I Am Not Alone || Victory Church [Book of John #36]

Come on, are y'all excited to be in the house of the Lord? You better act like it. Online in our family room and our overflow spaces. Welcome to Victory. My name's Curvin, and I have the privilege of being Victory's teaching pastor, and it is a privilege and an honor to be here at the North Cross campus this weekend. And I got to take just a moment. I want to just give some honor to our founding pastors, pastors, then it's Pastor Colleen for being in the building. We love you, God. We honor you. Any opportunity I get to honor you, guys, I want to do that because we're thankful that you've gone before us and that you were obedient. And because of your, yes, we're able to worship in the way we do and to do the things we do. So God bless you and thank you. Come on, one more time. We love it. We love it. So I want to jump right in because this -- God wants to do some things today. So let me just start by making a statement, and if you agree with the statement, you can say, "Hey, man," you can say, "Oh, yeah," you can say whatever you need to say. But I believe that never, never in the history of humanity has life been louder than it is right now.

I mean, from social media to these meta ads -- yeah, these meta ads be all up in your Kool-Aid. Meta ads are social media's billboards. People are online yapping about this, yapping about that. Everyone is building something. Everyone has a community for you to join. You know, everywhere we look, there's a cause and there's a mission. And isn't it amazing that with all of the noise, still, there are people who are still lonely on the inside. Isn't it ironic and intriguing? In fact, there's actually a term for this phenomenon that I'm speaking up, and it's called "crowded loneliness." So according to the U.S. general, even before COVID hit, almost half of Americans declare that they battle with a measurable level of loneliness. And there are even people in this room right now and in our overflow spaces and you watching online. There are people who would raise their hand and be like, "Pastor, that's me." I feel that. The loneliness is real. I feel unseen. I feel overlooked. I feel like I'm just in this journey by myself trying to make the ends meet. I'm trying to make sense of what I'm walking through. And some of us, if we were to be completely honest, we would say it feels like even God is distant. But the question I want to propose today is this.

How would your life look different? Contrary to how you felt if you knew deep down in your spirit that you were never alone? What if the greatest thing that God could do in your life today has not changed everything in the world around you? But what if the greatest thing you needed from God today was for Him to open your eyes to the power of His spirit that is inside of you? Hmm. If you can't say, "Man, just say, ouch." Because that's what we're going to talk about today, the nearness of the spirit. Because as we journey through the book of John, we find ourselves today at the Last Supper Table. Now, a lot of things have already transpired in this setting. Jesus has washed the feet of the disciples, a very, very intimate and special moment about servanthood. Judas has made the decision that He was going to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. And we find ourselves here where Jesus now drops two big bombs on His disciples. The first bomb we talked about last weekend where Jesus told His disciples, "You are going to do even greater works than I have done." And if you all missed that message on the power of the Holy Spirit, baby, you need to go back and watch that message from last weekend.

But the second bomb that Jesus dropped on him was this. He tells them, "Listen, my time on this earth is almost up, so I'm out. I'm leaving." And let's jump right in because while the disciples are trying to process all of this, here's what Jesus says in John 14, verse 15. And this is the text that we're going to be in today. All right, check this out. He says, "If you love me, keep my commands, and I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate to help you and to be with you forever." Come on, somebody say advocate who is the spirit of truth. The world cannot accept... and he will be in you." So, family, think about this. In a world that is so polluted with noise and conversations, opinions, and vain philosophies of man, out of every place and out of every space that Holy Spirit could choose to dwell, he is chosen to make your heart his home. What a great mystery. So, if you're taking notes today, if you need a title for this message, you could simply title it, "I am never alone," just like that. Holy Spirit, show up in this room, reveal Jesus and change our hearts forever. In your name we pray, come on, if you love him, say amen. Now, I want to do this, before we start talking about the Holy Spirit, I think it would behoove us to first lay some groundwork because I know that many of us have been walking with the Lord for a long time, but in a church, it's diverse, it's victory. I know that not everyone comes from the same journey and some of us may have some misaligned ideas about who Holy Spirit is and who he's not. So, let me just take a few moments to give you three truths about Holy Spirit that are absolutely mission critical to the Word today. Number one, the first truth I want to share with you is this, Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father and with the Son. Now, for those who, again, are new to the faith or exploring the faith, understand, we don't believe in three gods. We believe in one God and this God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he revealed himself in

the Old Testament by saying, "Behold, I am the Lord your God and I am one, one God but three persons, Father, Son, Holy Spirit." Now, watch this, each of them divine, but each of them also distinct. Now, for all my intellectuals, I get it. It's hard to wrap our minds around this concept. The doctrine of the Trinity has actually caused many people, if I can be real, now, I've sat down at the table and had conversations. There have been many people who have walked away from the faith because they couldn't wrap their logic around this concept, but I'm reminded of what the Bible says in Deuteronomy 29-29. The word says that there are some things that the Lord has reserved as a mystery unto himself. So that means, friend, there are some things that we're not going to understand on this side of eternity with our logic, but let me just double down and say this. If God was small enough to fit inside of your logic, that he wouldn't be big enough to be worthy of worship. So, brother, you've got to pick a struggle. All right? Holy Spirit is indeed God, three and one. All right. Now, number two, we need to understand also that Holy Spirit is a person who thinks, feels, and who speaks. All right? He's not an it. He is a person with feelings. He's not some cosmic force that's just showing up here and there and then filling rooms and then leaving. No, no, no. He is a person with feelings. How do I know that? Because look at what Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus. He said these words. He said, "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." How many of you know? You can't grieve a force. You can only grieve the heart of a person. And this is critical for us to understand because we need to live our lives with the truth embedded in our hearts that Holy Spirit isn't just a power that you use, no friend. He is a person that we walk with. All right? Here's the third truth that I want to talk about as we segue into the text today and to the outline for the message. Number three, Holy Spirit is the presence of God dwelling within every believer. And I can tell from your response that you don't fully understand what that means. So let me take a few minutes to break this thing down because you can't understand the power of His nearness to us and to we first understand the distance that was before us. Because on the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter two, we see this great outpouring of the Spirit of God. There was a corporate fire that fell from heaven that allowed the people of to do things unimaginable for the advancement of God's kingdom, right? But can I tell you, before that moment,

in the old covenant before Jesus bled and died, the Holy Spirit came with walls. Let me explain what I mean in the Old Testament. Do you realize that the Spirit of God, the manifest presence of God, is called the Shekinah glory. It dwelled on the earth in a specific space. When they were in the wilderness, the Shekinah glory dwelt within the tabernacle. And centuries later, when King Solomon built the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit then dwelt inside of the temple, but watch me, not just in the temple where anyone can just walk in. No, no, no, no, Holy Spirit dwelt in the innermost sanctum of the temple. I mean, there were walls, there were gates, there were the Gentile courts, then the Israelite courts, then there was the area for the priests, there was the holy place, and then there was the Holy of Holies, where the presence of God dwelt. One place, and get this, only one man, the high priest, only once a year was given access to walk into the Holy of Holies, to burn incense on behalf of all of the nation of Israel for their atonement. And can I tell you, these priests would walk into this space with incense, blowing smoke, so that way they couldn't really see what was in front of them.

Why? Because the Bible declares in the Old Testament that no man can see the face of God and lives. So even this one man that was given access, once a year walked into the presence of God, not knowing if he was gonna make it out, my God. But how many of you know that when Jesus hung on that cross, and when he said the three words, it is finished, and when the veil tore in the temple from the top to the bottom, that means that you and I now have access to the power of his spirit. He no longer is bound but confined behind a veil. Come on, patriarchs, Abraham, and all the great men of God that have gone to be with the Lord, do you realize they look at you and they are hating on you? 'Cause they're saying, do you have any idea what we had to do just to get within the vicinity of the presence of God? And yet he lives within you? He dwells with you? Come on, listen, the Bible says, the Bible says that even the angels ponder these things. How could the divine God dwell inside of these broken vessels? Wow, but you wanna know what's even wilder to imagine than that is that still so many Christians feel and believe that God is distant. So my prayer today is that your eyes are open to the truth, that the God of the ages, come on, the architect of existence,

but he does not reside inside of brick and mortar anymore. Come on, he doesn't hide himself behind a veil anymore. Come on, I know that we like to say, Holy Spirit, fill the room and he fills rooms, but can I tell you more important than filling a room, Holy Spirit today fills the hearts of his people. And that is something to be excited about. (audience applauding) The changes, listen to me, when you truly get a revelation of the divine God dwelling inside of you, it changes everything. Do you realize you may feel like he's distant or like you're alone in this valley season that you're in, but friend, the Spirit of God is closer than your next breath. He's closer than your skin. And whenever we know that and we believe it, we show up different. Come on, we talk different. We act different. We lead different, come on, we parent different. We show up different. So today I wanna share three ways we show up different. There's a lot of ways, but I wanna lean into three specific ways we show up different. When we know that Holy Spirit is near. Y'all with me this morning? - Yes. - Let's tap in, here it is number one.

How do we show up different? Well, when we know his spirit is near, we will obey God out of love and not out of obligation. Jesus says these words. He says, "If you love me, keep my commands." Now notice Jesus didn't start by just throwing commands. He started with relationship. He said, "If you love me, then obey me." And so many people, they lived their lives saying, "May Christianity is hard, man." And I remember all the years that I was in youth ministry. I heard it all the time from teenagers. "Man, this is hard being a Christian, man. I can't do nothing. I can't do this. Can't do that." And then let me just, if I can be honest, as the Lord called me out of youth ministry and to adult ministry, can I tell you? We ain't much different. It's hard being a Christian, man. Can't do this. Can't do that. People ask dumb questions. How far can I go without it being sinned? Listen to me. You want me to tell you where that rebellious mindset comes from? It arises in the hearts of people whenever we try to follow rules without having the relationship. Because hear me, anytime you see rules without relationship, every time it's only going to equal rebellion. Every time. In fact, let me just make it very plain.

There are two types of homes. Number one, we have rules, but no relationship. I'm talking about the homes that are very, very strict, result-driven, high expectations, right? Do this. Do that. Don't do this. Don't do that. And hear me. I'm all about structure in the home. Believe that. So I'm not saying no rules. No, no. There are rules, but watch me. There are rules and regulations and expectations, but the relationship is missing. Dad is too busy. Dad is emotionally disconnected. Or maybe dad's not even there at all. And mom's just trying to figure it out. And what happens in a home like this is that those children grow up obeying their parents, watch me, not out of love, but out of obligation, out of fear. And y'all know what happens every single time. As soon as them jokes turn 18 years old, it's hot girl summer. Stop playing. They're crazy. Have you lost your mind? We've seen it, right? But then there's home number two. And it's the home where the father is present. It's the home where the father is engaged with his children. He's aware of what they're walking through. And he gives them insight behind the commands and the rules that have been instilled in health. Now, hear me. I know that many of us, 80s babies,

we grew up in an era where we were told, "You better do as I say." And not as I do. Yeah, how'd that work out for y'all? No. You see, the present father is engaged. And the present father wants the child to understand, son, every rule that I have in this house is for your advantage. It's for your protection. There's boundaries and guardrails to keep you safe. And so the child that grows up in this home, they grow up obeying, not out of obligation, but out of love, out of love. Because they know that whatever rule that has been set for me, it is for my good. Now, watch me. Same rules, but different distance. The rules don't change. The nearness does. Because obligation says, "I have to obey." But when you recognize the love that God has for you, love says, "I get to obey." Now, look at what John wrote just a few years later in his life in 1 John 5, 3. He says, "Loving God means keeping his commandments." And watch this. And his commandments are not burdensome. Isn't that good news? You see, whenever you obey God out of love, then it stops being a checklist of things you can do and can't do. Right?

It's not burdensome to follow the statutes of the Lord. And if that ain't good enough, let's keep going. Look at what it says in Deuteronomy 28.1. It was told to the Israelite people, and it applies to us, that if you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all of his commands that I'm giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above the nations of this world. And you will experience all of these blessings if you obey the Lord your God. So not only are his commands not burdensome, but if you obey them, they actually bring blessing. I'm struggling, brother. I can't do it on my own. Well, baby, guess what? I got good news for you. You were never intended to do this thing on your own. Come on, look at what-- come on, Holy Spirit. Help me preach today. God says this word to Ezekiel in chapter 36 of his book. He says, "And I will put-- watch me, my spirit in you, and I will move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my law." So here's what I'm telling you, friend. In your own strength, in your own ability, you are not able to please God. So those commands, they're not burdensome. In fact, when we obey the commands, it comes with blessing. And even when we struggle to obey the commands that we know are going to bring blessing,

the Holy Spirit in his nearness gives us the power to obey his decrees. Come on, church, the Lord helps you to desire the things that please his heart. Listen, love gives you the want to, but the spirit of God gives you the help to. And I don't know about you, but I'm thankful for the help of the Holy Spirit. Come on, somebody, I'm thankful. I need them every day. So how do you show up whenever you note that the spirit of God is near? Well, you will obey out of love, but then secondly, here's a big one. You will live your life from his advantage and not your ability. Come on, hustle culture. Come on, ATL, entrepreneurs. You think you started from the bottom now, you hear? Oh, no, sir. If it wasn't for the grace of God on your life, if it wasn't for him opening up the doors, come on. If it wasn't for him putting the right network around you, baby, you still be at the bottom. No, we're not self-made. We're self-kept by the Lord. God kept, not self-kept, God kept. So Jesus says these words in the same setting, verse 16. He says, "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate."

Again, somebody say advocate. "To help you and be with you forever." And then two chapters later, Jesus continues saying, "Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage." Come on, somebody say, "Advantage." It is to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not go away, the helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you." You see, yes, Jesus was leaving them physically, but He was not leaving them helpless because He was going to send an advocate to help them. And spoiler alert, we know who the advocate is. It's the Holy Spirit. Now, this word, advocate, I want it. I want to break this word down because I want you to understand what this word means as it relates to Holy Spirit. Advocate comes in, it's original language. It's a word, paraclete. And it simply means one that's called alongside you to help, to counsel, and to stand on your behalf. Now, how many of you know? This ain't just some earthly help. It's some earthly counsel. Come on, this is divine help. This is divine, listen, Dr. Phil, I've only got nothing on this. This is divine counsel that comes from the only one that can see the beginning from the end.

He is your advocate. And can I tell you today, church, that whenever the advocate is activated in your life, and whenever his super comes to touch and agree with your natural, can I tell you, you will be a force to be reckoned with. I like to call it the advocate advantage. And I don't know about y'all. I love having the advantage. Anybody else? Oh, like eight of you. Oh, I get it. Some of y'all like, well, no pastor. I believe in fairness. Well, good for you. 'Cause I don't. (audience laughs) PC, I believe in winning. Come on, and baby, last time I checked favor ain't fair. The Holy Spirit will empower you to do things you cannot do in your own strength. Do you realize that promotion that you got? Even though you weren't qualified for it, that is the advocate advantage. (audience applauds) Or how about the promotion that you didn't get? Come on, somebody. There's an advantage that you have. Speaking of advantage, I gotta tell you all this. You're gonna be so proud.

You're gonna be so proud. I had the greatest parenting moment ever about six weeks ago. And it won't mean much to my older folks, but to my 80s babies, you're gonna be so proud. Y'all, I introduced my 10-year-old son, Lion, to Street Fighter. Don't play with me. I had to put him on. These kids got all these games, all these buttons. They got 20 buttons on the controller. I have 10 fingers. What am I supposed to do with all these buttons? Y'all, I put him on the Street Fighter, and I told him straight up, I said, "Son, "I'ma school you for 30 minutes. "I'ma show you the ropes." And after that, I'm spanking that behind. (audience laughing) As often as possible. 'Cause somebody like, "No, don't do that. "No, no, no, no, no. "I'm a millennial parent." So all my millennial parents, y'all already know, you only got two ways to parent. You got two options. You either have the gentle parenting, or you got savage parenting. Now, I don't know what you do in your house, but for me and my house,

baby, it is savage Sunday, each and every day. Listen, I empower my kids, but I tell them the truth. And some of y'all need to, y'all better stop lying to these babies. That little man has been playing basketball for three seasons in a row, and he ain't made one shot. (audience laughing) And you over there, "Oh, oh, it's gonna be okay. "You're doing good. "Just do your best." No, you need to sit the brother down and say, "I'm sorry, son. "This is not your ministry." (audience laughing) You better play pickleball, 'cause this ain't it. You better talk to him. Oh, no, I didn't play. I was spanking on my son day in and day out. He stopped asking me to play. I said, "Hey, you wanna play Street Fighter?" (audience laughing) My son tried every character in the game. He's switching left and right, left and right. Not me. I was locked in. 'Cause I already knew who the dynamic duo was. Y'all already know 80s babies. Ken and Ryu, it's not a game.

(audience laughing) Now, look, I'm gonna help my older folks out. Ken and Ryu, you see that little blue fireball? Whenever they would shoot it, they would go, "Hadouken." (audience laughing) My son could not get over here. Daddy, stop. "Hadouken." (audience laughing) Daddy, please. "Hadouken." Daddy, I'm your son. "Hadouken, hadouken." (audience laughing) Okay. No. (audience laughing) Lighten him up. Well, Pastor Dennis, it all changed. (audience laughing) 'Cause one day my son got smart and he got tired of getting the breaks beating off of him. So one day he went into the game settings and he scrolled down and he found a setting that I didn't know was in the game and it was called the advantage. And he turned the advantage up. So the next time I sat down to play with my son,

y'all, he swept the floor with me and he beat me time and time and time again and I cannot tell you, there are people here that have been fighting in your own strength. You've been trying everything you know to try but cannot tell you there is an advocate who has given you access to an advantage that will cause you to win, win, win in any season. You have an advantage. This is not even 10 days old. Oh, look at your neighbor say, "I got the advantage." - Advantage. - Stop playing. Come on, look at your other neighbor and say, "A duke it." (audience laughs) I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I've been waiting on that one. (audience laughs) You have an advantage. So what are you doing with your advantage? Are you tapping into the power of the advocates? Because hear me, listen, I know you're good at what you do, whatever you do, I believe it. You're the greatest to ever do it. But can I tell you, your ability was never meant to replace your dependence on God. Listen, that's why Paul wrote these words. Paul said that in the same way the spirit helps us where in our weakness we do not know what we ought to pray for, but the spirit himself intercedes for us

through wordless groans. Can I tell you, church, the spirit doesn't help you in your strength. that the power of God is perfected in my life. And even when you run out of words to pray, and I don't know if you've ever been in a season so dark, but if you have it, let me tell you, there are seasons that you will walk through that I've walked through where I knew God was near, but even still I felt alone, I felt confused, I felt isolated, and there were times where I didn't even know what to pray. Paul says that even when your words run out, your help never will. So let me ask this question, the million dollar question. If you know that the Holy Spirit really is your helper, then why are you still living life, like everything depends on you? Come on, like we go through stuff, and we need guidance and advice, and we're trying, I mean, we will ask everybody and their mama for advice. Yes, your mama, yes, your auntie, you ask Pastor Johnson in the lobby, you ask my wife in the lobby, you ask Pookie, Nene, you get your phone, hey, chat, I need help. You ask Jim and I, you ask Claude, you ask Tracy, well, who's Tracy? I don't even know why you asking her questions,

that's what I'm trying to figure out. And the whole time, Holy Spirit is sitting there like, dog, am I even in the group chat? Why would you not consult me? The one who knows the beginning from the end, the one who knows the depths of your heart, every thought. Listen to me, friend, don't get so busy searching for help on the outside that you forget about the divine help that the Lord's already put on the inside. We gotta tap in, we gotta tap in. We have to live from his advantage and not from our ability. In the third way, your life changes when you know Holy Spirit is near, and here it is, you will live as a beloved child and no longer like an orphan. Jesus wraps up this conversation saying that you know him speaking of the Spirit, you know him, for he lives with you and he will be in you. And then he says these words, listen to this, for I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you. And we read this passage where Jesus is talking about orphans, but we forget, he's talking to grown men because this tells us that no matter how old you are, no matter what your life experience is, I don't care how long you've led small group or what you've done in ministry or how many years, no matter who you are or where you've been,

apart from God, we are orphans. All of us, the disciples are sitting there saying, what do you mean you're leaving? Lord, we've looked to you for direction, for wisdom, for leadership, for three years, we've left everything to follow you. Who's gonna teach us? Who's gonna lead us? Can I tell you something? It is possible, it is possible to be in relationship with God, but still have the mindset of a child who's illegitimate. Did you know that? It's very possible. I'll never forget years ago when Lion was a baby. I can't remember how old he was. All I know is he was old enough to walk, kind of walk, you know, in that little walk, top heavy. And a big old head. He was in diapers and I was in the dining room, working on a message, I was on my computer, he yells at me across the room, "Dada!" I said, "What's up, son?" He says, "Dada, can I hold you?" He never asked to, "Hey, can you hold me?" His thing was always, "Can I hold you?" "Can I hold you, Dada?" And I said, "Son, yeah, I'll be right there, I'm coming." And I was finishing what I was doing, but according to my son, I won't move him fast enough.

So this little dude goes, he walks, he grabs his little toy, little chair, he drags it over to where I'm standing, sits it down, then he walks to the other side of the room and grabs a bar stool, and he's dragging the bar stool and I'm looking and I'm watching him, I felt the Holy Spirit say, "Don't say a word, just watch." And he drags his bar stool over and then he takes his chair and he tries to sit it on top of his bar stool. (congregation laughing) And he steps back, he goes, "Dada, can I hold you now?" In that moment, the Spirit of God spoke clear as crystal. He said, "This is how most of my sons and daughters treat me." We come to God dragging bar stools, stacking chairs, bringing ladders, trying to climb up to a God who has already come down to you. And that is exactly what looks, I mean, that's exactly what the orphan spirit looks like. The orphan spirit. There are many Christians, knowingly or unknowingly, who are functioning with an orphan mindset. Now, you might be new to that terminology, and let me explain what the orphan says. Orphans say things like this. I don't have anywhere to belong. Orphans say that I have to earn my love. I gotta figure this thing out all on my own, because everything depends on me, 'cause everyone that comes into my life,

they end up leaving, so what if I'm abandoned again? And I gotta hold this thing together. And they feel isolated, and some of you, in your journey with Jesus, just because you're in a season of hardship. You feel abandoned, but can I tell you, you don't feel isolated because of this good God who has good things for you. No, when we feel isolated in these seasons, it's because we allow our independence to rob us of our God-given inheritance. So if you're here today, and if you feel distant from God, like he's nowhere near, if all the weight falls on your shoulders, and if you feel like you have something to prove and watch me, these are things that we would never say out loud, TJ, right? No, we have too much pride to admit these things. But if our chest cavity was open wide for the Holy Spirit to shine his light on us, many of us have an orphan mentality that feels like we have to measure up, maybe for the parent that we could never be good enough for. We could never make them proud, or the boss, or the person that betrayed you, the person that hurt you, the person that said you will never amount to anything. We have something to prove, or how about this one? If your inner life is so out of control that whatever you can control, you try to control, I wanna remind you what Paul said.

Paul said these words. He says that you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you have received the Spirit of God. When he adopted you as his own children. So now we call him Abba Father. For those who don't know, Abba is an affectionate word for a father in the Jewish community. It's kind of like my son saying dead. And with the spirit of adoption, we can say Abba Father. Why? Because his spirit joins with our spirit, and it affirms that we are indeed children of God. And I believe today that the Lord wants to break this orphan spirit off of his sons and daughters in this room. He wants to bring us into the revelation of sonship. 'Cause the truth is, before Christ, we were all orphans. We were all alienated from God. But the moment that we said yes to Jesus, come on, the moment you believed in your heart and confessed with your mouth, that he is Lord, can I tell you, in that moment, you were adopted into the family of God. And that means for you and I, listen, that we're no longer slaves to fear. We're no longer bound to the sins of yesterday. We don't have to fall in line with the generational sin cycles of our fathers and those who've gone before us. You can be free today because of what Jesus has done. You have an inheritance.

You are loved, you are seen, you are favored. Watch me, you are needed and you are known by God. Now hear me. Here's the crazy thing about adoption though. Adoption, it happens in a moment. Your spirit is adopted into the family. But your mind, it has to be renewed over time. Oh, please don't miss this, please don't miss this. Sometimes what you think is true in your mind has to catch up with what you know to be true in your spirit. Come on, don't miss it. He's done the work. But your mind has to be renewed to come into alignment with the truth of what he has accomplished through the cross. Because here's the thing. Even after adoption, it's very, very possible to still maintain the habits that we had in the orphanage. A friend of mine adopted a little boy years ago, brought this kid into his home a few months into this journey, he noticed in the pantry that things started just disappearing. Jars of peanut butter, cans of, you know, like different food items in the kitchen. I mean, bread, loaves of bread. Like it was odd. Come to find out this child had been taking food out of the pantry and out of the fridge and hiding it in his room. Now why would a kid do that?

Well, it's simple because that is the behavior from years of fighting for every meal that he ate. Because when you're an orphan, you believe no one's coming to save you. You live your life thinking no one really cares about you and your needs. You see, orphans will hoard scraps with sons and daughters. No, we get the best seat at the father's table. See, my friend one day had to sit this young man down and put his hands on his shoulders and say, I don't know what your life looked like before now. But young man, you belong to me. You are my son and I am your father and as long as you are in this house, you will never go hungry again. You will never go without. There will always be shelter over your head. There will always be clothes on your back. You will always have enough food to eat until you are full because you're my child and you are no longer an orphan. And that's exactly what God wants to do today. There are some of you, and again, some of you don't even realize that you're functioning in this way, but the Lord wants to reveal sonship to you. Let me show you the truth that we have in Christ. Again, your mind has to catch up with what your spirit knows. The orphan says, I don't know where I belong. Sons and daughters know I am adopted, I'm known,

and I do belong. Orphans say, I have to earn love. Not sons and daughters, they know that I live from his love. Orphans say, I have to figure this thing out by myself, but sons and daughters know know the Holy Spirit will guide me. Orphans say that everything depends on me, but sons and daughters know that my father, he will provide everything that I need. Orphans ask, well, what if I'm abandoned? Everyone comes and everyone leaves. But the son and the daughter know that my father is good and he will never leave my side, and hear me. (audience applauds) And I believe today, in the same way that my friend had that conversation with his son, I believe the Lord wants to speak to some people today. I believe he wants to look in your eyes and remind you that you are not an illegitimate child. You were not an accident, that you were intentionally brought into this earth because I love you. You're not an orphan, those days are over. You don't have to figure this out on your own. You don't have to earn a seat at a table where your plate has already been made for you. He's a good father, and a good father gives good gifts to his children, but if I can keep it 100 with you, friend, can I tell you, the greatest gift that God could ever give to his children

is greater than his blessings and his benefits. even more than his grace. Now don't hear what I'm not saying. I thank God for every blessing that he's bestowed upon me. How about you? I thank God for every door he's opened, for every opportunity that he's made possible. I thank him for every level of influence and leadership that he's brought me along. So I thank God for the blessing, but watch. (gentle piano music) When you understand that you're a true child of God, you understand that the greatest inheritance the Father could give you is not the blessing of his hand, but as he himself, Jesus is the treasure. His presence, near to us, come on, that is the desire of every nation. His presence is the longing of every heart. He is the treasure that our spirits yearn for. Listen to me, friend. The gifts are good, but the giver is so much greater. All praise be to the Holy Spirit who is fully God and also fully near in Jesus' name. Amen. (audience applauds) Holy Spirit, we love you. So I wanna do something a little different today before we head out. I've asked Pastor Bernard to come out and I want him to sing a song over every person in this room,

every person in this building online. It's a song that talks about us coming back to the simplicity of just being in communion with God. Do you realize that in the Garden of Eden, the Bible says that Adam and Eve walked with God in the cool of the day? That was always his intention. God never had any desire to shield himself from people for a season of time and he had no desire for us to have to wrestle with sin, no, he desires communion. And since Christ, blood and died, resurrected and ascended back to the right hand of the Father, that communion is available. But so many of us don't tap into it. So my prayer is that as Bernard sings this song, I wanna challenge you, don't be distracted, don't just sit back and spectate, the Holy Spirit wants you to respond today. That might mean you just sitting in your seat, letting the song wash over you. You might need to stand up and lift your hands and surrender. You might need to bow in front of your seat, but I believe there are some of us, we need to do business with God, and you need to get out of your seat and come to this altar and allow the presence of the Lord to wrap his arms around you, to remind you that you are his, you matter to him.

So Holy Spirit, in this moment, do what only you can do. We're not laying hands on anyone, 'cause Holy Spirit, you don't need hands to move. Move and power and might on your people. Reveal the Son to us. Reveal the heart of the Father in Jesus' name, amen. Hallelujah, hallelujah. ♪ Move Holy Spirit ♪ ♪ We welcome you ♪ ♪ Take me back to the God ♪ ♪ Lead me back to the moment I heard your voice ♪ ♪ Take me back to commune ♪ ♪ Lead me back to the moment I saw your face ♪ ♪ And it was all so simple ♪ ♪ It was easy to love ♪ ♪ There's no space between us ♪ ♪ And it's easy to trust ♪ ♪ Lord, 'cause you are closer ♪ ♪ Closer than my skin ♪ ♪ And you are in the air I breathe in ♪ ♪ And you are in the air ♪ ♪ Here's where the dead things come back to living ♪ ♪ I feel my heart beating up ♪ ♪ I'm a week old man ♪ ♪ See, this is where I'm meant to be ♪ ♪ It's just me and you and you and you and you ♪ ♪ And I don't have to prove a thing, yeah ♪ ♪ You've already approved of me ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪

♪ This is where I'm meant to be ♪ ♪ In your presence ♪ ♪ It's me and you and you and me ♪ ♪ Oh, yes, oh, and I don't have to prove a thing, yeah ♪ ♪ You've already approved of me, oh ♪ ♪ This is where I'm meant to be ♪ ♪ It's just me and you and you and me, oh ♪ ♪ I don't have to prove a thing ♪ ♪ You've already approved of me ♪ ♪ 'Cause you are closer, closer than my skin ♪ ♪ Never alone ♪ ♪ 'Cause you are in the air I breathe in ♪ ♪ Here's where the dead things come back to living ♪ ♪ I feel my heart beating again ♪ ♪ Here's where the dead things come back to living ♪ ♪ I feel my heart beating again ♪ ♪ Here's where the dead things come back to living ♪ ♪ I feel my heart beating again ♪ ♪ It feels so good to know you are my friend ♪ ♪ And my father and my comforter ♪ ♪ I never knew I could have a friend like you ♪ ♪ Not in a million lifetimes ♪ ♪ I never knew I could have a father like you ♪ ♪ So good so patient ♪ ♪ I never knew I could have a friend like you ♪ ♪ You never leave me, Lord ♪ ♪ I never knew I could have a dad like you ♪ If you're in this room today and if you're not in relationship with the Lord, my friend, this is your moment, 'cause I know that there are some people

who've responded, this was just a reminder. You know who God is, this was just a reminder, but there are some people today. You're not in relationship with the Lord, but you feel His presence right now, drawing you to something that you've never imagined possible. My friend, this is just a glimpse of what a life fully surrendered to the Lord can look like, this peace. Why do you feel His presence in this room? This isn't just for one moment on a Sunday morning. We can live in communion with the Lord every single day, but He has to be Lord and He has to be Savior. So I'm gonna count to three. And when I do, if you're here, and if you know that you're not right with God, you're gonna lift your hand. In fact, you feel the Spirit of God beating in your chest right now. He's drawn you. So how will you respond? Here it is, one. It doesn't matter who you came with, who's sitting beside you. You've been trying to figure this thing out on your own and you fail every time. That's because you were never meant to do this thing You would say, "Kirvin, I don't even know where to begin. I'm just here. I know I'm broken. I tried on my own. Can I tell you? That's a great place to start." He's here to meet you, too.

His mercy and his grace are made anew every morning. You may have walked into this room as an enemy of God, but you realize that in a moment, your spirit can be awakened to his resurrection power, and you will leave this world not as an enemy of God, but as a child of God. That is the beauty of the gospel. Here's your moment. You ready? This is for you. One, two, three. Let that hand wherever you are. Lift that hand. Don't dare be ashamed. I see those hands online. Lift that hand if you know the Lord speaking to you in our overflow in the chapel. Lift that hand high enough and long enough. Amen. Amen. You can put those hands down, and I'm going to lead you in a prayer. And every spirit feel fully devoted to the disciple of Jesus in this house. We're going to pray this prayer with you even online. Come on church, say these words along with our friends. Say, "God, I've made mistakes. I've broken your heart. I've broken your law. But I believe that my life can change. Jesus, you are the Son of God. You died in my place. You took my sin upon you so I could stand holy before the Father. So come into my heart. Forgive my sin. Heal my mind. And use me to shine your light. Thank you for loving me and for adopting me into your family.

And the beautiful and matchless name of Jesus we pray. Come on, if you're thankful for the Lord, why don't you put your hands together. Come on, can we just give him a shout? A gratitude. Come on, he's near. Come on, if the Lord's ministering to you, you don't have to move. You could say right where you're at if you so desire. But for everyone else, I want you to go ahead and stand up on your feet at this time. In our overflows spaces, stand to your feet if you can. And I have a declaration that the preaching pastors and I put together that we believe. We believe there's power in this declaration. I want us to read this thing together. And I don't want us to read it like words on a screen. Like my kids say, I want you to say it with your chest. Come on, somebody. And let's let the Holy Spirit seal the work He's done today. All right, here we go. You all ready? You ready? Come on, one, two, three. I am not an orphan. I am a son. I was adopted by grace, sealed by His Spirit. And I have the best seat at my Father's table. I am not forgotten. I am needed and known. I am not illegitimate. I have an inheritance. I don't obey to earn His love. I obey because I am loved.

I don't live from my ability. I live from His advantage. I don't fight for my worth. I rest in His love. When I run out of strength, I don't run out of help. Because His Spirit lives in me. My Father is near and my Father is good. So I am confident that I will never be alone in Jesus' name. Amen. And then come on, if you believe it, shout to the Lord. Thanks for being a part of Victory Church on the Pando app. We hope this content was a blessing to you. But we want you to know that you are not done yet. Because we want to hear from you. So send us a letter and tell us things like what God is doing in your life. How we can pray for you. Our even content that you would like to see us create in the future. We just want you to know that we see you. You are important to us. And we love to continue to create some things in the future that will bless you. So send us a letter and we hope to hear from you soon.