Holy Spirit; How He Works In Us

>> All right, well, hello everybody. I have one question, does anybody in the house love Jesus? That's what I want to know. Anybody love him today? Fantastic. Do me a favor. Everybody that's joining us online, those that are at our other campuses, would you put your hands together? Let's welcome everybody that's joining us today. Thank you, thank you, thank you for being here. [ Applause ] So we've been in the series "Holy Spirit" in last week, Pastor Randy talked about how the Holy Spirit works through us. Today, I am going to talk about how the Holy Spirit works in us. And so as I begin to speak this message, I just want to help us to know where we're going today, all right? So as I talk about what he does in us, I'm going to take us on a journey, but I'm going to talk about some things today that let's just put it this way. I'm not going to hold back. We're just going to go in and put our foot in some things and just know that I'm not an angry pastor. I love Jesus, and the Holy Spirit may speak to you today. And at the end of my message, I'm going to give us some time for us to just sit in his presence because our lives are so busy, it's going so much. But Holy Spirit, he wants to speak, he wants to do some things.

So I'm just going to give us a few minutes to just sit to see is there something else Holy Spirit wants to say with us. But in the meantime, we're going to go on a little journey. Is that all right? As I talk about his work in us. So I'm going to ask that you would stand with me as I read this first portion of Scripture, found in Galatians chapter 5, beginning in verse 16. I'm going to read all the way through 21. It says this. So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won't be doing what your simple nature craves. The simple nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the simple nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other. So you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. When you follow the desires of your simple nature, the results are very clear. Sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the kingdom of God. Lord, I pray, in the name of Jesus,

that you would give us ears to hear. That, Lord, you would, as we encounter your truth today, that you would transform us into the sons and daughters that you've created and redeemed to be. I'm asking that you would remove any forces of darkness that would come to distract or disrupt. I just speak peace in this place as we encounter your presence. In Jesus' name, and everybody says, amen, you may be seated. Here's today's big idea. The Holy Spirit doesn't just want to work through you. He lives in you so that he can work in you, making you more and more like Jesus. That's our big idea today. He wants to make us more and more like Jesus. He's not just working through you. We've been in this series talking about Holy Spirit, and Pastor Dave in week one helped us understand who Holy Spirit is, that he's not it, he's not impersonal, he's not just a feeling, he's not goosebumps during your favorite worship song, he is God, all right? Father, Son, Holy Spirit. And last week, Pastor Randy did an amazing job. He talked about what the Holy Spirit does through us. He empowers us, he gives us gifts, he gives us boldness, he speaks through us. He uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things. And I love talking about what Holy Spirit does through us. But today, I want to take a moment to talk about something that may even be more important. Somebody say, "In me."

But here's the danger. We can become so fascinated with what the Spirit can do through us, we neglect what He wants to do in us. We want power, but God wants transformation. We want gifts, but God wants fruit. We want anointing, but God wants character. We want God to use us, but God wants to change us. And don't get me wrong, we need both. We absolutely need both. We need the power of the Spirit through us, but we also need the character of Christ formed in us. Because the Holy Spirit didn't come nearly just to make you more powerful. He came to make us more like Jesus. Can I say, can I get somebody to say amen? Now, Pastor Dave established something in week one at the end of our series on the Creed that I want to remind us of. When you put your faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit does two incredible things. First, He indwells us, right? That's God's presence in us. God is present in us. The Holy Spirit doesn't just occasionally visit the believer. He actually lives in us. And then secondly, He seals us. What that means is we belong to God. We belong to God. So here's what I want to add today. The Holy Spirit didn't move.

He didn't move in just to occupy space. He moved in to go to work. Holy Spirit moved in to go to work. How many of you believe that God is not lazy? Good, 'cause laziness is a sin. Somebody needed to hear that. All right, so Philippians chapter two, verse 13 says this, "For God is working in you, giving you the desire "and the power to do what pleases Him." I want you to grab those words today. Grab those words today. God is working in you. God is working in you. You may not be where you want to be yet, but guess what? He's working. There's still some things on the inside of you that need changing, but guess what? He's working. There are words that still need healing, but guess what? He's working. There are habits that still need breaking, but guess what? He's working. Come on, y'all help me preach today, all right? There are places in you that don't look like Jesus yet, but guess what? He's working. And some of you walked in frustrated because you thought that you'd be further along by now. But don't confuse unfinished with abandoned.

Did I say that again? Don't confuse unfinished with abandoned. God isn't finished with you yet. Why? Because He's working. So what exactly is He working on, right? I want to show you four things that the Holy Spirit does in us. First, the Holy Spirit convicts us. The Holy Spirit convicts us. He's working on what needs to change. Now, I started off by reading in Relations 5, and I talked about some very obvious sins that the Scripture talks about that are a part of our sinful nature. And I want us to understand, the Holy Spirit is working in you, addressing those things that we do that will not allow us to inherit the rule of God, the presence of God, the kingdom of God in our life. And it's about time for us to just go ahead and call sin, sin. Everybody's trying to skirt around and make everything okay. Everything is not okay. God has a standard, and it's okay to live by the standard. The world may say to live one way, but we're not of the world, we're in it, but we're not of it. So we have to live a different way. He's working on what needs to change. When that conviction comes

and you suddenly can't be comfortable with something that you used to tolerate, guess what? He's working. When you start thinking, why does this bother me now? It never bothered me before. You know what that is? He's working. Listen to this conviction is an evidence that God has left you. Conviction is evidence that he's working in you. he will convict the world of its sin and of God's righteousness and of the coming judgment. Now what we have to realize is that one of the greatest gifts that the Holy Spirit gives us is conviction. And you may not like that word, but it's a good gift that he gave us. But we have to understand the difference between conviction and condemnation. So condemnation says that you're terrible, but conviction says that's not who you are. Condemnation pushes you away from God, but conviction draws you toward God. Condemnation attacks your identity, but conviction confronts what's inconsistent with your identity. Romans eight, verse one says, so now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. So listen to this, so when the Holy Spirit puts his finger on something in my life, he's not trying to shame me, he's trying to free me.

And what I've discovered is that when the Holy Spirit, when the Holy Spirit lives on the inside of you, he'll start having conversations with you that you really didn't even ask to have. He's like Bernard, we don't talk to people like that. He's like Bernard, you need to apologize. Bernard, you need to forgive. See, I'm using my name 'cause I don't know you, but I got issues too. He's like, Bernard, you need to stop trying to prove that you're right. Bernard, don't say that. Bernard, do not send that text. (congregation laughing) And I'm like, the Holy Spirit, I was hoping that you could talk to me about my destiny, about my future. And the Holy Spirit's like, I am, don't send that text. (congregation laughing) Because sometimes we think destiny is somewhere out there, but destiny starts in here. And have you ever noticed something that after you start following Jesus, things that never used to bother you before, all of a sudden starts to bother you? What is that? Conviction. You used to be able to say, you used to be able to say whatever you want. You used to say it and then sleep like a baby.

And now you say it and something on the inside of you says you need to go make that right. You used to hold a grudge and feel completely justified. And now something keeps whispering, forgive them, forgive them. Hmm, you used to respond immediately. And now something says, be quiet. What's happening? He's working. Don't despise conviction because conviction means God hasn't given up in that area of your life. He's working on it. The Holy Spirit loves exactly where you are, but He loves you too much to leave you in the same spot. Conviction, fam, it isn't God rejecting you. It's God renovating you. You literally are a walking construction zone. So when He puts His finger on something, He's working. He's working on what needs to change. And so His Spirit is convicting us because family, our sinful nature is not the nature that God gave us. Maybe you've never surrendered your life to Christ. Maybe you have never made the decision. Maybe you've come to church, you go through the routine, but you've never fully surrendered. Meaning He's not just Savior, but He's Lord of my life. I wanna give you that opportunity.

So with every head up, every eye open, everybody looking right here at me, we're all gonna say this together because I want all of us to be in the same place because what a gift that Jesus would give us, Holy Spirit, that Jesus would deal with our sin, sin completely separates us from God. This is why Satan worked so hard to put sin at the forefront because it totally disrupts the image that He gave you to bear of Himself. And so Jesus came to restore our image. So say these words with me, Father God, I believe, Jesus died for me and that He rose again. So I choose to surrender, be my Lord and my Savior. In Jesus' name, amen. that may have prayed that for the very first time? (congregation applauding) So the Holy Spirit convicts us. So the next time you go to do that sin and you start feeling something, that's Holy Spirit, you need to respond to that. He's trying to help you because you're destroying yourself. It just got quiet up in this church. Keep moving Bernard, just preach. Don't matter, I told you I was gonna go there. But I love you, I'm not an angry pastor. All right, here's the second thing. The Holy Spirit renews us. He's working on how we think.

He's working on how we think. Now Titus chapter three, verse five says this. He saved us not because of righteous things we have done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. I love that word renewal, it means to restore. It's almost like these devices, these electronic devices, there's a button on there where you can restore to factory settings. The Holy Spirit doesn't just reveal what's wrong. He begins making things new. He renews our thinking. He renews our desires. He renews our perspective. He renews our responses. He renews the way we see ourselves. He renews the way we see other people. He even renews how we see God. In Romans 12, chapter 12, verse two it says, "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is. His good, pleasing and perfect will." Now the Spirit of God, the Spirit takes the word of God and begins to renew the mind of his sons and daughters. And sometimes his classroom isn't just a Bible study. Sometimes his classroom is life. Sometimes his classroom is disappointment. Sometimes his classroom is waiting

and sometimes his classroom is marriage. Sometimes his classroom is parenting. Sometimes his classroom is the workplace. Sometimes his classroom is the person who gets on your last nerve. You're praying God, please remove this person out of my life. And God says, nope, they're part of the curriculum today. So please, I want you to hear me because you don't learn patience when everybody does what you want. You don't learn patience when you're waiting 20 minutes to get out of the church parking lot because 2,000 people came to church and encountered Jesus and you mad 'cause so many people came to church. Takes you longer than that in the Chick-fil-A line. And you don't complain when you're in that Chick-fil-A line. (congregation applauding) (congregation laughing) You don't learn forgiveness when nobody hurts you. You don't learn peace when everything is peaceful. You don't learn trust when you already know how everything is gonna work out. Sometimes the thing you're asking God to remove is the very place where the Holy Spirit is renewing you. He's working. And sometimes renewal shows up in the smallest of ways. You used to immediately react, but now there's a pause. Thank God for the pause. Don't underestimate the pause.

You used to immediately give them a piece of your mind. But now you think, maybe I should pray before I say anything. You know what that is? He's working. You used to say, I'll never forgive them. And now something in you says, I don't want you to carry this anymore. You know what that is? He's working. You used to assume the worst, and now you give people the benefit of the doubt. You know what that is? He's working. You used to see every delay as God denying you, but now you're beginning to ask God, what are you teaching me while I wait? You know what that is? He's working. Somebody say he's working. The Holy Spirit doesn't just change what you do. He renews how you think. And when your thinking starts changing, then your life starts changing. Well, how do I start to change what I think? a virus came, that virus is sin. Jesus came to restore the factory settings. And it starts by renewing my mind, by allowing the Word of God to transform the way that I think so that the way I live can look like God's original intent for my life.

We've settled for the chaos that sin has caused. And because we've settled for that chaos, we only know how to operate in that chaos, but I'm telling you, there is another way. So let the Holy Spirit convict you and let Him renew you because this is the third thing He does. The Holy Spirit transforms us. The Holy Spirit transforms us. He's working on who we're becoming. 2 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 18 says this. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. Now, I love Paul's language in the new living translation. He says more and more like Him. And really, isn't that the goal? Christianity isn't just behavior. It's not about behavior modification. It's really transformation. God isn't trying to make bad people behave better. He's restoring the image in human beings. Go all the way back to Genesis. Humanity was created in the image of God. Sin distorted that image. Jesus perfectly revealed that image in His life here on earth. And now the Holy Spirit is restoring that image on the inside of us. The theological word for this process is called sanctification.

And it simply means that God is progressively making us more like Jesus. And I want you to notice something. Paul doesn't say instantly like Him. He says more and more like Him. I know we live in a world where we want everything instantly. But God didn't design it to be instantly. He decided to partner with us. And He wants you to walk through the process. And that's important because transformation is a process. And sometimes we get discouraged because we're measuring ourselves against perfection instead of recognizing progress. So you're sitting here and you get frustrated when you blow it. But you don't realize that four years ago or three years ago or even maybe three months ago, once you gave your life to Christ, something changed. You don't react or respond this way that you used to. What is happening at that moment? It's Holy Spirit. He is working. Now, of course, you're not where you want to be. But you're not where you used to be. You aren't as angry as you used to be. Why? He's working. Come on, somebody help me. You recover faster than you used to. Why? He's working. Things that once controlled you but don't control you like

they used to. What happened? Why? He's working. You're slower to speak. Woo, somebody ought to thank God right there. Why? He's working. You're learning that you don't have to win every argument. Hello, come on, somebody. Why? He's working. You're not finished. But he's changing. He's changing you. You are changing. He is working. So don't despise small progress because if you're becoming more like Jesus, the Holy Spirit is working. So maybe spiritual maturity isn't primarily how much you study the Bible, how much you know, or how loudly you worship, or how many spiritual gifts do you have, or how long you can pray, or how many conferences or church services you've attended. Those things are awesome. But here's the harder question. Am I becoming more and more like Jesus? Am I more patient? Am I more kind? Am I more forgiving?

Am I more generous? Am I more peaceful? Am I more compassionate? Am I more humble? Am I easier to live with? Come on, right there. That'll mess up a church service right there. Because the people closest to us should eventually experience the evidence of the Holy Spirit working in us. Man, look, your gift can impress a room. But it's your character that reveals what God is doing in your heart. And eventually, what he's doing on the inside begins showing up on the outside. So the Holy Spirit convicts us. He renews us. The Holy Spirit produces fruit in us. Now, eventually, what He's working on inside becomes visible outside. In Galatians chapter 5 verse 22, it says this, "But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." Thank God for that one. There is no law against these things. Now, I want you to notice the language here. The Holy Spirit produces. The Holy Spirit produces. What that means is fruit isn't something that you can manufacture. Fruit is something that grows because you're connected to a source of life. You know, an apple tree doesn't stand in the backyard screaming, "Apple, apple, apple," and orange tree doesn't stand here and go, "Orange, orange, orange, it's not..."

It doesn't grunt, it doesn't strain, it stays rooted, it receives water, it receives nutrients, it receives sunlight, and eventually, what has been happening on the inside of the tree becomes visible on the outside of the tree. That is fruit, and that's exactly what the Holy Spirit does. He starts something inside of you that eventually becomes visible on the outside. Love starts showing up, joy starts showing up, peace starts showing up, kindness starts showing up, goodness starts showing up, gentleness starts showing up, self-control starts showing up. If these things aren't showing up, why? Am I more controlled by my sinful nature? Am I being led by my sinful nature or am I being led by His Spirit? For this whole message we've been saying, "He's working." Well, eventually, His work shows. Eventually, it shows. That's fruit. And here's what I want you to remember, fruit is the visible evidence of the invisible work of the Holy Spirit. That's all it is. And the fruit of the Spirit is really the character of Jesus being formed in us. Now, if I was to say to you, you would say, "Yeah, I agree. Jesus is loving. Would you agree?" Jesus is joyful. Would you agree? Jesus is peaceful. He's patient. He's kind. He's good. He's faithful. Jesus is gentle.

Would you agree? Jesus demonstrated self-control. And so the evidence of the Spirit's presence isn't what happens when you're gathered in church. It's what happens when you leave church. When somebody cuts you off in traffic, when your spouse disagrees with you, when your children test you and get on your last nerve, when somebody criticizes you, when you're plans change, when somebody blows you up on social media in a bad way. Somebody's trolling you when the order is wrong. I mean, people are freaking losing their mind when their order is wrong right now. There's all these, I mean, people just losing their lives like, "Whoa, what's happening? Ain't no Spirit of Christ on the inside of people when that happens." And something posts, in fact, I can't just say this, self-control is a fruit of the Spirit. So just because you can say it or express it online, exercise self-control is maybe that's not the answer because we find out in life real quick what's on the inside of us. Pressure doesn't create fruit. Pressure reveals fruit. When you squeeze an orange, what comes out, juice, what kind of juice, orange juice, it's just coming out what's already on the inside of us. When life squeezes us, the question is what comes out? Because what's coming out reveals what's growing within. So Bernard, this is great, this is great, but how do we cooperate with the work of the Holy Spirit on the inside of us? Now, that's a good question, is the Holy Spirit produces the fruit? So how do I cooperate? If he convicts, if he renews, if he transforms, Absolutely. In Galatians chapter five verse 16, it says this. "So I say, let the spirit guide your lives." Notice the word let.

That's a partnership. The Holy Spirit works, but we have something to do and that is yield. Romans 8, 14 says, "For all who are led by the spirit, "are the children of God." I love that word led. You know what that is? That's relational language. He moves, I follow. He speaks, I listen. He convicts, I repent. He prompts, I obey. He reveals, and I surrender. The Christian life. It isn't Holy Spirit, follow me. It's Holy Spirit, lead me. So how do we cooperate with his work? Three simple words. Listen, yield, and obey. Listen, in order to listen, you gotta slow down. You gotta slow down enough to notice what the spirit is saying. That means say some of us, we aren't intentionally really resisting Holy Spirit. We're just too busy to hear him. Our phones are going, our schedules are going, our notifications are going. Everybody has an opinion. Everything wants our attention, and sometimes we need to just get quiet and ask,

"Holy Spirit, what are you doing in me?" Not, "What are you doing through me?" Not, "What are you gonna give me?" But what are you doing in me? So then we yield. When he shows you something, don't defend it, don't justify it. Don't blame somebody else, just yield. And the best way to yield is to say, "Holy Spirit, you're right." I've learned to say that to my wife often. Babe, you're right. After all, she is the queen. So I look at her and say, "You're right." It's tremendous freedom with those words. Just try it, you're right. See, y'all are still too prideful to say, everybody just say, "You're right." Thank you, thank you very much. I appreciate that. So listen, yield, and obey. Take the next step he gives you. Maybe it's apologize. Maybe it's forgive. Maybe it's call them. Maybe it's stop doing that. Maybe it's start doing that. Maybe it's give. Maybe it's wait. Maybe it's speak.

Maybe it's just be quiet. Because transformation happens one yes at a time. But here's what I wanna leave you with. That maybe the miracle is you. Sometimes we're asking the Holy Spirit for a miracle around us, and we should, because he's powerful, he heals, he delivers, he speaks, he moves. I understand it, and I love when he does that. But what if one of the greatest miracles he wants to perform is on the inside of us? Maybe the miracle isn't only that difficult, a difficult person changes. Maybe it's that we become more patient. Maybe the miracle isn't only that the storm stops. Maybe it's that you have peace while it's still raining. Maybe the miracle isn't that nobody ever hurts you. Maybe it's that they're hurt no longer controls you. Maybe just maybe the miracle isn't that temptation disappears, but maybe it's that self-control grows stronger in you. Maybe the miracle isn't that your circumstances change immediately, but maybe you change in the process. That's the work of the Holy Spirit in us. And some of you have walked into this place frustrated with yourself today. You're saying, I should be further along than I am now. Well, maybe, but don't miss what God is doing and what he's already done in your life. You're not who you used to be. The things that didn't bother you,

not bother you why he's working. Your thinking is changing why because he's working. Your desires are changing why because he's working. You're responding differently why because he's working. You're forgiving faster why. He convicts us, he renews us, he transforms us, and he produces fruit in us. So would you just close your eyes for a moment? In a moment I'm going to give us a chance just to sit in his presence for a few minutes and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us. Is there something that is convicting us of that we need to repent, just to repent? Say I'm sorry in the changed way we're thinking. Maybe there's something he wants to renew, maybe there's something he wants to transform. Maybe he wants to produce some fruit and so you can say fill me with your spirit. I want to be filled with your spirit because that's where it starts to be. So fill with his spirit so that you don't produce the flesh but you produce the works of his spirit. So let me pray and I'm going to give you an opportunity to sit in his presence for a moment. Father, I pray in the name of Jesus that your spirit would speak to us. And if you want to be filled with his spirit, just turn your palms towards heaven right now. And I just pray, Father, that you would fill us with your spirit. Would you reveal to us the areas that we need to repent of? Would you reveal to us the areas that you want to renew or transform? Lord, I pray that you give us the fruit. That you produce the fruit in Jesus' name. Amen. So just stay right here in this presence for a moment. Nobody move. I'm going to give you plenty of time to navigate traffic. Just say Holy Spirit, what are you saying to me? (gentle music)