The Spirit Of God [Life with God] Tim Mackie (The Bible Project)

hi everybody hey guys dude I'm really good yeah I'm doing really good man it's a real privilege to be here with you guys I think I'm every speaker is supposed to say that right but I really I actually really feel that way reality San Francisco and so as I've gotten to know Dave and Dave over the last few months there's just so much overlap of passion and values with what we're doing a door of Hope right in the core of Portland it's a it's a young church it's actually began the same year the same summer as reality San Francisco and we're trying to be a presence of Jesus and a witness to Jesus right in the core of urban Portland and you know when you do that kind of thing Jesus does his thing and it's a wild ride that's just all I'll say and so it's fun to meet people who were on a similar journey in other cities you guys this is my my wife and I arrived here Friday afternoon this is our first weekend away from our tiny children in two years so thank you it's also a privilege cuz just thank you that's just the greatest gift and so we arrived like at Friday at noon this our first time around San Francisco from my wife and I and so we promptly walk 18 miles of your city over the last 36 hours and it's the it's such a great place you guys this is such an awesome city it's the second best city in the world the first is of course Portland right and because where I'm born and raised so anyway but but really like this is it's a privilege to be here I'm doing this for free they paid me to get on a plane kind of thing but like it's just really it's wonderful to be here thank you for having me down back in January Dave and Dave the two days and I got together and Dave asked for my help Dave Loomis asked for my help architecting this series so back in January they were praying and thinking about this series that you've been in in the Gospel according to John and so Dave and I had met and he asked for my help and so we spent a whole day exploring the Gospel of John thinking about it praying about it and then putting the series together and he he said that I should come down and be a part of it so that's why I'm here that there you go that's why I'm here and how is it how's it going John the Gospel according to John yeah so man like huh imagine I'm trying to imagine a more profound work than the Gospel according to John and both its subtlety its beauty and its revelation of who Jesus of Nazareth is who he was what he said what he did and what that reveals not just about history and who he is but about who who God is and so that's what you've been tracking through in this first through the first half of the Gospel according to John John 1 through 12 about stories it's all been stories of Jesus meets somebody and there's some tension or Jesus says something that's puzzling imagine Jesus saying something confusing right and so and then like they people misunderstand him and then Jesus does nothing to defuse the tension he just like says even more strange things or whatever and then it ends up with Jesus having making these long speeches about himself and who he is there we go right it's been every week so as you've gone through John chapter 1 through 12 and what these stories are designed to do is is create scenarios where Jesus begins to reveal who he is and who God is and how the two of those are really close together but it's all changing right actually today it's kind of a turning hinge point in in the series and in the Gospel according to John because all of a sudden we've been covering you know like a to his years in 12 chapters Gospel according to John now we're transitioning today into the section in the second half of the gospel but specifically chapters 13 through 17 called the Upper Room discourse and and we're going to begin the series from here on out called life with God two and a half years twelve chapters the rest of the book of three days and specifically chapters 13 through 17 you know huge long chapters cover one night so just think think about how the story works like that it's like slow-mo alright it's like a fast machine there's like slow-mo we're in the room and Jesus has these final words to give to these closest followers of him those who have stuck with him and who are having that final Passover meal with him and it's the night before his arrest and the execution and the trial and so on and so Jesus is trying to he has one key piece of news he has to break to them he's been trying to tell them for a while but they're clueless but he's really got to try and communicate now and that's it he's leafing the language he's gonna use we're gonna see that he says I'm going away and what he's referring to is the fact that he's going to be arrested and hung on a Roman execution rack and then buried and then he's going to be raised from the dead he's been trying to tell them about this but it's like the moments here and after that the way that he is with his disciples the way that Jesus is with his disciples it's going to change and so he uses this language I'm going I'm going away and they are gonna think that that's really bad but Jesus thinks it's really good he says it's a good thing because he says I'm going to come back but and I'm going to come and be with you but it's gonna be different than how I was with you I'm going to be with you by sending the person of the Spirit and so that's what we're gonna explore today and so let's just actually hear Jesus's words this is what he says to them right at the beginning of the Upper Room discourse he says my children is a term of affection to refer to the disciples he says I'm gonna be with you just a little bit longer and you're gonna look for me and just as I told the Jews so I'm telling you now where I'm going you cannot come this is how he opens the conversation I'm going away and they're really troubled by this and they ask him all these questions but then he says these words he makes a promise to them he says listen I'm going to ask the Father and he will give you another advocate to help you and to be with you forever and who's that spirit the spirit of truth now that so let's just pause real quick here look so look at the vocabulary being used here I've been with you now I'm going away and another another advocate which is a word that's talking about someone who comes alongside another person to help and to guide them so like think of an iconic image like think of you know Johnny helping grandma across the street something like that right so it's like it's an advocate to someone to come alongside to aid and sustain and to end to help and so Jesus says there's I've been that for you right here I'm a human Jesus so right here with I've been with you guys but now there's another guide and helper coming and that's the spirit now listen the world's not gonna be that stoked on the spirit because it doesn't like where's the spirit who is the spirit doesn't see him doesn't know the spirit but you know him he's gonna live with you and be in you and that little get his last scepter he says now I'm not gonna leave you as orphans I'm going to come to you like wait Jesus you just said you're going away but now you're saying you're not going to leave us you're going to come be with us I thought you're going away are you coming you're going Jesus you know make up your mind and so pay attention do you get it I'm going away but that's a good thing I'm going to another is going to come and be with you and so in that sense I'm actually not leaving you at all I'm coming to be or do you get it yeah yeah okay welcome you couldn't pay me a thousand dollars to explain the Trinity to my son in in two minutes well we'll make a video about it for the Bible project one day then we'll have six minutes and then we'll try but right now there you go so I'm not gonna try and unpack that right now to here Jesus is saying there's a new character coming into the story you guys think it's bad go away I'm telling you it's good because Jesus he's he's more than a human but he is a human he can be in one place in one time he's in the room with them twelve they can all hear him but he if if the Jesus Movement is going to spread and if Jesus is going to become a personal reality and presence to every one of his followers as the movement spreads and as more people learn about Jesus and are compelled to give themselves to following him if it's gonna stay if it's gonna stay in this room then of course he could just you know it doesn't have to go anywhere but if it's gonna leave this room and expand he has to go and he has to come and be with them in a different way than he has been up to this point you guys tracking with Jesus so he says in a different way right here John chapter 16 he brings it up later he says very truly I tell you it's good that I'm going away unless I go away The Advocate will not come to you but if I go I will send him to you so he's going again but then he's coming also at the same time do you get okay right that's his old shtick now I won't use that anymore but you get the idea Jesus Jesus is going to come and to be with his disciples but in a different way than he has been he's going to be with them in the person of the Advocate the Spirit okay so let's just stop right here and here because here's what Dave actually asked me to do okay so we're gonna we're gonna come back to these sayings of Jesus about the Spirit in the upper room but for the most part I think in our culture and Portland culture is very very similar to San Francisco culture in terms of its spiritual climate when you use that word spirit there's 10 people in a room but about 15 different meanings of that word in that room you guys know what I'm saying it's not like the famous saying you asked three rabbis you'll get four opinions and everything you say the word spirit and cities like Portland or San Francisco to a room was ten people and you'll you'll actually people will hear about 15 different things it's a very is a very fuzzy word in our culture and so many many of you maybe you grown up around the church and so you hear Jesus talk about the spirit and you're like yeah the spirit whatever and I mean some of you are coming back to following Jesus after a long time and you're trying to rethink everything from the ground up and you're like spirit yeah what is going on there what is that about because your friends that work they might use the word spirit too but they don't seem to mean the same thing that Jesus means and just and just for example you know last night on my old 13 or whatever it was we walked around the city and we are up in the fancy part with lots of fancy parts but on on Polk Polk Street near Lafayette Park anybody up there we were up there for watched a sunset it was really great up there and as we came down we were walking down that hill we passed by this really beautiful building called the Center for science and religion and spirituality you guys know and it had this big banner out in the front on the front of the building that says receive your message from spirit and I was like yes that's exactly right so we have that building in Portland too we have tons of them actually you know and so you spirit so it's a common English word that I think when we see it in a New Testament we all have our stories and backgrounds of what that what spirit is or what that means and we tend to just read that into say the sayings of Jesus oh I don't want to do today actually it's kind of back up and just like pause like when Jesus says spirit he has a whole back story in his head he grew up immersed in a particular story in the in the Hebrew Scriptures and the Hebrew Scriptures develop this character of God's Spirit starting on page one as we're gonna see in a second here and when Jesus says spirit he doesn't mean what most people in our culture mean when we say the word spirit and you might even realize that he doesn't mean what you thought the word means means something actually very specific and so book as we kind of begin this life with God series we're talking about the personal presence of Jesus with us and so I want to pause on Jesus's teaching and go back to the story that he just assumes that you know when he starts talking about this beard you guys with me okay so when so how do we want to start here I invite you to grab a Bible turn to page 1 of the Bible should be very easy easy for you to find and as or turn on your phones and scrolled page 1 or whatever however you want to do that as you do that let me yes let me show you a picture of my son right we're far away from him right now and so this is my little guy Roman and maybe the Lighting's not so good can you see that he's really interested in a little creature on the curb that's a slug it's a slug now so they trust me trust me this has to do with the spirit so march/april is is slug season right so rainy season it's a lot cooler than here and gray and spits on you and that kind of thing from the sky and so the lots of rain and the slugs come out this is slug season and my little son Roman he's 3 and he's fascinated with these creatures and they really are fascinating creatures slugs and so he whenever he sees one he gets really jazzed and so he wants to do this right stare stare at will he's doing more than staring at it but I'll talk that about that in a second so we're looking at the slug and yeah he asked me this question he says detta why is it going and I thought to myself oh of course what he means is where is it going you know no my going down here buddy you know surely he he can't actually be asking why is it going he's not a philosopher yet he's three [Laughter] so I corrected him I was like oh you mean where is it going buddy and then he corrected me he was like no data why is it going I'm totally serious and I was you know and then I'm like I think he's asking me that really awesome that's really awesome I think he's asked me that question and so then my brain went like well how do I want to frame this how do I talk about this in a way the meaning of the universe write to my son talking about the slug and and so I was like well buddy and then he was like daddy let's spit on it so I don't know if you can see us fiddle on his lips and it's used to get a little puddle he wanted the slug to go into the puddle of spit and that's what he's doing there and then I was like back to your question he look at the fire truck getting the news awesome next thing whatever but so so there you go so put put yourself in his shoes right why is it why is it going is a remarkable little creature like what right like what I don't know what he meant by that question to be honest with you but I'm just gonna act like he was asking about the meaning of the universe why like why is it going what makes it go you know there's slugs and there's also salamanders those are incredible - and snakes and all these other creatures like what on what makes it go why is it going if you would have asked that question to Jesus or to any Jewish person raised and immersed in the story of the Hebrew Scriptures you would have gotten a very clear answer to that question and the answer that question would be will the spirit spirit why you don't know spirit page one sentence one even let's make this really easy for us right since it's one we're going to read the first three verses in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth now the earth was formless and empty darkness was over the surface of the deep and who's there hmm second sentence of the this this must be an important character in the storyline of the Bible you have God in the first sentence and then spirit in the second sentence of the Bible spirit is their spirit of God hovering over the waters and God said let there be light and there was light and it goes on okay so let's just pause so million debates and controversies whatever don't care about that right now so what I want to ask the question of just who who so first sentence who is the the person behind the the origins who is the author the originator of all that exists according to sentence one of the Bible Scott there's not a trick question it's actually like so I'm a big fan of like look down at the page and just you know simple question so so God okay so so you begin the story with God makes everything those different views on how that sentence works I view it as a title but whatever just something you might disagree with me so the bits like umbrella sentence over the whole story what is a story about in the way back when in the beginning God made everything that is now how did that happen let's get the story moving and what you get is a story about earth don't think globe just think land here land was formless and empty and there's darkness over the surface of the deep watery abyss now just pause we don't have time to talk about any of this though it's totally fascinating does darkness formless and void watery abyss does this sound like a nice place to hang out for here can you go I have a picnic there with your friends and play well you know frisbee and this can you do that in a space like this No so whatever it is it's it's chaotic its wasteland it's a place that can't they can't sustain life and so who is there in the midst of very dark chaotic environments poised to bring about life and light and beauty and order who's there spirit of God now just just stop and and scratch your head and you'll have you'll be joining you know millennia a millennia long chain of Bible readers right by Christian and then even pre-christian and Jewish readers of lack what's going on here why doesn't it just say God was there amongst the dark water are you like you have God made right in the beginning God so God makes everything so how does that story actually work well it began with this dark chaotic water who I said and who's they're gonna bring Wyatt and beauty out of the darkness Spirit of God why does it just say God are you with me it's just a simple question but I could so hoo-hoo remember who question who is responsible for the authoring in the originating and bringing order to our world who God and so this is either or is it God or spirit doesn't at all seem that way so somehow and even way back you can go to pre-christian interpretation of these early verses of the Bible Jewish readers are scratching their heads going there it seems as if the God is being introduced in this story has some kind of inner complexity some kind of inner plurality inner distinction because there's God and there's also Spirit of God they're distinct but they're also it's the one true God of Israel in scriptures now so let's pause you guys with me on the who question spirits really important that's all I could have just said that I'm sorry but I you know I go on so all right now so what does this mean if that's the who what what is spirit and let's get out a little bit I'll teach you some words you may have come across these before but why not do it again so in Hebrew the word that's being translated as spirit right here is the word Ruach and the KH it's the clear your throat letter right so say it with me rock you spit a little bit right so Ruach and that so that's in in the Hebrew Scriptures Old Testament and then in the New Testament which written in Greek the word translated spirit is numa numa class it's never right so I I'm one of those guys too I did I do that to people I teach anyway so alright so rue Arkin and Newman so what this the who what's the what what is Ruach what is the Ruach of God hovering there in the myths put put your hand up to your mouth put your hand and say some say hello hello so you may realize you need a breath mint it's okay alright just do it before the service is over so anyone but hello alright no sorry I shouldn't said that I hand up because I want you to keep your hand right here hand up when you say hello hello do you feel that you feel something now if you look down do you see anything now you don't see anything but you feel something on your hand what is that it's your it's your Ruach that's your rule so what is that right so don't be a modern Western earns be like oh is vapour particles and carbon dioxide are like ok not it's a when reading the Bible to cross-cultural experience you need to check your view of everything at the door and put yourself in this ancient authors whom God used to speak his word to his people and so when this author uses the word Ruach he doesn't mean carbon dioxide vapor particles right so what so what is the rule off right well you can't see it but it's it's a very real thing that you can feel and actually less so think of it this way you go to Dolores Park also what a wonderful place in that playground yeah actually made me want to have my kids here with me because that playground is you guys know what I'm the new playground unbelievable so anyway so you're in Dolores Park and you're having a picnic you're playing frisbee cuz it's not formless and void watery chaos there it's very beautiful and ordered so you're playing frisbee and you notice that someone's passed out unconscious in the middle of the park and you're like wow this actually happens every day I'm sure so you you you go to the what's the first thing you do you go run what's the first thing you wanted you have to check their condition what are you gonna do so you gonna pulse right so do this check the pulse or whatever or you might do first or might be a little easier or whatever would be to what put your ear down to their mouth and what are you what are you trying to send you're trying to sense whether there's any Ruach in this person so rule what so rule is first and foremost it's it's breath but it's not just vapor particles right Ruach is life if there's no rule no life where there's rock there's life no rule no life you're welcome we all learned something today so so rua it's it's invisible but it's real and you're Ruach is like this it's it's breath it's it's this animating life energy you cannot see it it's it's your presence it's the it's what sustains you and makes you alive it's you you're in York your life is sustained you your body you are animated by your Ruach it's as close a way to talking about you as talking about anything else there's no Hebrew word for brain or something like that your Ruach is what it's part of the essence of you it's your life and it's invisible which is also why you'd go out to Dolores Park and you'd see the trees moving and you're like what what magic hands moving the trees like what what is that what do we call that what's moving the trees we call it wind in Hebrew this wrong it's the same word do you see that we have different words in English for these things but in Hebrew this is all one related idea it's an invisible presence so it's invisible but it's real and it's in you and it animates you it's what makes you tick and what and what makes you go you guys with me here now look look back down so how so that's that's part of the what how gods ruah do its thing right you see in verse two it's dark it's chaotic bad right abyss but the Ruach gods Ruach gods personal life presents gods animating life presence is there poised and ready in the midst of these dark chaotic circumstances and how does gods Ruach get released out into the chaos and begin to bring Wyatt and order and beauty look at verse 3 what does God do in verse 3 he speaks he speaks put your hand up put your hand out right here yeah so say hello check your breath hello so what do you what are you doing to release your rule out of you you speak speak all this is very intentionally crafted all of the vocabulary all of the words right God speaks a word it's it's God's word that carries his animating life energy out of God so to speak and into the world and when God releases his Ruach through his word life happens and that's how the story begins you with me and Jewett pre-christian Jewish readers have paid attention and talked about this long before Christians ever did really and I can give you the references if you're interested in Jewish literature it's fascinating people have scratched their heads for thousands of years over this there's a reality to the one God revealed in the story the Bible but yet it's the one true God but there's this inner complexity that there's God and then there's God's Ruach which is his animating life presence that apparently he can speak through a word out into the world and then that rock can go and fill other creatures and animate them too so to page 2 look at page 2 right or chapter 2 oh wait no let me show you one thing the poets the poets of the Hebrew Scriptures paid attention to these stories they meditated on these words and so look at how the poet in Psalm 33 puts it this is really remarkable he says for the word of Yahweh that's the Covenant name of God in the Old Testament the word of Yahweh is right and true he's faithful in all he does the Lord loves righteousness and justice the whole earth is full of his covenant love so the whole earth is full of Yahweh's faithfulness and goodness how how is that the case well listen it's by the word of Yahweh that the heavens were made their starry hosts by the rule of his mouth do you see that that somebody has really been paying attention to page 1 of the Bible and reflecting and thinking the Ruach the Ruach is god's second self so sisters or third self right it's it's it's God but it's distinct it's the Ruach of God and when it's released by the word it goes out and life happens it's page 2 page 2 or chapter 2 just verse 7 it's just this little this little snippet here again avoid the controversies whatever of chapter 2 verse 7 it's about God making humans is the image of God it says the chapter 2 verse 7 the Lord God formed a human from the dust of the ground the word formed it's using a word that is only ever used to describe the Potter at a potter's wheel spinning spinning it's doing this as the clay as the wet clay takes shape and so God it's got molding a human right so to speak is very powerful image and so molding and forming and then God has this pile of dirt so what does God do with the dirt he breathes here's a verb action word he rules into the nostrils of this pile of dirt the breath of life and the human the human it's alive he becomes he becomes alive it's very similar to the first sentences you have lifelessness and God breathes into lifelessness and makes and makes life and here this is a statement about human nature that we were dirt and divine breath we're dirt and and divine rule we our origins are tied to the material world from it we come back to it we go but our life energy is a gift where did you get your rocks so that's the question being where did you get where'd you get it you know did you make it for yourself you know like if you have a chance to ever see humans being born it's remarkable and you will watch them take their first inhale of rule and it's so incredible cuz you're like what what why why does it go dad-dad like what is happening right here and and that's that's exactly the question that's being posed in the stores what makes it go raw gums raw you did not you did not make your room huh in fact you're all taking inhaling of breath right now as I'm finishing the sentence where is it yours did you make it for yourself no human existence is a gift right and and the the the presence the personal presence of the Creator is every moment it's not just the wound of the universe and lets it go every moment I'm I'm inhaling life and it is not mine well it's borrowed Ruach right each of us is existing on borrowed Rua and it's God's prerogative to give and to take that ruoff as the poet in the book of Job he puts it this way he says the Ruach of God made me the breath of the almighty gives me life if it were God's intention yeah you could withdraw his rule and his breath and all humanity would perish together all mankind could return to to dust okay and he's also been studying these first pages of the bat looking here okay why am i doing all this right now here's why I do this when we hear the word spirit right so whether that's religion science spirituality Center hope I laugh a Lafayette Park right and our culture spirit can refer to ghosts it can refer to a disembodied deceased someone who's deceased or passed on people mean that often by spirits in our culture but I'm certain of it up at the religion science and spirituality center there's even in another way of defining spirit and that's of an impersonal energy right at the force Star Wars fans anybody I was raised raised it formed my worldview right as I was growing up and so at the force right it's this impersonal energy that you know surrounds us penetrates us binds the Galaxy together you know the line obi-wan Kenobi so so it's in its impersonal all right and up to this point someone from the religion science spirituality center would be like awesome I love the Bible this is really cool that's right it's the animating life energy of the divine and so on and so what as we come back to the teachings of Jesus what sets Jesus's vision of Spirit apart and even like this is all just interesting ideas at least I hope it's interesting it's interesting to me I'm having a good time so like what is this what does this actually mean what does this mean for you if you're a follower of Jesus and you believe that this Ruach is like somehow involved with your life so some of us we might have more the American hodgepodge New Age spirituality influence of our vision of spirits an impersonal divine energy or some of us it might be identified with growing up in the church and then there's all these camps and battle lines and so on and so there's some groups and churches and there's all about the spirit that's kind of weird and then there's some that are not weird but it's just different than I and then there's some that are like God the Father the Son and Holy Scripture right and there's just not a lot of vitality in that and it just seems kind of like you know guess know what I'm talking about here so here you go all I'm trying to do is say what is the first thing that she come into your mind when you hear the word spirit come from Jesus's lips that's what I missing right what's the first thing that should come and you Jesus had the back story in his head then he just assumes that you know what is the vision of who the Spirit of God is and what the Spirit of God does the first thing that should come in to your minds is that the Spirit of God is life and the Spirit of God is God's personal presence whose mission whose the very existence is for the purpose of inhabiting chaotic dark environments and and conveying the the spoken word of God to bring life when you think of spirit think Rewa think life and this is not something that's just like a past event this is something that's sustained I mean every breath that we take the raw God's rule is as close to us as the breaths were inhaling as I'm saying as I'm speaking right now that's the vision in the Hebrew Scriptures epic and and it's a person it's an actual person and who is that person in the story of the Hebrew Scriptures that person is the God of Israel and then you have someone like Jesus of Nazareth coming on to the scene who says that he is in fact the very presence and the reality of the one true God of Israel become human right and he calls God his father and he calls himself the son but yet at the same time he says yet I and the father are one and now he's saying I'm going away and you all think that's bad because you're like I wouldn't be rad to like sit next to Jesus and then fish with him herself oh yeah and Jesus is like no actually that's not the best setup because I can only be in one place at one one time if if the movement of Jesus is about the renewal of human beings and all humanity then this thing has to go global and it has to go viral so to speak and and if that's going to happen then Jesus is way of being with his people requires the entry of this new character in the Jesus story spirit spirit and Jesus is going but then the Spirit is coming and the Jesus is yeah I'm actually not going I'm just coming in this you get it remember that thing from the beginning okay so we're back here again that's where the spirit is the very personal life giving and sustaining presence of the Father and of the son the Spirit specializes in inhabiting dark chaotic environments and creating life and bringing order and bringing beauty because with me here and the Spirit will always lead us back to Jesus always lead us back to Jesus look at here's the last thing I'll show you another thing geez I'm sorry next one never did that one that's okay and next next one yep just give it up just editing on the spot all right okay look what he says there this really significant he says all of this I have spoken while I'm right here with you but the Advocate the Holy Spirit whom the father will send in my name what does that mean so it's the spirit but what is the spirit here to do the spirit here is here to draw attention to the word that God has spoken through the son and he's going to teach you all things and remind you of everything I said to you peace I leave with you it's my peace I'm giving to you I don't give you as the world gives don't let your hearts be troubled don't don't be afraid do you see the spirits the spirits role is not to draw attention to itself the spirits is the very personal life giving presence sent from the Father in the name of the son to bring Beauty and life and order to chaotic environments by reminding us of Jesus in his presence and his teachings are you with me yeah so what this means what this means is that there might be all kinds of things that that you sense that you could do or ought to do as a follower of Jesus and you might even sense a certain like the Stars have aligned and crazy circumstances and whoa but but for a follower of Jesus it's not just about trusting my gut and that there's divine energy pushing me in this direction right because maybe the Spirit is not a force it's not just simply an energy and it's certainly not like my desires projected out onto the universe right and then I just call it spirit the spirit is a pizza I have a friend who because of spirit portable Jesus and I and I'm not quite I'm I'm actually mostly happy with that I would make a few clarifications but it's a good it's a good working definition it's the spirit it's it's distinct from Jesus but yet it it conveys Jesus's presence and it will always bring you back to Jesus you guys with me here the spirit is life the spirit is the presence of the creator the Spirit is the word and teaching and presence of Jesus with his disciples you and I we go throughout our days and so here we are this is where I'm sit down now with you and need to hear what I'm saying is that we go through our days and we somehow we just like are clueless that Jesus is actually with us you might say of course like Jesus is with me but it's like we don't live like that yeah we don't actually we don't recognize the presence of Jesus with every breath that I inhale like imagine if you went through a day disciplining yourself every five minutes to be like yeah that one came from Jesus you know no that wouldn't do and like it's the personal presence of Jesus and in Jesus's mind the way that his teachings convey life and and an order into our lives is is precisely to the degree that we become aware and open ourselves to be influenced by the presence of the Ruach of Jesus is wrong and so so let me land the plane and here's where I want us to be for our time of taking the bread in the cup and our time of worship worshiping and this verb this image is very powerful on page 1 of the Bible we live in a very unpredictable world our lives and the stories that we're all bringing in here the doors the the relationship crisis that you're in right now this the sick family member the person that passed away in the last seven days right since the last time we you know you guys gathered together there's so much pain there's so much darkness and abyss and void in our world in our world at large and in your story that you brought in the doors today and Jesus is trying to tell us that he is committed to being personally present with us and that he's real and that if we open our eyes and become open to being influenced by the personal presence of Jesus he actually has power to speak life into the chaos of your life he actually has the power to bring order out of the chaos some of us in the last seven days have have introduced moral chaos into our lives by stupid decisions that you said you wouldn't make again and then you did it again and you know that's not who Jesus is calling you to be but here you are again and you feel just a mess you're like where am i right now and Jesus you need to know that Jesus is absolutely committed to you and he's committed to being personally present with you to bring order and goodness to the chaos that's in your lives do you actually believe that so that's the question like do you actually believe that this isn't just like ancient ideas this is a real person that we're gathered here and Jesus said that when we gather he's uniquely available and present with us in a special way and so what we're gonna do is we're gonna transition we're going to have a time of prayer of reflection of taking the bread and the cup together and I just I don't know most of you I don't know your stories Jesus knows your story he's not limited like I am up here he's present with you and I let's just make this our prayer let's just let's open open yourself to the spirit and allow the spirit to give you insight to a place of chaos in your life right now to a place of darkness that nobody else knows about but you know about it Jesus knows about it the spirit knows about it let's open ourselves up to the chaos that we see in our world and the fear the anxiety that it causes in us and let's just invite the personal presence of Jesus to bring hope and to bring healing to bring his commitment to forgive and to bring Beauty out of out of the trash that we've all contributed to the world this week let's invite that the the creator spirit of the presence of Jesus his life-giving grew off let's invite the spirit to speak new life into our lives that we feel depleted and anxious and tired amen amen

Channel: Tim Mackie Archives

Views: 47,997

Rating: 4.8516994 out of 5

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Id: btx10Vuxi5o

Length: 45min 34sec (2734 seconds)

Published: Mon Sep 11 2017