MCC Podcasts
Theology Matters - Pneumatology
morning. How you doing? It's a good day, huh? Well, we're continuing in this series called Theology Matters, big words that make a big difference. And this is definitely a big word this morning. The word is numatology. Have you been using that one in regular conversation during the week? Somebody at the board before the first gather this morning said, like what sounds like pneumonia, you know? And I said, well, you got it just right because it does find its roots in the word for wind or breath or spirit. See how those are related? The study of the Holy Spirit in our context. That's what we'll do today. In 1976, I became a Christian in January of 1975. It chose to be a follower of Jesus. It was really me simply aligning myself with what I had become convinced I already believed. And so I said, okay, God, I believe all this stuff I'm going to follow you. You know, forgive my sins, which are many I'm changing today. I want to change. I'm a Christian from this point on. And that was my my my conversion moment. And soon after that, I began to involve myself in anything I could I was so hungry for knowledge of involved myself in anything I could to learn about this new faith that I was choosing for my self. And so I heard from some friends who were also college age. I was 21 at the time who were also college age that there was this great seminar you had to go to. So in '76, I went to this youth concert conference. It was the youth conference of Christian youth conferences. And I was interested as a 21 year old Christian in what most people who become a Christian at that age in those days were interested in who I might marry. Where is she? And so this was an expert on youth issues, marriage issues, family issues, child rearing. I was ready to think about all of that. And I have to tell you that when I went to this conference, I was completely unaware of the fact that I needed this conference. I actually went to bless other people with all that I already knew, right? I wasn't aware that I needed to learn anything. But I went in 1976. Few Christian leaders had studied those subjects of marriage, child rearing family and family systems and relationships more than our seminar leader back then. Even fewer had influenced more young Christians on the topic. In fact, huge arenas, weekend after weekend after weekend, Friday night, all day Saturday. In fact, I think it might have been all day Friday. I had to take a day off, all day Saturday, not Sunday morning, but then again Sunday after church and into Sunday evening. Huge arenas were packed with thousands and thousands, tens of thousands of people coming to hear from this expert, this celebrated leader around the issue of marriage, family, child rearing, and especially adolescence. There was a problem that I was unaware of then, but I'm quite aware of now. The problem was this celebrated expert had never been married, never raised a child, and did not have to go home to a hungry family any of the nights that he taught us about marriage and family, never ever had been married, never had raised a child, never had sired a child that any of us knew of. And he was our expert. Our teacher had studied the heck out of the topics. He had studied and read so much about youth and so much about marriage and so much about family systems. He became an expert. But I fear that he may have, and we may have, mistaken studying those things with understanding those things. Because anybody who has walked through adolescent years, anybody who has become married or been in a serious relationship, and certainly anybody who has or is raising children or is raising children, understands there is a magnificent difference between knowing about those things from books and doing those things. Yeah? Because the book doesn't make you tired like twins do. And the book doesn't make you frustrated like a spouse does. Not my spouse, but I mean like your spouse must make you. So in other words, this guy was an expert in knowing about marriage and child rearing, but not an expert in actually experiencing them. And that led to all sorts of confusion. I'm sure in his part, he did offer some things that were helpful, but man, it didn't necessarily make for the best mix for those of us who had our red binders wide open and you know, we're ready to just learn everything we could, carrying those all around with us. I still have my red binder. Anybody still have their red binder from back in the day? Yeah. Some good stuff in there. No, all of it's good. Now, what's that got to do with today's big word that makes a big difference? Pneumatology. It has something in common. Pneumatology is the study of the Holy Spirit from the Christian and theological perspective. But here's why I opened with that story, because I'm afraid that just like, what it does was the case with that seminar and that leader. Sometimes when we talk about the study of the Holy Spirit, all we do is study the Holy Spirit. Pneumatology is about a lot more than simply studying the Holy Spirit, knowing facts about the Holy Spirit, having biblical or book language understanding of the Holy Spirit. In other words, too many of us may be much better at knowing about the Spirit of God than we are at actually knowing the Spirit of God and experiencing the Spirit, the indwelling presence of God. And we don't want to make that same mistake. So we're digging into the topic of pneumatology today, big words, theology matters, big words that make a big difference. And we're going to look at that big word and try to learn something from Scripture about the ministry of the Holy Spirit. But we don't want to stop there. We want to go on and finish by asking a so what question. What's the big difference? Understanding the ministry of the Holy Spirit at some level makes in our lives. Now there's a lot to study about the Holy Spirit. That's the spirit of God, the presence of God, the untouchable, but certainly, experienceable presence of God that He says is in each of us through His Spirit. But what we're going to focus on among all those things we could focus on is the functions of the Spirit of God. What does He do? And then move on from there. So the big word section, the first half of this message, and it's the line share of the message, deals with that idea, the function of the Holy Spirit. What does the Scripture teach us about Him? And then we're going to deal with the big difference that that makes. Okay, you're ready? We're going to try to move pretty quickly through this. Functions of the Holy Spirit. I'm going to land just on three. Here's the first of the three. And I've tried to boil it down to these three for the sake of our discussion today. The first thing we learned about new mythology today is in the function of the Holy Spirit, is this, that the Holy Spirit challenges us. That's one of the things He does. This presence of God in Spirit form, He challenges us. He works from within us to reveal things to us, to show us things. I remember, how many of you are old enough to remember that early Burger King commercial where they introduced the Whopper and the star of the commercial. Anybody remember the little guy's name? That's the guy. Wasn't it Rodney Allen Rippy or Whippy or something? What was it? Rippy. Remember? And he's this cute little guy. How old was he? And they had to be four or five. That old. And he was a little guy. And he had this massive hamburger. His two hands couldn't get around it. Tomatoes, sauce. Even back then, they had a thing in the burger called meat. It was all slipping out outside of the burger and the lettuce and everything. And it was like this big, you know. And I think he was being interviewed and he's sitting with this Whopper by the name. By the way, I overcame the ethnic insensitivity of what Burger King named their burger. Think about it. Think about it. Being Italian, you know. Anyway, so he's holding this. What set you got having? He said in his cute little guy language, it's a Whopper. It's too big to eat. Remember that? It's too big to eat. He had been handed a sandwich that was way too big for him, obviously. And the point they were trying to make was, you know, when you come here and order a Whopper, they're going to get something you can't swallow in just one bite. The Holy Spirit challenges us. Sometimes, in other words, what he reveals to us? What he shows us? What he reminds us of? Our things in life that seem to be too big to swallow, too big to consume, too big to eat, too big even for our hands, for our minds to grasp, to get our lives around. The Holy Spirit challenges us. He says, look at this world that I'm going to show you and look at this way I want you to live in this world. And look at this opportunity I'm going to put before you. Look at this dream I'm giving you and sometimes those dreams you can choke on those dreams. They're so big. He challenges us. In John 14, verse 26, we're reminded that the Holy Spirit challenges us by reminding us of the instructions of Jesus. He says, "All this, Jesus speaking, I have spoken while still with you, speaking to his apostles and his followers, but the advocate," and you can put an equal sign there, the advocate, the encourager, the one who comes alongside you and lives in you, "the advocate who is the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name." Here's the point now. He will teach you all things and he will remind you of everything I have said to you. And do you remember some of the things that Jesus said to them? Love your enemy. I'm choking right now. Pray for and bless those who persecute you. There's one challenge that he'll give the apostles after. Subsequent to this message and that is go into all the world and make disciples of every single ethnic group you can imagine and you ever encounter. And how are we going to do that? I will be with you always. That's a dream that will choke you. That's a hill that seems too steep to climb, isn't it? And you can think in your own life. So things that God asks of you, if you're going to be truly Christian in response to anything that comes your way, in response to good stuff, bad stuff, tough stuff, easy stuff. Sometimes it seems too big to eat, too much to swallow. And he keeps revealing these things to us, keeps teaching us the ways and the plans of Jesus, keeps them before us and they're big. And John 16, we're told that he discloses the things of the heart, the mind of Jesus to us. It's one of the ways he challenges us. I have a lot more to say to you more than you can bear now, but when he, the spirit of truth comes and the implication, if by nothing else, by setting structure there, is that you can't bear it now, but things are about to change. It won't be on the same playing field once I leave Jesus says, and the spirit of truth comes. When he, the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He'll not speak on his own initiative, he'll speak only what he hears, tell you what's to come, glorify me, because it's from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. Another translation says, he will take what is of me and disclose it to you. Challenges us with these great dreams. I mean, you take the agenda that Jesus has and the life he lived and the things he was trying to accomplish from that life that he lived. And the Holy Spirit challenges us by saying, here, this is yours now. Take this ball and run with it. Do this. You can do this. That's the dream. Challenge. It'll choke you that challenge. In John chapter 14, this is absurd actually. The statement Jesus makes here is that if you take all of what you see Jesus having accomplished in life and look at that, he says, wait a minute, when the Holy Spirit comes and fills you, you're going to do things that go beyond what I did. Believe me when I say that I'm the father or a father's in me, I'm in him, or at least believe on the evidence of the works that you see here. Very truly, I tell you all who have faith in me will do the works I've been doing. And they will do even greater things than these because I'm going to the father and implied there is I'm going to the father and that means I'm sending the Holy Spirit. And because the Holy Spirit comes, all the stuff that impressed you with what we've accomplished together, what you're seeing me do, you're going to do all that. But because the Holy Spirit's going to come, and I'm going to even send the helper, you're going to go beyond that. How does that for a statement that seems to choke you? For a dream that seems like a very steep, unsteady hill. You are actually in your school going to have the opportunity to go beyond the great things that Jesus did in your workplace, in our church, in our county, in our community. And Jesus is the one who's claiming that all because of the ministry of the Holy Spirit and the fact that He gives us a dream, He challenges us. He reveals the things, the agenda of Jesus to the people who are the followers of Jesus. And that's one of the ministries, the functions of the Spirit of God as we look at this big word and try to understand it. Secondly, so the Holy Spirit challenges us. Secondly, the Holy Spirit equips us. And I love this about the Holy Spirit. I love a lot of things about Him. But to be honest with you, sometimes He's quite disturbing and there's stuff I don't like about Him. Man, you're that committed to truth, you have to remind me of that. You're shutting your light on that, but we won't go there for now. He not only challenges us with a great dream, He equips us. So the Holy Spirit is not a person who says, "Go dig a hole." He's a person that grabs a shovel and hands you the shovel and says, "Go dig a hole." He gives us a dream and then He gives us the equipment we need to respond to the dream. He does that in the form of what Scripture calls spiritual gifts, things that aren't in us, abilities that are not in us, that as a gift from God, they're put in us. The best example of that, I think, is in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. Let's go there. These are referred to as manifestations or expressions or measurements of the presence of the Spirit synonymous with the idea of gifts, abilities, but they're sort of divinely crafted and implanted abilities. There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. That's a key phrase. The spiritual gifts we're talking about are distributed by the Holy Spirit. God's the one who gives them to us. What he's going to do here is three different sentences that are three ways of saying virtually the same thing. Different kinds of service, but the same Lord, different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone, it's the same God that's at work in us through these gifts that He's given to us. Are you with me so far? Now to each one, the manifestation of the Spirit, which is another way of saying the spiritual gift or spiritually conceived and initiated ability, is given for the common good, for the good of the whole body of Christ and really those by extension who are being blessed by the body of Christ. Let's go to the next slide. To one, there's given through a Spirit, a message of wisdom, to another message of knowledge, to another faith by the same Spirit, gifts of healing, by the same Spirit, miraculous powers, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits or the gift of discernment. People call that to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, still another, the interpretation of those tongues, all this coming from the same Spirit. All these work are the work of one in the same Spirit, Spirit, Spirit, Spirit, Spirit, Spirit over and over again, linked with this idea of gifts. Remember, we're talking about the Spirit of God functions to give us a vision. Sometimes it's a big bite, but He also gives us the equipment we need to respond to that vision. What just happened? We just lost our dude. So over and over and over again, the reference there to the Holy Spirit being the one who gives spiritual gifts. He not only challenges us, but He equips us. He gives us what we need, the tools, the abilities to respond to the big dream that He lays at our feet. I have been a pastor now since 1970 or in pastoral ministry since '76, I think. Youth ministry interned in 10 years, including those two years, 10 years in youth ministry, and then always on a pastoral staff while I was in graduate school and I planted a church in Oregon, we went to a church in Colorado that was in trouble and they asked us to come and see if we couldn't help turn it around and this is our third lead pastor here. Up until we were in Colorado, when did we go there in '93 or something? So up from 1975 till roughly 1995, yes, I knew that I was called to be a pastor, but was convinced I did not have the equipment for the call. My view of this was God has His little heavenly handgun and He has it laid across my temple and He said, "Now, art, you will be a pastor of a local church. Do we understand each other?" And if you won't be a pastor of a local church, I'll pull the trigger. So my argument though was I don't like being a pastor, I'm not wired to be a pastor, I don't feel comfortable being a pastor, I experienced depression I think in large part because I'm a pastor, my choice is then a loving merciful fun God, our disobedience or misery and I chose misery. I chose to be a pastor. I used to say, people would say, "Oh, you have a call to be a pastor, the pastoral call," I actually use this language. This is not a call, this is a curse. No, that's, and I lived that and felt it. And my frustration with God was you and my prayers often because I figure He already knows what's on my heart, might as well speak what's on my heart and be honest with them. You called me to something for which you did not wire me and have not equipped me. I am thin skinned, I'm a people pleaser, being loved by people is too important to me. I will trade away the whole church to make sure I don't hurt one person's feelings. I'm in the wrong business, there could not have been a worse way for a guy that's wired like me to spend his life. And that's probably what's true. Until I remembered that one of the functions of the Holy Spirit is not only to give us a dream and a calling and a vision, but also to equip us for what He's called us to do. And about the middle of our tenure in Colorado, I remembered that. And I began to ask Him to either make me aware of gifts and abilities He's already given me or to give me what I need. And I began to quit saying, I think I will be open to this gift from you, but not this one. It was like that position that Pastor Jeff reminds us of all the time, put your hands up if you're receptive. Give me anything and everything I need in terms of equipment and even heart and temperament, whatever you do, however you do what you do, so that I can be not only obedient, but joy fully obedient, not just fully obedient, joy fully obedient. And I remembered that He equips us with everything we need, even things we can't define. And about halfway through the tenure, 10 or 15 years into being a pastor in Colorado, God bless that church, I'll always love them for this. I fell in love with being a pastor. I found peace. It didn't change the job. I was still a people pleaser. I was still insecure and then scanned and all these kinds of things that aren't that helpful for any of us. But God, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit reminded me of what He had there for me. And I received gifts from Him. I remember thinking, oh Lord, it would be sweet if like I'm kind of a guy that needs a hug once in a while. I like presence. I like feeling things. I feel first. Think later. You probably haven't known that about me. I feel first and think later. And I've heard about all these wonderful experiences people have with you privately. And man, I love to have, I pray. I say, I'd like to have what they call a prayer language. Could I have that? Because man, that's one thing that I can kind of feel your presence. I know you don't give that to everybody. Heck, some people have even told me it's not a real deal. But if it's real, could I please have it? Because just for me, I need to, I feel like I need to experience you. And that could really help me. And for years, I prayed that. And the Lord gave that to me. It's not something I'm going to stand up in front of everybody and do. Between Him and me, it's like a little kiss on the cheek when we're praying. Like the Lord is saying, if you need this, son, do you remember that I'm with you? Here it is. Let's keep going. So the Lord gives us a vision and a calling. And then the Lord gives us equipment. He doesn't just say dig the hole. He hands you a shovel and says dig the hole. Got that? That's a second, third function. And the last one that we'll look at today. He challenges us, the Holy Spirit, this big word, pneumatology. He challenges us. He equips us with spiritual gifts. But He also empowers us. So the analogy continues like this. Dig a hole. Here's a shovel. But knowing what you're supposed to do and having the tools you need to do it, don't do you any good if your back and your legs aren't strong enough to work them, right? Yeah? One of the ministries and the functions of the Holy Spirit is this. I'll call you. I'll give you a vision. I'll challenge you. I'll give you the tools that you need to do that. And I'll also give you the strength to do it. That's where the rubber hits the road, isn't it? Isn't that it for many of us? I know what I'm supposed to do. And I might even be convinced that I have the equipment to do it. What I lack is the strength, the power. You can call it resolve. You can call it energy four to two, whatever you want to. I've often said to God, I need in me something that's not currently resident in me, and I need it from you in order for me to launch into this vision that you have for me. If you don't put the strength there, it ain't common. So breathe it on me. Oh, Holy Spirit of God. One of the functions of the Holy Spirit is not only to challenge us with the words and the vision of Christ and to equip us with the spiritual gifts it takes to respond, but with the power. He gives us power, strength to respond. In Luke chapter four, we're reminded that Jesus was ministering in the power of the Holy Spirit. He returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, the strength of the Spirit, the dynamite power, the explosive power of the Holy Spirit. That's just picture of power that's strong enough to blow up things that shouldn't be there, to resist and cause evil to crumble and news about him spread through the whole countryside. But I think the force of that line is not that Jesus returned to Galilee or even that news about him spread through the whole countryside, but that he was returning and ministering in the power of the Spirit because the Spirit gives us strength, gives us power. Ephesians three, you have Paul praying for people to be Spirit filled with the Spirit's power. I pray that out of his glorious riches, he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being. So you have this treasure chest of riches and Paul's saying, I pray that God will go to that treasure chest and grab something from that treasure chest and bless you with the power that he has available to us and the strength that comes from the power of his Spirit in your inner being, power to do what he's given us, the tools to do in response to the duty or the job or the vision that he's revealed to us. Is this making sense? The functions of the Holy Spirit, pneumatology, the study of the Spirit. In Acts 1, 8, we're reminded that the Holy Spirit empowers our mission living. You will receive, speaking to his followers who are getting ready for Pentecost, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. And you will be, as a result of that, my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria to the ends of the earth. Now there it is all in one statement, huh? The vision, the whole vision here is, okay, you little small network of virtual losers. I want you to take this message to the whole world. There's too big of you. That's a hill too steep to climb. For the best among us, that's a hill too steep to climb. That's a vision. But you will be, my witnesses, inherent there are gifts of presentation and prophecy and all those things that are involved in being a witness. And you're going to receive the power for that, where? From the Holy Spirit, when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. I love the way this is crafted. Not you might receive power, not you could receive power, not it's possible for you to receive power. He speaks as though part of normal Christianity is receiving from God the gift of the strength to respond to the vision and equipping of God. You will receive power. You will receive strength. You will receive whatever it takes to climb that hill that's so big to swallow that chump that's so large. And here it's specifically aimed at the mission of living that we're challenged to do. And of course, that makes sense that Paul knows that when he speaks to his young trainee, Timothy, reminding Timothy and therefore through him reminding us that God, he's saying like, remind, he's writing a fan of the flame of the gift of God. So there's that spiritual not only vision of being a young pastor, but the gifts that he's given you keep developing those gifts, which is in you through the laying of hands for the spirit God gave us does not make us timid. It's not a spirit of timidity or fear or anything else. What is it? But it gives us power, love and discipline. It's a spirit of power. So all of that to just linger a little bit on this idea of pneumatology, the study of the Holy Spirit. The functions of the Holy Spirit are at least these to challenge us to equip us and to empower us. But you said earlier that we don't want to just study the big word today. We want to think about the significance of the ministry of the Holy Spirit and even maybe experience something of his ministry for pneumatology is not just a big word. It's a big word that makes a big difference. So let's move to that last part of this message. Had the big word. What's the big difference? Here are just a handful of significant applications, things that seem to be true from my perspective given what we've just looked at. The first is this. Because the Holy Spirit was sent, we are only as limited as the power and the will of God. Does that make sense? I'll say it again. Because the Holy Spirit is God, we are only as limited as the power of God is limited or the will of God is limited. Remember, if you were here for the message on sovereignty in this series, talked about God has an agenda or a will and his power is unlimited, unhindered in accomplishing that agenda. So really the only thing that limits us is are we walking in the will of God or are we hearing him properly and seeing the vision properly? Well, we may be turned away because of lack of divine alignment with his agenda. We need never be turned away because of a lack of divine power. Does that make sense? That's one of the so what's of the study of the Holy Spirit. Because the Holy Spirit was sent, we are only as limited as the power and the will of God. And there's not much limit to that. We have the right direction and are seeing the right vision. Power of God is there for us and the equipping of God is there for us. Second, application. This may come as a surprise, but according to Jesus, we have it better with God's spirit leading us from within than the apostles had it with Jesus leading them in person. According to Jesus, we have it better with God's spirit leading us from within than the apostles had it with Jesus actually being there in bodily form leading them. You understand the presence of the spirit of God. Jesus leaves, the spirit of God comes and steps in there. He was leading them, they meet every night around a campfire and a house, they get instructions, they'd ask questions and he was leading and trying to do his ministry through them eventually. He leaves and now the Holy Spirit comes and takes that place of leader, of vision giver, of corrector, of teacher, of empower. And Jesus says the text is up there, blow that text up there. John 16, let's see that next text, John 16. Do I have not done up a slide for that? It says this, I will tell you the truth, Jesus said, it's to your advantage or to your prophet, I don't think I made a slide for this, I'm sorry, throw in those guys under the bus. No, I'm not throwing them under the bus, crawl out from under the bus guys, there it is. Either that or they just made it on the fly. There we go, nah, nah, nah. I have much more to say to you, did I wear to do this one? Okay, look, John 16 verse 7 says, I tell you the truth, it's to your advantage or to your prophet that I go away. So this is in the context of I'm going to leave you and I'm going to send the comforter, but then Jesus says, it's actually better for you as to your advantage, your gain, your prophet that I go away for if I don't go away, the helper will not come to you. And implicit in that statement is it's better if the helper comes. So what we're used to now in terms of my leadership here, it gets even better when I leave and the Holy Spirit comes. Jesus says that, we have it better the Holy Spirit leading and indwelling us than they had it with Jesus actually leading them. I mean, that's significant to me, maybe not to you, but haven't you ever had your version of, you know, if I could actually sit and talk with him and touch him and feel him and he were here to instruct me on the specifics of life, I'd be much more successful. Those guys actually had them there. They knew what his voice sounded like, they knew what his breasts smelled like, they knew what his steps sounded like. They got to sit around with them and talk and we don't have that. If we had that, we'd be so much better off. I'm sure it could be so much more faithful, not according to Jesus. Jesus is saying, actually, you're the ones who got the upgrade. When was the last time you got an upgrade on United or some other airline and decided to pass on it and sit coach? You ever do that, Alan, all the flying you do? That's one of the first things I do when I get to the airport and I'm traveling someplace. I go look at that upgrade screen and if God's merciful up there, it says number one or two, A-G-R-E-C. And then over here on the right, it says, I'm number two and there are four sheets left in first class. And I'm saying, holy, yeah. We're the ones with the upgrade. The Holy Spirit lives in us. Jesus says, that's even better. Do you not see how much better that is? The limit within the limits of the agenda of God. So the Holy Spirit was sent. We're only as limited as He is. We're the ones with the upgrade. Third, through the Holy Spirit, this is, again, talked about the big word. This is the big difference. Through the Holy Spirit, we have everything we need to be more like Jesus and do more good than we ever thought possible. We have everything we need. We have the vision, which is plenty. We have access to the spiritual gifting or the tools or the equipment. He's handing us the shovel. And we have the power, the strength to be more Christian than we ever thought possible to do more good than we ever dreamed. Do you understand the challenges in your marriage as Christians when you're trying to make that work? It's everything you need to respond as a Christian is there for you. Everything you need for that to be a rich relationship is there available to you for God to give you. The challenge of facing the new business you're starting or the new school you're going to or responding to a wounded relationship that just feels like everything's coming apart. It's all there for you. You have what you need. Now, we may not be experiencing or accessing or using everything we need, but because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the fact that He gives vision, that He gives the equipment that we respond to the vision and the power to use the equipment, it's all there for us. If we're not experiencing all we need, it's not because it's not there for us. When it comes to making sure you have all that's required for you to actually succeed in the life of Christian faith, God is a God of spectacular yeses. God becomes a yes man. Am I hearing you right? Hmm. There's the vision. Can I have the equipment I need that I don't currently have to respond faithful to that vision? Yes. Do you have power for me, the strength that I don't currently have to forgive that enemy? Yes. Yes. Could I have some please? You notice his answer is yes. And then I think he must ask us a question. Will you step out as though I gave you everything that I promised you? And he wants us to say yes. Hear him from heaven, okay? I know it's scary. I know I'm asking you to step out before you're sure. I know that you're not used to stepping out until you're sure. These are things I promised you. Say yes to me as I say yes to you. Love that about the Holy Spirit. And I hate that about the Holy Spirit. That's the third and the last. We need to get back into the habit of asking God for any gift or any portion of strength required to climb the hill that's before us. That's one of the so what's. So I mean I'm walking down the stairs the other day. It's like a month ago. I'm sure this isn't true in your marriage if you're married or your friendships if you're not. But every once in a while I get in a little contrary context. Now it will come as some surprise to you but I'm not the perfect husband. Yeah I know. I know. I think I got as close to anybody has ever gotten to marrying the perfect wife. But I'm not the perfect husband. And my default when I'm not healthy is cynicism, arrogance, pushiness. Cynicism I think might be the worst of all those things. And I remember about a month ago I'm in this couple days of fog you know where every little idiosyncrasy of my wife that isn't necessarily in alignment with my idiosyncrasies. It's just bugging me. I'm letting it bug me. Now mind you she's not worthy of me letting it bug me because it really is a she's a great person. But I'm in this funk you know I'm in this stupid fog. And for a couple days I'm just like everything's wrong. I've gone it. Why do you have to overthink everything? It does not. How come I'm getting in trouble for scratching the dinner dishes. That's what knives do you know. And how come that means so much to you. And why are you? Why do they have to be stacked in this order of color because she has the color dishes you know. And I've gone it. I'm walking on the stairs and none of that's worthy of my wife's worthy of just love and niceness because that's what I get from her. But that that couple days I'm in this stupid self absorbed fog and I'm walking on the stairs and she's in the kitchen doing something. And I don't even remember what the details were but I remember this. I'm going down the stairs and I'm going to turn right and go into the kitchen and there's going to be my lady. And I'm in my little funky fog, you know, cynicism or frustration or whatever it might be. And the Holy Spirit, I'm sure this was the Holy Spirit. Stop it. It was like this big interruption but three quarters of the way down the stairs. Don't you dare. Take one more step toward my precious Brenda until you get some things corrected. And right there three quarters of the way down the stairs, I remember the very point I'm making here. And I stopped and I prayed and I said, Holy Spirit of God, my mind is Christian, nothing else in my body is right now. And I don't feel like being very Christian. I don't think I'm going to be a very nice guy if I turn the corner. But I know that's not what my wife deserves or what you want for me. And I asked a little thing like this, right? And it's not like change the whole world. This is just one moment in one relationship. But I stopped and I said, you have the power to give me so that I can be more of what my wife deserves from a husband right now instead of the little cranky jerk that I am. Would you fill me please with your Holy Spirit? Would you cause my emotions to align themselves without my head is saying right now? Put in me the power to be kind that isn't there right now because my selfishness is taking over everything. Please, I need that from you. She needs that from you. And I stopped and I went down to the kitchen and it wasn't like, you know, we all both floated out of the kitchen into the living room like that. But I'm pretty sure I was a lot nicer than I would have otherwise been. Even in moments like that and the great, big, huge things in life, we need to remember to stop and ask God for what He's promised to give us. In fact, it may be that we need to do more than ask. It may be that the appropriate prayer sometimes is, I feel like you owe me the equipment and the power to walk in the way you would have me walk in response to this challenge or this moment in my life. You owe me what you promised me. In fact, God, I can't move forward in a way that blesses you and your kingdom without you giving me the gifts and the strength. So do what you promised and I receive. The notion that we can live any version of authentic biblical Christianity while minimizing our dependence upon the ministry of the Holy Spirit is a false notion at its best. It's a false notion. Really, it's probably more like a destructive lie. And the scary part is we actually can be pretty good at being mostly Christian with no power. We won't ever be good at being radically truly Christian with no power. We can look Christian. My heart is that I would be a man who cannot ever be satisfied with that. That I'd be part of a congregation and I believe God is answering this prayer that will never be satisfied with that. That dares to say, Holy Spirit, You give us vision. You give us gifts and tools. You give us power to climb up hills that are not surmountable without you. And we're going there. When you pray that prayer, fill me. Give me any gift I need. Maybe even I'll ask you for a specific spiritual gift that I want. And the power, God, I breathe the power into me, whether it's a big thing or a small thing. You know, you pray that prayer, the next thing to do, take the first step up the hill, and ask for more power for the next step and the next step. That's the big word, pneumatology, that makes a big difference in the way we live. I'm going to ask Michael if he'll come.