“[W]e are not filled with an influence; we are not filled with a sensation; we are not filled with a set of ideas and truth; we are not filled with a blessing, but we are filled with a Person … and its very essence is the indwelling life of Christ Himself”― A.W. Tozer
But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. 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. Romans 8:9-11 NLT
Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NLT
But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. John 16:7 NLT
Sadly most Christians acknowledge that The Holy Spirit is there, but they do not allow Him to have a functional impact in their lives.
Who is this person The Holy Spirit?
1. The Holy Spirit is our Helper
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. John 14:16-17 NLT
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’ John 16:13-15 NLT
How does the Holy Spirit help us?
He is our Advocate
“But I will send you the Advocate—the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me. John 15:26 NLT
But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. 1 John 2:1 NLT
He speaks to us
There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. John 16:12-14 NLT
And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. John 16:8 NLT
He convicts us
He shows righteousness
2. The Holy Spirit is a Friend
You can truly determine whether someone is a true friend by what they are adding to your life.
What values does the Holy Spirit add to our lives?
“When we are at our wits’ end for an answer, then the Holy Spirit can give us an answer. But how can He give us an answer when we are still well-supplied with all sorts of answers of our own? -Karl Barth
Power
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere. Acts 1:8 NLT
Love
And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. Romans 5:5 NLT
The Holy Spirit...seemed to go through me, body and soul. I could feel the impression, like a wave of electricity, going through and through me. Indeed it seemed to come in waves and waves of liquid love for I could not express it in any other way. -Charles Finney
No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. 1 John 4:12 NLT
Fruit
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!... Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Galatians 5:22-23;25 NLT
Gifts
It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have. 1 Corinthians 12:11 NLT
Two obstacles that hinder our relationship with the Holy Spirit
1. Comfort
2. Volume
Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” Matthew 17:20 NLT
Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. Mark 11:22-24 NLT
1. YOU MUST START DREAMING
2. YOU MUST START DESIRING
3. YOU MUST START BEING AUDACIOUS
4. YOU MUST BEGIN
5. YOU MUST START EXPECTING
6. YOU MUST START AFFIRMING
SPEAKING ACTIVATES BELIEVING
Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way. We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. James 3:2-5 NLT
YOUR WORDS ARE POWERFUL
The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences. Proverbs 18:21 NLT
YOUR WORDS ARE DIRECTIONAL
And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. James 3:4 NLT
YOUR WORDS HAVE A QUICK IMPACT
But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. James 3:5 NLT
Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Philippians 4:4 NLT
"Feelings are important in many areas but completely unreliable in matters of faith" Eugene Peterson
7. YOU MUST UNDERSTAND THERE IS A TIME OF WAITING
Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time. -Oswald Chambers
Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:4-5 NLT
TRUST SAYS THAT LIFE WILL NEVER MAKE SENSE APART FROM GOD AND I WILL TRUST HIS NATURE AND HIS TIMING DESPITE WHAT SEASON I AM IN.
SOMETIMES YOUR SEASON OF WAITING IS BECAUSE YOU NEED PRUNING
I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. John 15:1-2 NLT
“My child, don’t make light of the lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you. For the lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.” Hebrews 12:5-6 NLT
HE CANNOT BE A GOD THAT LOVES AND A GOD THAT IGNORES BECAUSE THEY CONTRADICT THEMSELVES.
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. Romans 5:3-4 NLT
Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me— now let me rejoice. Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Psalms 51:7-10 NLT
SOMETIMES YOUR SEASON OF WAITING IS BECAUSE YOU NEED TO START SOWING
SOWING IN SHORT IS OBEDIENCE AND THAT IS THE FOUNDATION THAT PRODUCES GROWTH.
8. YOU MUST SURRENDER
May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10 NLT
He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Matthew 26:39 NLT
While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God. Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. Hebrews 5:7-9 NLT
God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. Ephesians 1:22 NLT
If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world. You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God: Your towns and your fields will be blessed. Your children and your crops will be blessed. The offspring of your herds and flocks will be blessed. Your fruit baskets and breadboards will be blessed. Wherever you go and whatever you do, you will be blessed. The Lord will conquer your enemies when they attack you. They will attack you from one direction, but they will scatter from you in seven! The Lord will guarantee a blessing on everything you do and will fill your storehouses with grain. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. Deuteronomy 28:1-8 NLT
TO GOD LITTLE THINGS ARE BIG THINGS
Do not despise these small beginnings, for the lord rejoices to see the work begin Zechariah 4:10
“If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. Luke 16:10
I look up to the mountains—does my help come from there? My help comes from the lord, who made heaven and earth! Psalms 121:1-2 NLT
This understanding of eyes fixed on God creates something inside of us that we cannot sit still… We cannot settle for surviving and just getting by, but we must move forward…
WE MUST HAVE A PASSION FOR GROWTH, A FERVOR FOR PURPOSE, A RESOLVE TO ADVANCE, AND FAITH THAT GOD IS STILL IN THE MIRACLE BUSINESS!
1. YOU MUST START DREAMING
2. YOU MUST START DESIRING
3. YOU MUST START BEING AUDACIOUS
4. YOU MUST BEGIN
“I had deep within me the inability to do nothing. I knew I may die, but I also knew I would not die with a bullet in my back” Joshua Chamberlain
WHEN WE REALIZE AN INDECISION IS A DECISION WE WILL REALIZE AN INACTION IS AN ACTION.
Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.” Isaiah 6:8 NLT
GOD WILL TEST THE RESIDENCE OF OUR FAITH.
You have tested us, O God; you have purified us like silver. Psalms 66:10 NLT
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. James 1:2-4 NLT
5. YOU MUST START EXPECTING
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1 NIV
WHAT DO THE TESTS OF GOD DO?
By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death. Hebrews 11:17-19 NIV
And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. At that moment the angel of the lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!” “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.” Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the lord will provide”). Genesis 22:10-14 NLT
IT IS ONE THING TO KNOW GOD IS YOUR PROVIDER IT IS ANOTHER THING TO EXPERIENCE THAT GOD IS YOUR PROVIDER.
So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. Romans 8:15-16 NLT
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. Acts 1:8 NLT
“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it! John 14:12-14 NLT
DO WE LOVE THE DREAM GOD GAVE US MORE THAN THE GOD WHO GAVE US THE DREAM?
Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever. Psalms 73:25-26 NLT
“Hope is the great power that can move you to success. Why? Because when a man expects to win, he does not hold anything back, but gives his project all that he's got. Most people fail not because they lack ability, intelligence, or opportunity, but they fail because they don't give it all they've got.” Dr. Norman Vincent Peale
Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. James 2:21-23 NLT
The people crossed the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month. Then they camped at Gilgal, just east of Jericho. It was there at Gilgal that Joshua piled up the twelve stones taken from the Jordan River. Then Joshua said to the Israelites, “In the future your children will ask, ‘What do these stones mean?’ Then you can tell them, ‘This is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ For the Lord your God dried up the river right before your eyes, and he kept it dry until you were all across, just as he did at the Red Sea when he dried it up until we had all crossed over. He did this so all the nations of the earth might know that the Lord ’s hand is powerful, and so you might fear the Lord your God forever.”Joshua 4:19-24 NLT
THE TRUTH IS THAT SUCCESS, IF NOT REFLECTED UPON PROPERLY, CAN BECOME YOUR GREATEST ENEMY TOWARDS PROGRESSION.
“There came a time in my life when I honestly prayed: “God, I want your power!” Time wore on and the power did not come. One day the burden was more than I could bear. “God, why haven't you answered that prayer?” God seemed to Whisper back his simple reply. “With plans no bigger than yours, you don't need my power.” - Carl Bates
Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 NLT
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. Ephesians 1:18-21 NIV
Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” Matthew 17:20 NLT
1. YOU MUST START DREAMING
2. YOU MUST START DESIRING
3. YOU MUST START BEING AUDACIOUS
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1 NIV
faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. James 2:17 NIV
FAITH WITHOUT A WORLDLY RISK IS A CONTRADICTION.
1. WHAT DOES GOD THINK?
2. WHAT DO YOU, IN YOUR OWN HEART THINK?
3. WHAT DO YOUR WISE FRIENDS THINK?
4. WHAT DOES YOUR COMMUNITY THINK?
For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. I Corinthians 4:15 NKJV
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts of the Apostles 1:8 NLT
PLOW
PRAY
LISTEN
OBEY
WOW
For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you [in favor], and you shall be cultivated and sown. Ezekiel 36:9 AMP