Unlikely World Changers | Megan Marshman

fear is nothing new to god when we trust in him we can take down any giant no matter the odds he's ready to fight for us are we ready to let him [Applause] hello willow creek welcome we are so glad you're here as we kick off a new series against all odds whether you're watching from home or here in the room let's get ready to work [Music] a weapon that silences the enemy let praise be a weapon that conquers all anxiety let it rise this morning [Music] let praise the ride [Music] [Music] let it rise [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] is we crazy [Music] let it rise let [Applause] you cannot survive [Music] foreign [Music] this is what freedom feels like this is what heaven sounds like we praise you come on lift your voice in this place this is what living this is what freedom feels like this is what heaven [Applause] [Music] [Music] is [Music] we cannot survive [Music] [Music] [Music] we praise you [Music] you can have a seat for just a moment welcome to willow creek my name is sean williams i have the opportunity to be the campus pastor here at willow creek south barrington it is so good to have you here this weekend whether joining us in person also to welcome our online audience great to have you do want to say a very special welcome to those who are here for the first time if you're a first time guest we're ecstatic that you're here one of the things we would encourage you to consider if you're a first time guest we have an area designed specifically for you it's right outside the the center doors you'll see a an area called guest central uh we have a whole concierge team that would love to come alongside you learn your story find out how we can best serve you as a church so we invite you to join us there after the experience today now now yesterday as a country uh our entire nation just paused and remembered the day 9 11 2001 the 20th year anniversary was yesterday and it's one of those experiences for all of us that we can remember exactly where we were and exactly what we were doing the moment we saw those images of airplanes crashing into iconic buildings in our country and i don't know if what yesterday was for you but for me it was the time to pause and really reflect on quite a few things on just the heroic nature the the horrific nature of the scene that that played out and at the same time the uh heroic nature of so many individuals that the band together in a moment and and selflessly gave of themself for their fellow person again we were moved by the images of first responders and firefighters who rushed into burning buildings and up burning stairways just to rescue as many people as possible many of which who traded their own lives in order to save others there's just something about those moments that again we pause and remember it's also a time that we pause and have incredible gratitude for those who who did whatever possible to protect the freedoms that you and i get to experience as i think about what i experienced there yesterday i i started thinking a little bit about this time in our service that we call giving back to god it's a chance to to give back to god our tithes and our offerings and i think about every single time that we have the chance to give back to god there's something about that heart and character that's alive in us as well that every time we give it is a selfless act it's a sacrificial act in order to bring hope in order to bring healing to the lives of those around us and so if you'd like to give this morning we want to make it as easy as possible for you to do so the easiest way to do so is to go to willowcreek.org give you can also send a text message text the word willowcreek240101 or if you're joining us online you can just simply click the give button but if you allow me to i love to to pause and pray not only to remember 9 11 but pray that god blesses these gifts today god we come before you today and god we do remember the heroic acts of so many men and women 20 years ago and god we we stop and we pause of the work that you did in a in a horrifically traumatic and tragic scene but god you brought so much good and so much unity and so much heart in that moment and god we just ask you continue to do that work god as we too uh express ourself with with with selflessness and sacrifice in order to give hope and healing to others around us god i just ask you bless these gifts that through these gifts lives will be changed and eternities will be altered god we say thanks for this time we pray that your son's name amen let's continue in our worship together [Music] family can invite you to welcome the holy spirit let's move in this room right now all around us [Music] and that we would use our worship to stir up the spirit in this place come on our father [Music] our name father loud let this place erupt with praise can you hear the sound of heaven touching earth the sound of heaven touching earth [Music] spirit breakout we pray this morning [Music] in our mind all around us [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] break our walls down spirit [Applause] [Music] [Music] shake it up [Music] [Applause] jesus [Applause] [Music] [Music] of us [Applause] shake this up [Music] [Applause] we want to have your see [Music] i can't go back to the beginning can't control [Music] is the place where you promise to be [Music] [Applause] not enough [Music] will you meet me here again [Music] will you meet me here again [Music] as i walk now through [Music] why would you lift this up [Music] [Applause] [Music] will you meet me here again [Music] will you beat me here [Music] will you meet me here again [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] this father god we invite you into this place holy spirit will you take over come on let's lift this up [Music] the lord is in this place [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] unless you come will you meet me here again [Music] is all you are will you meet me here again lord i come i confess bowing here i find my rest without you i fall apart you're the one that guides my heart come on church [Music] every hour [Music] righteousness [Music] your grace [Music] is found is where you are and where you are [Music] [Music] i [Music] is [Music] when i cannot stand i'll fall [Music] my hope [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] you are my one defense my righteousness [Music] would you pray with me god quite simply that is why we're all here today we need you and if we've ever thought there's ever been a moment where we haven't need you we've been kidding ourselves god you are our firm foundation and it's moments like these that we come together as a church and remind ourselves and remind one another how desperately we need you and we thank you that the moment that we ask you've already drawn near god we place our feet upon the rock once again this morning you are our firm foundation and for that we give you thanks we give you all of our worship and we pray this in the powerful name of jesus and all god's people said amen amen [Music] you can go ahead and take your seats ah yes [Applause] we're just gonna have to see how this goes i hope you're in for it i think you are um you know they the leadership told me i could come back whenever i was ready and i told him i thought i'd be ready in the fall and um and then the fall came and i was on having a conversation with them and saying you know i'd rather come back not when i feel a lot stronger i'd rather come back now because i think it is right in the middle between where things were and where things well promised will be one day it's right in the middle that god wants to meet us i figured if i'm going to stand up one day and preach to you about hope preach to you about god's power and presence i might as well not wait until i feel like i don't need it you know what i mean and so we're just going to see how this goes it might be a little messier than normal but i'm going to pray and i'm going to ask you all to pray with me in a very different way than normal we're going to do what's called an examine of the past 12 or so hours we're going to start right where we're at and we're simply going to journey backwards but we're going to journey looking back at our lives and we're going to do it with the lord we're going to talk to him we're going to pray with him we're going to look at our lives today we're talking about acts chapter 2. the series is called against all odds and when they told me that was the series i thought that sounds about right but today we're going to see what happens when the holy spirit's power and presence falls upon a people and i can't wait to see what happens when the holy spirit's power and presence falls upon us i'm praying for things much bigger than just what i could do with my talent i'm praying for much bigger things but in order to do that we have to be honest with where we're at and we also have to see what it looks like to journey in life with god instead of journey on our own and then kind of catch god up here and there so if you would would you pray with me we'll begin right here heavenly father here we are some of us know exactly where we are and some of us don't but either way lord here we are there you are would you hear our prayer of our hearts if we're heavy-hearted talk to him if you're perfectly content thank him if you're grieving be honest no need to hide we're going to go back a little bit we're going to go back in our day from the moment we parked the car and we walked here what was your and again with your eyes closed just present with you in the lord what was your attitude walking in to church headed toward this seat was it just what you always do has it been a while were you excited and expectant were you hesitant why don't you just talk to the lord about that take a minute how about the drive here did you listen to anything talk with anyone would you talk about how were you towards your kids why did you just know that the lord was there he was with you talk with them about the drive here what was that like did you eat breakfast i want you to imagine what was that like for you did you cook it did anyone say thank you did you cook it again like you always do was anyone with you were you alone what was your attitude toward breakfast was it hurried and rushed don't you just tell the lord did you wake up with an alarm or was it just natural for you to get up that early wow how are you leading up to the day with the lord just he's here just talked to him about that morning what was it like waking up this morning how about going to bed i wonder what your normal is i wonder if it's netflix so you don't have to think i wonder if it's a conversation i wonder if it feels lonely what was it like going to bed for you last night were you nervous because it's not easy to fall asleep just share with the lord he cares he's with you last night was saturday night did it meet your expectations did people meet your expectations did you meet your own expectations how was last night dinner was it alone was it with people whatever's on your heart just share it with the lord he's with you he was with you then he's with you now as you look back you can be honest lord i thank you that we can look at our lives and you you want to look at our lives with us i believe not just in the past 12 hours but also in this instant so i pray holy spirit that we would experience something beyond even our expectations this morning holy spirit have your way in us we pray and all god's children said amen if you have your bibles acts is where we're headed pull them out i like seeing people pull them out maybe the phones if you're not going to get distracted you can hang out there too axe is where we're headed let me give you a little context as we're headed to the book of acts acts takes place after jesus's perfect life his death on our behalf his resurrection from the grave and then he gathers his disciples in acts chapter 1 and he says wait with expectancy i need you to wait here because someone is coming someone powerful wait right here trust me on this one what i've called you to you can't do on your own and willow wait right here because what he's called you to this week you cannot do on your own so wait right here and you know what i love is that the disciples knew how to wait well if you are in a season of waiting i have just a little verse that will teach you how the disciples listened in acts chapter 1 they waited well jesus ascended into heaven because he's alive and that's where he's at today and i just have to say this whole chapter and i realize it's not just the chapter it's every worship song it's every single page of the bible it seems is lined with life and death and resurrection and so as we get to those moments i'm gonna take a pause some of you i'm assuming most of you know i lost my husband in february and it was crazy because we pre-filmed the message a few days before and the morning he passed was the last time i spoke here and i spoke on community not knowing that i'd be surrounded by it in that moment not knowing that i'd receive all your letters we read them thank you but just know it's going to be sensitive because this whole book's about life death and resurrection and the promises of god and i hope you take god at his word because i am and he says wait though because it's going to be heavy this life is not easy and here's how the people waited well chapter 1 verse 14 if you're in a season of waiting pay attention this is how you can wait well they all join together constantly in prayer that's waiting well that's it i'm waiting for heaven and the way that i'm going to get there well is to bring people in on my journey and stop hiding and know full well that god keeps his promises and that's where we pick up in chapter two we're gonna go through the entire chapter so here we go good luck chapter two says this when the day of pentecost pente pent five fifty pentecost was already famous before acts chapter 2. in fact it was one of the three pilgrimages that all the people would go to jerusalem to celebrate the first fruit celebrating what god had done the pen pentecost is 50 days after passover so when the day of pentecost came they were all together in one place why because jesus told them to be suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting they saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them all of them were filled with the holy spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the spirit enabled them now there were staying in jerusalem god fearing jews from every nation under heaven why were all these god-fearing jews from every nation their good because it was pentecost remember one of the three times all the people would go to jerusalem so they're all there when they heard this massive sound a crowd came together in bewilderment because each one heard their own language being spoken utterly amazed they asked aren't all these who are speaking galileans in other words these guys are very unlikely to be doing anything significant for the kingdom can you relay you see the even the disciples the apostles they knew the holy spirit was coming but they didn't know what it was going to be like and they didn't know what would change but you know what they did recognize was fire and wind all this old testament imagery of god's power and his presence all throughout the old testament he comes and this time he doesn't just come close he dwells within i had a friend once say you know jesus could give us a hug it's almost as if he wanted to get even a little closer he wanted you to know he really is with you so he sends the holy spirit and look at how the crowd responds look back at verse six when they heard this sound a crowd came together in here it is bewilderment verse seven utterly amazed they asked aren't these who are speaking galileans verse 12 amazed and perplexed they asked one another what does this mean it's so significant what does this mean so what they're seeing what they're hearing is beyond what's possible by just mere talent and that's my prayer for today that we would never again settle for talent that we would never come to church hoping to hear talent but we would come expectant because how silly of us how silly of us would it be to ever show up or settle for someone's talent when the holy spirit's power is available to us this morning amen i love this response verse 13 some however made fun of them and said they have had too much wine aka are they drunk it's in the bible verse 14 then peter stood up with the eleven raised his voice and addressed the crowd fellow jews and all of you who live in jerusalem let me explain this to you listen carefully to what i say these people are not drunk the intro to one of the most impactful sermons that was ever given starts like this so we're not drunk but i can almost imagine why they would think that because what are these disciples they're fearless they have lost all inhibition haven't they but there's a big difference between drunkenness and being filled with the spirit being drunk makes you less aware of reality being filled with the spirit makes you more aware of what's really going on so the first ceremony goes uh they're not drunk they're just that free free from your opinions don't you want to walk into a room and be free from people's opinions it's possible why because the spirit dwells within and then peter goes on to give one of the best sermons he talks about the prophet joel and the prophecy he gives and he says this verse 17 he says this is from the prophet joel it says in the last days god says i will pour out my spirit on all the people what peter's saying is what what joel prophesied is actually happening now plus there's a promise drop down to verse 21 from the book of joel and everyone who calls on the name of the lord will be saved you do not have to fear death how though you might walk into church this might be somewhat new for you why don't we have to fear death here's why verse 22 fellow israelites peter explains listen to this jesus of nazareth was a man accredited by god to you by miracles wonders and signs which god did among you through him as you yourselves know keep in mind the audience he's talking to saw the miracles he goes you were there you saw it this man was handed over to you by god's deliberate plan and foreknowledge and you with the help of wicked men put him to death by nailing him to the cross what peter's saying is it's our choices that put him there and crowd we're not exempt from this sermon either it's our choices that put him there but i have to tell you reading the bible is more vivid than ever before in my entire life because when i read words like death there's feeling involved in that i think i'm not alone in this room because doesn't death feel final it feels more like an end but then i read his word and i have to trust that it's actually a beginning why here's why i love that his word answers it and i don't have to here's why death is no longer final verse 24 but god there he goes again god butts into the story raised him from the dead freeing him from the agony of death because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him see jesus died the death we deserved so that we could have the life eternal even after death that he deserved death is not the final word for jesus which means therefore anyone who is found in christ death is not the final word for you either death is not the final word death is not the final word death is not final anymore that's how powerful he is he goes the greatest enemy was death great i'll defeat it and then i'll resurrect and then i'll take you with me so you can be with me forever but if you on this earth choose to be without him you'll be without them forever but jesus made a way and then peter goes on to say here's here's psalms it was all about jesus psalm 16. it was all about jesus psalm 110 all about jesus in conclusion verse 36 therefore let all israel be assured of this god has made this jesus whom you crucified both lord and messiah the crowd's response maybe our response to verse 37. when the people heard this they were cut to the heart and said to peter and the other apostles brothers what shall we do i love the crowd's questions the first one was what does this mean the second one what do we do all right if i believe this what do we do and he responds peter replied repent and that means turn from the way you've been living repent confess sins yes but turn and be baptized every one of you in the name of jesus christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the holy spirit and the result verse 41 those who accepted his message were baptized and about 3 000 were added to their number that day wow right yeah that's good and all three three thousand we're just added the church just went from like 120 to 3 000. but i got to tell you this it looks like a revival right can i tell you where the revival began the revival began not that verse that talked about 3000 joining the revival did not begun the revival did not begin when the crowds came the revival began when the people who were already there were transformed did you catch it this is what i'm here to tell you willow creek revival in this place revival in our city will not happen when the crowds come it begins when the people who are already here are transformed okay tell you there's a difference between like a soft clap and like an enthusiastic one we're going to try that one more time because i felt like it was a soft clap and it's like we're not golfing here we're talking about the holy spirit's power and what we're talking about is the revival you've been waiting for church the revival you've been waiting for is not in the next four weeks when lots of people flood this place the revival begins when you take seriously your faith the revival begins church willow the revival begins when you open up your heart and say holy spirit what are you doing in my anger holy spirit what are you doing and that's the main character of this passage is not peter it's not the three 3000's not the crowd it's not even the church it's the holy spirit and what he can do in a life can he bring 3 000 more to willow easy you want to know his plan though it's you and here's the thing 3000 weren't just added they were completely transformed why because of verses one through seven because the holy spirit came and guess what we read this on the other side looking back and saying he's already come he already dwells within we already have that power but the thing is i think we've been ignoring that power and we've just been trying hard on ourselves i can do this i can have you ever done this i can pray more have you been doing it even your good intentions have you been doing it alone it's really hard have you noticed you hear that really good sermon on prayer and you're like i got this and you're good for like two days your will can only be supported by a really strong character but i'll tell you this when you fail doing it on your own god even wants to use the failure to draw you back to the cross don't shame yourself in your own power because he didn't tell you you have to do it on your own he didn't tell you you have to wake up at 5am on your own ask for help he's here so the crowd comes and then they're transformed and this is by the way what the lord does what the spirit does in a really healthy church verse 42 they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship and to the breaking of bread and to prayer everyone was filled with awe the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles all the believers were together and had everything in common in other words they talked probably more about what they had in common than what they didn't they sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had an eden willow just thank you i've had a lot of need and your words have been very impactful so i can say here's the beauty the spirit is on the move in this place i can tell by the massive amount of letters that were sent so thank you for those of you who wrote those letters anyone that had a need i've had a need and you've been there every day they continue to meet together and i like just moving on because it's easier that way every day they just continue to meet together in the temple courts they broke bread in their homes and they ate together with glad and sincere hearts by the way the only way that people are going to break bread together in the homes is if you choose to invite people so let's do that got it cool praising god and enjoying the favor of all the people and the lord added to their number daily those who are being saved now here's the deal churches tend to either focus on the first 13 verses of acts chapter 2 or the last five you tend to we're going to cover the whole thing because it's the spirit that makes possible peter giving the speech that peter's speech is what made the crowd go what do we do and it's the spirit who cuts them to the heart and then 3000 are added and the church looks different all because of the power of the holy spirit it's the entire thing because if i only gave those last five verses it would be powerful but i'll tell you this it would also be impossible to do on our own because suddenly i would give you a message that says try to do all these things and i hate because it could be tempting to try to do all these things without reading the first few verses about how it's possible it's possible when the holy spirit takes over and what's the holy spirit's job he has a lot of them one of them is to form you more into the likeness of jesus less about you more about him so here's the recap of the book of acts chapter two the holy spirit comes in power and presence he feels those first apostles they begin speaking in different languages and a crowd shows up and says what does this mean peter then stands up and gives a sermon people are cut to the heart and they ask what do we do and then they all do things different because the power of the spirit dwells within them wow so those are the two questions i want to end answering two questions from the crowd what does it mean and what do we do you up for that what does it mean so holy spirit came then what does it mean for us today very simply here's what it means it means that the holy spirit transforms it's the holy spirit who changes us he transforms if you look throughout the passage and learn you learn a lot about the holy spirit in this passage what does the holy spirit do the holy spirit fills the apostles he empowers peter to stand out he helps peter with his message he convicts a crowd cuts them to the heart transforms them into people that do verses 42 to 47. he's at work but he does this by letting them see themselves you see do you remember peter's speech he actually lets them know truth about themselves hey it was you that put him there jesus on the cross and this is what i believe the holy spirit's wanting to do in us today he wants us to look at our lives with him and he doesn't do this to shame us he does this to transform us a while ago i gave an illustration that i kind of want to change so don't watch that last one typically so this is a water bottle this is not a trick question when i shake the water bottle what comes out good job why because why does water come out because water is on the inside right so when the pandemic comes and it shakes us what comes out whatever's on the inside here's the temptation for me to tell you so fix what's on the inside when you get shook at home what comes out is it anger fix it stop being so angry what am i doing i'm creating an autonomous faith of you trying to try harder to fix have you done that i'm gonna stop okay i'm gonna stop okay i'm really gonna stop here's why i took you through the past few hours at the very beginning is this i wanted to look at your life what's actually coming out because i have a feeling a lot of us are a lot more angry than we'd like to admit but i have us bring up our anger not so that you would try to fix it on your own anymore you've tried you've failed and maybe you have tried and you have failed and maybe god wants actually what wants you to look at your failure and say stop trying to fix even your failure i can use your failure to bring you to the cross you will see how undeserved it is it will make you a more grateful person in the beginning when you leave that place what's been coming out church the holy spirit wants to look with you is it guilt would you allow the holy spirit's power to bring your guilt right to the cross and see what jesus did with it maybe it's just distraction maybe what's coming out is you're just hurried all the time not that present with yourself not that present with the people around you because you're just running around let the holy spirit look with you at that distraction what is it are you finding your purpose and productivity again he's so kind to let you know so my question is what's been coming out of your life think back to just the past 12 hours what's been coming out of your life will you look at that with the lord you want to know what the lord's doing may be wanting to use even that or maybe some of you god bless you look at the past 12 hours and it's a whole lot of good would you just thank him because it wasn't anything you did it's all grace the holy spirit transforms and we see not only the disciples are transformed we see a specific disciple transformed peter verse 14 chapter 2 says this about peter then peter stood up with the 11 raised his voice and addressed the crowd he stood up why is that significant because he didn't always stand up for his faith this time he's talking all about jesus yet just a few days before 50 in fact just 50 days prior three different people as jesus was on his way to the cross three different people came up and said aren't you with him jesus foretold it the night before he said you will deny me three times he says never the very next day aren't you with him no a little girl by a fire aren't you one of those no not me i don't even know jesus the one who did not take a stand for jesus on the way to the cross is now standing this time not in front of a little girl by a fire this time it's an entire crowd the holy spirit transforms and oh there's a difference remember we got the golf clap where we got the big clap and then we got i know the holy spirit transforms and he doesn't just say it he shows it but how he does it when he's doing life with you can i tell you there's a really famous slogan that came about and i'm realizing a lot of these um slogans are more authentic than we thought so have you heard the one that goes christianity is not a religion it's a relationship you've heard it okay i'm here to let you know christianity is not a religion it's a relationship more than you think he really wants to be in your whole life with you he really wants to give you power beyond what you think you can do on your own what he has called you to he has equipped you for this is peter the one who proclaims christ one day and then denies him the next denies his words the one that jesus actually looked at and said give behind me satan that was to peter you know what else was about peter that i can really relate to peter's the one by the way who it's kind of surprising i can relate to him i'll explain he was the one who walked on water he risked getting out of the boat do you remember the moment and he walked on water can i tell you what's most surprising about that story to me it's this so he risks and then he stands on water and then he keeps walking on water wouldn't you think that like made him more capable to keep walking on water because the faith would have grown wouldn't you think that isn't it a little backwards that he walks on water and then starts to sink anyone it's a little weird right because like when that build your face up to go like yeah i mean he started to sink circumstantially this is why i bring it up my husband passed in february 21st in january up until february i felt like it was the sweetest season of my life on the plane home from willow creek the last time i was here i was on the plane outlining the book of philippians and i stopped at a passage that said to live is christ to die is gain and i wrestled [Music] why i had never really studied heaven extensively i have now but i thought i don't know if it could get any better than this it felt so sweet i got to go share truth with you and i got to watch what god did in your life i felt like i was walking on water it felt like that i felt like i was risking sometimes like kind of calling you to hard things and some of you be like i'm ready i'm like okay good because that was kind of harsh i felt like i was and then i felt like my life started to sink but you remember the story of peter it was when he was thinking that he lifted up his hand and it says in the passage that immediately jesus reached back here's the question when was peter more strong was it when he was walking on the water or when he was sinking in jesus's hands sinking butt in the grips of jesus i am now convinced of some passages that i didn't know before the ones that say things like this my power is made perfect in weakness it doesn't say my power's made perfect when your perfect plans come to be god doesn't say my power's made perfect in your strength my powers made perfect in your talent my power is made perfect in everything you can do to impress a crowd no no church i am here to attest and i hope by the power of the holy spirit that he's doing something in your life even now because his power truly is made perfect in weakness i'm actually surprised when we went through the run through i couldn't even read scripture without crying so things really happening thank you but here let me tell you this some of you feel like you're sinking some of you feel like you're sinking some of you maybe have gotten your attention back on those wind and those waves and no wonder you're so anxious you're sinking and i don't know i don't know i don't know theologically if god causes or allows hard things to happen i don't know if he made hard things happen but i know that we can make them matter church that's what i know and so i can stand before you today saying i don't feel all that strong but i'm trusting that his words are strong through me the ones that say his power is made perfect in weakness when you have your your eyes in the right direction when you have your hand up and you're saying i need help christianity is not just a religion it's actually a relationship that we need to take more advantage of no wonder though remember peter had him in his grip and he still denies him after he walked on water yet he still denies him which means jesus's words truly were true the ones found in the book of john chapter 16 when jesus speaks before before acts and he says this but very truly i tell you it is for your good that i am going away unless i go away the advocate other translations say helper will not come to you but if i go i will send him to you and peter shows what a transformed life looks like he stands up in front of a crowd and speaks and some of you that might be your calling what are you waiting for by the way don't wait for a stage that'd be silly some of you like yeah when someone gives me a microphone no no it's called your life that's your microphone the holy spirit transforms so what's our job be open to whatever he wants to do with your life peter gets real specific if you've never put your faith in jesus and you're in this room if we're talking about the holy spirit's power and conviction and filling and all that and it feels really foreign here's peter's words for you chapter 2 verse 38 repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of jesus christ for the forgiveness of your sins for the very first time open your life to the transformational power of the holy spirit how do you receive the holy spirit repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of jesus christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the holy spirit you will receive the gift the first fruit if you will of what's to come presence of god even after death for all of eternity forever and ever amen christian in the room which our response open your life to him what is that response for us it's this stop limiting yourself to your own power open your life and when i say life some of you need to open your life for the very first time but i say open your life every single moment that is your life to the holy spirit's work in your life and we're going to do this together as we close the holy spirit transforms in response we need to open our life to him one of my professors dr john koh says this about prayer prayer is not a place to be good it's a place to be honest so we're simply going to go and respond in prayer but i want you to be honest which means if your most honest prayer is this i don't want to pray good you are finally being honest if your prayer is i don't know how to pray good stop performing in your prayer he's here for your whole life you don't have to go through it alone some of you you're just distracted in prayer anyone else my professor would say this it's so good he goes oh maybe the distractions are really just revealing your heart because where your heart is where your treasure is there your heart will be too i wonder if the places you get most distracted is actually the place god wants you to pray what it what an attack to the enemy you're gonna distract me good i'm gonna use it let's talk about that my distraction and my own prayer i always jump to my calendar you want to know why when i really think about it this is why because i want to control something because everything that feels out of control anyone else where your treasure is there your heart will be find yourself distracted even now let him into that the holy spirit transforms us as we look at our lives and here's the two questions i'll give us the same exact questions from the text but this time directed at the lord lord what does this mean where i'm at what does this mean and secondly what shall i do so very simply i want you to close your eyes right where you're at and i want you to put the past 12 hours into one word where are you again with every eye closed just you and the lord together maybe some of you you guilty some of you anxious tired of you anxious tired happy disappointed put it into one word and then we're gonna do something with that one word where are you if you have your word just give me a nod so i know i'm not alone you got your word beautiful some of you aren't nodding you're maybe nodding off maybe what the lord needs is rest in your life you can do that too okay with that one word i want you to pray with expectation lord what does this mean if it's anxiety it might mean you're trying to control things again if it's guilt it might mean you're simply trying to do it on your own or it might mean you need the cross welcome to the club lord what does this mean take a second he's there what does it mean lord and secondly lord what shall i do let him bring truth to mind it's in there he's there heavenly father i pray as we continue to do this life with you that we would remember to stop when we feel like we're sinking lift up our hand and immediately remember your presence and power so sit there with we're gonna go into one more song of worship but just for another minute sit there where are you what does it mean and what shall we do if you've been waiting to hear a word from the lord this is it lord speak your servants are listening [Music] unless you come will you meet me here again [Music] will you meet me here again [Music] will you meet me here again is [Music] oh [Music] [Music] my heart [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] right now would you shoot this out [Music] come on you sing [Music] one more time [Music] will you meet me here again [Music] god we just say thank you for your presence and father this morning i just want to say a special thanks for your servant megan and just her heart and willingness to share your word your truth your hope with us and god even more importantly we say thanks for the gift of your holy spirit who we believe is actively at work in our lives in this room with those online this community god we are praying for revival and god we believe that that's not just a a word that we say god we believe that that's a desire in your heart to move in and through your church and so father we invite you in we just ask that your spirit would work in ways that we can't even begin to dream or imagine but god we just asked it through it that our lives would never be the same and this world in which we live would be left with your fingerprints all over it so god we yield to you we say thanks in the in the presence and the power of of the name of your son jesus amen amen [Music] if you could have a seat for just one moment i want to share a couple of things for you with you uh before you take off the day first megan has gone backstage just for her own kind of personal health but if you can just express your appreciation to her we are so grateful that she was back with us this weekend and church thank you for being such a loving embracing church just does even my heart well to watch you love on her so well uh we're we're really excited about the the next couple of weeks uh you heard megan talk about acts chapter two acts chapter two talks about you know god's people meeting in homes and they dedicated themselves to all kinds of really powerful things as we think about the church meeting in homes that we call that type of environment a small group or a group around here and there's a special emphasis this weekend next week on groups if you haven't yet had the opportunity to jump into a group don't wait any longer we would love to help you get connected to a group so you're going to see a team that's outside by the the waterfall area just outside the lobby if you're looking to get connected to the group we have lots and lots of opportunity for you to get plugged in and then next weekend's a special weekend because we're going to do a groups tailgate nothing like having some fun just around canadians our groups officially kick off next week there'll be chances to jump into groups next week and even launch into that group experience next week as we get to tailgate together on your way out you're going to see some yard signs we'd love to ask that you continue to invite your friends family co-workers neighbors to join us over the next few weeks together if you do that sound good church it's been great to be with you this morning i want you to know that we love you a lot have a great week go bears we'll see you next week [Music] you

Channel: Willow Creek Community Church

Views: 3,691

Rating: 4.8666668 out of 5

Keywords: willow creek community church, willow creek, willow, willow south barrington, love god. love people. change the world, love god, love people, change the world, Megan Marshman, Megan Fate Marshman, meghan marshman, Megan Fate, world changers, holy spirit, Acts 2:42, Acts 2, Jesus, God, Bible teaching, sermon teaching, Bible, prayer, relationship, death and life, resurrection

Id: m9UNjl8y8mQ

Length: 73min 1sec (4381 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 12 2021