Latest / Max Lucado Daily Sermons / Come Alongside Me- Minister Max Lucado

Transcript

Come Alongside Me- Minister Max Lucado · Max Lucado Daily Sermons

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Such a good-looking group. Really grateful if you're watching online.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Thanks for logging in and tuning in, and thanks to
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: all of you for being here today. We've had an
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: exciting morning, like Keith said, at 7.30 a.m. All the
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: power went out, and people were showing up here early
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: trying to get everything fixed. So thanks to our amazing
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: staff who got everything back in order today. A curious thing, however,
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: it's not happening right now, but it's kind of funny.
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: Right over my head, on occasion, during this sermon, you're
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: going to see a red strobe light. And we can't
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: get it turned off. They were just telling me backstage,
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: we can't get it turned off. And I said, well,
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: I'm just going to tell everybody that that's a monitor
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: camera light from heaven. And if anybody dozes off, their
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: picture's going to be taken. So honestly, I don't think
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: it's happening right now, but it might. So if it is,
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: don't freak out. Don't freak out. We'll get it figured out.
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: It's just been part of the adventure of the day.
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: We're just continuing the conversation we began last week about
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: the personality of the Holy Spirit. And we're going to
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: look primarily in Some scriptures in John 14, 15, and 16.
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: In just a moment, if you'd like to follow in
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: your Bible, you can, or on your smart device, if
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: you'd like to follow on the outline, the verses are there.
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: In just a moment, we're going to pray, but first,
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: I have a great joke for you. This young couple
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: are on their way to get married. They have a
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: car accident. Things don't turn out too good, and they
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: end up at the pearly gates in heaven. Peter is
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: processing them into heaven, and They say to Peter, well,
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: you know, we're on our way to our wedding. We'd
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: still like to get married. Any chance we could have
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: a wedding here in heaven? And Peter said, well, I've
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: never been asked that question. Let me go see what
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: I can find out. Have a seat here on the bench.
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: So he's gone for one, two, three, four, five, six weeks. Finally,
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: he reappears. They've been sitting on the bench all this time.
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: reappears he says i've got good news we can pull
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: off a wedding right here in heaven and they said
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: great but you know you've been gone so long we
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: kind of got on each other's nerves i'm not sure
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: this is going to work out we still want to
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: get married but we're wondering if it doesn't work out
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: can we get a divorce in heaven and peter exasperated
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: said it took me six weeks to find a pastor
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: how long you think it's going to take me to
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: find a lawyer I made the lawyers mad. Notice I
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: threw myself in that joke too. Thank you, Lord, for
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: the blessing that you've given us today to be here,
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: to open your word, to open our hearts, and to
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: open the possibilities of a greater understanding of your work.
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: Please forgive our speaker. His sins are too many. Please
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: bless our senior minister, Travis and Alicia, and the wonderful
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: work they're doing. And thank you. That we have a
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: chance to see Jesus. But just Jesus. Through Christ we pray.
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: And all the church said. I can't recall the guy's name. Marco. Flavio.
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: It was Luigi. I don't recall. It was an Italian
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: name for. He was Italian. He had that Italian look
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: to him. Kind of that rugged handsome look. With the
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: wavy hair. black hair and all his skin and the
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: dark eyes, really a knocked down handsome guy, kind of
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: like me. He just had this appearance to him, and
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: he dressed really classy with fashionable slacks and a loose-fitting
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: silk shirt and loafers, pretty fashionable for a tour guide,
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: but then again, he was an Italian tour guide, and
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: he made his living just guiding English speakers around the
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: city of Rome. In the mid-1990s, our family had an
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: opportunity to go to Rome, and I came to know
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: about this tour guide, whose name I cannot recall, through
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend.
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: And the tour guide, when he met us at the hotel, said, well,
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: what would you like to see? Maybe the Colosseum, the catacombs,
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: some statues of Caesar. And I said, well, I've I
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: would like to see that, but the one thing I
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: have always wanted to see, numero uno on my list
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: is the Sistine Chapel. You would have thought I had
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: asked a historian if I could see the Smithsonian. He
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: was so excited. Oh, the Sistine Chapel. And he did
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: that thing that Italians do when they kiss their fingers.
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: Have you ever seen it? Just kind of exquisite, you know, like, oh, yes.
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: And man, he began talking so fast about the Sistine Chapel.
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: And off we went, he talking all the way. He
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: knew everything. He knew the quickest route to the Vatican.
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: He knew where to find the shortest lines in the Vatican.
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: He knew the names of the guards of the Vatican.
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: And he knew every detail about Michelangelo and the 16th
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: century and the scaffolding and the beauty and the uniqueness
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: and why the Sistine Chapel existed. changed Western art forever
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: and ever. He just would go on and on. And
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: every time he would speak, he would pepper his phrases with, oh,
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: you're going to love, you're going to love, you're going
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: to love, you're going to love. He was so excited
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: about it that I honestly began wondering if it would
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: live up to its billings. But when we got there,
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: it was stunning. We craned our neck to look up
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: at the ceiling and we couldn't stop staring at it.
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: And for the first time he was quiet. And after
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: a few moments I looked at him and I noticed
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: that he was looking at me and he was smiling.
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: He had this look on his face like see I
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: told you. He was thrilled that we were thrilled. After
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: a few moments he sauntered over to me and continued
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: his explanation again in a whispered voice appropriate to the Location,
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: telling me details that I never would have known had
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: he not shown them to me. He walked me over
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: to the side and pointed out some things in the corner.
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: He was so excited that we were excited. It's as
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: if he lived to show people the Sistine Chapel. Would
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: it be great if we had that same amazement, that
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: same excitement About the greatest person who's ever lived on
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: the earth. Jesus Christ. Would it not be great. If
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: we were just. Slight jawed. Wide eyed. If our heart
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: rate picked up a bit. Whenever we had an opportunity
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: to hear. Or learn about Christ. Wouldn't it be great.
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: If there was a tour guide. A teacher of sorts.
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: Who could lead us into his presence. Who had this contagious.
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: This infectious enthusiasm. That he shared with us. So much
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: so that he knew every detail. And he could educate us.
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: And he could inspire us. And we would have the
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: same feeling. That our family had that day. Back in Rome.
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: Well today I want to try to convince you. And
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: tell you. That.
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: That.
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: Someone is here. That person is here. That living being,
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: that teacher of Jesus Christ is here. Now, I don't
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: recall the name of the fellow in Rome, but Jesus
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: Christ made sure that all of us know the name
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: of the guide that he left for us. And that
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: guide's name is Paraclete. paraclete it's one of the richest
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: greek words in the bible only used five times in
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: the new testament and of those four times jesus himself
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: used those words and of that word and of those
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: four times all of them were used the night before
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: the crucifixion so everything about this word sets itself up
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: for high prominence wouldn't you agree Jesus used it to
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: describe the Holy Spirit. And who knows the Holy Spirit
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: better than Jesus? And Jesus used it four times on
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: the night before his crucifixion. And what message would be
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: more important than that one? This word paraclete appears in
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: John chapter 14, in John chapter 15, and in John
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: chapter 16. Because those three chapters encompass this final message
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: that Jesus gives his followers. It's often called the upper
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: room discourse. Because Jesus was in the upper room. He
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: washed the feet of the disciples. And then he had
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: this final message. And sprinkled throughout this message. Are several
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: different references to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit story
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: threads its way through this final message. So if you
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: were to take all of the references from John 14,
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: 15 and 16. And compile them into a paragraph. This
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: is how it would read. Jesus said, I will ask
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: the Father and he will give you another helper, paraclete,
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: to be with you forever. Even the Spirit of truth
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: nor knows him. You know him for he dwells with
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: you and will be in you. The helper, again the paraclete,
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name,
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: he will teach you all things. And bring to your
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: remembrance all that I have said to you. When the helper,
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: the paraclete, comes, whom I will send you from the Father,
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: will bear witness about me. It is to your advantage
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: that I go away. For if I do not go away,
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: the helper, the paraclete, will not come to you. But
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: if I go, I will send him to you. And
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: and righteousness and judgment. And when the Spirit of truth comes,
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: he will guide you into all truth. For he will
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears,
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: he will speak. And he will declare to you the
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: things that are to come. And he will glorify me,
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: for he will take what is mine and declare it
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: to you. So many precious jewels are located in this paragraph.
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: Did you notice, for example, the unity in the Trinity?
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: In the final message that Jesus gives his followers. All
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: three members of the Godhead are interplaying with each other.
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: The Father will send the Spirit. The Spirit will speak
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: what I tell him to speak. There is this happy interplay.
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: Almost a difference. One to the other. There is a
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: cooperation in the Trinity. And that cooperation exists to send
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: the Spirit to us. Please also note. The pronoun he.
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: The pronoun he. The Holy Spirit is a person. A person.
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: Let's not call the Holy Spirit it. Okay? Just last week,
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: somebody told me after the service, I'm so glad we're
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: going to study the Holy Spirit. I've always wanted to
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: learn about it. I wanted to give that person a
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: little slap. That's not... I can't do that. I'm a pastor.
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: But the Holy Spirit is not an it. The Holy
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: Spirit is a person who makes decisions, who has feelings,
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: who responds to prayers, who intercedes. The Spirit, according to
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: Revelation 2.7, speaks to churches. According to 8.26 of Romans,
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: He intercedes for the believer. He leads and commands disciples,
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: Acts 8.28. He even appoints elders, Acts 20 and verse 28.
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: Did you know He can be lied to? Acts 5
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: and verse 3 and 4, grieved. Ephesians 4, 30, insulted.
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: Hebrews 10, 29, blasphemed. Matthew 12, 31 and 32. The
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: Holy Spirit is a person with an intellect, with emotion,
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: with will. He is a person. Would you make a
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: resolve with me? Please raise your right hand. I hereby
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: resolve never to call the Holy Spirit in it Thank you.
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: If you want to call the Holy Spirit a she,
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: I don't care. But the Holy Spirit is a genderless person.
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: The Holy Spirit is a person. I call him a
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: he because Jesus called him a he. He is a person.
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: And that means he has a will, a volition. He
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: is active. He is responsive. He is thinking. And he
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: is on your side. We believe this because of this
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: wonderful word paraclete. Paraclete. Paraclete means to come alongside, to
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: come alongside. Now, depending upon the translation that you have,
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: you might see this word translated as helper or comforter
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: or counselor or advocate or intercessor. One translation simply says
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit is someone else to stand by you.
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: That's a literal translation of paraclete. He comes alongside and
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: stands with you. Exactly why does he do this? What
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: is his intent? Why does he do this? Is he
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: simply a divine companion who wants to keep us company?
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: That would be wonderful. No one would complain. But Jesus
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: wants us to see there is a reason. There is
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: an overarching purpose to his coming. He comes not just
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: to keep us company, but to teach us about Jesus.
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: Let's go back to our paragraph one more time and
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: look at the words we're highlighting. Jesus said he will
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: that I have said to you. When the helper comes,
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: whom I will send to you from the father, the
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: spirit of truth who proceeds from the father, he will
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: bear witness about me. He will convict the world. When
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: all truth. for he will not speak on his own authority.
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: But whatever he hears, he will speak, and he will
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: declare to you the things that are to come. He
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: will glorify me, for he will take what is mine,
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: and he will declare it to you. This is the
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: language that would be in the job assignment of a teacher,
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: one who teaches, brings to remembrance, bears witness, convicts the world,
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: guides into all truth, declares, declares things to come. In
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: other words, the Holy Spirit is a teacher, A teacher.
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: And he seeks to enhance our understanding. Who would have
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: imagined the invisible presence of God on earth invites you
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: to enter his classroom and learn from him. Boy, this
• 16:15
  Speaker 1: was a big idea in the letter that the Apostle
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: Paul wrote to a church in Corinth. Look what the
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: Apostle Paul said. No one's ever seen or heard anything
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: like this. Never so much as imagined anything quite like it.
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: What God has arranged for those who love him. But
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: you've seen it and heard it.
• 16:35
  Speaker 3: Why?
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: Because God, by His Spirit, has brought it all out
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: into the open before you. Did you understand that when
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: you gave your heart to Christ, you not only were
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: saved from your sins, but you were matriculated into the
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: greatest universe, the only seminary in the universe. And that is...
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: God becomes your teacher. The Holy Spirit becomes your instructor.
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: And he steps in to reveal things to you. Everyone
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: on the earth is trying to figure this life out.
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: Everyone is. We're barely on the planet. We're barely walking.
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: We're trying to say, how did I get here? Where
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: am I headed? What's it for? Is there a reason?
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: How do we explain the suffering and the struggle? Is
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: there anything after this life? As secularists just turn to
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: one another and talk about it. They look at philosophy
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: and consider knowledge and think about universities. Others religions just
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: talk about what their now dead founder said. Like Confucius
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: or Mohammed. But we Christians. We have this inscrutable and
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: beautiful idea and promise. That we have not just a
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: teacher who taught but a teacher who teaches. Yes.
• 17:58
  Speaker 3: Who is speaking to us. Who is revealing to us.
• 18:02
  Speaker 3: As we need to know it. The knowledge that we
• 18:06
  Speaker 3: need about this life. That he has moved into our hearts.
• 18:10
  Speaker 3: And he speaks to us through his church. And he
• 18:13
  Speaker 3: talks to us through his scripture. And he is teaching us.
• 18:17
  Speaker 3: And he is continually revealing to us. What we need
• 18:20
  Speaker 3: to know. Paul goes on to say. The spirit not
• 18:25
  Speaker 3: content to flit around on the surface. dives into the
• 18:28
  Speaker 3: depths of God and brings out what God has planned
• 18:32
  Speaker 3: all along.
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: God offers a full report on the gifts of life
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: and the salvation that he is giving to us. We
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: don't have to rely on the world's guesses and opinions.
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: We didn't learn this by reading books or going to school.
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: We learned it from God who taught us person to
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: person through Jesus Christ. We're passing it on to you
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: in the same firsthand personal way. And Isaiah's question, is
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: there anyone around who knows God's spirit? Anyone who knows
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: what he is doing has been answered. Christ knows and
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: we have Christ's spirit. Folks, you're not left alone with
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: your questions. You're not left alone with the despair that
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: comes from saying, I don't know. You have a teacher
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: who is just waiting on you to consult him. To
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: listen to him. And he will reveal to you. What
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: you need to know. He will help you sort this
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: life out. He will save you from the cul-de-sac. Of confusion.
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: And the dead end of doubt. He will help you
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: make sense of this life. And he does this by
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: enrolling us. In the only class of his university. And
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: that is Jesus Christ.
• 19:49
  Speaker 4: Now.
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: Look at this the holy spirit is not just a
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: teacher but he teaches us about jesus that's what he
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: wants us to know now go back to the paragraph
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: can we go back one more time look again this
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: time i've highlighted different words The helper, the Holy Spirit,
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: whom the Father will send in my name, he will
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: teach you all things and bring to remembrance all that
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: I have said to you. And when the helper comes,
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: whom I will send to you from the Father, the
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he will,
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: what church? He will bear witness about me. In other words,
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: he will teach you about me. The Spirit of truth comes,
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: he will guide you into all truth. He will speak
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: not on his own authority. Whatever he hears, he will speak.
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: And he will declare to you the things that are
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: to come. He will glorify me for he will take
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: what is mine and declare it to you. So the
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: Holy Spirit comes to reveal Christ. The Holy Spirit's desire
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: is to lead you and me into the Sistine Chapel
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: of Jesus Christ. And cause us to stand in awe
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: at what we see. He wants to stun you with
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: the story of the manger. He wants to enlighten you.
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: with the sermon from the Sermon on the Mount. He
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: wants to inspire you with the miracles that we read
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: about in the Gospels. He wants you to know what
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: is good about Good Friday and what is wonderful about
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: Easter Sunday. And He wants you to set your North
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: Star on the return of Christ and to ponder the
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: accomplishments of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is downright bullish
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: Jesus he's all about Jesus if you know anything about
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: Jesus it's because the Holy Spirit has taught you the
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: Holy Spirit is the authority on Jesus Christ and he
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: wants to lead you into the presence of Christ because
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: it is in an understanding of Christ That the rest
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: of the world begins to make sense. It is in
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: a relationship with Christ that we find that forgiveness of
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: sins and the promise of heaven. And it is the
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: power and promise of Christ that delivers the Holy Spirit
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: to us. So the Holy Spirit is our teacher and
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: he teaches us about Christ. Now, oftentimes we will hear
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: a phrase. A phrase like spirit filled person. Or a
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: spirit-filled church. I've seen that even on signs. This is
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: a spirit-filled church. According to this passage, we now know
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: what a spirit-filled church looks like. A spirit-filled church is
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: where Jesus has center stage. A spirit-filled person is a
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: person who is in love with Christ. And desires to
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: know more about Christ. So the Holy Spirit is going
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: to give you many things in your life. Spiritual gifts,
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: remarkable wisdom, understanding and guidance. But the highest goal of
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit is to teach you and me about
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: Jesus Christ. He is our professor of Christ. Now, a
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: classic example of this is found in the book of Acts.
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: It involves two men, one name you'll recognize, another name
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: you might not. The first name is Peter, the apostle.
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: The second name is a fellow by the name of Cornelius.
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: He was an important man in the Roman army. He
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: was a Gentile. How many of you know that the
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: Jews and Gentiles didn't like each other? And the New
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: Testament church even, they didn't like each other. In the
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: early days of the New Testament church was all Jews,
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: which was not good news for anybody who's a Gentile
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: like the one you're looking at. But God was working.
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: Touching the hearts of Gentiles. And one of those was
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: a man by the name of Cornelius. But Cornelius, again,
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: he was a Gentile. So the Jews did not want
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: anything to do with him, especially because he was a
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: Roman officer. He was an officer in the Roman government.
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: So there was nothing. He wore a toga. He had
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: a hem in his freezer. He was uncircumcised. He was unkosher.
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: Just look at him. But then look at him. God
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: had begun a work in the life of Cornelius. In fact,
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: if you read this story, and I hope you will,
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: in Acts chapter 10, Cornelius is described as one who
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: to the people and prayed to God always. In fact,
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: Cornelius was on a first-name basis with an angel. And
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: one day, that angel... told Cornelius to send for Peter,
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: who happened to be 30 miles away in a seaside
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: town called Joppa. So Cornelius did. He sent three people
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: to go and fetch Peter. Well, Peter didn't want anything
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: to do with Cornelius. But then something happened. Look at this.
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: The Spirit said to him, the Spirit said to him, Behold,
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: three men are seeking you. arise therefore and go down
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: with them, doubting nothing for I have sent them. This
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: is a huge moment in the history of the church
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: because Peter, when he obeyed this, went to the house
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: of Cornelius and the entire household of Cornelius believed in
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: Christ and the Gentile world began to believe in Christ
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: and the doors were swung open, not just to Jews,
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: but also to Gentiles. But note what the spirit did.
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: Was this the very first time that Peter would have
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: known that God has a love for all people? No!
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: Jesus was exercising his love for all people and Peter
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: was always in the shadow of Christ. Jesus was loving
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: the Samaritan woman. Jesus was loving people that were outcasts
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: in society. So the Spirit came and did exactly what
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: Jesus said the Spirit would do. He will remind you.
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: He will bring to remembrance all the things that I
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: have said to you. I can almost see Peter saying,
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: oh yeah, Jesus said. Okay, I'm sorry. I just needed
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: to be reminded. Has this ever happened to you? Has
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: there ever been an occasion in which you.
• 26:35
  Speaker 5: A.
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: Verse of scripture that... that maybe you had heard years
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: ago or something about Christ that you had learned some
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: time back. You hadn't thought much about it, but it
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: comes to the surface at just the perfect time. This
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: is the job of the Holy Spirit. This phrase, He
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance.
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: Isn't that interesting? That phrase, bring to your remembrance, is
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: more than just he will repeat the words. It literally
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: means he will make it feel relevant. He will make
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: that teaching feel relevant to the situation that you're in.
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: Last week I shared with you that a friendship with
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit for me began back in my mid-30s
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: when I was a newly arrived minister at this church.
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: And I was passing through a very difficult season. I was...
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: putting too much pressure on myself. I had too many deadlines.
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: I was struggling with sleep and insomnia. I was just
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: kind of worn out. And I can recall one afternoon
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: in particular, in the middle of the week, I was
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: sitting in my office trying to study and I couldn't.
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: I was tired. I was sleepy, but most of all,
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: I was discouraged. And so I got up from my
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: chair and I walked over to another chair and I
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: sat there and I just hung my head down and
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: I said, Lord, I'm just so tired. I'm just so tired.
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: And this verse bubbled up in my head. I had
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: learned it years ago as a kid. Matthew 10, 28.
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: Jesus said, come to me, all you who are weary
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: and heavy laden, and I'll give you rest. It was
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: like I had never heard that verse before. Because what
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: I heard Jesus saying was, come to me. Come to me.
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: Don't come to systems or religions, but come to me.
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: And that verse just The passage went from ink on
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: a page to balm for my soul. Now Jesus did
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: that for me through the Holy Spirit. It was the
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: Holy Spirit activating that verse. And that is the desire
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: of the Holy Spirit to bring to your remembrance what
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: you already know and to reveal things to you that
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: you might not know. He is your teacher. He is
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: the paraclete. You do not learn everything you need to
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: know on the day of your conversion. He does not
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: download everything in you. As you walk through life, He
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: either reveals or reminds what you need to know at
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: the right time. He is a good teacher. And He
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: loves to teach. He loves to teach. He loves to reveal.
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: He loves to remind. He loves to do for you
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: what my wife, Dinalyn, was doing the other day for
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: our two grandchildren. Rose is now four. Max is about
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: 20 months. Doesn't he have a great name, by the way?
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: I came home and there was Dean Lynn on the
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: floor with Max and Rose. And she was unpacking this
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: bag of matchbook-sized cars that she had just purchased. Those cars,
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: you remember, they have a way of generating their own energy.
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: Have you seen them? You know, you roll them back
• 29:57
  Speaker 1: and forth, back and forth, back and forth, and you
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: let them go, and poof, off they go. Oh, they're
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: so much fun. Rose already knew how it worked. And
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: so she took one and rammed it back and forth,
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: back and forth, and off it went. Oh, how she laughed. Max,
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: 20 months old, had never seen anything like it. Oh,
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: but was he excited. Dean Lynn was even more excited.
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: She was so happy to teach him. She considered... She
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: would have been nowhere else except right there. She was
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: so excited to see him excited. And she showed it
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: to him and then she handed it to him and
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: he did it, he did it, he did it. And
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: off it went. Oh, how he laughed. And Dean Lynn
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: laughed twice as loud. I'm going to say something to
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: you that may be a new thought for you. So
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: bear with me. I believe the Holy Spirit wants to
• 30:50
  Speaker 1: play the role That Dean Lynn played with little Max.
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: With us. He loves to teach us. He loves to
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: see us learn. He loves to see you have breakthroughs.
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: He loves for you to say. Oh I never thought
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: of it that way. And we know this is happening.
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: Because when he teaches. We have great responses. We know this.
• 31:19
  Speaker 1: Because the fruit of the spirit.
• 31:21
  Speaker 4: Remember.
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: Remember. Is what? Love and joy and peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
• 31:29
  Speaker 1: and self-control. So the Spirit-filled person is bearing these kind
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: of fruits. Because the Holy Spirit, the teacher, is constantly
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: teaching us. He's teaching us things that we need to know.
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: When He is your teacher, you can expect these fruits
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: to appear. So He wants to be your teacher. He
• 31:50
  Speaker 1: wants to be like Dinalin was to Max. The question is,
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: would you like to be like Max was to Dinalin?
• 32:02
  Speaker 1: Would you keep that childlike heart? Would you be teachable?
• 32:13
  Speaker 1: The only disaster in life is to say, I don't
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: need to learn anymore. That arrogance that comes to saying, oh,
• 32:20
  Speaker 1: I got it all figured out. That swagger that is
• 32:25
  Speaker 1: really a false pride. Humility, a childlike heart is the
• 32:33
  Speaker 1: soil out of which the fruits of the Spirit can grow.
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: You have a childlike heart and the Holy Spirit will
• 32:43
  Speaker 1: teach you. He will speak to you. How will he
• 32:47
  Speaker 1: speak to you? That's up to him. He may use scripture.
• 32:56
  Speaker 1: He may use a preacher. He may use the counsel
• 32:59
  Speaker 1: of a good friend. He may use that inner knowing,
• 33:03
  Speaker 1: that conviction that we have. He may use a dream.
• 33:08
  Speaker 1: He may use a vision. He's got a lot of
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: ways of getting our attention and teaching us. How he
• 33:15
  Speaker 1: teaches us is not up to us. What's up to
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: us is to be teachable. So I close by just saying,
• 33:25
  Speaker 1: let him teach you. Let him teach you. When you
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: wake up tomorrow morning, say, just teach me, Lord. Holy Spirit,
• 33:33
  Speaker 1: just teach me today. I'm listening today. I'm keeping one
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: ear inclined to heaven. Just teach me. I had the
• 33:40
  Speaker 1: greatest fun this week. You know what I got to do?
• 33:44
  Speaker 1: I got to go to this special golf outing. that
• 33:48
  Speaker 1: required the golfers to use a caddy. Oh boy, did
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: I feel special. I had a caddy. Have you ever
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: seen these caddies on television? These professional golfers have this
• 34:00
  Speaker 1: guy with them who's carrying their bag, who cleans the club,
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: who washes the golf balls. But most of all, he's
• 34:05
  Speaker 1: talking to them. He's conferring with them. He's counseling with them. Well,
• 34:10
  Speaker 1: I'd never been on this particular golf course. And to
• 34:14
  Speaker 1: play there, they provided a caddy. It was a kind
• 34:16
  Speaker 1: of a special thing. I was a little nervous because
• 34:19
  Speaker 1: I didn't really know how to interact with the caddy.
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: But off we went down the first fairway. I'd never
• 34:25
  Speaker 1: been there before, so I turned to the caddy. His
• 34:27
  Speaker 1: name was Joey. I said, Joey, have you done this before?
• 34:30
  Speaker 1: He said, I've done it for 20 years. I said, really? Here?
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: He said, here. I said, every day? Every day. I said,
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: how many times have you walked this golf course? He said,
• 34:43
  Speaker 1: about 10,000 times. Now, I know I fell off a
• 34:51
  Speaker 1: turnip truck, but I didn't fall off yesterday. So I
• 34:56
  Speaker 1: began thinking, hmm, I've never been on this golf course.
• 35:01
  Speaker 1: This guy has walked it 10,000 times. I said, Joey,
• 35:06
  Speaker 1: is there anything about this golf course you do not know?
• 35:09
  Speaker 1: He said, nothing. I said, you know, every hill, every turn,
• 35:14
  Speaker 1: every hill, every turn, every tree, I've got them all named,
• 35:18
  Speaker 1: he said. I know everything about, I could play this
• 35:22
  Speaker 1: golf course in the dark, he said. And I said, well,
• 35:27
  Speaker 1: I know what I'm going to do. And I began
• 35:30
  Speaker 1: to pepper him with questions. He was the authority. I
• 35:34
  Speaker 1: was the newbie. Every time I needed to know something,
• 35:39
  Speaker 1: I turned to Joey. Joey, how far is it to
• 35:41
  Speaker 1: that tree? He told me. How far is it to
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: that creek? He told me. How far do I need
• 35:46
  Speaker 1: to hit it to carry that creek? He told me.
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: Do I need to quit golf and take up bowling?
• 35:50
  Speaker 1: He told me. I would have been crazy, right? I
• 35:58
  Speaker 1: would have been crazy to pretend that I knew it
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: all when I had someone who truly did right there
• 36:04
  Speaker 1: with me whose desire was to teach me. Would you
• 36:07
  Speaker 1: not have considered me crazy if I didn't ask him
• 36:10
  Speaker 1: every question every time I had one? Would you not
• 36:13
  Speaker 1: consider me foolish to miss that opportunity? You know exactly
• 36:18
  Speaker 1: how I'm going to apply this little illustration. Would we
• 36:24
  Speaker 1: not be foolish to miss out on the opportunity to
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: ask the only one who truly knows everything, not just
• 36:33
  Speaker 1: 20 years of experience, but he has never not been
• 36:37
  Speaker 1: He is everywhere simultaneously. He is omniscient. He is omnipresent.
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: He is the expression of God on the planet right now.
• 36:45
  Speaker 1: He speaks to Christ on our behalf. He illuminates Christ
• 36:49
  Speaker 1: in our hearts. So this is our assignment. To stay
• 36:53
  Speaker 1: in mindful communion with the Holy Spirit. Mindful communion. That's
• 37:00
  Speaker 1: it right there. All day, every day. Never letting be
• 37:05
  Speaker 1: more than a thought from your thoughts. As you're walking
• 37:09
  Speaker 1: down the hallway. As you're driving through the traffic. As
• 37:11
  Speaker 1: you're heading into the meeting. As you're opening up the book.
• 37:14
  Speaker 1: Teach me Holy Spirit. Teach me. Teach me. Teach me.
• 37:20
  Speaker 1: Still can't remember the name of that guide. In Rome.
• 37:27
  Speaker 1: But I hope you and I will never forget the
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: name of the guide. From heaven. Our paraclete. Amen. Thank you, Lord,
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: for providing us, for not leaving us.
• 37:42
  Speaker 2: You don't have to be new.
• 37:47
  Speaker 4: You don't have to stay close. As long as you're
• 37:54
  Speaker 4: somewhere out there, that's enough for me.
• 38:00
  Speaker 5: I don't need to hold you near me Don't need
• 38:07
  Speaker 5: promises to keep.
• 38:10
  Speaker 6: Just the thought that you are breathing Somewhere in this
• 38:14
  Speaker 6: world I see Even if I'm not beside you Even
• 38:21
  Speaker 6: if you never know There's a quiet kind of comfort
• 38:26
  Speaker 6: Just in knowing you still glow.
• 38:31
  Speaker 4: I don't need forever I just need you to exist.
• 38:42
  Speaker 5: You don't have to stay with me You don't have
• 38:46
  Speaker 5: to feel the same Just as long as you're still
• 38:51
  Speaker 5: out there Calling softly through my days You don't have
• 38:56
  Speaker 5: to look my way You don't have to be my home.
• 39:03
  Speaker 6: It's enough to know you're living In a world I'm.
• 39:07
  Speaker 1: Not alone.
• 39:13
  Speaker 6: I won't chase you through the distance Won't disturb your
• 39:17
  Speaker 6: chosen life I'll just keep you in my silence.
• 39:22
  Speaker 4: Like a star that shines at night Through the dark
• 39:27
  Speaker 4: and through the blue.
• 39:33
  Speaker 5: I still think of you.
• 39:41
  Speaker 6: You don't have to be my home.
• 39:44
  Speaker 1: It's enough to.
• 39:46
  Speaker 5: Know you're living in.
• 39:48
  Speaker 6: A world I'm not alone.
• 40:20
  Speaker 4: I don't need to be your light I don't need
• 40:24
  Speaker 4: to cross your mind All I.
• 40:26
  Speaker 6: Need is just the truth That you're somewhere.
• 40:32
  Speaker 4: Still alive.
• 40:35
  Speaker 2: You don't have to stay with me You don't have
• 40:39
  Speaker 2: to feel the same Just as long as you're still
• 40:44
  Speaker 2: out there Calling softly through.
• 40:47
  Speaker 5: My days You don't have to look my way You
• 40:53
  Speaker 5: don't have to be my home It's.
• 40:56
  Speaker 6: Enough to know you're living
• 41:01
  Speaker 4: In a world I'm not alone.