Grasping What You Have Been Given | The Advantage | Twin Rivers Church

i want you to open your bible to uh the book of acts chapter nine uh if you're a guest so glad you're here today i can't wait for you to have some fun here in just a few moments uh as a matter of fact why don't you just turn to your neighbor and tell them you me waterslide 30 minutes just tell them that you me waterslide 30 minutes yeah okay just just challenge them right out of the gate it's going to be good it's going to be good online just i don't want you to miss out just take your water and pour it over your head right now just do that don't you miss out um so kayla and i um were in west virginia last week we were near our hometowns and it reminds me of a story there's an older lady who lived way out in the country and she was a country lady you know and she didn't have running water and she also did not have uh power electricity there was a government commission that initiated a um basically a service to where they would come in and put plumbing and power into these areas so they brought it in did the installations and now this woman's home was hooked up to power a few months passed though and the power company noticed that she was not using much of the power unusually so they send a technician to her home he comes up to this very humble meager home and knocks on the door and this lady comes to the door she gives him a big old grin with no teeth you know just as he answers the door and he said ma'am i'm from the power company and um i'm here because um it just appears to be that that we've ran power to this area but it doesn't seem like you're using it and you know because the the meters are so low um have you been using the power she said oh yeah absolutely he said okay well i'm a little confused could you explain to me how you're using the power she said well sure she said i take them their lights that you put in here she said when it gets dark i flip them on and she said i use that light just long enough to be able to light my lamps with these kerosene then i turn it right back off he kind of shook his head at this idea that she didn't know how to take advantage of the advantage she was now given and that story seems unbelievable but yet in a spiritual sense this happens in the life of countless people who follow christ that they don't know how to take advantage of the advantage they've been given they tend to live off their own wisdom only they tend to kind of determine they're going to depend on their own strength and they're living a powerless life never being mindful that you've been given an incredible advantage in the person of the holy spirit now when you mention the holy spirit in a crowd this size with an audience online the way it is i realize we come from different backgrounds you know they're going to be people in this room who you grew up and the only spirit you ever heard about was in a bottle they're going to be some of you who grew up with backgrounds that that actually taught you against something that would have to do with the holy spirit and then there are some who you saw some crazy stuff blamed on the holy spirit as your faith journey took place and i realized we all come with that baggage but here's what i think we need to settle on that we can sweep that aside and look to what jesus said about the holy spirit and in john 16 7 this is jesus's words he said nevertheless i tell you the truth it's for your advantage you've got an advantage and that i go away and that and if for if i do not go away the helper which is the holy spirit will not come to you but if i go i will send him to you so according to jesus regardless of your background if you're a believer in christ you've been given an extraordinary advantage known as the holy spirit and it's for that reason i want to spend the next few weeks on this topic i want to help you understand who the holy spirit is clear up some things that maybe you've misunderstood about him but more than anything else i want you to know him more so that you can live with the advantage that you've been given today i want to start with this i want to help you grasp what you've been given i want to help you grasp what you've been given because here's what i realized some of you are living as though you're at a disadvantage because you don't know how to take advantage of the advantage you've been given and so i want to help you with that today um now even as early as this moment some of you are thinking i don't know about this i mean i've you know i'm good with god the father i'm good to sing and understand about jesus but i'm not even sure i've ever had anything to do with the holy spirit i've never i've never done anything with him to my knowledge now that's a common thinking but it's an incorrect thinking because scripture tells us every single person who follows jesus considers themself a believer a christian is in a relationship with the holy spirit as a matter of fact first corinthians 6 11 says it this way some of you were once like that now what's he talking about well before this verse he gave a long list of what a former life before christ looks like i mean we're talking about messed up jacked up every which way but but godly he says all of us were like that but you were cleansed and made holy and put in right standing with god by calling on the name of jesus christ and by the spirit of god so did you catch that he says this um that your salvation from sin for eternal life your right relationship standing with god was facilitated by two works the work of jesus on the cross 2000 years ago and the work of the holy spirit in you today now this is an incredible truth um because what it's telling us is the moment you turned your life toward christ a divine process began whether you knew it or not and here's the process christ sends the holy spirit the holy spirit begins a relationship with us we experience his power we see completely differently now from god's perspective and finally we live out our calling now let me tell you again because i want you to get this maybe you even want to write it down the holy spirit is sent from christ to you to begin a relationship with you so that you could experience his power so that you see the world yourself and life differently according to god's perspective so that now you can live out the calling god put on your life before the foundations of the earth now that's good news unless you don't know it unless you're unaware of this process and if you're unaware it means this you could be following jesus without the advantage of living with the benefits of the holy spirit and to help you grasp that i want to show you acts chapter 9 it's a perfect picture of it here's the book of acts it's the 30 years that linger after christ's resurrection first 30 years of the church it's an amazing book filled with power pack moments and the first third of it reads like the church knows everything about how to launch like it's a perfect plan small prayers are prayed big results are given generous acts take place and and great growth comes bold preaching takes place and revivals begin in city after city i mean it looks like they can do no wrong until a man steps on the scene named saul of tarsus saul steps on scene not as a follower of jesus but an antagonist to jesus saul steps up and he believes jesus is the false teacher that he is dead in fact and not raised to life and saul is willing to do whatever it takes to stop this movement that jesus followers are trying to get started to the point that saul will arrest you and even oversees the death or murder of several people who are following jesus well this strikes fear in the heart of the church they begin to scatter and um and basically saul's kind of like pulling back in what the holy spirit's been putting out until a supernatural occurrence paul is on a road toward a city called damascus and the bible says that a great light brighter than the sun appears on the road knocks saul off his horse and though it's bright he can see in it a likeness of a man and then a voice comes from that moment and it turns out to be the voice of jesus saul is seeing the risen jesus listen it doesn't take a powerpoint and it don't take a presentation the moment he sees jesus in his glory paul sees his own sinfulness and he bows his knee and becomes a follower of the one who he was pursuing and persecuting in that moment now listen though he's now a follower of christ but do you know what his state is the scripture says he's blind helpless and awaiting his purpose can you say that with me blind helpless and awaiting your purpose the reason i ask you to say that is because i think that's the very state many of you are living in right now followers of jesus but not seeing the results you want to see there's a blindness to your faith you don't see the hand of god the way you want to see it helpless to stop having addictions appetites and attitudes you don't even want but yet here they are evident in your life and awaiting your purpose i think some of you right now if you're honest with yourself you'd say you know i thought i'd be further on than this i thought i'd have made more of a difference by now i thought that my life would have added up to a total that was greater than what it is at this point following jesus but i can't see what i want to see helpless to do what i want to do and still waiting on god to show me why i'm here now listen that may be your current state but that's not your destiny because god sent the holy spirit now he's unseen in your life but to help you see his work i want to show you how he shows up in paul's life in the embodiment of a man called ananias let me read you so the moment saul is knocked off his horse blind helpless and awaiting this is what happens next it says so the lord said to ananias go this man is my chosen chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the gentiles and their kings and the people of israel i will show him how much he must suffer for my name then ananias went to the house and entered it placing his hands on saul he said brother saul the lord jesus who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here has sent me that you may see again and be filled with the holy spirit immediately something like scales fell from saul's eyes and he could see again he got up and was baptized and after taking some food he regained his strength saul spent several days with the disciples in damascus and at once began to preach in his brand new purpose now this is amazing if you like the bible you love this do you know what ananias means it means the cloud of the lord now in the old testament the holy spirit would often come in the form of a cloud to lead the people of god so the lord sends a man named ananias that means cloud of the lord and then this is what happens notice he didn't come himself he was sent by christ he came in relationship because he says brother saul he helped saul experience god's power saul started seeing differently and immediately started to walk in his calling ananias is a picture of what the holy spirit does in the life of every believer notice this though saul chose to follow jesus and it altered his life but until he started to welcome the function of the holy spirit he didn't live with an advantage in life and that's where i think some of you are you're saul before ananias you're you've altered the direction but you ain't living with the advantage and i just want you to know as we launch into this series you cannot become who you are destined to be without the work of the holy spirit you cannot make it happen yourself you cannot strive enough you cannot become talented enough or get educated enough for the work that is needed in you only the holy spirit can do that and the reason i bring that up is because today there is this relegation to the back idea of the holy spirit like he's a lesser god that there are theologies that teach that he should be put to the side he's over analyzed and he's under-appreciated and i just want to say from the get-go in this series i standing here today me i am proud and a product of the holy spirit without him i would not be who i am you want to know who i am i'm ungodly i'm immoral and i'm selfish without the work of the holy spirit but he came in and today i live with integrity i live generously and i live apart from sin because of his work in my life i'm not here because i've got talent or ability that i know something or that i'm a good person it's only because every day he opens my eyes to what i need to see he helps me by holding my hand to help me to act the right way and he allows me to walk in my calling i'm nothing without the holy spirit but with him i have an advantage and i want you to have the same advantage in your life you need the holy spirit you need him now to just get us all on the same page here's what i got to do i got to give you some basics so today i i just want to give you three what i think are mind-blowing truths about how the holy spirit's working in your life three i mean they blow your mind to think this that god's working in your life this way here's the very first one the holy spirit was sent to you it was sent to you um now in the gospel of john john chapter 14 15-16 you will read some of the most amazing words you've ever read and here's why they're the words of jesus in a private conversation with his most dedicated followers and it's only 12 to 15 hours before he's crucified so this is jesus talking to the people who will inherit his mission when he leaves can you imagine what that conversation sounds like i mean if you were to meet with with your family because you knew you were about to exit you'd be saying now here here's where the safety deposit box is don't you be getting rid of my chair i know you never liked that chair but we're going to keep that chair let you be you'd be giving them a plan a strategy you would be you essential information you know what jesus talks about for those three chapters the holy spirit he doesn't tell them to do anything plan anything get together guys and he says hey let me tell you what you need the holy spirit and what he says is groundbreaking i mean it blows your mind john 16 7. here's what he says he's telling his disciples but very truly i tell you it's for your good that i'm going away unless i go away the holy spirit will not come but if i go i'll send him can you imagine being a disciple after spending three years with physical jesus hearing jesus's earthly voice seeing him like walking with him eating with him and for him to go hey you're better off with me gone makes no sense when they heard jesus was leaving they probably thought to themselves this is the end of my encounter with a living god how could it be good for jesus to go away physically and a spirit to come i can't even see well the answer is found in two words another an access another an access here's the first one another um jesus says this in john 14 16 and i will ask the father and he will give you another helper to be with you forever okay another is an interesting word because it can mean many things i mean consider if i was coming to you today and i say hey i want to give you another car okay let's assume you drive a cadillac escalade okay if i said i want to give you another car here's what that could mean first of all it means i want to give you a different car so i'm going to give you a ford mustang because it's another could mean i'm going to give you a similar car like a ford expedition another could mean i'm going to give you the same one but it's another one of the same meaning i'm going to give you another escalade it's not your essay but another one or i'm going to give you the exact same escalade you've been driving the one with french fries and that weird smell that's your i'm giving it to you the exact same so there are multiple definitions for another so when jesus says hey i've been your helper but i'm going to send you another what's he saying in the original language here's what he's saying i've been your helper these three years and i'm gonna send you another and he's not different he's not similar he's not even of the same he's exactly what i've been to you exactly the same i'm all-powerful he's all-powerful i'm all-knowing he's all-knowing i i was creator he was creator i'm god he's god it's enough it's exactly the same there'll be no difference now except for access now access is a big deal because um you've maybe said to yourself before i wish jesus was still here it would just be great if jesus was still here and that sounds good but let me explain what that would look like to you jesus was god in a physical body meaning he was contained in the physical nature so so that means if jesus was here today and he was going to give you time he would have to split it up according to his physical nature and according to all the other believers okay so so right now today on the planet there are about 2.2 billion believers in christ so let's imagine that jesus was here and you're going to get your allotted time with jesus well how much time would that be well let's consider that there's one jesus 24 hours in a day we're gonna have to give him roughly six hours to sleep one hour to eat and one hour to do you know his his own time with god because he prayed and and studied the scriptures and he he had to do all that being in bodily form so let's assume we take those hours out and what's left jesus gets to spend time with you we all stand in a big line you're gonna have your moment with jesus do you know how long you're gonna get with jesus point zero one second a tenth of a second that's not enough time to take a selfie with jesus that's what you get with jesus so i understand like the disciples when they heard he's going away they're saying jesus how is this good he says i'll tell you how it's good because as a man i'm limited in my ability to be with you but as the holy spirit i will be unlimited in my access to you that means this when you woke up this morning he was there when you go to bed tonight he'll be there when you go to work tomorrow he's going to be with you in this service he's here right now at your workout he will be with you when you go to pick the kids up he's going to be with you when you're sitting at the ball game he's going to be with you when you pray he's with you when you don't pray he's with you when you act right he's with you when you don't act right he's with you when you're at the best day of your entire life he's with you and when you're at the lowest point that you think no one cares he's with you you have continual constant access to the exact same spirit that was in christ jesus because he was sent to you that's an extraordinary advantage now here's the next one the holy spirit lives in you now this is common in christian circles to say but it's confusing if you really think about it have you ever heard someone say i asked jesus into my heart you know i god lives in me what does that really mean i mean really well first of all scripturally um you should just know it's not quite correct to say jesus lives in your heart scripturally jesus that lives in your heart the bible says he's sitting at the right hand of father of the father on his throne and he's praying for you continually but listen there is someone living in you it's the holy spirit now living what's that mean does that mean i've become a mindless drone i'm i'm possessed by him i mean what does that mean well let me explain it first corinthians 3 16 paul says do you not know that you are the temple of god and that the spirit of god dwells in you because so he if you're a believer he dwells in you okay the word dwells means to take up residence it means to abide to hang out to to relax in the presence of someone so let me be clear when you chose to follow christ the holy spirit moved in but not to possess you he's politely at the door of your heart wanting access to your life now if you were to come to my house and if i was to come to your house my guess is when i open the door you open the door we would both say to the guest come in make yourself at home wouldn't we do that you say that isn't that the biggest lie i mean consider that you don't mean that you're being polite but not honest what you mean is make yourself at home in this living room in that half bathroom over there i do not want you making yourself at home down that hallway because you'll see all the unfolded laundry and in that room you're going to see all those toys i mean toys for days and listen in that closet you'll see all the things we picked up out of this room to throw in that room so you could be presentable in this room anybody else i bring that up for this reason in the spiritual sense many many many people say holy spirit come make yourself at home but don't you go back in that room don't you go to that dirty laundry you go to those memories don't you go to my finances don't you go to this relationship i want you to stay where it's presentable where it looks good on sunday but you can't have full access and here's the problem until he can move fully and freely you never experience the full measure of his power he'll politely wait at the door of your heart but you'll never experience all that he can do in your life he has to be able to go into the library of your mind and see all the thoughts you don't want nobody to see he has to be able to go into the back room and see the dirty laundry he has to go into the most secret places and look under your bed at the things that you're hiding from everyone else he has to go to the living room and see the relationships and how they're conducted in private he has to have full access if you want to have full power but listen listen i know that's intimidating i know for some of us we think but if he saw what i thought and how i acted and what i did he would not only be displeased he might leave that couldn't be further than the truth let me tell you why it's not true here the first one is he already knows that's one of the benefits of being all-knowing i already know i already know what you think i already know how you act i already know what you're like not only that but he specializes some guests come and make a mess of your house other guests come and make the house better he comes in and brings order to the chaotic thoughts he comes in and cleans out all the dirt and grime you've not been able to get rid of in your heart it's incredible the difference he makes and listen here's the last one to dwell means this that he has decided to be permanent resident so let me say it this way he's never looked at your heart like a hotel he's always looked at it as his permanent dwelling he's never considered moving out he came to make himself at home which is why by the way this this verse means so much knowing that for i am convinced that neither death nor life neither angels nor demons neither the present nor the future nor any powers neither height nor depth nor anything in us in all creation you know what that includes you will be able to separate me from the love of god that is in christ jesus he lives in you now there's a more theologically complex way to answer this question but here's the question how can i have more of the spirit's power here's the simple answer you just keep opening the doors of your heart you should open him to this door and then this one and then this one and you keep saying make yourself at home and the more he gets access the more you live in the advantage here's the last one the holy spirit is for you now listen when i was first introduced to the holy spirit i thought i was such a mess that god had given me a divine parole officer that's what i thought i thought he was heaven's ankle bracelet that's what i really thought i thought i'm so messed up that's why he's giving me the holy spirit that couldn't be further listen he's for you that's why jesus calls him helper not policeman he's for you and and in the the john 14 16 the amplified version says this and i will ask the father and he will give you another helper here's what helper includes an advocate an intercessor a counselor a strengthener standby to be with you forever let me just pause on those for a second you've got an advocate you know what that means i have met tens of thousands of people and i've never met anybody like the holy spirit he's never not been for you he's only ever said good things about you to other people and if you're in a situation where you can't defend yourself you're in a situation where others have con contrived this this reality that is not true if you're in a situation where you can't be in the room to make it happen like it should happen for you you have an advocate who is in that room working in every single heart saying good things about you and working it together for your good according to his purpose not not only that you have an intercessor there are moments in our lives where our hearts grow away from one another we have conflict between husband and wife between friends between just just boston and employee and we can't come together and in those moments an intercessor steps in between those two hearts and he comes in and he begins to mediate hearts coming back together he begins to mediate the disagreement he brings reconciliation when two hearts don't want it because he knows what's in their heart and he knows what's in your heart and he knows what it will take to bring them back together if you're married you need the holy spirit because there's going to be times you don't want to forgive you don't want to say you're sorry you don't want to give up on the pride and he'll pull your hearts hearts hearts hearts together because he's an intercessor listen he's also a counselor there's nothing he doesn't know he's he's the best at every topic he's the best at business he's the best at parenting he's the best advisor he's the best life coach and he's the best at communication listen he knows when you don't know what to say he'll tell you when you don't know what to ask he'll tell you when you don't know how to explain the depths of the frustrations that are in your heart he can do it and here's the best part he's available 24 7 and he doesn't charge anything he's your private counselor now listen he's also a strengthener some of you are here today and you're ready to give up you're weak tired and you're ready to give up on a marriage or a career a a you know even life it's because you don't have enough strength but you have a strengthener and he can give strength mental and emotional he can give strength spiritual he can give strength physically to you romans 8 11 says and if the spirit of him who raised jesus from the dead is living in you he who raised christ from the dead will also bring life to what your mortal body he's saying if the holy spirit has enough power to bring dead jesus back to life he can come in and give you energy heal your body and break an addiction that you cannot break on your own you have a never-ending source of strength in your life with the holy spirit but my favorite standby you know what that is life inevitably has crisis they're unexpected you didn't see it coming and listen you don't have enough time to learn everything you need to learn to make decisions in it scripture says you have been given an ever present help in a time of need i met somebody this week in our lobby a lady who's lived a very fit and and healthy life out of nowhere cancer diagnosis shook her to the core and when you get a cancer diagnosis it's not like one of those things to say hey we'll see you in six months immediately you're expected to pick treatment plans you're expected to schedule things you're going to decide surgeries or this i mean and you don't have time to learn everything to make educated decisions she picks a plan it follows with procedures multiple procedures she said but pastor is i laid in that recovery room she said i was at such peace i rested so well i just knew god had me listen listen how does that that's not natural that's supernatural she had the advantage of a standby sometimes the holy spirit doesn't divert you from crisis he takes you right through it and you don't see it coming but he does and he stands by immediately to bring what you need hey she she's doing great she's cancer-free but listen she came through it because of that standby if you're a believer you've never been disadvantaged once in your life you've never been alone you've never been blind or helpless or waiting you have an advantage but to see that advantage increase its activity in your life there is something you have to do as a matter of fact there's only one thing you can do if you're here today and say pastor i want that so bad i want that so bad there's only one thing that allows the advantage to to grow in your life and i'm going to show it to you here it is ii peter 1 2. grace and peace how many people want more grace and more peace anybody yeah grace and peace be help me with this word multiplied so it's multiplied it's not added it grows exponentially multiplied in your life how through the knowledge of god of christ jesus our lord whose divine power has already given us all things that pertain to life and godliness so let me explain this to you how many of you in your home use um power strips come on if you've got a power strip in your house let me see i know some of you got so many things plugged into it i mean it's a fire hazard waiting to happen right okay let's talk about a power strip a power strip is when you have it's not a power problem it's an access to power problem right you only got two outlets and you need access to more power so you put in a power strip and it multiplies right you go from two outlets to eight outlets doesn't add outlets it multiplies them okay now let's be clear though a power strip does not put more power in the house right i mean the house was already at maximum power it just gives you more access to power okay good when you chose to follow christ the holy spirit came in you and he wired you with all power needed for life and godliness you don't need more of the holy spirit he's at his maximum already in your life your problem is you need more access to that power and the only way you multiply it is by growing in your knowledge of him now what does knowledge mean knowledge doesn't mean i learn more about him it means i know him so simple i need more access to the advantage i know him more in my life and the more i know him the greater the advantage the less i know him the lesser the advantage so here's why here's what i'm saying this is the most important part of the whole day you deserve to give yourself a season where you pour your whole life into knowing the holy spirit you deserve an intentional decision today to say i'm going to give everything i can to learn about him to hear about him to to read about it but i want to know him at the end of this and the more i know of him the greater advantage he's going to release in me you deserve that for your life and so i want to help you lead i want to lead you into that with this series i want you to stand on your feet there are two people in this room here's the first one you're not in a relationship with jesus christ let me be very clear if you're not in a relationship with jesus christ everything i talked about today is not available to you because christ comes first the spirit is a response sent from our surrender to christ now i'm gonna come back to you in just one second but let me say there's a second group of people you're following christ but you feel blind helpless and you're still trying to figure out your purpose you're stale and you need a fresh stirring of the holy spirit in your life he's there but he needs more access he's there but but but you need more partnership you need to know him more if that's you you're that second person in just a moment we're going to worship and then pastor justin's going to come and he's going to give you an opportunity to receive prayer up up here a prayer team members are going to be with you i want you to listen i want you to take advantage if you're that second person i want you today to step out and receive prayer um it's just a step of faith but god needs some faith to work to stir something listen we got a lot of fun can i just be honest we got a lot of fun but more than you need to be wet you need a fresh stirring of the holy spirit you need that in your life you need it in your life so when he tells you i want you to respond and receive prayer today for that fresh touch and we're going to go on this journey together i've got so much more to teach you about the holy spirit but but today it starts with this god i need you i need to know you more now every head bowed and every eye closed please for that first group if you're here today and you do not know the lord jesus christ you're not in a relationship with him so what does that mean i'm not saying you don't attend church i'm not saying your mama wasn't a deacon i'm not saying that that you don't have the label or the claim i'm saying you don't know that you have a relationship with god he's not the one calling the shots he's not the one directing your life you don't have peace you don't sense trust in him and listen you're not sure if you'd passed away you're not sure what eternity would look like if you don't have that kind of assurance of a relationship today's your day to make a decision jesus 2000 years ago on the cross paid for all sin and opened a way for us to have a relationship with god and the moment you choose to follow him by acknowledging a decision of faith the holy spirit comes and begins that relationship so if you're here today i don't want to embarrass you but i i do want to give you a chance to make that decision and i want to pray for you hey what's up guys we hope that this message you just heard blessed you to always get our newest messages and to stay up to date be sure to subscribe to our youtube channel and click that bell icon to be notified every time we upload now while you're here go ahead and check out our page and some other messages we've got and we'll see you next time

Channel: TwinRivers.Church

Views: 319

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: Jesus, Church, Twin Rivers Worship Center, St. Louis

Id: kTmBoJwwlRQ

Length: 37min 32sec (2252 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 12 2021