why Colossians says, ‘If you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides.’ In one word: act.
Listen. God empowers action. Stop waiting for God to move, He’s already in you waiting for you to act.
I want to close with this.
2 Timothy 1:7 God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. NLT
Stop making excuses as to why a God-empowered life doesn’t apply to you. Surrender and walk into a new God-empowered life. Read scripture and live it out. Let me share a few quotes from scripture. Love your enemies. Forgive. Pray. Do nothing out of selfish ambition. Be humble. Don’t always look to your own selfish interests. Do everything without complaining or arguing. Don’t criticize others. Live clean, innocent lives. Take the gift God gave you and build the local church, God’s body, with it. Be generous. Don’t be greedy. Submit to your leaders. Honor your parents. Watch your mouth and use your words to encourage others. Kill off anything from your old life like sexual promiscuity, impurity, and lust, don’t do whatever attracts your fancy. Don’t hoard your treasure on earth. Don’t lie. Etc.
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, you can live out scripture.
This is so important to understand. To fully accept and embrace God’s grace means, from this day forward I know my sins are forgiven so I have freedom from sin. I know God has placed His righteousness in me so I never have to feel ashamed. And God is in me to empower me to live out what He asked of me so I can have courage.
God empowers action.
Five questions for you and I close.
As a Christian, do you believe God lives in you and empowers you?
Do you walk in your new life Jesus died to give you?
Instead of walking in a new life, do you embrace the old life and stubbornly refuse to change?
Are you making excuses to avoid living a God-empowered life? Excuses like, I am waiting for God to make my life easier, then I will do what He says. Excuses like, I feel like a failure, I have too many regrets, so God isn’t with me or in me. Excuses like, I’m not qualified, I need more information, more knowledge, more training, or something deeper. Excuses like, If the Holy Spirit was in me, then I would have an exciting gift for others to notice.
What is stopping you from surrendering to a God-empowered life?